Road tripping in an EV is genuinely enjoyable once you know how to plan for it. The days of range anxiety on long drives are mostly over if you have a modern EV with 250+ miles of range and access to a decent fast charging network. The key is a little bit of planning before you leave, which takes about 10 minutes and saves you from any headaches on the road.
Planning Your Route and Charging Stops
The best tool for planning EV road trips is A Better Route Planner (ABRP).
It is a free website and app that calculates your route, factors in your car's specific efficiency, elevation changes, weather, and speed, and tells you exactly where to stop and how long to charge. You input your car model, starting battery level, and destination, and it does the rest.
ABRP shows you the optimal charging stops to minimize total trip time. This usually means charging to about 60 to 80% at each stop rather than waiting for a full 100%, because charging speed slows dramatically above 80%.
A stop that takes 20 minutes to get from 10% to 60% might take another 30 minutes to get from 60% to 100%. Multiple shorter stops are faster than fewer long ones.
For Tesla owners, the built-in navigation does this automatically. Enter your destination and the car routes you through Supercharger stops, preconditions the battery, and shows estimated charging times.
Choosing the Right Charging Networks
- Tesla Supercharger: The most reliable network with the best coverage.
Now open to non-Tesla EVs at most locations. Speeds up to 250 kW. Stations are typically well-maintained and in convenient locations.
- Electrify America: The second-largest fast charging network. Speeds up to 350 kW at some stations. Reliability has improved significantly but still has occasional broken chargers.
- ChargePoint: Massive network but most locations are Level 2.
Their DC fast chargers are less common but generally reliable.
- EVgo: Smaller network focused on urban areas. Reliable but fewer highway corridor stations.
Download the apps for all the major networks before your trip. Having accounts set up and payment methods on file means you can just plug in and charge without fumbling at the station.
Timing and Speed Considerations
Highway speed has a dramatic impact on EV range. At 60 mph, most EVs come close to their EPA-rated range. At 75 to 80 mph, range can drop by 20 to 30%. This is because aerodynamic drag increases with the square of speed.
A practical approach: plan your route assuming 70 to 75% of your car's rated range. If your EV is rated at 300 miles, plan stops assuming 210 to 225 miles between charges at highway speeds. This gives you a comfortable buffer.
Cold weather reduces range significantly, sometimes by 30 to 40% in extreme cold. If you are road tripping in winter, plan for more frequent stops. Preconditioning the cabin while still plugged in helps reduce battery drain.
Making Charging Stops Productive
A 20 to 30 minute charging stop is a natural break point. Use it for a bathroom break, grabbing food, or stretching your legs. Many fast charging stations are located near restaurants and shopping centers for exactly this reason.
For a typical 500-mile road trip, expect two to three charging stops of 20 to 30 minutes each. Total charging time adds about 60 to 90 minutes compared to a gas car. On a full day of driving, that is a reasonable trade-off for the lower fuel cost and quiet highway cruising.
What to Pack
Bring a Level 1 or Level 2 portable charger as a backup. If a fast charger is down or you end up at a hotel without dedicated EV charging, you can plug into any standard outlet or 240V dryer outlet overnight. A charging adapter kit is worth having for network compatibility. Keep your charging cables organized and accessible in the trunk.