Some notes on driving across the country in an electric vehicle
A very slow EV charger
When I bought my fully electric vehicle, I knew there would be drawbacks—and a lot to learn. So, what better way to find out than to take it on a 7,500-mile road trip?
The first leg took me to Toronto to visit friends. My first charge stop was a Shell station that required an app. After downloading it, I discovered it wouldn’t work because I was “in the wrong country.” Frustrating but there was an Electrify Canada station ten miles away, and forty minutes later I was charged up and back on the road.
One of the challenges is the number of different charging networks. Each uses its own app, though some networks allow credit card payment at the charger. By the end of my trip, I’d charged about fifty times using ten different networks. A few times I couldn’t get a charger to work—some of that was my inexperience. For example, with most networks, you plug in first, then tap your phone on the charger; with Tesla, you set up the charge in their app before plugging in. Once I figured that out, Tesla proved to be the most convenient and reliable.
Not all chargers are functional, either. I encountered at least five that were broken, or whose credit card readers didn’t work—often in unsupervised public parking lots. I’ve heard of chargers being disabled because someone cut off the cable for its copper, though I didn’t run into that myself.
I had also expected charging to be cheaper than gas. At home, I pay about $0.18 per kWh—roughly $0.06 per mile. On this trip my charging costs averaged about $0.18 per mile. By comparison, a gas car getting 24 MPG at $3.50 per gallon costs about $0.15 per mile. Since most of my driving is local and uses home charging, it’s still considerably cheaper. Factoring in the reduced maintenance costs brings it down even more.
Another “feature” of public charging stations is the lack of posted prices, which vary widely. Unless you record the price and kWh at the time, it’s often hard to find later. Tesla stations record the date, location, cost, kWh, and price per kWh, but networks like Electrify America use a prepayment system, so your credit card statement doesn’t show what each charge costs. It’s great for their cash flow, but not for tracking expenses. After some digging, I found Electrify America was the priciest—$0.45 to $0.68 per kWh—while Tesla ranged from $0.48 to $0.56, and ChargePoint from $0.13 to $0.37 (with a few still free).
Convenience is another issue. We’re used to refueling a gas car in five minutes. Not so with EVs. Most stations are curbside, so with my charging port in the rear, I had to back in. The non-Tesla cables are heavy, and sometimes I had trouble making a connection with my adapter (I drive a Hyundai with a Tesla-style charging port). Tesla cables are lighter but short, often forcing me to park across the lines to reach (something Tesla acknowledges on their app). Honestly, managing a CCS plug is much more physically challenging than a gas pump hose.
Charging speeds vary widely. Most non-Tesla fast chargers use the CCS system, operating at 800 volts. Charging rates vary, but some are capable of providing 300 kW (that’s 300,000 Watts). My EV can accept about 200 kW, going from 20% to 80% in roughly 20 minutes. But not all CCS chargers deliver that much power, so I avoid anything under 90 kW—unless there’s food or something else worth doing nearby. Tesla chargers can approach 200 kW, but they run at 400 volts, so my Hyundai typically charges at about 100 kW there. (Note: kW is the power, or rate of charge, while kWh is the amount of energy, equivalent to one kW for one hour.)
I did see some interesting innovations. In remote areas of British Columbia, several BC Hydro stations had integrated battery storage, letting them deliver faster charging without overloading the grid. The units even displayed their current battery level.
Finding stations was another adventure. Unlike gas stations with huge signs advertising the prices, charging stations have minimal signage. The only wayfinding signs I saw were small blue “EV” signs for chargers in municipal lots. I spent a fair amount of time hunting for chargers shown in my mapping apps—some that no longer existed.
Speaking of apps, I used three: Plugshare, a generic app dedicated to finding charging stations; Hyundai’s navigation app, which automatically preconditions the battery for fast charging; and Google Maps, which remains the best for actual navigation—but oddly less knowledgeable about charger locations. I’d love to just use Hyundai’s app for the battery conditioning, but it’s clunky and inaccurate. I took more wrong turns with it than I care to admit.
Plugshare offers a lot of information about the stations, including the peak rate of charge, whether it’s down for repair, and user reviews. It also lets me plot routes and export them to Google Maps, though both limit the number of stops. Typically, I’d plan a day ahead and load the route into Google, but had to remember to start battery conditioning manually. I’m sure there’s a better way to save multipoint routes in Google Maps than emailing myself the link—but I haven’t figured it out yet.
Ideally, I’d like Hyundai to utilize Google Maps for navigation while still managing the battery conditioning. Barring that, I’d like to be able to use both simultaneously, but whenever I switch to the Hyundai map, Google stops and forgets the whole route. At some point, I will learn how to navigate the navigation systems. After all, during a good portion of my life, I navigated cross-country with paper maps, a skill now badly rusted.
Finally, I learned an important lesson: don’t wait too long to charge—especially in the middle of the country. I once arrived at a Tesla station in Nebraska only to discover it was Tesla-only (a certain percentage of their sites are). I had 19 miles left and 38 miles to the next station. I could have called AAA and had them tow me, but instead asked a convenience store if I could use an outdoor outlet. The clerk agreed, and my car optimistically estimated 64 hours, 32 minutes to reach 80%. I just needed enough for 40 miles.
After two hours, the guy came out and told me the owner had come by and told him to tell me to stop. I was at 25 miles. I drove 35 mph along a state highway, watching the range tick down. With one mile to go, the car complained loudly and flashed “Performance limited”—but I made it. Lesson learned. The next day, I detoured 40 miles into Colorado just to be safe. On the way home, I routed through Canada, where charging stations are more numerous (and cheaper).
Finally, I do want to say that I don’t regret switching to an EV. There’s nothing quite as smooth as an EV, and the extra weight is low and the car handles very well, and the cost of home charging is a fraction of the cost of gasoline. The inconvenience of public charging is a small price to pay for the ability to avoid gasoline altogether. Gasoline, besides being a fossil fuel, also can only reach an efficiency of less than 40% and generally are about 30% in internal combustion engines, with the rest of the energy going up in heat. Electric Vehicles, on the other hand, have efficiencies of 87% – 91%. There are energy losses associated with the transmission of electricity from where it is produced to where it is used, but these pale in comparison to the energy losses associated with distillation of gasoline from crude oil.
I’m writing this as a novice, so veteran EV drivers may smile at my naivety—and that’s fine. This trip was a learning experience, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s learning.
Robin McClellan 
Hey Robin! Great post. And, great experience too. My wife and I have over 150,000 EV miles since 2019 across two cars, primarily – a 2019 Tesla model 3 and a 2023 Tesla model X. Although I love it, we’re getting rid of the model X because I can’t stand what Elon has done and become. We waited until Rivian supported NACS natively and a few weeks ago, we the 2026 R1S. I already have over 3000 miles on it, having driven from Virginia Beach, VA to Chicago to New York to Boston, then Vermont and back to VA again. I really love it. But, nothing yet (in the US) surpasses the Tesla charging network for proliferation and reliability.
as a side note, I also recently got the Maeving r1m electric motorcycle. I love tooling around locally with it and fully intend to put it on the back of the rivian.
I’ve got a ton of fond memories knowing you from back in the late ‘80s! Hard to believe… hope all is well with you…
Thanks for sharing your experience! My Ioniq 9 is NACS and it’s a lot easier to deal with than CCS. It will be interesting on my next trip when I’ll be pulling a small trailer, both for mileage and for ease of charging. Some of the CCS chargers on my route are drive through, but I’ve only seen them a few times, and only one Tesla. We’ll see!
Nice! I pulled a UHaul with our Model X that, loaded, I estimated to be around 3500 pounds. I was suprised that it only cut the range by about 1/3. I expected it to be cut in half, honestly. It was definitely a mixed bag driving from NY to VA charger wise. I did find a few pull throughs, but I also needed to unhitch at one of the stops.
Excellent! I’m pulling an 8×12 flatbed, and it really cut the mileage, but I think it was the ramp that stood straight up and, even though it’s expanded steel, put a large aerodynamic drag on it. I should be able to leave it flat this time, and I hope that will make a difference.
This was such a fascinating story. I drive a Hyundai and the ways of EVs are pretty mysterious to me. I have never come across such a informative and interesting account before. I recommend that you publish it in a magazine or print newspaper.
One question – did you bring your pup along?
Hi Robin, Last Fall, 2024, I took my second trip across the country with my Tesla Model 3, for my Aunt’s 105th birthday. I also had gone in 2019 for her 100th. There was almost no problem either time finding Tesla SuperChargers and there were many more for the second trip. I went with my Chinese travel companion & we went thru the Teton & Yellowstone National Parks enroute & saw several hundred Bison in between the 2 parks, Not sure if this one of Ted Turner’s ranches or not. But there were some anxious moments when my Tesla Model 3 range approached 0miles & I had several miles to get to the Yellowstone West Entrance Supercharger. I probably angered some people going 30mph but I was able to stretch that mileage & made it! Whew! There wasn’t any cell service in the Park, where I was anyway. So I’m not sure what I would’ve done had my car stopped. I couldn’t call Tesla with an SOS. I’ll be glad, I think, when T-Mobile & Tesla make the satellite cellphone connection happen. After my Aunt’s Birthday Party, we went down through the Redwoods & hiked to where the Klamath River flows into the Pacific, & saw a beach party of Seals & Sea Lions (~75 of them catching Steelhead Trout then laying on the beach to digest. A whole lot of grunting going on. Lots of driftwood along the wide beach that made it back to NY. After staying over @ hotel along the ocean, then getting on the road again, I got a message on my screen that I was “running on reduced power, OK to drive” with no more explanation than that. So we continued passed San Francisco & Fremont, where the car was built. Another message came up saying something like “Your car might not start on next drive”. Kinda caught my attention being many miles from home! I figured I should find a Tesla service center & decided to go back to Fremont & get in line the first thing in the morning & did. They told me they would need to run a complete diagnosis for $650, and it’s likely the battery or the drive unit & neither was in stock! They could get the parts in ~ 2 weeks!!!! The car still said OK to Drive so I headed East toward Lake Tahoe stopping @Donner Lake for a swim in the Glacier melt water, Brrrrr, near the infamous Donner Pass. While passing a tractor trailer, My companion grabbed & pulled my arm that I just happened to be steering with nearly causing an accident saying “be careful” & I wasn’t pleased. She called her Daughter on Long Island asking her to arrange a flight from Salt Lake City, UT to JFK. I took her there & drove back toward Pittsburgh, Pa. Before arriving there, I got a call from National Grid telling me that lightning had hit my power panel @ home & melted my 200amp breaker, and to my surprise they would replace the panel & breaker “FREE OF CHARGE”. I told them thank you, then called my neighbor to ask him if he had any room in his freezer for my fruit in my freezer & fridge in the house, & please shut off all the breakers in the basement. He did & I didn’t lose any of my blue, straw, & raspberries. I had a work friend in Pittsburgh that has an airbnb & asked me to stop by & I did for 2 nights & saw Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water” & another Architect’s home on top of a mountain. Finally headed home, earlier than expected, arriving at night to scout out the situation. After fumbling around in the dark, got my headlamp on & checked out the breakers all off including at the pole where the panel had been replaced. So one by one, turned everything back on & all was well! In the morning, I found that my internet was dead & my Solar Panel monitor displayed all squares after trying everything to correct. The ISP determined that the primary & secondary fibers weren’t passing light so I needed a new fiber trenched from the road to my house, but for the time being they ran a fiber across the top of the ground. Anyway, I’ve successfully made this short story, long!
Tesla screen shows me the superchargers near me so on the touch screen, I choose the one I want which shows the version of supercharger, version 3 is 250kw and if range is <50 miles, it will start charging @ >1000mph but drops significantly in the first few minutes especially, and as approaching 80%. When showing the selected location info/properties, the number of open ports also. I’ve only had to wait a couple of times in my 100k+ travels for a port to open up & they weren’t a very long wait. Across Arizona-Mexico on I-40 going East, there was a long stretch with no Supercharger at that time, there probably are more now. I had to wait for ~20 minutes for a port, probably because of the distance, people were topping of as much as possible with the heat decreasing the range. Getting that last 20% is slow going.