With the holiday weekend and as a 5 year EV driver (including out-of-range road trips) here are my Mach E road trip tips that may be helpful. Many of these tips were learned on trips with much lower range Smart fortwo and Ford Focus EV's. Before I leave I charge the car up and check the tire pressure and pump up to the factory recommended pressure (39 PSI for Mach E) if any are low. I also plan our stops ahead. I looking at Plugshare ratings and comments to identify primary and backup locations. Also I plan stops to arrive with a good buffer in case there is a line or the chargers are down. I have the apps downloaded (and where available RFID cards) for the networks I want to use. The major networks like Electrify America and EVgo seem to be busier than usual and I have found that their apps do not always accurately depict charger availability and do not indicate if chargers (or sites) are derated. At the start of the trip I find the Mach E route planner is okay for picking charging a route and locations but I also consider amenities and our preferences. We make frequent stops anyway so we are often adding a waypoint to charge where we want. While there charging I check ahead to see if the next planned stop has any issues. Sometimes the route planner picks a route that I would not have and that ends up being a judgment call. Also I have found that driving at higher speeds uses more electricity per mile, costs more, and requires more and longer charging stops. Personally I find it easier to set Intelligent Cruise Control to the speed limit and let the car do some of the work. When in BlueCruise I still have my hands on the wheel and foot near the pedals, and am ready to intervene, in moderate to congested traffic. This forum has some other strategies that may be helpful. https://www.macheforum.com/.../best-road-trip-charging.../ Please add more tips on road tripping below.
