We took our first big road trip in our EV last October, and we want to share how our experience went! First, a disclaimer: we are not advocating for everyone to have an EV, we know that’s unrealistic for many reasons. However, we also know there’s a lot of misinformation about EVs out there. That it takes hours to charge on road trips, still costs as much as gas, that you can’t drive one in extreme cold or heat, etc. So that’s why we’re making this post – to share our real-life experience.

The Route

Let’s start with the route. We went from our home in The Bay Area to Stevenson, Washington near Columbia River Gorge. We stayed overnight in Mount Shasta, California on the way up and then in Klamath Falls, Oregon on the way back down. We’ll break down how many charging stops were required, how long each charge took, and how much it cost. 

For those that don’t know, Tesla (and I assume other EVs are similar) will navigate you to your destination and give exact locations to stop and charge along the way, if necessary. It also estimates how much battery you should have left when arriving at each charger. It aims for you to be below 20% battery, but generally above 10%. Sometimes we route ourselves to a charger if we’re afraid we’ll cut it too close with the battery estimates. We also had a cargo box on our roof, which definitely gave us less mileage than usual, similar to a gas-powered car. However, getting less mileage was a trade-off, as the cargo box gave us the space and flexibility to car camp, which ultimately saved us even more money since we didn’t have to find a hotel or Airbnb.

Basics of Charging

How long does it take to charge? Let’s dispel the first misconception first. If you’re at a supercharger, it only takes about 15-20 minutes to charge. Now, there are a few caveats to this. First, the lower the battery, the faster the charge. Tesla recommends that the battery is below 20% before using a supercharger. Otherwise, it has to pre-condition the battery in order to charge quickly and to help preserve the condition of the battery since supercharging is not recommended on a regular basis. The other important thing to note about superchargers is, they are usually near grocery stores, outlets, convenience stores, etc. Which means we treat it just like a stop at a gas station. If we charge for 20 minutes it gives us time to visit the restroom, get snacks, and take Chloe out to stretch her legs. 

The Cost

Now onto the next common question: how much does charging cost? First, let’s break down the different types of charging. There are three different levels of charging. Level 1 is basically like plugging into a wall outlet. You’re lucky to get 30 miles worth of charge overnight with this type of charger. Level 2 is what you might find in a parking lot that isn’t a Tesla supercharger. You generally have to pay to charge, though some businesses offer free charging if you’re visiting their establishment. This is also what most people have in their homes if they have an EV. You can have a Level 2 charger installed, which will charge up to 100% overnight. Level 3 is a supercharger, which offers the fastest charging and is best for road trips. Superchargers are the most expensive option, but help save time when you’re on the road and eager to get to your destination.

In an ideal world, it’s great to stay in hotels that offer free charging or visit restaurants that have charging in their parking lots. We’ve done this in the past and it’s much more efficient. However, we found the destinations we visited in Oregon to be a bit more remote, so we had to rely on supercharging for the majority of this trip.

Now let’s get to the final breakdown. We’ve totaled everything up and rounded to the nearest dollar amount in order to keep our totals clean.

Total mileage: 1800 miles

Day 1 – The Bay to Mt Shasta: 2 stops, $50 total

We averaged about 20 minutes for each stop, which is longer than most of our stops on this trip. The first stop was shorter, about 12 minutes. However, at the second stop, we were already in Mt Shasta and we wanted to charge to 100% to ensure we had plenty of battery to car camp that night AND make it to our next destination in Klamath Falls. Charging to 100%, even at a supercharger takes more time, but we were right next to a restaurant and decided to stop in for dinner while we waited. Since this was our first night of car camping, we weren’t sure what to expect. But we found that we only used about 8% of our battery overnight while the car was regulating the cabin temperature. 

Day 2 – Mt Shasta to Stevenson: 2 stops, $40 total

We spent less time charging on our second day since we started off with an almost full charge that morning. We spent about 15 minutes charging at each of the two locations we stopped at during this leg of the drive. One of the stops was at a Fred Meyer grocery store, so we stocked up on food, drinks, and snacks while we charged. We always try to multitask while we’re charging so it’s not wasted time, and we’ve found we tend to get to our destinations in about the same amount of time as our previous gas-powered vehicle if we plan strategically like this.

3 days spent in Stevenson and Columbia River Gorge area: 3 stops, $50 total

There were only two sets of superchargers near our hotel in Stevenson, which did make this part a bit more inconvenient. We sometimes had to drive about 10 minutes out of the way to charge, which is again because the areas we were visiting tended to be a bit more remote. We also drove to Portland to spend half a day, which is probably why we had to charge three times instead of only two. Regardless, it wasn’t too far out of the way, and we just had to plan in advance to make sure we didn’t get too far out of reach with a low battery.

Day 5 – Stevenson to Klamath Falls, Oregon: 2 stops, $30 total

We stopped in Bend, Oregon to charge on the way to and from Columbia River Gorge, and it was a perfect place to stop and explore. After a quick charge, we began collecting stamps on our Ale Trail Passport, and probably spent a little more time than we should have exploring the town and walking along the river. We stopped once more to charge up and complete our drive to our AirBnb in Klamath Falls. We were also able to plug in overnight at our cabin. We had access to an outdoor outlet, which gave us about thirty miles overnight since it was Level 1 charging.

Day 6 – Klamath Falls, Oregon to The Bay Area, 2 stops $35 total

We stopped twice to charge on the way home, not including our stop at Crater Lake. We stopped here to hike, and luckily for us, the dog-friendly trail we wanted to hike was within walking distance of the visitor center, which had two free chargers. We charged for about two hours while we hiked and explored nearby. We spent more time driving around the lake and then we started the drive back home. We stopped two more times to charge and made the most of our time by grabbing fast food (Taco Bell, duh) on the way to one charger so we could eat while we waited. 

Total charging cost: $205

Estimated gas cost: $495 – based on an average $5.50 / gallon. We found most prices were above $6, but some stations in rural parts of Oregon were below $5. This estimate is based on gas prices in early October 2022, and compared to the mileage and fuel economy we used to get in our old gas-powered SUV.

Overall, it was a really successful first road trip!

Have questions about how this worked? Feel free to ask! We’re always trying to dispel any misconceptions about the practicality of EVs.