Driving a Bolt from LA to Boston?

[TedMichon]

Is there a route from Los Angeles to New York City that supports running a Bolt entirely on DC Fast Charge or entirely on a combination of DC Fast Charge and Level II stations?

 

[SparkE]

If "level 2 stations" includes stops at RV campgrounds with 14-50 plugs available, then yes.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

No need for campgrounds (although that could make the route much more direct). PlugShare is your friend here. With a little planning, you could find tons of routes that fit your description. I'm not sure I'd want to do it, though. There are long stretches with only L2. Stopping for 10 hours every 200 miles is a tedious way to drive across the country.

 

[WetEV]

No need for campgrounds (although that could make the route much more direct). PlugShare is your friend here. With a little planning, you could find tons of routes that fit your description. I'm not sure I'd want to do it, though. There are long stretches with only L2. Stopping for 10 hours every 200 miles is a tedious way to drive across the country.

Check the rate on L2's. Some are 3.1kW maximum. 15 Amps, 208 Volts. That would be 20 hours every 200 miles. The RV park with 50 Amp service might be a better option.

There are some big gaps that only RV plugs (NEMA 14-50) can solve.

I80 between Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, nothing but campgrounds/RV parks.

I40 between Flagstaff, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico. 325 miles with exactly one L2 station. Better hope that it is working, and not busy.

I70 west of Grand Junction CO.

Another reason to have the ability to charge at more places isn't just finding a route: it is having a backup plan on that route. Again, you might find a Plan A that has only L2/L3. But what if a site is down/busy, what is Plan B, and Plan C?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Another reason to have the ability to charge at more places isn't just finding a route: it is having a backup plan on that route. Again, you might find a Plan A that has only L2/L3. But what if a site is down/busy, what is Plan B, and Plan C?

Valid point. I'm not advocating against being prepared. I was simply saying that - according to PlugShare - a route can be found from LA to Boston using only L2/CCS (the Bolt does not support L3 charging in the proper use of the term).

On the flip side, as painfully slow as L1 charging is, make sure you have your cable. You can find a 120V outlet far easier than anything else.

 

[Bacardi]

Trying to determine why the OP asked such a basic question and he claims in his other posts he has used plugshare before; my best guess is he's baiting GM to say "no" so he can counter with Chevy should fund more charging stations? GM did announce in their electrification plan that they will fund charging infrastructure so its coming...

Coincidentally, I'm actually flying from LAX to BOS next month, tons and tons of jetblue roundtrips for under $250...While I could see someone wanting to bring a significant other, I can't imagine someone wanting to bring kids in an EV for a coast to coast round trip...So you figure $250 x 2 + $20/day for a rental car, perhaps $600-$700 total travel costs if you need baggage fees and rental fuel...But, how much is one going to pay to drive cross country? I cannot imagine anyone who's not going for a cannonball run record to want to do this drive in less than 3 nights and if you want to site see, 4 nights...So first one may need to take vacation days, nightly hotels, 3 meals a day x 2 and finally recharging...A lot of the DCFC charge fee of $5.85-$9.95 + electricity used per half hour session...So an hour long session may cost one $30/charge...Lastly, that's a huge amount of mileage to dump on it...For those reasons I recommend flying even if it's a little bit more...