[StanT]

Hi All
My 150 Lariat is scheduled for a build next week and will hopefully deliver by the end of Sept. I work as an OSHA safety trainer and teach electrical safety classes, now teaching electrical safety to OEMs that build eclectic vehicles. I travel around the country teaching classes and many times drive vs. flying, so a bit concerned about range and charging. My current F150 has a 36 gal tank, so 700 miles to a fill-up is my norm.

I have not seen enough charging connections at hotels. Hopefully, this will improve next year. I plan on keeping my 2018 F150 along with the new truck, as winter is also a concern for range. If Tesla opens its charge stations next year, that should be a big help for long-distance trips.

Seen some great threads here and look forward to learning more.

 

[THEsocalledfan]

Hi All
My 150 Lariat is scheduled for a build next week and will hopefully deliver by the end of Sept. I work as an OSHA safety trainer and teach electrical safety classes, now teaching electrical safety to OEMs that build eclectic vehicles. I travel around the country teaching classes and many times drive vs. flying, so a bit concerned about range and charging. My current F150 has a 36 gal tank, so 700 miles to a fill-up is my norm.

I have not seen enough charging connections at hotels. Hopefully, this will improve next year. I plan on keeping my 2018 F150 along with the new truck, as winter is also a concern for range. If Tesla opens its charge stations next year, that should be a big help for long-distance trips.

Seen some great threads here and look forward to learning more.

Big thing is to check out the NEVI state by state plans to get a feel if level 3 high speed chargers are likely coming where you regularly drive. For me, I regularly drive Sioux Falls, SD to Fargo, ND and with the weather, I need level 3's installed. Thankfully, both SD and ND have targeted I-29 for the NEVI program, so in a couple years, I should be in great shape.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

We had a discussion today about the 'Charging Infrastructure' which is what is basically limiting the public from buying an EV easily - until we can 'go anywhere at anytime' like we do now, things will not drastically change.

Those of us on the forefront of the EV adoption are willing to take the risk, and the aggravation, and the time to make it work for us, but the public is not that forgiving. They can' change their life to accommodate an EV, even though they actually may like the idea - it's just not logistically feasible for most.

What do we need? That's a good question, but with some experience, most of us current and former EV owners can attest to the need for RELIABLE, and EASY Fast Chargers, spaced within 50 MILES from each other, in ANY direction, and with SEVERAL at each location, with SPACE to park between each charger, and with at least one 'Pull Thru/Next to' charge port. ( oh, and add another - LENGTHY charge cables - we don't need to be restricted by a 4' reach cord )

I have towed my camper this week, and can tell you that only ONE charger I've seen has any ability to easily allow an EV towing a trailer to pull up effortlessly. I'm a confident drive, and have driven brand new 45' large motorhomes across the country from the factories to dealers, and have owned and driven my own motorhome for many years, but the 'parking' infrastructure for EVs will HAVE to change. When you see most with painted signage on the parking space saying 'Compact EV Parking ONLY', you know that we have not contemplated EV Trucks, and especially those towing anything.

I would like to see:
All Hotels have rows of Level 2 chargers.
All cities have at least one or two Fast Chargers at several large format GAS STATIONS, on the outer limits of the parking lot. I have seen only a very few do this, and it works great. You really do NEED a convenience store when you charge. Unless your are towing your camper, you don't have a bathroom with you.
All interstates have a Fast Charger or two at every other Exit. Better yet, ROWS of chargers, and COVERED, and SPACED OUT, with 'pull beside' options.

We can look to Mr Musk for setting the bar very high. Until someone follows that lead, this is going to be a long hard road...no pun intended, but happily accepted : )

 

[StanT]

We had a discussion today about the 'Charging Infrastructure' which is what is basically limiting the public from buying an EV easily - until we can 'go anywhere at anytime' like we do now, things will not drastically change.

Those of us on the forefront of the EV adoption are willing to take the risk, and the aggravation, and the time to make it work for us, but the public is not that forgiving. They can' change their life to accommodate an EV, even though they actually may like the idea - it's just not logistically feasible for most.

What do we need? That's a good question, but with some experience, most of us current and former EV owners can attest to the need for RELIABLE, and EASY Fast Chargers, spaced within 50 MILES from each other, in ANY direction, and with SEVERAL at each location, with SPACE to park between each charger, and with at least one 'Pull Thru/Next to' charge port. ( oh, and add another - LENGTHY charge cables - we don't need to be restricted by a 4' reach cord )

I have towed my camper this week, and can tell you that only ONE charger I've seen has any ability to easily allow an EV towing a trailer to pull up effortlessly. I'm a confident drive, and have driven brand new 45' large motorhomes across the country from the factories to dealers, and have owned and driven my own motorhome for many years, but the 'parking' infrastructure for EVs will HAVE to change. When you see most with painted signage on the parking space saying 'Compact EV Parking ONLY', you know that we have not contemplated EV Trucks, and especially those towing anything.

I would like to see:
All Hotels have rows of Level 2 chargers.
All cities have at least one or two Fast Chargers at several large format GAS STATIONS, on the outer limits of the parking lot. I have seen only a very few do this, and it works great. You really do NEED a convenience store when you charge. Unless your are towing your camper, you don't have a bathroom with you.
All interstates have a Fast Charger or two at every other Exit. Better yet, ROWS of chargers, and COVERED, and SPACED OUT, with 'pull beside' options.

We can look to Mr Musk for setting the bar very high. Until someone follows that lead, this is going to be a long hard road...no pun intended, but happily accepted : )

All excellent points, and I do believe that the build-up is going to come quicker than most think. While working in Long Beach, I went to a mall, and there were 25 Tesla chargers, all in a row with about 10 open for use.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

right, but that's one of the issues - that's TESLA, not every other EV manufacturer - you can't just plug into a Tesla Supercharger with anything else, at least not yet.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Hi All
My 150 Lariat is scheduled for a build next week and will hopefully deliver by the end of Sept. I work as an OSHA safety trainer and teach electrical safety classes, now teaching electrical safety to OEMs that build eclectic vehicles. I travel around the country teaching classes and many times drive vs. flying, so a bit concerned about range and charging. My current F150 has a 36 gal tank, so 700 miles to a fill-up is my norm.

I have not seen enough charging connections at hotels. Hopefully, this will improve next year. I plan on keeping my 2018 F150 along with the new truck, as winter is also a concern for range. If Tesla opens its charge stations next year, that should be a big help for long-distance trips.

Seen some great threads here and look forward to learning more.

Your best bet is to use PlugShare on your destinations and look for a hotel that has a Level 2 charger onsite. Some booking sites have this as an option as well (they all should!).

 

[2000Firehawk]

Your best bet is to use PlugShare on your destinations and look for a hotel that has a Level 2 charger onsite. Some booking sites have this as an option as well (they all should!).

This is a great note. It made our trip to/from Bar Harbor, ME (the Portland to Bar Harbor part) much less stressful to know that the independent hotel had four high speed Clipper Creek chargers. In fact, it was one of the reasons for selecting that hotel. Some of the larger chain hotels (Marriott, Hilton) have a charger (sometimes a couple), but I have found that they are (i) usually blocked by ICE vehicles because they really don't make any effort to make note that it is an EV charging slot and (ii) often on the slower end of charge speeds so don't count on a full charge if you roll in late and leave early.

 

[StanT]

I have noticed that the major chains such as Mariott have not invested in on-site charging capabilities. For me, this is a problem as I stay 100% at Mariott hotels. I have even looked into purchasing extended battery packs that are now becoming available for emergency charging. Like the Zipcharge.

 

[208]

On this topic, please use plugshare on L2 chargers! "Check in" on the charger so that others can contact you. So many times I have rolled up to a hotel L2, with a fully charged EV sitting in the charger space. Even if the EV is still charging, people waiting can ask to be notified when the charger is freed up. If at a restaurant, PS users can ask the user plugged in to let them know when done... So the next person can plug in.

It is great etiquette, and as these chargers get even more busy, will make all of our lives easier.
😎

 

[THEsocalledfan]

Okay, time to rain on this happy parade.

The level 3 build out is not sustainable, mainly due to peak demand power charges. Private businesses are not going to adopt building the infrastructure when they literally could lose money if too many folks are drawing 150 kW or more. That issue needs to be fixed; I have no idea how to do that, however. And to fill in all the gaps, it must be driven by the private sector.

Okay, tell me why I'm wrong. (I want to be wrong, but I know someone who just put in a level 3 in Brookings, SD, paid with VW settlement money (ie would not have happened otherwise) who told me even though his charger can do super high speeds, he maxed it at 62.5 kW due to demand charge issues. The NEVI plan for SD also pointed out demand charges being the biggest problem for sustainability and even getting bids.)

 

[208]

On-site solar arrays with storage is a great solution. It adds significantly to initial cost, but because of the long life of solar, makes a ton of sense long-term. Because this solar can often double as a canopy for the charging stations, it makes it an all-around great system. With the stations out of the Sun and weather, they will live longer as well.

 

[grumpy]

I found the following website describing charging in the UK to be interesting. The company only has a few charging stations, but they have several articles covering topics related to this issue, about sharing loads, etc; and how the charging curve of each car different and how that impacts the power demand. Limiting the maximum current at one location within the existing grid will remain for a long time, but I assume charging stations close to power distribution substations would be the best initially?

Different Speeds for Different EV Needs | Osprey Charging

How do we decide the best size for EV chargepoints? The most powerful chargers are not necessarily the best charging solution for EV drivers.

ospreycharging.co.uk

 

[StanT]

Okay, time to rain on this happy parade.

The level 3 build out is not sustainable, mainly due to peak demand power charges. Private businesses are not going to adopt building the infrastructure when they literally could lose money if too many folks are drawing 150 kW or more. That issue needs to be fixed; I have no idea how to do that, however. And to fill in all the gaps, it must be driven by the private sector.

Okay, tell me why I'm wrong. (I want to be wrong, but I know someone who just put in a level 3 in Brookings, SD, paid with VW settlement money (ie would not have happened otherwise) who told me even though his charger can do super high speeds, he maxed it at 62.5 kW due to demand charge issues. The NEVI plan for SD also pointed out demand charges being the biggest problem for sustainability and even getting bids.)

You are correct about demand charges, but there are rate schedules that need to be accounted for. Demand is calculated with 15 min back-to-back peaks and at different schedule rates. Most of this can be offset by time of use and utility rate purchase. The real problem that will be coming is Harmonic distortion due to the nature of PWM charging which all BEV use in onboard chargers.
As the BEV market grows there will be Power Quality issue that will need to be addressed.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

The level 3 build out is not sustainable, mainly due to peak demand power charges. Private businesses are not going to adopt building the infrastructure when they literally could lose money if too many folks are drawing 150 kW or more.

I almost agree with your sentiment, but businesses do not build and install and have this infrastructure running thru their business, it is it's own hardware and wiring directly from the utility that is supplying the power. The utility is going to come and install the needed and required hardware outside of any needs of any business nearby, whether the business is 'hosting' the chargers, or not. Any draw on these units comes directly from the Utility company, who is responsible for carrying the load and generating, or purchasing, the power needs to operate it.

Yes, there can be some discussion about whether our 'grid' is ready to handle 'all this EV charging'...but there are still not NEAR enough EVs in existence, or even being built and sold, to put a dent into the massive amount of power we have in the U.S.. Sure, there are times when parts of the system are taxed, but the grid as a whole is not broken or weak. It could use some upgrades in some areas, for sure, but just like roads, they didn't just happen overnight. It took the government to step in to create the Interstate Highway System, which we all know enjoy, if not depend on. I think Fast Charging is similar.

Another discussion is the relatively lowering of the need to pump gas, which may take MORE power, per gallon, to get to it's destination, than electrical power. If you take a look at the very inefficient movement of gas, from it's inception as oil in the earth, it's no wonder we pay $4 a gallon for it.

 

[JC12345]

Your best bet is to use PlugShare on your destinations and look for a hotel that has a Level 2 charger onsite. Some booking sites have this as an option as well (they all should!).

I booked a Hilton property after filtering EV charging only to find their charger had been vandalized and the wiring stolen out of the cable. Lesson learned for me is to call to confirm it works or check plug share for reviews. Even if it was working they only had one so I could’ve been beaten out by another EV’er

 

[THEsocalledfan]

I booked a Hilton property after filtering EV charging only to find their charger had been vandalized and the wiring stolen out of the cable. Lesson learned for me is to call to confirm it works or check plug share for reviews. Even if it was working they only had one so I could’ve been beaten out by another EV’er

Or check plug share after you find the property. They have level 2s in there.

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

I've seen this at too many places - they think it's a good idea, but the maintenance never keeps up. It's like campgrounds with 'full' hookup advertisements. when you arrive, you find that the 'old' breakers are now weak with overuse, and the outlet has dirt-dobbers inside, and the 20amp GFCI won't stay on, etc. Not fun.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I booked a Hilton property after filtering EV charging only to find their charger had been vandalized and the wiring stolen out of the cable. Lesson learned for me is to call to confirm it works or check plug share for reviews. Even if it was working they only had one so I could’ve been beaten out by another EV’er

Royal Farms stores in the Mid-Atlantic made a major move to provide charging a few years ago. They were a great part of the early build-out. Now most of their chargers don't work. That's why checking PlugShare is essential.

 

[2000Firehawk]

I believe the Royal Farms issue is due to the network that was used to support them. They made some changes and Royal Farms' equipment wasn't capable of the change or something like that and that put them out of order.

It is amazing how poorly people treat the chargers everywhere - even those that depend on them! So many people leave the cords in the parking area to be driven over or can't be bothered to hand the plug up correctly so it eventually falls and breaks. This is especially depressing when it is chargers that a business (hotel, restaurant, etc.) are not charging for and just trying to be good citizens, attract business or both.