[spaceage]

It won't be much of a road trip. We live in Salt Lake City and my in-laws are in the Burley, Idaho area. It's roughly 190 miles each way, so we're not exactly maxing out the range, though it will be cold, and parts of the road are reasonably mountainous. Really what I'm doing is checking out the charging network between here and there to decide how feasible it is to routinely use the EV6 for trips up there, instead of my wife's Infiniti. And whether we can realistically use it to drive four of us to the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in Idaho Falls in the summer.

There are ElectrifyAmerica chargers about 80 miles north of SLC, which isn't half way, but I think I'll stop and top off the range just in case. Particularly if the EA chargers in Burley have a problem. We will probably also take a trip up to Twin Falls, about 45 miles north, to hit up the Costco (you can't buy wine in Utah Costcos, you see). I was a bit surprised to see no readily available chargers, or at least none that are obvious in any of the regular apps, in Twin Falls, which is a substantially larger metro area than Burley. So I guess the pro-move is to charge in Burley, drive to Twin Falls, and then recharge in Burley before we head back to Salt Lake.

I know this is all old-hat to people who have been at it for a while, but with less than a month's worth of ownership, it's still a little bit of an unknown for us. Also, aside from range, I've never sat more than about 20 minutes at a time in the car so far, so I guess I'm also testing the long-range comfort.

 

[YellowFE]

I was a bit surprised to see no readily available chargers, or at least none that are obvious in any of the regular apps, in Twin Falls, which is a substantially larger metro area than Burley. So I guess the pro-move is to charge in Burley, drive to Twin Falls, and then recharge in Burley before we head back to Salt Lake.

Sounds like a reasonable plan, but I did a quick search and found two DCFCs not too far from Costco in Twin Falls.
Twin Falls Volkswagen | PlugShare free 24kW
Starbucks Bridgeview | PlugShare $ 62kW

Enjoy your trip! You'll find the EV6 is a great vehicle for long road trips.

 

[spaceage]

Sounds like a reasonable plan, but I did a quick search and found two DCFCs not too far from Costco in Twin Falls.
Twin Falls Volkswagen | PlugShare free 24kW
Starbucks Bridgeview | PlugShare $ 62kW

Enjoy your trip! You'll find the EV6 is a great vehicle for long road trips.

Cool. I wonder if the Volkswagen dealer lets anyone who wants to use their chargers. [ETA] never mind. Looks like it's free, as long as the one plug they have is open.

I'll have to check out the Starbucks. Thanks!

 

[Paul EV6]

It won't be much of a road trip. We live in Salt Lake City and my in-laws are in the Burley, Idaho area. It's roughly 190 miles each way, so we're not exactly maxing out the range, though it will be cold, and parts of the road are reasonably mountainous. Really what I'm doing is checking out the charging network between here and there to decide how feasible it is to routinely use the EV6 for trips up there, instead of my wife's Infiniti. And whether we can realistically use it to drive four of us to the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in Idaho Falls in the summer.

There are ElectrifyAmerica chargers about 80 miles north of SLC, which isn't half way, but I think I'll stop and top off the range just in case. Particularly if the EA chargers in Burley have a problem. We will probably also take a trip up to Twin Falls, about 45 miles north, to hit up the Costco (you can't buy wine in Utah Costcos, you see). I was a bit surprised to see no readily available chargers, or at least none that are obvious in any of the regular apps, in Twin Falls, which is a substantially larger metro area than Burley. So I guess the pro-move is to charge in Burley, drive to Twin Falls, and then recharge in Burley before we head back to Salt Lake.

I know this is all old-hat to people who have been at it for a while, but with less than a month's worth of ownership, it's still a little bit of an unknown for us. Also, aside from range, I've never sat more than about 20 minutes at a time in the car so far, so I guess I'm also testing the long-range comfort.

Thank you for your post. Enjoy your trip and let us know how you get on!
Happy and safe driving

 

[ram19012015]

Would not trust using dealer chargers. Many times they are blocked by ice vehicles or inaccessible or turned off after hours. Dealers still love ice vehicles and ignore EVs.

 

[spaceage]

Would not trust using dealer chargers. Many times they are blocked by ice vehicles or inaccessible or turned off after hours. Dealers still love ice vehicles and ignore EVs.

Yeah, I wouldn't put a ton of faith in them either. I've noticed, even at the Kia dealer where I purchased my EV6, who told me I can use their Level 3 charger for free "any time," that they are rarely ever not either occupied by a dealer car or simply blocked.

 

[YellowFE]

Yeah, I wouldn't put a ton of faith in them either. I've noticed, even at the Kia dealer where I purchased my EV6, who told me I can use their Level 3 charger for free "any time," that they are rarely ever not either occupied by a dealer car or simply blocked.

Since it is your dealer, just ask them to clear the space so you can charge. They offered, so don't be shy.
While I generally agree not to rely on dealer chargers which are often reserved or prioritized for their own customers (reasonable, IMO), that's why you look at the Plugshare reviews and overall rating. In this particular case, it seems the Volkswagen dealership in Twin Falls accommodates any EV regardless of make (e.g. Chevy, Ford, Tesla). Being free, its not the fastest and likely to be occupied by another EV when you need it. Consider this an opportunistic charge on your trip if its available while you have lunch nearby.

 

[billcarter]

It won't be much of a road trip. We live in Salt Lake City and my in-laws are in the Burley, Idaho area. It's roughly 190 miles each way, so we're not exactly maxing out the range, though it will be cold, and parts of the road are reasonably mountainous. Really what I'm doing is checking out the charging network between here and there to decide how feasible it is to routinely use the EV6 for trips up there, instead of my wife's Infiniti. And whether we can realistically use it to drive four of us to the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in Idaho Falls in the summer.

There are ElectrifyAmerica chargers about 80 miles north of SLC, which isn't half way, but I think I'll stop and top off the range just in case. Particularly if the EA chargers in Burley have a problem. We will probably also take a trip up to Twin Falls, about 45 miles north, to hit up the Costco (you can't buy wine in Utah Costcos, you see). I was a bit surprised to see no readily available chargers, or at least none that are obvious in any of the regular apps, in Twin Falls, which is a substantially larger metro area than Burley. So I guess the pro-move is to charge in Burley, drive to Twin Falls, and then recharge in Burley before we head back to Salt Lake.

I know this is all old-hat to people who have been at it for a while, but with less than a month's worth of ownership, it's still a little bit of an unknown for us. Also, aside from range, I've never sat more than about 20 minutes at a time in the car so far, so I guess I'm also testing the long-range comfort.

Since you have battery preconditioning on your '23 and you said that it's cold there, please do let us know what the preconditioning experience is like for you. If you leave with a full battery and do a small charge at Perry, you'll be able to arrive at the EA chargers near Burley with a nice, low SOC and warm battery, ideal conditions for a fast charge there. Best of luck and have a safe drive. The EV6 is a very nice road tripping car.

 

[spaceage]

Since you have battery preconditioning on your '23 and you said that it's cold there, please do let us know what the preconditioning experience is like for you. If you leave with a full battery and do a small charge at Perry, you'll be able to arrive at the EA chargers near Burley with a nice, low SOC and warm battery, ideal conditions for a fast charge there. Best of luck and have a safe drive. The EV6 is a very nice road tripping car.

Preconditioning is definitely one of the things I'm planning on testing. I haven't figured out how to enter a charging station as a destination in the nav yet, so I'm going to figure that out before I leave. Worst case, I'll manually turn on the preconditioning about 30 minutes out.

 

[KiaevCan]

Preconditioning is definitely one of the things I'm planning on testing. I haven't figured out how to enter a charging station as a destination in the nav yet, so I'm going to figure that out before I leave. Worst case, I'll manually turn on the preconditioning about 30 minutes out.

That’s the problem- I don’t think we can manually turn it on. We have to navigate to a DCFC and the car will determine when to turn it on. It’s a bit annoying not having a manual button.

 

[billcarter]

Preconditioning is definitely one of the things I'm planning on testing. I haven't figured out how to enter a charging station as a destination in the nav yet, so I'm going to figure that out before I leave. Worst case, I'll manually turn on the preconditioning about 30 minutes out.

KiaevCan beat me to mentioning that we don't have manual control. If you do a small charge in Perry, that would be the time to then set the Sinclair Stinker Store charger as your destination charger, and your car would then initiate battery heating around 30 minutes/30 miles before arrival there. A lot of us are eager to hear about the experience.

 

[spaceage]

That’s the problem- I don’t think we can manually turn it on. We have to navigate to a DCFC and the car will determine when to turn it on. It’s a bit annoying not having a manual button.

There's definitely a menu setting to manually turn it on. At least there is in my 2023.

Interesting. I don't think I realized I can't turn it on

KiaevCan beat me to mentioning that we don't have manual control. If you do a small charge in Perry, that would be the time to then set the Sinclair Stinker Store charger as your destination charger, and your car would then initiate battery heating around 30 minutes/30 miles before arrival there. A lot of us are eager to hear about the experience.

Interesting. I don't think I realized I couldn't enable it manually. Guess I'd better do a little more homework before I get on the road.

 

[Planoman]

Good plan to top off. My first drive from Dallas to Austin which is 200 miles I left my driveway with 301 range and made it to a charging station at 190 (EA in Round Rock) miles with 10% or like 24 miles. It was March of last year and not particularly cold. There was a south wind which ate my battery up like crazy. Was also doing 75 which is the speed limit. You didn't mention if you have a EVSE to top off in Burley?

 

[spaceage]

Good plan to top off. My first drive from Dallas to Austin which is 200 miles I left my driveway with 301 range and made it to a charging station at 190 (EA in Round Rock) miles with 10% or like 24 miles. It was March of last year and not particularly cold. There was a south wind which ate my battery up like crazy. Was also doing 75 which is the speed limit. You didn't mention if you have a EVSE to top off in Burley?

We had some pretty nasty winds earlier this week. My car said it was averaging about 1.1m/kwh with a headwind, and then somewhere closer to 10m/kwh with a tailwind. I told my wife this car is like learning a new language after speaking nothing but English for 50 years. There is an EA station in Heyburn, which is part of the greater Burley area. My only concern there is if it's not working, but they have 4 Level 3 chargers, so hopefully it doesn't end up a problem. I can also Level 1 charge overnight at my sister-in-law's place.

 

[AlbertDC]

What SOC would you be predicted to have when you reach Burley? You have to have over 20% to be able to activate battery preconditioning...which I think is the dumbest thing ever. I understand that they don't want the preconditioning consuming so much battery that you don't make it to the charger, but the car/nav should be able to figure that out. I would have prefered the cutoff to be at or below 10%. Needing 20% shortens the usable range that much more.

 

[spaceage]

What SOC would you be predicted to have when you reach Burley? You have to have over 20% to be able to activate battery preconditioning...which I think is the dumbest thing ever. I understand that they don't want the preconditioning consuming so much battery that you don't make it to the charger, but the car/nav should be able to figure that out. I would have prefered the cutoff to be at or below 10%. Needing 20% shortens the usable range that much more.

Perry to Burley is about 130 miles, going over a summit. So about 30% uphill and another 30% downhill. I'd like to believe I'll be between 30-40% if I stop to top off in Perry, but that's just kind of a guess. I can't envision the conditions that would put me under 20%, but who knows?

 

[billcarter]

Perry to Burley is about 130 miles, going over a summit. So about 30% uphill and another 30% downhill. I'd like to believe I'll be between 30-40% if I stop to top off in Perry, but that's just kind of a guess. I can't envision the conditions that would put me under 20%, but who knows?

Speed and weather would be the wild cards in determining SOC at Burley, and you have the option of reducing speed while ascending. Looks like the elevation gain is around 800-900 feet, not too dramatic. I just plugged in some assumed parameters in ABRP, the most important being the m/kWh value of 3.1 but also an assumed departure temperature of 34 degrees F. Leaving Perry with 90% SOC leaves you with 27% at Heyburn, but keep in mind that ABRP is typically conservative. Many of us using the app find that arrival SOC is actually higher. That 134 miles should be easily doable. Since this will be your first road trip it will be a very good learning experience.

 

[Planoman]

My sister also has an EV6 and drove it from Fort Worth to San Antonio (290 miles) and basically had it on the level 1 charger whenever she wasn’t driving. Turned out there was a pretty Nice EA station in North San Antonio. We have since added a dryer plug adapter, extension cord and EVSE (NEMA 14-30) at my mom’s for our EV’s. I still have not made the trip in my EV. Have taken my ICE truck though. 😬

 

[runtble]

I did this drive two weeks ago. I stopped at the walmart in Brigham for a few minutes to run inside for some road trip snacks while topping up on the EA charger there. From there I shot up to the Stinker store and charged up. I do not recommend the diner at the stinker store.

I was cruising around 80 and the temps over the summit were about 22*.

 

[spaceage]

I did this drive two weeks ago. I stopped at the walmart in Brigham for a few minutes to run inside for some road trip snacks while topping up on the EA charger there. From there I shot up to the Stinker store and charged up. I do not recommend the diner at the stinker store.

I was cruising around 80 and the temps over the summit were about 22*.

How busy were the chargers in Brigham and Burley?