Planning a road trip is hard work, but adding an EV to the equation can make the process a lot more daunting. Because of the added aspect of having to charge your car to be able to get anywhere, there is a little more rigorous journey planning involved. To give you some tips and tricks, we’ve put together a checklist for you to go through when planning an electric road trip!
Distance
Distance is probably the key anxiety factor for an EV road trip. Range anxiety is very real and to reduce this, it is important to consider the distance between each charge to make sure you never run out of electrons. We recommend that you plan your route with a good amount of pit stops where you can also re-charge, even if your EV isn’t empty - it’s better to top up your charge and have miles left over, than to discover that you are running dangerously low!
Hotels with charging
Charging throughout the day is super useful and important - sure! But, it’s also very sensible to wake up to a fully charged car, to reduce the stress of having to find a charger the moment you set off again. This is why finding Hotels or B&Bs which offer EV charging is a really good way to end the day and wake up refreshed, knowing you don’t have to worry about where your next charge will come from.
Check out local Networks
If you know you’re travelling to new, unexplored terrains, check out the Networks that are local to the area. This way you can prepare yourself in advance, by downloading and getting to know the app, or checking out the locations of the charge points and how to charge with them.
Breakdown plan
This is such an important point. Even if you’ve meticulously planned your journey and you’re certain that nothing (EV related) can go wrong, you should always have a breakdown plan with you. It’s really useful to have a recovery number with you, be it the AA or someone else you know who can help. This can really reduce the stress levels if you break down. And save a lot of time and energy, too!
Top tip!
If you flat line on your journey, wherever you are going, press the odometer reset button to count the miles that you have left!
Cable
This is pretty much a given, but always a good reminder. Don’t forget your cable! There’s a lot to think about whilst planing these sorts of trips, that it can be easy to forget the most obvious.
Another way to make planning an EV trip as easy and smooth as possible, is by using websites or apps that have tools to help you. Check out EVTripping, which is a route planner for EVs, similar to A Better Routeplanner. Even Zap Map can help you plan your journey!
