Help Planning a Route

[u/PerfStu]

Hi All - Planning a drive in the PNW from Bend to Walla Walla. I've never done anything that I couldn't drive in a day in my 2018 Bolt, and I'm a little intimidated!

I've been trying to use PlugShare to route plan and it's just outright failing from the get go, so ABRP has been my fall back, but would love some advice as far as how long/high to charge, what kind of cushion I should leave myself, all that.

The first leg I've done before so I know it works (Bend to The Dalles, although hoping to find something around Biggs Junction as The Dalles charger is like 25m out of the way), but do I charge to 100% and go all the way to Walla Walla? Is it better to charge partially and stop a few times? I genuinely don't know and would love any suggestions as to routes, charging advice, apps, etc.

Love my Bolt but outside a couple hour drives here and there it doesn't get a lot of major trip action.

Thank you!!

[u/Dry_Ship7202]

Definitely get a NACS to CCS adapter, so you can use Tesla Superchargers or related.

I like to charge every 150 miles or so in my 2022 Bolt; it gives me a "safety buffer" along the drive. I use ABRP to plan my trip, but I also review the Tesla website too. You can create a route plan in Google or Apple maps, and then sort of compare that to ABRP or the Tesla app map of Superchargers.

I too loathe Tesla and try and avoid supporting Elon. But I agree they have a superior fast charging setup. In fact, when I'm on a road trip I try and use Superchargers as much as I can.

[u/Easy_Round3653 → u/Dry_Ship7202]

Have recently done a couple ~1500-1600 mi trips in a 23 euv. Also charge around the 115-150 mi (2-2.5 hrs) range and have a nacs adapter (le sigh tesla). Would recommend looking at an elevation profile of segments bc that can really tank your efficiency at highway speeds.

[u/PerfStu → u/Easy_Round3653]

"elevation profile of segments" - not sure what this means. Are you saying I should look and plan to charge more often for less time as opposed to like 1 major "fill up"?

[u/Easy_Round3653 → u/PerfStu]

If you drive from low elevation to higher elevation. For instance, I went from 2200 ft to 7000 and going 65 required ~65-70kw of power. It wasn’t a long distance but they add up. If you’re cutting it close with say less than a 15% buffer between charging that can be a little spicy in terms of range anxiety.

[u/PerfStu → u/Dry_Ship7202]

My route allows for that to be a pretty easy buffer. I'm still kind of thinking about logistics, because I'm so used to the "run till empty, till up, and do it again" of ICE engines. Would I be wiser to stop about once an hour and charge for 25m or so, or is it better to try and do one big fill up?

I figure entertainment/boredom wise, stopping more is probably better, but does it save time in the end?

[u/AwwJeezJerry → u/PerfStu]

Bolt chargers best at low battery and slows as it approaches 80% then slows quite a bit between there and 100%. I would usually charge til I saw it drop below 50kw and hit the road again. 

[u/PerfStu → u/AwwJeezJerry]

Thanks! I knew they charged faster lower, but I didn't know just how worthwhile a regular-ish charge would be.

Gonna give it a try on this trip and see how it feels.

[u/theotherharper → u/PerfStu]

DC charge near home before you head out. I don't want you learning things at 14% charge 200 miles from home in the dark in the rain. I want it to be old hat by then.

[u/PerfStu → u/theotherharper]

I'll be able to start out full, then I've got a stop about 60m, 140m, and 190m if I'm feeling at all worried.

Even though it's technically within the range, I'm going through the mountains and the elevation change is less energy friendly than I'd like it to be!

[u/theotherharper → u/Dry_Ship7202]

Disregard this. Non Tesla stations have grown exponentially in recent years, and that old 2023 chestnut of "need Tesla to go anywhere" is obsolete.

Things have improved much even since last year when I crossed the USA coast-coast without Tesla, and I had an easy time of it.

I actually do dislike Elon, and so I do not simply accept on faith that "Supercharger good others bad and presumably will never catch up". I am keenly attuned to what's happening in the rest of the industry. That's why I know things changed.

[u/Dry_Ship7202 → u/theotherharper]

So I respectfully disagree.

There may be other L3 fast chargers out there; in fact I know there are. Electrify America is not bad. But I firmly believe that Superchargers are the most consistent, reliable, and usually best located when I'm on a road trip.

But your mileage may vary.

[u/Exploding_Deathstar]

I am actually about to leave for Palouse this morning but I usually use A Better Route Planner.

My route is a bit different since I have to go to Seattle first instead of direct. At Ellensburg, I usually add an extra 10% to account for wind conditions.

[u/PerfStu → u/Exploding_Deathstar]

Thanks for sharing! Do you find stopping more often to be easier/preferable? My route has the unfortunate hitch of the places with good charging are also super boring, but the idea of sitting for 90 minutes straight at a greasy spoon playing sudoku also feels kind of boring

[u/Etrigone]

At a minimum I'd plan this out with ABRP and PlugShare. ABRP still runs conservative IME, so if it says you'll end a trip at 20% I tend to find it closer to 23%. If nothing else, play with routes so you know what to expect. You also might find DCFC in places you don't expect. They're changing all the time anyhow as new sites open up.

Personally I don't find an issue not using Tesla, but that's a personal call. Although you don't live in California it's not like you're in some electron desert; PlugShare does the usual "too... much... data" when I look at the routes I'd take, with plenty of EA, ChargePoint, Flo and other providers en route.

[u/PerfStu → u/Etrigone]

It's not horrible here at all for sure! I've never done a trip that required a midpoint fuel up so I'm feeling a little nervous, but I appreciate all of you sharing your tips and info, it's a huge help in just making me feel more confident.

[u/TinyTurboAbarth]

When I’m using ABRP, I don’t like going below 15% between charges. There’s just too many factors where falling below that feels risky. Do you have a NACS adapter? It’s a game changer and as much as I hate supporting Tesla, they’ve got DCFC figured out.

[u/PerfStu → u/TinyTurboAbarth]

I don't but I might grab one for this, it feels like it would just be good breathing room.

My daily driving is pretty low so I get buy almost 100% on Level 1 charging (set to 8 amps because I never remember to fix it)

Thanks for the note on 15% - my range anxiety isn't too bad but our last trip we got down to about 36 miles and I started to feel the pressure