What Apps do I need to go on a road trip. In the MINI.

Get the Electrify America app and sign up for an account. I think you can put $10 at a time on it, so it's not a big deal to just carry a balance. It will automatically charge your credit car more when needed. But having the account set up makes activating charging very straightforward.

I also did the same with ChargePoint, but that's Level 2 so you may not need it for trips. But it is handy to have as a backup, or for around town when shopping. I mostly use it to activate charging sessions at free chargers.

Definitely get the PlugShare app for locating chargers, and people swear by A Better Route Planner for planning trips.

 

In my area, most of the DC fast chargers are ChargePoint.

I recommend using A Better Routeplanner (https://abetterrouteplanner.com) - and get their app - to plan your route and charging options.

Then use PlugShare (https://www.plugshare.com) - and get their app - to see which DC fast charger networks you will encounter on your trip, then search for their mobile apps and set up an account so you're all set before you leave.

 

I should have said ChargePoint is mostly Level 2, in my area. But @MichaelC is right, figure out what charging networks exist in your area or on your route, and get accounts set up for those. Although my (limited) experience has shown a lot of public chargers take credit cards if they're not free.

 

I just road tripped in my new 2022 Mini SE, about 500 miles round trip. We had a lot of fun. Here are my takeaways...

1) it really helps to have a copilot to help you navigate to the nearest fast chargers and to help you adapt your route as things change
2) if you're relying on a DC charger, make sure there are others nearby in case it fails. We had a failure that essentially ended up adding 2+ hours to our trip b/c we were forced to use a Level 2 instead...not super fun.
3) On the way home, we decided to push her a little further.....farthest we went was 120 miles, averaging 75-80MPH with AC on. This is where the copilot was helpful, we were able to quickly adapt our route to go a bit farther if it seemed feasible. To be fair, at this point in our journey we were in Los Angeles where DC chargers are plentiful so we felt comfortable taking the risk.
4) Get all of the apps - for convenience, but also because it's easier to keep track of how much you've spent along the way. We used Chargepoint (level 2), EVGo, and Electrify America on our trip. We used Plugshare for reviews/ratings (learned to target highly rated chargers first) and I sort of used ABRP to help me get started on my trip planning
5) Use the climatization feature while you're charging, more efficient plus really nice to get into an already cool car! We're in CA (pretty hot) so that was a really nice touch.

Hopefully that helps! We had a really great time, we kept comparing the drive to a game - kept us entertained and for a journey where we'd need to stop for bathrooms/meals anyway, it wasn't a huge inconvenience. Enjoy!

 

I have those apps and use them as needed. My "go to" app has been PlugShare for general searches and leaving check ins.

 

I have used RV Parky while on a road trip (in my wife's Tesla, when our VRBO house had inadequate, two-wire wiring). As a last resort, RV parks are ubiquitous, have L1 and L2, 120 and 240 VAC outlets, and will sell you a parking space for cheap (mine did $10 for 5 hours on a 14-50).

Most parks will have outlets for 5-15 120V, TT-30 (120V at 30 Amps, an old standard), and 14-50 240V. So, a 14-50 adapter is a fine addition to the kit.

 

This thread speaks to one of my biggest gripes with the EV industry. I can take my petrol powered car to any gas station and simply start pumping gas with just a credit card. No smart phone. No special apps. No membership required. No password needed.

Until pumping electrons is as simple as pumping gas most people will see it as simply way to cumbersome. It’s already too time consuming; why does it need to be a big hassle as well? Pumping electrons is much safer than pumping gasoline. There is no good reason for charging a BEV to be such a complex process. Why would the charging company need anything other than a credit card? I really want to support the charging infrastructure, but I despise the unnecessary complexity.


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Doesn't Electrify America accept credit cards, without the need to create an account? I haven't done it yet, but I looked into it just in case, and it seemed that was possible. I hate most apps and try to have as few of them as possible (aside from I never seem to have enough space on my phone), but I think a lot of people love having apps on their phones for everything that they do.

 

IMO, there are some large differences between gassing up and charging that may mean there will never be the shared commonality of the gas station:

1. three-ish different nozzle standards, not to mention a still evolving maximum draw rate and AC and DC differences
2. charging that usually happens at home, meaning ad hoc charging is usually for road trips (but not always)
3. the nature of a fill up that takes longer than five minutes necessitates incentives to move the car off the charger (or punishment if not moved)
4. that most customers won't understand the proper kWh as the standard unit of energy transfer, which is why several of the current providers use clock time at the charger for their paid units
5. The fact that charging stations need most to be where destinations are not is a big problem, since remote locations don't have the necessary grid. A fuel truck solves this remoteness problem, easily.

 

I mostly agree with @F14Scott, but I think we need some more creative thought on a couple points:

4. Charging by time is the single worst way from a consumer perspective. Each EV charges at different rates, and even a single EV will charge at a slower rate above about 80%. It's a rip-off to have an SE (50 kW) charged the same price per hour as a Mach-E (150 kW) when the Mach-E is (theoretically) drawing 3x the electricity.
5. There is electricity everywhere, even in remote areas. Think street lights and parking lot lights. I really wish there'd be some realization that putting charging stations (at least Level 2) anywhere is much more possible than people seem to realize. So far charge points seem to be following a gas station model, which shows a lack of imagination.

 

4. Agreed. So dumb.
5 Yes, but it's not just having electricity, it's having 100 times more electricity, per car. At a 120V outlet, my Tesla with 300 miles nominal range will take 50+ hours to charge. To cut that to 30 minutes while on a road trip, 100x infrastructure boosts are needed, a tough proposition for a rest area on the state line.

To bridge the gap, I've seen some DC fast chargers with their own integrated battery. They draw L2 grid power constantly, charging themselves overnight and even while dispensing L3 DC power. They basically work like a water tower, except for electricity.

 

Yes - they take credit cards without account, thankfully.

 

Woe be the hopeful, briefly triumphant, EV coasting powerless into that charging station just as the previous EV finishes sucking that "water tower" dry. Or worse, arriving just in time to watch an unfriendly EV owner begin the charging that empties that water tower. "Sorry, I had to wait 10 minutes for the last guy to finish and I need this charge to get me all the way to Bartlesville."

 

It's not a simple job, for sure. My point was the electrical grid exists almost everywhere, so it is possible to upgrade to charging infrastructure more so than if there was nothing.

 

I just used a public ChargePoint Level 2 charger at a grocery store, and it had no way to accept credit cards. Charging at that location is free, but I had to activate it with my phone using my ChargePoint account to unlock the plug. Something to keep in mind.

 

Yes, I think EVgo and Electrify America both accept credit cards....but seems like the app is required for Chargepoint.

 

If you end up charging at EVgo, I highly recommend you pay for the membership. You can sign up right before plugging your car in. It is $7.99/mo, but that $7.99 become a credit you can use, and it gives you cheaper electricity. You can cancel as soon as your trip is over. It pays for itself with a single charging session.

Similarly, EA has a $4/mo membership option for cheaper electricity. Although EA doesn't give you a $4 credit, it can still pay for itself with one or two charge sessions. And you can sign up / cancel as needed.

As with most subscription services, they are really hoping that you forget to cancel. There is no need to keep paying, though.