I learned a lot on this first trip and am much better prepared now for future distance driving in an EV. For a successful and memorable road trip, it just takes a little additional planning to make the journey smooth. Here’s what you need to know about driving electric cars long distances.
Cold weatherBlasting the air conditioning or heaterDriving with a lot of uphill climbsSpeeding and driving with a heavy foot
I’m typically a very fast driver, but watching my range tick away quickly encouraged me to slow my roll to a by-the-books 65 mph. You can also use its trip planner tool to input temperature, current charge, and destination, and it’ll tell you how much additional charge you need to make it to your next destination.
Level 1 chargers are like your home electrical wiring and will take many hours (or days!) to give you a full charge.Level 2 chargers might work for you if you want to spend a few hours nearby checking out the sights (for instance, if you want to spend the day at a zoo, mall, or amusement park that has Level 2 chargers).Level 3 or DC Fast chargers offer the quickest charge, which can get you to an 80 percent charge in as little as an hour.
We had good luck at Royal Farms, a gas station chain that’s getting in on the electric thing (and offers some good road trip snacks for an impromptu picnic while we waited for the charge). I’ve also found electric car chargers at Target, Wal-Mart, and other major stores—so you can easily kill the time picking up sunscreen and other essentials you may have forgotten to pack while you wait. Unfortunately, you can’t always count on highway rest stops—those zip-off, zip-on rest areas may have gas pumps, but the ones we tried along our route only offered Tesla Superchargers. It’s a good idea to make sure there’s an alternate spot where you can charge—and that you give yourself plenty of range to get to another charging destination if you need to.
