Planning a road trip and would like some charging advice

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NevadaTech

New Member
So I'm planning a trip between Las Vegas and Los Angeles in a couple weeks.

Currently I'm charging at home and have not needed to any other source. I charge level 1 with the 120V AC adapter. Since my average weekly travel miles are low I can plug in a few nights + set the timer for the lower charging rate. It all works fine, eventually I get up to 80% and my 'low' for the week is 50%.

The trip between cities is about 270 miles, all highway, 80 miles/hr (in real world), desert > so AC will be on. I'm not worried about charging stations, from Las Vegas to Baker is about 100miles so I'm guessing I'll top off there then recharge in LA.

Some questions
  • should I charge to 100% before I leave?
  • can you recommend a good CCS to NACS adapter?
  • if I plug into an 800V with a NACS adapter, the charger and car will negotiate that down to 400V?
One time my wife asked me why some yahoo was bouncing his car up and down while filling it with gas. I explained that he's trying to put more gas in by filling the voids/spaces in the gas tank that are left for gasoline/gas to expand. Generally, this is a bad idea unless he is immediately driving a long trip, and I mean immediately. With similar logic, is this when I should be charging my Kona to 90-100%? I'm using the juice immediately. Is my understanding that 'storing' the energy is not an issue, the concern is maxing the range of the battery/cells capabilities during charging is?
 
Yes, charge to 100%. This is the time to do it.

The car handles all the negotiations with the charger, so as long as the connection is good (and you can arrange payment), everything will work out.

As for an adapter, I don't have one presently, but make sure that you get the correct adapter direction. For my Kona electric, I'd need a NACS-to-CCS adapter. Also, note that there are separate adapters for DC and AC charging. Cars with NACS ports are smart enough to figure out whether they're connected to AC or DC, but these adapters are just simple devices with no smarts beyond temperature sensors.

I'd also suggest doing a test with a local DC fast charger. (the cables are much bigger, so get experience handling them and you want to shake out any car problems before you're on the road). If you've already picked out a likely few charging stations, preload the apps at home and maybe use one of those for your pre-test.

Also, don't forget the battery pre-conditioning. Probably will be cooling in your case, but proper temperature ensures better DC charging.
 
And note that while DC charging, the charging rate will drop dramatically when you pass 80% SoC. I don't remember details for Kona, but I remember someone doing a test with an Ioniq 5 and getting the advertised 10-80% in 18 minutes, but then taking another 45 minutes from 80% to 100%.
 
I use plugshare on the day of travel to checkout all possible chargers that i may use...usually if things are not working or under maintenance ..plugshare is good about this ///that is when i can change my plan of where to charge. Also the plugshare score gives you an idea if people struggled to charge or not there.
 
michael8554 said:
Based on what BobNY13 said, before you go AC charge to 100% at home.

Then DC charge to only 80% on the road.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but I would still set my DC charging limit to 100%. At one stop, there was a line for the fast chargers, so my wife went into the mall. After I connected, I joined her there and by the time we were done the car was at 95% even though we intended to leave when it hit 80%. We were immediately back on the highway, so I wasn't concerned at all of having a high SoC. But having the extra buffer was nice
 
@NevadaTech , I agree with all the above comments, especially from @BobNY13 . Which year Kona Electric did you end up buying? If you bought it used, you did already change the GRU oil, right?
I'll add emphasis to having NACS->CCS adapters as I've found Tesla Superchargers extremely reliable and almost always available across the country. For adapters, I've successfully used Hyundai's, Lectron, and A2Z on my 2020 Kona Ultimate. When trip planning, be sure to look for and select Tesla Superchargers which are CCS compatible (use the Tesla app or Tesla website to determine that). For hotel charging, a Tesla -> J1772 adapter is also a very good idea.
Do you have a collection of accounts with the more-popular charging networks (e.g., ChargePoint, Electrify America, etc.)? This speeds up connecting and makes opportunity-charging easy whenever one stops while on the road. I actually prefer not to use dcfc if I don't need to.
When looking at PlugShare for possible charging spots, look not only at the "PlugScore" but also read the latest comments as corrections to the charging station problems may have already been implemented.
Oh, and don't forget to carry a portable EVSE and extension cord and a handful of NEMA adapters as one occasionally can get into trouble out in the boonies (not on the Las Vegas <-> Los Angeles run), where campgrounds and welding shops and marinas can save the day. Don't be afraid to ask a hotel or friends you might be staying with if you can plug into one of their external outlets as overnight slow charging is IMO always preferable to dcfc.
Trip planning is kinda fun as the name of the game is to never ever wait for the car to charge but to always plan on doing something else. After all, we never wait for our cellphone to charge, do we?
Bon voyage!
 
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