[CoSolar]

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?

There are lots of other EV charging networks available depending upon what part of the country you are in. If you still have free EA charging you'd want to prioritize EA but there are other options. You should not have to rely upon a 110V outlet unless you go way off the beaten path somewhere. Some hotels will have Level 2 chargers available for guests which will usually provide a full charge overnight and possibly eliminate a DC fast charging stop each day. All these options can be found if you use either (or both) the A Better Route Planner (ABRP) or PlugShare apps. I use them to get an idea of the options but often change as I go.

 

[CoSolar]

And by all means, avoid WVA, MT, WY, and the Dakotas.

I am planning a trip from western Colorado to Glacier National Park in MT next fall. The route I'd like to take cuts across SW Wyoming where DCFC is sparse. There is an EA station in Rock Springs WY on I-80 that was installed close to a year ago. It isn't operational yet because EA is still waiting on the local electrical utility to install the required transformer. Seems like supply chain issues persist in some sectors. There were some new EV Connect sites opened last year in places like Lander, Pinedale and Dubois that are promising.
Something like ten new DCFC locations in MT which had been in PlugShare's "Coming Soon" status throughout 2023 have been pushed out to the end of 2024 before they are operational. Apparently the original contractor defaulted and the state had to start over. As a result there has been very little progress evident in MT.
Fortunately here in Colorado the situation is much better. The town where I live (pop. 20,000) had zero DCFC prior to late 2020. There are now seventeen CCS stalls available although the six Rivian stalls are still only for Rivians. Hopefully those will be opening up before the end of the year. The eight Tesla SuperCharger stalls were equipped with Magic Dock CCS adapters last fall.
The recent NEVI funding announcement from the Colorado Energy Office includes new DCFC locations in rural areas like Gunnison, Dolores, Durango and Silverton. It remains to be seen how long before these are all operational. EV charging on road trips is getting better in the region but the pace of improvement varies from state to state.[/QUOTE]