Wow! I know it’s a long way across NY, and can’t imagine having to “drive into the unknown” knowing that L2 charging was your way out. Good to know that things are much improved these days, and hopefully the NY and east coast residents are now more interested in EVs because of the increased fast charger deployment. My state was very similar 2-3 years ago, with even L2 chargers pretty scarce for much of the state, and no fast chargers outside a 50 mile radius from Detroit. That didn’t stop me from taking a family trip to the west coast of Michigan, knowing that I had a L2 charger at the hotel we overnighted at (oh, to drive past that “point of no return” the first time). Since we did some driving around while we were there (trip to the beach) that’s where I learned to Always Be Charging, and that L2’s can be very useful when you’re shopping or eating dinner - or overnighting. They made me much more at ease, knowing that I had backups.
Yes! I don't think we can overstate the value of L2 infrastructure to EV adoption, especially while the more expensive DCFC locations are being completed at a slow and steady pace. On that subject, plenty of action in your state in the last month or two. Between the EA/Meijer locations and the state-level settlement funds going to DCFC, Michigan looks pretty good on the Plugshare map now... one more DCFC on the Upper Peninsula and you'll be ship-shape!
@@plugandplayEV - I was surprised to see the new “future” MI charger locations show up when I viewed the EA map today. Some will be duplications to the current or near future “up north” locations, but when cues start forming along the major N-S travel route, more is better. Meijers is a pro EV chain of stores in our region, our local store being one them where they tested the EV waters by installing a couple of L2 chargers 5 or 6 years ago. We’ve got just 1 fast charger planned for the UP to date, so a few more up there would do nicely for the rest of us EV owners.
@@dennislyon5412 Duplication is a byword for redundancy, as you say... it's taken upstate NY two years to get even close to that, so kudos to Michigan for seeing the need.
Right? Only two years and we have a cross-country public charging network and many states working hard to add alternative options and cover secondary routes. It can seem agonizingly slow when you're watching it week by week, but it's moving relatively quickly given that EVs are really only 2-3% of the national market for now. Exciting times to drive electric :-)
Recently, the great lakes energy commission has started adding 100+ kW chargers. They added them along I 75 Flint and Gaylord, and also made them trailer capable. So now people can tow their boats up north in EV. Are you going to see the hummer reveal ? I know that the vehicle itself is too expensive, but I'm mostly interested in Ultium.
Yeah, we considered a road trip up through that area and across the UP in August, so watched the Gaylord site progress with interest. With the subsequent sites you mention and Electrify America's partnership with Meijer, things are looking up for fast charging up there. Same as you, I'll be paying attention to the Hummer reveal to try to learn what capabilities Ultium might bring for smaller EVs. I have to admit to being taken with the outdoor adventure potential of vehicles like the Hummer and Rivians, but they're not accessible models for most people. All that tech flows down to other models eventually, though, so it will be very interesting to see what they have.
Cheer Bob, it has certainly been up and down at times, but I see plenty of positives for the NY region in the not-too-distant future... it just feels like a lifetime while we wait! Thank you too for all your site reports. I'm sure it keeps the powers-that-be on their toes when they know EV advocates like yourself are checking in on their progress :-)
I was looking at the evolve ny map and noticed one in Oneonta, that will be helpful to my travels up from Atlanta every summer. I also noticed they have zero reviews for the souther teir welcome center chargers!
Yes indeed, one would hope they'll be operational with all of the identified pre-construction sites by summer 2021. The Southern Tier location, along with Western NY welcome, is a bit of a trailblazer I guess... as long as it stays 10/10 on Plugshare, I'm satisfied!
For the gripers and whiners, let me tell a story that my Dad told me when I was a kid. It was one of those "supposedly true" stories that a friend of a friend had first hand knowledge of, but regardless, it illustrates a fundamental truth, so it is a good story. In northern Manitoba in the 1950's one of the first snowmobile sellers opened shop. Shortly after opening an Inuit came in to look at the machines. After an hour of considering all of the potential options the Inuit purchased a mid range snowmobile. A few weeks later the Inuit came back to the shop and the owner inquired as to how the new snowmobile was working out. The Inuit responded "that's what I am here about, last week it broke down on me while I was out on the ice packs hunting. I just got back after walking for a week to get home". The store owner was mortified. He said "I am so very, very sorry, I will give you a brand new top of the line sled and a skiff and you can go pickup your sled and I will fix that one and you can keep both (the fact snowmobiles were new to the local population and that they were nearly his entire customer base meant the owner did not want one of the first customers to have a bad experience). He went and brought the new sled out and gave it to the Inuit who was ecstatic, and who thanked the shop owner profusely. The owner said "oh, don't thank me I feel terrible that you had to walk for a week in -30 degrees because the snowmobile I sold you broke down". The Inuit said "it's no problem at all, if I didn't have the snowmobile I would have had to walk both ways"
Things have gotten better over the last couple of years. Our first road trip nearly turned my wife off of EVs due to EA's issues. Thankfully, they're replacing the "bad" units and there are a lot more of them. Just curious, was the Bolt your first EV or did you have something before that?
It was our first full BEV, yes. We had family use of a gen. 1 Volt that was mostly driven on electric miles locally for a year before we got the 2017 Bolt. Prior to that we lived in New York City and didn't need a car for daily use.
When looking to do a long trip do you make use of A Better Route Planner to get a feel for chargers and any issues? I have found ABRP tends to be very conservative on range.
On new routes, yes, I'll take a look at ABRP. It's more to get a second opinion though, because like you I find it wants me to stop earlier (or hang around longer), than I really need to. The one exception was winter last year, when it knew we'd need a stop in Mass to get through to NY state. I hoped we could squeeze through to Albany but it did take a 10-minute bump in Lee, MA to make it.
@@ryans.7558 Yep, a little with cycling the heater, but also hills/speed hitting the Berkshires. Albany is about 180 miles from us, so we should be able to hit it most of the time on a single charge... just not a fan of traveling under 70mph on the Masspike. Factor in winter inefficiencies and it gets too close for comfort.
Wow! I know it’s a long way across NY, and can’t imagine having to “drive into the unknown” knowing that L2 charging was your way out. Good to know that things are much improved these days, and hopefully the NY and east coast residents are now more interested in EVs because of the increased fast charger deployment. My state was very similar 2-3 years ago, with even L2 chargers pretty scarce for much of the state, and no fast chargers outside a 50 mile radius from Detroit. That didn’t stop me from taking a family trip to the west coast of Michigan, knowing that I had a L2 charger at the hotel we overnighted at (oh, to drive past that “point of no return” the first time). Since we did some driving around while we were there (trip to the beach) that’s where I learned to Always Be Charging, and that L2’s can be very useful when you’re shopping or eating dinner - or overnighting. They made me much more at ease, knowing that I had backups.
Yes! I don't think we can overstate the value of L2 infrastructure to EV adoption, especially while the more expensive DCFC locations are being completed at a slow and steady pace. On that subject, plenty of action in your state in the last month or two. Between the EA/Meijer locations and the state-level settlement funds going to DCFC, Michigan looks pretty good on the Plugshare map now... one more DCFC on the Upper Peninsula and you'll be ship-shape!
@@plugandplayEV - I was surprised to see the new “future” MI charger locations show up when I viewed the EA map today. Some will be duplications to the current or near future “up north” locations, but when cues start forming along the major N-S travel route, more is better. Meijers is a pro EV chain of stores in our region, our local store being one them where they tested the EV waters by installing a couple of L2 chargers 5 or 6 years ago. We’ve got just 1 fast charger planned for the UP to date, so a few more up there would do nicely for the rest of us EV owners.
@@dennislyon5412 Duplication is a byword for redundancy, as you say... it's taken upstate NY two years to get even close to that, so kudos to Michigan for seeing the need.
This gives me so much hope for the future!
Right? Only two years and we have a cross-country public charging network and many states working hard to add alternative options and cover secondary routes. It can seem agonizingly slow when you're watching it week by week, but it's moving relatively quickly given that EVs are really only 2-3% of the national market for now. Exciting times to drive electric :-)
Recently, the great lakes energy commission has started adding 100+ kW chargers. They added them along I 75 Flint and Gaylord, and also made them trailer capable. So now people can tow their boats up north in EV.
Are you going to see the hummer reveal ? I know that the vehicle itself is too expensive, but I'm mostly interested in Ultium.
Yeah, we considered a road trip up through that area and across the UP in August, so watched the Gaylord site progress with interest. With the subsequent sites you mention and Electrify America's partnership with Meijer, things are looking up for fast charging up there.
Same as you, I'll be paying attention to the Hummer reveal to try to learn what capabilities Ultium might bring for smaller EVs. I have to admit to being taken with the outdoor adventure potential of vehicles like the Hummer and Rivians, but they're not accessible models for most people. All that tech flows down to other models eventually, though, so it will be very interesting to see what they have.
Thanks Steve for the Vid's! The EV owners exprience! The rewards and frustrations...
Cheer Bob, it has certainly been up and down at times, but I see plenty of positives for the NY region in the not-too-distant future... it just feels like a lifetime while we wait!
Thank you too for all your site reports. I'm sure it keeps the powers-that-be on their toes when they know EV advocates like yourself are checking in on their progress :-)
I was looking at the evolve ny map and noticed one in Oneonta, that will be helpful to my travels up from Atlanta every summer. I also noticed they have zero reviews for the souther teir welcome center chargers!
Yes indeed, one would hope they'll be operational with all of the identified pre-construction sites by summer 2021. The Southern Tier location, along with Western NY welcome, is a bit of a trailblazer I guess... as long as it stays 10/10 on Plugshare, I'm satisfied!
Steve good video !!! Your 1 dislike so fare must be from a tesla fan that thinks they are the only way.
Cheers, Mark. Who knows? No matter, it's healthy to have a naysayer or two among the many positive people like your good self!
For the gripers and whiners, let me tell a story that my Dad told me when I was a kid. It was one of those "supposedly true" stories that a friend of a friend had first hand knowledge of, but regardless, it illustrates a fundamental truth, so it is a good story.
In northern Manitoba in the 1950's one of the first snowmobile sellers opened shop. Shortly after opening an Inuit came in to look at the machines. After an hour of considering all of the potential options the Inuit purchased a mid range snowmobile.
A few weeks later the Inuit came back to the shop and the owner inquired as to how the new snowmobile was working out. The Inuit responded "that's what I am here about, last week it broke down on me while I was out on the ice packs hunting. I just got back after walking for a week to get home".
The store owner was mortified. He said "I am so very, very sorry, I will give you a brand new top of the line sled and a skiff and you can go pickup your sled and I will fix that one and you can keep both (the fact snowmobiles were new to the local population and that they were nearly his entire customer base meant the owner did not want one of the first customers to have a bad experience).
He went and brought the new sled out and gave it to the Inuit who was ecstatic, and who thanked the shop owner profusely. The owner said "oh, don't thank me I feel terrible that you had to walk for a week in -30 degrees because the snowmobile I sold you broke down". The Inuit said "it's no problem at all, if I didn't have the snowmobile I would have had to walk both ways"
Nice bit of wisdom... I'm just glad the shop owner didn't try to win him over with a free oil change.
Things have gotten better over the last couple of years. Our first road trip nearly turned my wife off of EVs due to EA's issues. Thankfully, they're replacing the "bad" units and there are a lot more of them. Just curious, was the Bolt your first EV or did you have something before that?
It was our first full BEV, yes. We had family use of a gen. 1 Volt that was mostly driven on electric miles locally for a year before we got the 2017 Bolt. Prior to that we lived in New York City and didn't need a car for daily use.
When looking to do a long trip do you make use of A Better Route Planner to get a feel for chargers and any issues? I have found ABRP tends to be very conservative on range.
On new routes, yes, I'll take a look at ABRP. It's more to get a second opinion though, because like you I find it wants me to stop earlier (or hang around longer), than I really need to.
The one exception was winter last year, when it knew we'd need a stop in Mass to get through to NY state. I hoped we could squeeze through to Albany but it did take a 10-minute bump in Lee, MA to make it.
@@plugandplayEV Take it heat use played a role in that stop?
@@ryans.7558 Yep, a little with cycling the heater, but also hills/speed hitting the Berkshires. Albany is about 180 miles from us, so we should be able to hit it most of the time on a single charge... just not a fan of traveling under 70mph on the Masspike. Factor in winter inefficiencies and it gets too close for comfort.
What’s a Gom?
Apologies, force of habit abbreviation. GOM is short for "Guess-O-Meter", which is the term some EV drivers use for the vehicle's range estimation.
@@plugandplayEV thanks!
@@skepticalmechanic We aim to please =)