[Fan of EV]

Thank you both so much. I'm going to Santa Cruz, CA to Chapel Hill, NC. Are you saying that Francis Energy fills in the gaps where there is no EA? I've been telling myself that if worse comes to worse, I can plug into 110 in a motel and just hang out for a day or two. Does that makes sense to you?

I find that the default assumptions that A Better Route Planner (ABRP) uses for my 2022 US Limited AWD are slightly pessimistic which I actually like as it gives me some built in reserve. Anyway, asking it for a route from Santa Cruz, CA to Chapel Hill, NC gives me the route in the screen shot. I guess if I logged in it would use my actual efficiency numbers and maybe give me a link to post but I did not log in.

Anyway, most of the stops are EA but there are a few EVgo and at least one Francis Energy.

Were I really planning this trip, I'd now look at the towns that seem reasonable distance apart for spending the night and find a hotels in each that have free Level 2 charging. Or even non-free Level 2 charging for guests. That would allow you to start fresh in the morning with 100% SOC without waiting around a DCFC. And is, in my experience, usually cheaper than DCFC locations. I would also look at the stops that ABRP suggests charging to more than 80% and see if there were some other alternatives. Charging really slows down above 80% and though by default ABRP is trying for shortest total time it doesn't know where or when you might want to have a meal or stay overnight so it can certainly be optimized.

Then prior to each day's drive, I'd check Plug Share and the app for the charging networks I will be using to see if there are issues. For example, from where I live to the old family house there are two main route choices the shortest is just about 500 miles. One is a bit longer than the other and goes through two more crowded metro areas. Both have very long stretches of "charging desert" with few charging options. I make my decision on which way to go in the morning I am leaving after checking to see if there are issues with chargers on the slightly shorter, slightly faster route.

Another thing, if you follow sources like The Network Architect you will see that there are new DCFC locations coming on line every week. A pretty boring YouTube channel but they are typically short videos with mostly database dumps for the images so pretty high on actual information content unlike some flashier YouTube channels where they take 20 minutes to cover one simple item.

Anyway, the point is that if you are planning a trip for 6 months from now it is very likely that there will be additional charging options by the time you actually depart. You may want to take the same basic route but could be comforted in knowing that you now have more options if one of the originally selected DCFC locations has an issue.

 

[Fan of EV]

Has anyone used websites that list hotels with Level 2 chargers, such as this one? And if we booked hotels with these chargers, do we definitely get access to the chargers?

I've only used hotel chargers a couple of times and both times there were more chargers than EVs needing to charge.

I didn't trust the apps or websites that claim to list hotels with charging but did use them to select candidate hotels. Once I had a list of candidate hotels, I checked their websites. One place we stayed at did not list charging on their website, the other did. I called the hotel that did not list charging and asked the front desk where I received confirmation that they had charging.

If a hotel has only one or two chargers, I wouldn't be surprised if they were full. But if they have four or more there is a good chance you'll be able to charge.

For the two times we charged at the hotel I researched for the near by DCFC stations as part of my contingency planning.

 

[Fan of EV]

Here is what I use.
All other apps that ask for subscription are pulling database from this platform

I am not sure that all the other apps use data from OpenChargeMap but it seems a fair number do. OpenChargeMap is a free, open source project so you can make contributions to it by creating an account then make your updates and corrections. No obligation to do so, it just helps out others with TVs who use apps based on this data.

Each time I find a charger that is not on OpenChargeMap or where the details are wrong, I log into OpenChargeMap and make the edits needed. I have to admit I don't do that very often because I mostly charge at home and don't notice all the public chargers around. But I did make an effort to update OpenChargeMap for all the chargers I was aware of in my immediate area (four different DCFC locations and several Level 2 locations).