Putting Range Anxiety to the Test: Day 1

Day 1: Kingston to Barrie Ontario 350 km We spent many hours developing a detailed route plan. We will take five days to drive the 1700 km – a slow pace with lots of time to enjoy the magnificent landscapes and to create some buffers in case we run into challenges with charging. We assume we can charge to 400+ km at each fast charger on the way and our plan assumes that we can charge when we hit 150 km remaining. In a worst case scenario where the intented charger is out of service, we will book into a motel and trickle charge. We shared our initial blog post with PlugShare who said it was great to see us documenting our EV experience and sharing it with the community. They encouraged us to share our posts on relevant EV forums, Reddit communities, and directly with charging networks like Plug’n’Drive, Ivy, and Flo. They recommend including insights on charging locations, station reliability, and tips for future travelers. Ivy also thanked us and expressed appreciation for our efforts to help educate and engage other drivers in the community. We sent the initial post to Flo but received no response. We received a number of comments on Reddit. One respondent said he found ABRP to be unreliable and that matches our initial research. It’s a useful tool to start with but you need to check other apps to confirm the availability of chargers that are or are not noted on ABRP. Another respondent suggested using the Rivian Adventure Network, but I wasn’t able to find it. We don’t anticipate any significant challenges for the first three days from home to Sault Ste Marie – about 1100 km. It is the 700 km leg from there to Thunder Bay where we’ll need to achieve the right combination of careful planning, efficient driving and good luck with the few chargers that are on that route. Thanks for reading. We welcome your comments. Watch for our next post …