Love that your daughter is an environmentalist in the making. Having been to east Lansing this summer and years ago to Benton Harbor for a 3-day job interview I think Michigan is great-other than their college football teams “we are….”
(Planned) Route 66 Centennial Road Trip (Ended up being Great Lakes/Niagara Falls Trip)
- Thread starter N Wilson
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Any pics of the bridge? That looks like a really cool route up there on the U/P. Mackinac looks like it has a cool campground too! 
Still want to go to Mackinac. The idea of no vehicles amazes meAny pics of the bridge? That looks like a really cool route up there on the U/P. Mackinac looks like it has a cool campground too!
Day 10 - 317 miles
Travel back down from the U/P to Muskegon on Lake Michigan.
After checking over the tires before leaving for the day I felt a bit better because I didn't see the cracks I thought I had seen in the groove of the tread on one of the tires. Made a mental note to check them again at each charging stop that day.
The first leg was down the U/P, across the bridge, and south to a charger at a Meijer grocery store in Gaylord, MI. We needed groceries at this point, so we went in and shopped while the truck charged. Actually we took longer shopping than the truck did charging, so I had to run out when it finished charging and move it off the charger while my wife and kids finished shopping. I looked at the camper tires again, and sure enough, I saw the cracking I was concerned about before. I had my wife look at it too so it was more than just my eyes on it. We agreed it was concerning, and that we should keep checking them at every charge stop.
Got back on the road and continued south for about 95 miles to our next charge stop at a Corner Express gas station/convenience store in Wellston, MI. Another Red E charger with good placement along the edge of the parking lot so I was able to pull up alongside and didn't have to drop the camper for this one.
We looked at the camper tires again and my wife and I agreed that it looked like the cracking on one tire had gotten visibly worse since the last charge stop, so I decided to swap it out and put the spare on while the truck was charging. I had a nice, flat, level, paved surface to work on here so figured I'd rather change it here than on the side of the road somewhere if it blew out. Also, didn't want to risk the additional damage that a blowout could cause. Had the spare on in a short time, and we went inside the store for an ice cream and a cold drink.
With the truck charged to 90%, the camper tire changed and us feeling refreshed, we got back on the road to head to the Harvest Host site in Muskegon where I dropped off the camper and my family and I headed a little further south to charge up at another Red E charger at a convenience store in Norton Shores, then back to the camper. We tried the previous day to find a state park campground for this night in the area around Muskegon, but everything was full so my wife found a Harvest Host site in Muskegon that was basically a parking spot on the side of a guy's steel garage building. The price was right at only $15/night but it only had a 20A 120V plug. Not enough to run the camper, but not a problem because I have the 240V 30A outlet in the bed of the Lightning and a generator cord adapter to go from the 3 prong RV cord to the 4 prong twist lock outlet on the truck. So, I was able to run the camper off the truck all night while charging the truck on level 1 from the 20A plug at the site. Basically, it was just enough to maintain the state of charge without adding or losing any SOC.
Travel back down from the U/P to Muskegon on Lake Michigan.
After checking over the tires before leaving for the day I felt a bit better because I didn't see the cracks I thought I had seen in the groove of the tread on one of the tires. Made a mental note to check them again at each charging stop that day.
The first leg was down the U/P, across the bridge, and south to a charger at a Meijer grocery store in Gaylord, MI. We needed groceries at this point, so we went in and shopped while the truck charged. Actually we took longer shopping than the truck did charging, so I had to run out when it finished charging and move it off the charger while my wife and kids finished shopping. I looked at the camper tires again, and sure enough, I saw the cracking I was concerned about before. I had my wife look at it too so it was more than just my eyes on it. We agreed it was concerning, and that we should keep checking them at every charge stop.
Got back on the road and continued south for about 95 miles to our next charge stop at a Corner Express gas station/convenience store in Wellston, MI. Another Red E charger with good placement along the edge of the parking lot so I was able to pull up alongside and didn't have to drop the camper for this one.
We looked at the camper tires again and my wife and I agreed that it looked like the cracking on one tire had gotten visibly worse since the last charge stop, so I decided to swap it out and put the spare on while the truck was charging. I had a nice, flat, level, paved surface to work on here so figured I'd rather change it here than on the side of the road somewhere if it blew out. Also, didn't want to risk the additional damage that a blowout could cause. Had the spare on in a short time, and we went inside the store for an ice cream and a cold drink.
With the truck charged to 90%, the camper tire changed and us feeling refreshed, we got back on the road to head to the Harvest Host site in Muskegon where I dropped off the camper and my family and I headed a little further south to charge up at another Red E charger at a convenience store in Norton Shores, then back to the camper. We tried the previous day to find a state park campground for this night in the area around Muskegon, but everything was full so my wife found a Harvest Host site in Muskegon that was basically a parking spot on the side of a guy's steel garage building. The price was right at only $15/night but it only had a 20A 120V plug. Not enough to run the camper, but not a problem because I have the 240V 30A outlet in the bed of the Lightning and a generator cord adapter to go from the 3 prong RV cord to the 4 prong twist lock outlet on the truck. So, I was able to run the camper off the truck all night while charging the truck on level 1 from the 20A plug at the site. Basically, it was just enough to maintain the state of charge without adding or losing any SOC.
I’m sure others will agree but I’m really liking this thread so far. You are doing a great job covering various aspects and just wanted to say Thank you for taking the time and sharing
I am really impressed with how this is all going. The horror stories you hear about with charging an EV just don’t seem to manifest on any of these trips you all post. It’s giving me confidence in my decision to switch to a BEV.
In just a few short months my wife feels like a pro with the EV. I think we are coming up on 3-1/2 to 4 months of ownership already and so far trickle charging at home works just fine
Day 11
Originally, this was supposed to be another travel day but plans changed and it became a beach/truck repair day. We planned to go to the beach in the morning on Lake Michigan before heading back to OH that afternoon, but when we got to the beach, my kids were having such a great time that we decided to check once more for a campground for the night to give them more time on the beach. I was able to find a campground nearby (not a state park) that had a 50A site available so we booked it for the night, then headed back to get the camper from the Harvest Host site and move it to the campground.
When we were pulling into the parking lot outside the campground gate, my daughter heard a loud hissing sound. I pulled over to the edge of the lot near the entrance and got out and walked around the truck to discover that I had run over a brass pipe fitting that must have been on the road and it had punctured the right rear tire and was still stuck in the tire and all the air was leaking out fast. I knew I needed to drop the camper quick and pull clear of it to deal with changing the tire on the truck, so I did that right away. Luckily there was plenty of room to leave the camper there for a bit while I changed the truck tire. While I was putting the spare tire on the truck, my wife walked over to the campground office and got us checked in and asked them for a recommendation of a good tire shop in the area. They recommended Discount Tire in Norton Shores so she called and they said they were open till 5:00 and if I could get there by then, they would see if they could fix the tire. It was around 3:00 at that point so with the spare tire on the truck, I hitched the camper back up, pulled it into our site in the campground, unhitched it and headed to the tire shop about 20 minutes away. I got there around 4:00 and they fixed the tire since the hole was not on the sidewall, and they even installed it back on the truck and rehung the spare under the bed where it gets stowed. They didn't charge me anything for doing any of it. Discount Tire FTW!
I headed back to the campground and we had dinner in the camper, then headed to a local ice cream shop, then the beach for the evening, having lost the afternoon to the flat tire situation. We had a great time at the beach and it was great to see the kids having so much fun.
One note here about the 50A plug at the campsite. This was the only campground where I was not able to charge the Lightning using the 50A plug on the power pedestal. I plugged in the charger and it charged for about 10 minutes or so, then the 50A breaker tripped and shut off. I tried turning it back on, but it did the same thing. I also noticed that the breaker was hot to the touch so I didn't want to have any problems and just didn't try again. I suspect that the issue was a pre-existing condition with the campground wiring because there was evidence of that breaker getting hot previously over a long period of time. The metal piece connecting the two poles of the breaker was rusted in a way that was consistent with repeated heat cycles. I notified a maintenance worker at the campground the next morning.
Originally, this was supposed to be another travel day but plans changed and it became a beach/truck repair day. We planned to go to the beach in the morning on Lake Michigan before heading back to OH that afternoon, but when we got to the beach, my kids were having such a great time that we decided to check once more for a campground for the night to give them more time on the beach. I was able to find a campground nearby (not a state park) that had a 50A site available so we booked it for the night, then headed back to get the camper from the Harvest Host site and move it to the campground.
When we were pulling into the parking lot outside the campground gate, my daughter heard a loud hissing sound. I pulled over to the edge of the lot near the entrance and got out and walked around the truck to discover that I had run over a brass pipe fitting that must have been on the road and it had punctured the right rear tire and was still stuck in the tire and all the air was leaking out fast. I knew I needed to drop the camper quick and pull clear of it to deal with changing the tire on the truck, so I did that right away. Luckily there was plenty of room to leave the camper there for a bit while I changed the truck tire. While I was putting the spare tire on the truck, my wife walked over to the campground office and got us checked in and asked them for a recommendation of a good tire shop in the area. They recommended Discount Tire in Norton Shores so she called and they said they were open till 5:00 and if I could get there by then, they would see if they could fix the tire. It was around 3:00 at that point so with the spare tire on the truck, I hitched the camper back up, pulled it into our site in the campground, unhitched it and headed to the tire shop about 20 minutes away. I got there around 4:00 and they fixed the tire since the hole was not on the sidewall, and they even installed it back on the truck and rehung the spare under the bed where it gets stowed. They didn't charge me anything for doing any of it. Discount Tire FTW!
I headed back to the campground and we had dinner in the camper, then headed to a local ice cream shop, then the beach for the evening, having lost the afternoon to the flat tire situation. We had a great time at the beach and it was great to see the kids having so much fun.
One note here about the 50A plug at the campsite. This was the only campground where I was not able to charge the Lightning using the 50A plug on the power pedestal. I plugged in the charger and it charged for about 10 minutes or so, then the 50A breaker tripped and shut off. I tried turning it back on, but it did the same thing. I also noticed that the breaker was hot to the touch so I didn't want to have any problems and just didn't try again. I suspect that the issue was a pre-existing condition with the campground wiring because there was evidence of that breaker getting hot previously over a long period of time. The metal piece connecting the two poles of the breaker was rusted in a way that was consistent with repeated heat cycles. I notified a maintenance worker at the campground the next morning.
This trip looks amazing. I’m so happy for your family.
Sometimes things just work out and it isn’t bad enough to ruin a day but all most a Reno set of how fortunate we can be
Day 12 - 265 miles
Travel day from Muskegon back to the Harvest Host location in OH that we stayed at on the way out. 2 charge stops, both at Meijer grocery stores, one in Grand Rapids (Electrify America) and the other one in Brighton (Tesla Supercharger). Got to the first charger with 43% and charged to 90%. This was another charger where we could pull around behind the stalls and charge without dropping the trailer or blocking any chargers. Bonus!
Arrived at the second charger with 18% and charged to 90% again.
Made the last leg of the drive to the Harvest Host site and arrived with 15% SOC. We got there at about 10:00 PM and I plugged the truck in on the level 2 charger to charge at 32A overnight.
Travel day from Muskegon back to the Harvest Host location in OH that we stayed at on the way out. 2 charge stops, both at Meijer grocery stores, one in Grand Rapids (Electrify America) and the other one in Brighton (Tesla Supercharger). Got to the first charger with 43% and charged to 90%. This was another charger where we could pull around behind the stalls and charge without dropping the trailer or blocking any chargers. Bonus!
Arrived at the second charger with 18% and charged to 90% again.
Made the last leg of the drive to the Harvest Host site and arrived with 15% SOC. We got there at about 10:00 PM and I plugged the truck in on the level 2 charger to charge at 32A overnight.
Day 13 - 326 miles
Long travel day from OH to Four Mile Creek State Campground in Youngstown, NY on Lake Ontario. The overnight level 2 charge got us to 75% by the time we left in the morning. We made 3 charging stops that day.
First one was at a Menards in Avon, OH (Electrify America) where we arrived with 19% SOC and charged to 90%.
Second stop was at a Walmart Supercenter in Erie, PA (Electrify America). Arrived with 16% SOC and charged to 90%. We had lunch in the camper while the truck charged.
Third stop was at a Wegmans Grocery store in West Seneca, NY (Tesla Supercharger). Arrived with 33% SOC and charged to 90% then headed up to our campground on the shore of Lake Ontario.
My wife had booked this campsite for 3 nights because we wanted to take one day to explore Lake Ontario and another day to go to Niagara Falls. When she booked the campsite, there were only 30A sites available which also have a 20A 120V plug on the pedestal, so when we arrived, I plugged the camper into the 30A plug and used the 20A plug for L1 charging for the truck overnight.
Long travel day from OH to Four Mile Creek State Campground in Youngstown, NY on Lake Ontario. The overnight level 2 charge got us to 75% by the time we left in the morning. We made 3 charging stops that day.
First one was at a Menards in Avon, OH (Electrify America) where we arrived with 19% SOC and charged to 90%.
Second stop was at a Walmart Supercenter in Erie, PA (Electrify America). Arrived with 16% SOC and charged to 90%. We had lunch in the camper while the truck charged.
Third stop was at a Wegmans Grocery store in West Seneca, NY (Tesla Supercharger). Arrived with 33% SOC and charged to 90% then headed up to our campground on the shore of Lake Ontario.
My wife had booked this campsite for 3 nights because we wanted to take one day to explore Lake Ontario and another day to go to Niagara Falls. When she booked the campsite, there were only 30A sites available which also have a 20A 120V plug on the pedestal, so when we arrived, I plugged the camper into the 30A plug and used the 20A plug for L1 charging for the truck overnight.
Day 14
We took a day and explored the area around Lake Ontario a bit and drove east along the shore from our campsite to a state park with a beach, but it was kinda rocky and not great for swimming so we didn't stay long and decided to explore a little more.
We drove a bit further along the shoreline till we got to a town called Olcott. There were some gift shops and my wife and kids wanted to check them out. We drove through a park within walking distance of the shops and there were (2) 19.2 kW chargers in the park that had an interesting pricing structure. There was a $3.50 session fee, but the cost per kWh was only $0.13. I decided to plug in, but discovered both chargers were broken. No problem since I had around 65% SOC and could at least charge on L1 overnight. We did some shopping and walked around the town a bit, then headed back to the campground for the night.
We took a day and explored the area around Lake Ontario a bit and drove east along the shore from our campsite to a state park with a beach, but it was kinda rocky and not great for swimming so we didn't stay long and decided to explore a little more.
We drove a bit further along the shoreline till we got to a town called Olcott. There were some gift shops and my wife and kids wanted to check them out. We drove through a park within walking distance of the shops and there were (2) 19.2 kW chargers in the park that had an interesting pricing structure. There was a $3.50 session fee, but the cost per kWh was only $0.13. I decided to plug in, but discovered both chargers were broken. No problem since I had around 65% SOC and could at least charge on L1 overnight. We did some shopping and walked around the town a bit, then headed back to the campground for the night.
Maybe I missed it?…you’re seeing ~1.0 mi/kWh?…and mostly staying off the Interstates?
You didn't miss it. Yes, we were getting between 1.0 and 1.1 miles/kWh, which is pretty much what I expected towing the trailer.
It was a mix of Interstates and secondary roads. When we were on the Interstates, I was driving at 55 mph most of the time, occasionally going 60 mph. I was a bit nervous about the camper tires, so I was being conservative with the speed. I've also found that it's less nerve-wracking not going 75-80 mph on the highway.
Also, better range going slower. Once I had the live battery data dialed in with ABRP, I was able to adjust behavior in real time and see the effect on range estimate. For example, on one leg of the trip I set a charger as a destination and ABRP estimated that we'd get there with 8% SOC. I knew my wife would be nervous about cutting it that close, so as we drove I adjusted the cruise control from 55 down to 53 for a while, then down to 50 mph. I also adjusted the temp setting up on the A/C a couple degrees and with those changes the range estimate increased to 15% at arrival and it was spot-on.
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