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This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with

This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. More chargers would help but it’s really battery tech and charge times that need a few more innovations before I’d consider for a car I might take a road trip in.

xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
I recently went on a trip where the power was out at our destination for over 24 hours due to a storm. The nearest town was ~20 minutes away and likely did not have any fast charging infrastructure. Even if it did, it's a pretty bad spot to be in, especially if you have young kids. I have been considering getting an electric car but that trip made me realize I'd have to reserve the EV for urban travel only. Otherwise I'd be uncomfortable with the risk. Even with my gas guzzling SUV I can always bring more gas just in case. I spoke to someone who has an EV and brings a generator with them on long trips so they can charge their car. This seems so wildly impractical to me. I really look forward to the day EVs exceed the range and energy capacity of combustion vehicles -- without having to stuff batteries in the headrest. But it's just not there today.
- baremetal 3y ago
  Just tow a diesel generator behind you.
- aksss 3y ago
  I don’t know that it’s wildly impractical. Some people carry battery-powered emergency jump starters for their ICE car. This just seems like the reciprocal backup power solution. Carrying a generator seems very practical to me if you are putting yourself in situations where it could be not just useful but the difference between you being stranded vs self-sufficient. Nobody said that owning an electric vehicle requires a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the benefit of liquid fuel. Plus, a generator has all kinds of other benefits in the situation you describe.
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    How are you going to carry a generator in a typical sedan or crossover? In the trunk, next to your luggage? Now your clothes smell like fuel. On the roof? Now your range took a 15% hit. On a trailer? Range hit, plus you have to store the trailer at home. As a one-off thing, like driving into a town after a storm, might work. But it’s not a solution to range anxiety generally.
    - aksss 3y ago
      Re: size - you can buy 2kW generators that are scarcely bigger than a regulation piece of carry-on luggage, so yeah, store it in the trunk. Worried about the smell of fuel from the empty generator you never use? If so, wrap it up in garbage bags. Remember - it's there for emergencies. Odds are good you'll rarely ever use it. And don't transport it with fuel - get the fuel when you can't find a charger but can find a gas station. Let's be sensible about it. The comment is in reply to someone describing their experience driving to a town that was without power for 24 hours due to a storm. This "road tripping into the unknown" is where taking a generator is applicable, not general range anxiety.
      - vel0city 3y ago
        A 2kW generator will get you like 6ish miles per hour running. A gallon of gas will get you less than three hours of running, so probably less than 18 miles or so.
  - cronix 3y ago
    Maybe conceptually they're kind of the same, but not practically. Something that fits in your hand is different than something that fits in your trunk.
    - aksss 3y ago
      Yes, they are conceptually the same - backup power source to get you out of a situation that would otherwise leave you stranded. Practically? Generators come in pretty small packages these days. They'll fit on the floorboard of your back seat (or in the back seat), or easily in the trunk just like another piece of luggage. I mean all of this assumes a particular context - the steps you take to be prepared for risks that are medium probability and high impact are not the same steps necessary when, on a daily basis, those same risks drop to a very low probability and low to medium impact. If it's the choice between being the guy who, after miles on the road, arrives in a storm-stricken town as GP related with his EV near dead and the townsfolk gathering around to point and laugh at a stereotype of luxurious thinking, or being someone with an inefficient yet practical solution to the lack of chargers, I'd take the latter.
- avalys 3y ago
  If the power is out at your destination you're unlikely to be able to operate the gas pumps either. Who brings emergency gasoline supplies with them on a family trip with young kids? The suggestion is ludicrous. Is your typical vacation, like, traveling to Florida to experience a hurricane making landfall? If you do a lot of travel to remote locations and camping and hiking and things like that, yes, an EV will probably be a stretch for that use right now. But most people in the US live and travel between major population centers. Even if you are into the remote/outdoorsy stuff, an EV is a perfectly viable second car.
  - Marsymars 3y ago
    > Even if you are into the remote/outdoorsy stuff, an EV is a perfectly viable second car. This has been my conclusion - the main problem at that point being the sheer cost. My household’s current secondary car is one that cost $10k a decade ago. (Two years old at the time of purchase.) There’s no EV that’s even in the same ballpark for cost-per-km or cost-per-year. (And for a second city-only car, they almost all come with far more battery capacity than is required, adding weight and expense. The Mazda MX-30 EV is probably closest from a technical standpoint with 160 km of range, but still has a cost problem, starting at $40k locally after taxes and credits.)
    - mwint 3y ago
      A Used Nissan Leaf with ~70-80mi range can be had in the US in the $6-10k range. My family has two, they're amazing for everything within a ~30mi radius (which, it turns out, is 98%+ of driving we do)
      - Marsymars 3y ago
        Taking a look at online listings for used cars in my province, the cheapest Leafs are in the $14k range for models that are about as old as my existing secondary car. I'd crunch the numbers more seriously if I had to replace my secondary car today. For some napkin math, assuming I only charge at home and my cost of electricity doesn't go up for the next decade, I'd be looking at about $3500 in electricity costs for 10k km/year for the next decade. Say the $14k car depreciates to $4k over the decade, that's $10k in depreciation. To match my existing car costs that leaves me with an average of $1720 to spend per year on maintenance (which, in my spreadsheet, includes tire changes/replacements, yearly detailing, any other misc parts) on a car that will be close to 20 years old with 200k km by the end of the decade. Might be workable? My current ICE car has run about $800/yr in maintenance after subtracting oil/engine-related costs in years 2-12 of its life. Leaf also seems higher risk - with my current low-value car, there isn't much potential for catastrophic failure (like a battery failure would be), and if there were a catastrophic failure, I'm just out the cost of the car, which isn't much.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  If the power is out the gas pumps aren't working either, though it's possible some fuel stations have standby generators. I have never taken extra gas along on a trip in the USA (I don't do long offroad treks or safaris, and neither do 99% of drivers). The range and charging time issue with EVs are issues regardless of weird one-off events like the power being out for a day.
  - jjav 3y ago
    > If the power is out the gas pumps aren't working either, though it's possible some fuel stations have standby generators. Gas stations tend to have generators, yes. > I have never taken extra gas along on a trip in the USA Well, to counter your anectode, I have never taken a road trip more than 300 miles in the USA without carrying a jerry can (or more) of fuel, just in case. It's cheap and easy insurance, why wouldn't you? Even if you don't need it you can use it later, so it costs nothing.
PragmaticPulp 3y ago
> As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. If you’re doing road trips frequently and you absolutely cannot find a charging station that coincides with a lunch break spot and you cannot afford a single extra hour, then sure, this seems like a reason to wait for things to improve. But I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard this argument from people who are more afraid of the possibility than the reality. People who do a road trip once per year or less, for example.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  A very specific example… I live outside DC. I like to visit Canaan Valley WV to go camping. There is no charge infrastructure anywhere nearby. So, it’s a 2 hour detour on the return leg to recharge on what is normally a 2.5-3 hour trip (each direction). But, from my house, that’s about the only trip I’ve found like this. Any of the beaches are reachable. Most cities within a day or two Drive are reachable.
  - iknowstuff 3y ago
    The Model 3 can travel that distance without charging. There is also a supercharger right in the middle. https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=9daba0ea-ad2e-449a-a8ed-b5aeed8d00b4 https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=9daba0ea-ad2e-449...
    - alistairSH 3y ago
      Sure and that’s the best case. Just about anything else needs a multi-hour detour. Anyway, my only point was there are still some gaps, even in the relatively dense eastern seaboard. But not many.
      - dreamcompiler 3y ago
        Gaps do exist but you also mentioned camping. For me camping means a national or state park that has RV campsites. I plug in the car at such a site and wake up to a fully-charged car. If you prefer more primitive camp sites this isn't an option but for some kinds of camping an EV is kind of ideal.
oh_sigh 3y ago
I have family in SLC and live in Denver(520 miles), so I've done that road trip probably a dozen times in an ICE and EV, so I'm speaking from experience. 30+ mins at a supercharger doesn't need to be a thing. You get the fastest charging 0-50%, which takes about 15 mins, so that is like 180 miles range, or about 2.5 hours in the car. So you can get about 700 miles with 2 15 minute stops, assuming you do 300 miles on the first charge if you start at 100%. With a gas car you'd be stopping once for maybe 10-15 mins to refuel and use the bathroom(or twice if you're driving with my partner), so it's really only 15 mins lost over 10 hours in the car. I'll say that's not my natural way to do a road trip, I would previously go on longer legs with less time stopped, but I actually like taking more little breaks and would probably start doing that if I went on a road trip with an ICE.
- TheCondor 3y ago
  What route do you take to SLC? 70? or 80? Last summer we drove the i80 route on our way to Oregon and after Laramie (which I suspect has some super chargers) it looks like a wasteland until Rocksprings and I have no idea if they have them there either. On the southern route, after Grand Junkyard (which I imagine has super chargers) it looks like quite a spell before more. We go play in Moab periodically and it's pretty sparse out there. The distances seem manageable but if you mismanage things a little bit, you could have some trouble. I think I'd top off in Laramie and then probably think about it in Rocksprings, I assume they have chargers there. Even with an ICE out there, there are some pretty long distances between stops, seems like every time our range got below 100miles we were starting to get serious about planning a stop. FWIW Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon might have been worse. I think there were more people and it looked like more help if you were to have an issue but it might be farther between realistic charging stations. It's coming, it'll get there and most people aren't road tripping that much but it's still a factor.
gumby 3y ago
> an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell You point out a problem with the IRA law, which subsidizes charger build out at service stations, precisely the wrong place for them. They should be building out in shopping areas, various roadside and destination attractions etc.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  Maybe, but the last thing I want to do mid-trip is get off the highway and go shopping or whatever else. I want to top up the car, use the restroom, grab a drink, and get back on the road. I want to get wherever I’m going ASAP. Chargers should be at full-service stations. Places with a deli or cafe, where it’s somewhat pleasant to rest for 20-30 minutes. Not someplace that the kids want to stay for hours.
gharman 3y ago
> it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. I dissent! Just did a 2-day (each way) road trip with young children and those charging breaks are pretty great and well-spaced for letting them run around and blow off steam. It’s not such a bad idea for the adults either…
- buggythebug 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - guhidalg 3y ago
    Superchargers are normally built in retail areas that are popular enough to be safe.
    - buggythebug 3y ago
      There are no designated "safe areas" to run around in lol
      - xboxnolifes 3y ago
        Do you only allow children to run around in areas that someone designated as safe?
        buggythebug 3y ago
        Where are most charging stations? Are they setup as kid friendly? Get out of here.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- lotsoweiners 3y ago
  Maybe but a lot of my family road trips are haul ass to Disneyland or San Diego (from Phoenix) where we leave at 6AM and want that travel day to be usable at our destination. We usually have about a 10 minute stop for gas fill up and snacks or lunch.
bryanlarsen 3y ago
I made 4 3000km trips in a Tesla with young children. (Ottawa to Saskatoon and back, twice). The battery lasts longer than a child's bladder, and a restroom stop with young children requires at least 20 minutes, enough time for a substantial charge. Only twice in the four trips did we ever have to wait for the car to finish charging. IOW it added 15 minutes to a 3 day trip.
- Gunnerhead 3y ago
  What’s the charger situation like in Northern Ontario?
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    Both Tesla and Petro Canada have the Trans Canada covered. I'd recommend getting a TT-30 and a 14-50 adapter for your charger so you can charge at camp sites.
  - theluketaylor 3y ago
    I've taken my Tesla to the Manitoulin a number of times to visit family with no issues from Southern Ontario. Not super north, but enough to get a good sense. Tesla has superchargers along 17 pretty consistently. The biggest gap is probably Sault St Marie to Wawa and that's only 230 km. The rest of the gaps are all well under 200 km (mostly around 100-150) so you don't have to stop at every location. Highway 11 is a no-go zone. Destination charging is a little more sparse. I use a welding outlet in the family farm shop, but that's obviously not an option available to everyone. There is a single L2 charger on the whole island and it costs $5/hr which is pretty steep for 7 kW. I wouldn't feel stressed taking a Tesla anywhere along 17 or the whole main trans-canada corridor. I'd want to plan a little ahead if my destination was a place without a supercharger to arrive with enough charge to get back to the network, but that's pretty simple.
    - bryanlarsen 3y ago
      On one of my trips the Sault charger was out of service. Not a big deal because the car warned us about it ahead of time and we made sure to charge up at Blind River, but that would have been problematic if we were driving a Standard Range Tesla. It's a tough stretch because it's almost completely Provincial Park between the Sault and Wawa.
Sohcahtoa82 3y ago
> It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. Unless you're driving through an area where chargers are spaced really far out, you shouldn't need to be charging that long. EVs charge faster at low state-of-charge. You'll spend less time charging if you go from 20% to 50% twice than if you went from 20% to 80% once. I've got a trip planned from Portland to Santa Clara coming up. My longest planned charge is 20 minutes. Everything else is in the 10-15 minute range, arriving at each charging with about 15% battery.

xyzzy_plugh 3y ago

I recently went on a trip where the power was out at our destination for over 24 hours due to a storm. The nearest town was ~20 minutes away and likely did not have any fast charging infrastructure. Even if it did, it's a pretty bad spot to be in, especially if you have young kids. I have been considering getting an electric car but that trip made me realize I'd have to reserve the EV for urban travel only. Otherwise I'd be uncomfortable with the risk. Even with my gas guzzling SUV I can always bring more gas just in case. I spoke to someone who has an EV and brings a generator with them on long trips so they can charge their car. This seems so wildly impractical to me. I really look forward to the day EVs exceed the range and energy capacity of combustion vehicles -- without having to stuff batteries in the headrest. But it's just not there today.

baremetal 3y ago
Just tow a diesel generator behind you.
aksss 3y ago
I don’t know that it’s wildly impractical. Some people carry battery-powered emergency jump starters for their ICE car. This just seems like the reciprocal backup power solution. Carrying a generator seems very practical to me if you are putting yourself in situations where it could be not just useful but the difference between you being stranded vs self-sufficient. Nobody said that owning an electric vehicle requires a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the benefit of liquid fuel. Plus, a generator has all kinds of other benefits in the situation you describe.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  How are you going to carry a generator in a typical sedan or crossover? In the trunk, next to your luggage? Now your clothes smell like fuel. On the roof? Now your range took a 15% hit. On a trailer? Range hit, plus you have to store the trailer at home. As a one-off thing, like driving into a town after a storm, might work. But it’s not a solution to range anxiety generally.
  - aksss 3y ago
    Re: size - you can buy 2kW generators that are scarcely bigger than a regulation piece of carry-on luggage, so yeah, store it in the trunk. Worried about the smell of fuel from the empty generator you never use? If so, wrap it up in garbage bags. Remember - it's there for emergencies. Odds are good you'll rarely ever use it. And don't transport it with fuel - get the fuel when you can't find a charger but can find a gas station. Let's be sensible about it. The comment is in reply to someone describing their experience driving to a town that was without power for 24 hours due to a storm. This "road tripping into the unknown" is where taking a generator is applicable, not general range anxiety.
    - vel0city 3y ago
      A 2kW generator will get you like 6ish miles per hour running. A gallon of gas will get you less than three hours of running, so probably less than 18 miles or so.
- cronix 3y ago
  Maybe conceptually they're kind of the same, but not practically. Something that fits in your hand is different than something that fits in your trunk.
  - aksss 3y ago
    Yes, they are conceptually the same - backup power source to get you out of a situation that would otherwise leave you stranded. Practically? Generators come in pretty small packages these days. They'll fit on the floorboard of your back seat (or in the back seat), or easily in the trunk just like another piece of luggage. I mean all of this assumes a particular context - the steps you take to be prepared for risks that are medium probability and high impact are not the same steps necessary when, on a daily basis, those same risks drop to a very low probability and low to medium impact. If it's the choice between being the guy who, after miles on the road, arrives in a storm-stricken town as GP related with his EV near dead and the townsfolk gathering around to point and laugh at a stereotype of luxurious thinking, or being someone with an inefficient yet practical solution to the lack of chargers, I'd take the latter.
avalys 3y ago
If the power is out at your destination you're unlikely to be able to operate the gas pumps either. Who brings emergency gasoline supplies with them on a family trip with young kids? The suggestion is ludicrous. Is your typical vacation, like, traveling to Florida to experience a hurricane making landfall? If you do a lot of travel to remote locations and camping and hiking and things like that, yes, an EV will probably be a stretch for that use right now. But most people in the US live and travel between major population centers. Even if you are into the remote/outdoorsy stuff, an EV is a perfectly viable second car.
- Marsymars 3y ago
  > Even if you are into the remote/outdoorsy stuff, an EV is a perfectly viable second car. This has been my conclusion - the main problem at that point being the sheer cost. My household’s current secondary car is one that cost $10k a decade ago. (Two years old at the time of purchase.) There’s no EV that’s even in the same ballpark for cost-per-km or cost-per-year. (And for a second city-only car, they almost all come with far more battery capacity than is required, adding weight and expense. The Mazda MX-30 EV is probably closest from a technical standpoint with 160 km of range, but still has a cost problem, starting at $40k locally after taxes and credits.)
  - mwint 3y ago
    A Used Nissan Leaf with ~70-80mi range can be had in the US in the $6-10k range. My family has two, they're amazing for everything within a ~30mi radius (which, it turns out, is 98%+ of driving we do)
    - Marsymars 3y ago
      Taking a look at online listings for used cars in my province, the cheapest Leafs are in the $14k range for models that are about as old as my existing secondary car. I'd crunch the numbers more seriously if I had to replace my secondary car today. For some napkin math, assuming I only charge at home and my cost of electricity doesn't go up for the next decade, I'd be looking at about $3500 in electricity costs for 10k km/year for the next decade. Say the $14k car depreciates to $4k over the decade, that's $10k in depreciation. To match my existing car costs that leaves me with an average of $1720 to spend per year on maintenance (which, in my spreadsheet, includes tire changes/replacements, yearly detailing, any other misc parts) on a car that will be close to 20 years old with 200k km by the end of the decade. Might be workable? My current ICE car has run about $800/yr in maintenance after subtracting oil/engine-related costs in years 2-12 of its life. Leaf also seems higher risk - with my current low-value car, there isn't much potential for catastrophic failure (like a battery failure would be), and if there were a catastrophic failure, I'm just out the cost of the car, which isn't much.
SoftTalker 3y ago
If the power is out the gas pumps aren't working either, though it's possible some fuel stations have standby generators. I have never taken extra gas along on a trip in the USA (I don't do long offroad treks or safaris, and neither do 99% of drivers). The range and charging time issue with EVs are issues regardless of weird one-off events like the power being out for a day.
- jjav 3y ago
  > If the power is out the gas pumps aren't working either, though it's possible some fuel stations have standby generators. Gas stations tend to have generators, yes. > I have never taken extra gas along on a trip in the USA Well, to counter your anectode, I have never taken a road trip more than 300 miles in the USA without carrying a jerry can (or more) of fuel, just in case. It's cheap and easy insurance, why wouldn't you? Even if you don't need it you can use it later, so it costs nothing.

PragmaticPulp 3y ago

> As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. If you’re doing road trips frequently and you absolutely cannot find a charging station that coincides with a lunch break spot and you cannot afford a single extra hour, then sure, this seems like a reason to wait for things to improve. But I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard this argument from people who are more afraid of the possibility than the reality. People who do a road trip once per year or less, for example.

alistairSH 3y ago
A very specific example… I live outside DC. I like to visit Canaan Valley WV to go camping. There is no charge infrastructure anywhere nearby. So, it’s a 2 hour detour on the return leg to recharge on what is normally a 2.5-3 hour trip (each direction). But, from my house, that’s about the only trip I’ve found like this. Any of the beaches are reachable. Most cities within a day or two Drive are reachable.
- iknowstuff 3y ago
  The Model 3 can travel that distance without charging. There is also a supercharger right in the middle. https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=9daba0ea-ad2e-449a-a8ed-b5aeed8d00b4 https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=9daba0ea-ad2e-449...
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    Sure and that’s the best case. Just about anything else needs a multi-hour detour. Anyway, my only point was there are still some gaps, even in the relatively dense eastern seaboard. But not many.
    - dreamcompiler 3y ago
      Gaps do exist but you also mentioned camping. For me camping means a national or state park that has RV campsites. I plug in the car at such a site and wake up to a fully-charged car. If you prefer more primitive camp sites this isn't an option but for some kinds of camping an EV is kind of ideal.

oh_sigh 3y ago

I have family in SLC and live in Denver(520 miles), so I've done that road trip probably a dozen times in an ICE and EV, so I'm speaking from experience. 30+ mins at a supercharger doesn't need to be a thing. You get the fastest charging 0-50%, which takes about 15 mins, so that is like 180 miles range, or about 2.5 hours in the car. So you can get about 700 miles with 2 15 minute stops, assuming you do 300 miles on the first charge if you start at 100%. With a gas car you'd be stopping once for maybe 10-15 mins to refuel and use the bathroom(or twice if you're driving with my partner), so it's really only 15 mins lost over 10 hours in the car. I'll say that's not my natural way to do a road trip, I would previously go on longer legs with less time stopped, but I actually like taking more little breaks and would probably start doing that if I went on a road trip with an ICE.

TheCondor 3y ago
What route do you take to SLC? 70? or 80? Last summer we drove the i80 route on our way to Oregon and after Laramie (which I suspect has some super chargers) it looks like a wasteland until Rocksprings and I have no idea if they have them there either. On the southern route, after Grand Junkyard (which I imagine has super chargers) it looks like quite a spell before more. We go play in Moab periodically and it's pretty sparse out there. The distances seem manageable but if you mismanage things a little bit, you could have some trouble. I think I'd top off in Laramie and then probably think about it in Rocksprings, I assume they have chargers there. Even with an ICE out there, there are some pretty long distances between stops, seems like every time our range got below 100miles we were starting to get serious about planning a stop. FWIW Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon might have been worse. I think there were more people and it looked like more help if you were to have an issue but it might be farther between realistic charging stations. It's coming, it'll get there and most people aren't road tripping that much but it's still a factor.

gumby 3y ago

> an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell You point out a problem with the IRA law, which subsidizes charger build out at service stations, precisely the wrong place for them. They should be building out in shopping areas, various roadside and destination attractions etc.

alistairSH 3y ago
Maybe, but the last thing I want to do mid-trip is get off the highway and go shopping or whatever else. I want to top up the car, use the restroom, grab a drink, and get back on the road. I want to get wherever I’m going ASAP. Chargers should be at full-service stations. Places with a deli or cafe, where it’s somewhat pleasant to rest for 20-30 minutes. Not someplace that the kids want to stay for hours.

gharman 3y ago

> it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. I dissent! Just did a 2-day (each way) road trip with young children and those charging breaks are pretty great and well-spaced for letting them run around and blow off steam. It’s not such a bad idea for the adults either…

buggythebug 3y ago
[flagged]
- guhidalg 3y ago
  Superchargers are normally built in retail areas that are popular enough to be safe.
  - buggythebug 3y ago
    There are no designated "safe areas" to run around in lol
    - xboxnolifes 3y ago
      Do you only allow children to run around in areas that someone designated as safe?
      - buggythebug 3y ago
        Where are most charging stations? Are they setup as kid friendly? Get out of here.
deleted 3y ago
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lotsoweiners 3y ago
Maybe but a lot of my family road trips are haul ass to Disneyland or San Diego (from Phoenix) where we leave at 6AM and want that travel day to be usable at our destination. We usually have about a 10 minute stop for gas fill up and snacks or lunch.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

I made 4 3000km trips in a Tesla with young children. (Ottawa to Saskatoon and back, twice). The battery lasts longer than a child's bladder, and a restroom stop with young children requires at least 20 minutes, enough time for a substantial charge. Only twice in the four trips did we ever have to wait for the car to finish charging. IOW it added 15 minutes to a 3 day trip.

Gunnerhead 3y ago
What’s the charger situation like in Northern Ontario?
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  Both Tesla and Petro Canada have the Trans Canada covered. I'd recommend getting a TT-30 and a 14-50 adapter for your charger so you can charge at camp sites.
- theluketaylor 3y ago
  I've taken my Tesla to the Manitoulin a number of times to visit family with no issues from Southern Ontario. Not super north, but enough to get a good sense. Tesla has superchargers along 17 pretty consistently. The biggest gap is probably Sault St Marie to Wawa and that's only 230 km. The rest of the gaps are all well under 200 km (mostly around 100-150) so you don't have to stop at every location. Highway 11 is a no-go zone. Destination charging is a little more sparse. I use a welding outlet in the family farm shop, but that's obviously not an option available to everyone. There is a single L2 charger on the whole island and it costs $5/hr which is pretty steep for 7 kW. I wouldn't feel stressed taking a Tesla anywhere along 17 or the whole main trans-canada corridor. I'd want to plan a little ahead if my destination was a place without a supercharger to arrive with enough charge to get back to the network, but that's pretty simple.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    On one of my trips the Sault charger was out of service. Not a big deal because the car warned us about it ahead of time and we made sure to charge up at Blind River, but that would have been problematic if we were driving a Standard Range Tesla. It's a tough stretch because it's almost completely Provincial Park between the Sault and Wawa.

Sohcahtoa82 3y ago

> It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. Unless you're driving through an area where chargers are spaced really far out, you shouldn't need to be charging that long. EVs charge faster at low state-of-charge. You'll spend less time charging if you go from 20% to 50% twice than if you went from 20% to 80% once. I've got a trip planned from Portland to Santa Clara coming up. My longest planned charge is 20 minutes. Everything else is in the 10-15 minute range, arriving at each charging with about 15% battery.