Despite the ever-increasing range, the stigma of electric vehicles not being great for long road trips is still a thing. Although it may take a little effort to plan ahead, tackling a long trip should not be an issue. To help those get over their range anxiety, here are my top EV road trip tips.
Have a Plan
First up on this list of EV road trip tips is to have a plan. What I mean by this is simply knowing where are you are going and the stops you want to make along the way. Factor in how long you will be at each location, and think about where you intend to sleep each night. Having this sorted upfront will help you plan out your route and ensure you have enough juice to make it to your destination each day.
This does take out some of the spontaneity that road trips bring. I think it’s a fair trade for eliminating range anxiety, not to mention the huge fuel savings. That said, this doesn’t mean you can’t deviate from your plan. You can always buffer in time to explore as long as you know where you were staying at the end of the day and re-calculate range accordingly.
Know Your Charging Options
Before hitting the road on any EV road trip, you need to know what your charging options are. This includes knowing what adaptors your EV can use as well as charging networks available in the areas you were visiting.
If you haven’t already, check out my post on EV Charging Apps and Maps. It gives a great rundown of the various charging Apps out there and when to use each of them. Using these Apps, you can filter on the adaptor types and networks you can use and then plan out when and where you can charge.
For convenience, consider picking up adaptors where needed. This will give you more charging options and potentially save you time. For my EV road trip around Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula, I picked up a Tesla CHAdeMO adaptor. Doing so allowed me to get off the Supercharger network and still charge at level 3 speeds.
Map It Out
Once you have an idea of where you are going each day and what stops you want to make along the way, you can start mapping out your route. As noted in my post on EV trip Apps and Maps, I highly recommend using A Better Routeplanner. With fine-tuning things like charger networks, adaptors, and weather and road conditions, it’s the key to a range anxiety-free road trip.
Once you have your days mapped out, create it in ABRP. Start with each days starting location and destination. After that, enter in each stop you plan to make along the way. Once done, calculate the route. ABRP will map out the trip and include the charging stops you need to make along the way. It’s that easy.
Refine Your Route
Once your route is calculated, you can adjust each segment accordingly. This includes setting your starting charge amount and what you want to have left at your destination.
From there, you can add in how much time you want to spend at each stop along the way. For stops that you intend to spend some time at (attraction or meal break), search the area for charging options. This way you can kill two birds by charging at a municipal charging station while you explore that museum or have lunch. Recalculating with these stops will reduce or even remove further charging stops down the line making your trip more efficient.
Be Prepared
Wheather on an EV or standard ICE vehicle road trip, you should always be prepared before hitting the road. Ensuring you are safe on your trip should be the top priority and knowing what to pack in case of an emergency is key to getting out of a jam. Check out my EV road trip checklist to help you better prepare.
Enjoy The Ride
There you have it. Some quick tips to ensure your EV road trip is a successful one. With a little preparation you can get to where you’re going safely and efficiently, removing range anxiety along the way.
If you were looking for a detailed road trip itinerary check out case study on my very first EV road trip! I applied these EV road trip trips to my 1,500 KM drive around Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula.
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