This video really demonstrated the term of "range anxiety" associated with EV's and you did a great job of relaying that. However, you kept a great attitude and perspective about it. I suspect most folks wouldn't have. Thanks for sharing this realistic perspective of EV ownership.
I can't wait to get that adapter for my EUV. I was betting that it will take them a few months to get this deal, but Miss Barra must have yelled at one of her managers to get this shit done ASAP.
@@bmw803 I think it might be awhile until Tesla sorts this out with everyone - the Bolt's charging port is in the wrong place, and Tesla SC cables are very short. They are purpose built for Tesla, and a Bolt would currently take two stalls and charge at a fifth the rate of newer Tesla.
@@bmw803 Problem is the Bolt maxes out at 50kW...you're still sitting for 1:15 to 1:45 minutes . I owned a Bolt for 3 years. Loved it but Barra needed to tell her staff to upgrade all the charging components to at least 125kW...tying up space at a Tesla charger just going to make everyone mad
It isn’t hard if you plan .Steve of plug and play ev on RUclips had 2 bolts for 6 years and drove from Boston to Cleveland all the time and michigan, kentucky. He also drove to texas and back. Dave’s problem is not looking at Ea app and plug share before as he stated. I have a ev 8 years and i don’t have the problems. you have the apps preloaded with your card already on them. Dealership can be a pain with cars blocking. Gm is supposed to be installing public chargers at dealers. In ohio our Hyundai dealers have public chargers
That’s the point. Why does one need to plan?!?!? We had an X3 diesel (35 mpg highway and 450-500 miles highway range) and even planning for highway diesel at a few times was annoying. NFW electric planning at present. And this was summer and no big traffic backups.
Great video! Hope, drama, insecurity, positivity, suspense, success! Looking forward to the rest of your trip. 🙂 I still have not made a long distance road trip in my Bolt, but this info is helpful as I plan one.
I have been watching you for over a year, indeed one of your best videos. The reason being is you have always been a fan of these electric vehicles, particularly the Bolt. That being said, your honesty in this vehicle showing the challenges one may face in having to charge this vehicle on a road trip makes this video one of your best. You didn't have to show us how stressful it can be to get into the situation that you got in to. You sell these vehicles for a living, as much as you love them, you were honest in your video about a something that could happen to anyone with this vehicle. I actually felt stressed for you watching you try to get to the charging station. That is what troubles me about getting an electric vehicle. It is a little bit harder for me to go to electric for two reasons, I live in a condo which will be challenge charging at home, plus I live in Queens, NY where it is another challenge finding a charging station. Part of me wants and is excited about getting an electric vehicle and the other part of me is the stress I would have portrayed in this video. The answer for my decision on purchasing an electric vehicle will be decided based on these two things which may take a few more years to happen. First, more charging stations being built around my area of travel and an increase in the speed a vehicle can be charged. I feel these vehicles were pushed way to fast ahead of having enough charging stations available. Anyway great video, I still feel one day in the future I will make the move to electric.
The new vehicles being introduced in the coming years will do this same road trip much easier. They'll get more range and charge much faster than the Bolt. All they need to do is close the 209 mile gap along rt 80 in PA with no DC Fast Chargers, lol.
On the opposite end of the EV spectrum, I rented a Tesla Model Y from Hertz in Portland OR. Drove it over a week and put over a thousand miles on it. Tesla Superchargers are easily mapped by the car's navigation system and every one of them worked without me doing anything else other than plugging in. Driving the Model Y was no more hassle than any gas car.
Dave is super easy to talk to. If I lived in Livingston New Jersey I would come see Dave for all my car needs. He is full of valuable information. He is also a good listener. Dave, you are an inspiration. Thanks for all your advice.
Excellent video in capturing the angst of "range anxiety." I Thank all you early trail blazers of owning EV's. After watching the video, I learned that you need to put way more energy, faith, planning, and patience in using EV's for a long trip. Until a reliable National Grid of EV chargers are in place - I'll stay with ICE. Those that say use an EV for local trips, and have a second car for long distance kind of defeats the purpose of being environmentally active. One final thought, we're retired and considered an EV. We live in North Caldwell and often travel to Philly. I visited two dealerships, one was a GM dealership (no name) the other was a Subaru dealership. One dealership pushed buying an EV and mentioned the ease of recharging. The other dealership, was honest about an EV not being ready for seniors traveling to Philly. We appreciated the honesty of the dealership that said to wait a few years. You're video proved the point. I hope you and your colleagues are very open and honest about the pro's and con's. Thanks again for all your terrific informative videos.
Alwayssss have a plan B, C and D with the public chargers. Half of them in my area are either broken down or not in service for some reason. We still have a long way to go with reliable public chargers. Great video dude!
Rich Rebuilds had the same issue with his Rivian traveling from Boston to Florida. Tesla has everyone else beat as far as infrastructure. My cousin visited me here in Chicago in 2018. She drove her Tesla Model X here from LA and then drove to Indiana and back to LA. She didn't have many issues. Not like you're having and this was seven years ago.
This is exactly why Ford and GM are adopting the NACS standard and putting the Tesla plug in their cars. There is literally 0 issue road tripping in Teslas. You always know that you have reliable chargers the entire trip
Your video was informative. You did not sugar coat it. It not impossible to travel with a EV but it takes longer and careful planning. Thanks for not taking the company line. Hopefully there is a part two to this video.
Perfect way to do it. I bought my Bolt last August and this is the first time I needed to worry about charging. The Bolt is a pleasure to own and drive. A few hours of charge time over the course of a year is no big deal at all.
Thank you for this video! In gas cars, most of us don't really prepare where we're going to fill our tanks up so interesting to see how that differs in electric cars.
Electric cars are not practical for me. I live in the middle of the country where there's only hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads with no civilization.
@@thomaswilson2917 Unfortunately, there are few electric charging stations in my area. I'm in a rural area of the country. The gas stations do not have accommodations for EVs. Most people live well below the poverty level and barely afford an old gas driven jalopy. On some back roads, people can still be seen riding mules and horses. My driving includes lengthy trips out west where you drive for hundreds of miles without seeing a town. 500 miles can easily be racked up before one realizes it.
@@alien11able just curious what country you live in. Last year in the USA I drove on a 4500 mile road trip that took me out to Colorado and Wyoming. Colorado from the new Mexico border to Wyoming. The Utah border east to the Ohio border. Had no issue charging. You said you live in a rural area. That means you should be able to charge at home. You don't need a public charging station if you can charge at home. I understand that you can't buy an EV if you don't have the funds but you also can't purchase a new gas car either. Yes used EV vehicles are not cheap yet because there are not any that are very old.
Another good vehicle video. I had no intentions to buy or lease a electric vehicle, but after watching the video it confirms another reason why I do not want one. I live in Pa. and it is hilly also no gas station by me have the chargers but around 5 miles there is outlets that have them. These vehicles are good for in town running around that is about it. I will stay with my gas vehicles, like you said I passed probably 20 gas stations. Oh by the way, the local Chevy Dealer by me does not have electric chargers as of yet.
Nice video Dave. This situation is exactly why I was dumbfounded that GM was abandoning their awesome Voltec platform, or their plug-in hybrid technology. The Chevy Volt was a great transitional car to let people drive electric, while having the gas engine for long range travel, or if you just forgot to plug in the previous night. A plug-in hybrid Equinox probably would've sold well, if the Toyota Rav4 Prime's popularity is any indication. Some tips for your future EV road trips. If you have to stretch your range, drive slower. Set the cruise control to 5, 10, or even 15 mph below the speed limit (though turn your emergency lights on if on the freeway), and take secondary roads if possible. Avoid cruise control though if you're climbing a hill as the car will then use more power going up. Some other apps you might want to consider is A Better Route Planner, which can help you plan for trips based on your EV and charging stations available. The Windy app is also useful if you want to see if you're going to have head winds to drive into on your trip. You mentioned Plugshare, which is also useful, especially if you want to check how reliable a station is based on community feedback of that station. I'm glad that as of this post, GM and Ford at least are going to adopt Tesla's NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector in the US. The supercharger network is vastly superior to Electrify America, Chargepoint, EVgo, and other CCS charging stations due to how widespread it is, and the sheer number of charging stations they have. The Tesla connectors are also much smaller, so easier to use, and much more powerful. CCS cables are no fun to use when it's really cold out due to how massive they are. This should help ensure that their EV customers will have a much better ownership experience, and allow Tesla to build out even more superchargers in more places.
Do you know how short the cords are on Tesla superchargers? They won’t work on a lot of cars, including this Bolt, without considerable change. Hopefully Tesla sets up at least one charger at each station with a much longer cord.
Thanks for putting this video out there Dave. I'm sure a lot of folks including myself have been skeptical about EVs for this very reason. There needs to be way more charging stations available before this segment of cars can flourish more. I'm sure as time goes on there will be. I'm not there yet on it.
@@bmw803 I posted in another thread about a friend that rented an EV on vacation and he said that was the worst part. Being in an unfamiliar town in a unfamiliar car when it was hot, thus having the AC on max and watching the battery melt away while sitting in heavy traffic. He said Hertz made it worse by telling him the battery should never drop below 20%.
@@lobohobo9218 I don't know how can his AC melt the battery. Heaters do that. My 2023 EUV Bolt takes 1/2 kwh when I turn on the AC. Something is definitely wrong with that rental. If you drop below 20% once in a blue moon and recharge it immediately, nothing will happen.
Your experience was exactly why I passed on the Tesla I was seriously considering last year. I talked to a few owners that have experienced what you did or worse on long trips. One friend who has owned a Tesla Model 3 for years bought a second gas car just for long trips. He loves his Tesla but won't replace it when it's time.
@@Joerides7 I have been from the Pennsylvania border to the Utah border From Wyoming to the new Mexico border. South Eastern states south Carolina Georgia Florida and Alabama. It makes a big difference if you can charge on the Tesla supercharger network.
This video is very informative. I really like how Dave takes time to show his trip in the Bolt. This is a great example of the experience of owning an electric car. This video is honest in showing some of the difficulties of taking a long trip in an electric car. Dave has a style of showing the whole experience and presenting with taste and style.
Your efficiency on that trip was 3.7 miles per kilowatt-hour. Which is very good. The BOLT EUV is efficient. Not as good as most Tesla's but still a good outcome. Of course that is greatly affected by weather, terrain, and how you drive.
This was a fun road trip, but I’m going to stick with my MDX lol. Worrying if I have enough charge for long road trips and trying to find a charging station would drive me crazy lol
Thank you for this video. I've been driving my 2020 Bolt for almost 3 years and love it, but the public infrastructure for long trips is not quite where it needs to be. I'm in northeastern PA and a week ago drove to JFK airport and back on a single charge. It was 246.5 miles which gave me 32 miles to spare. I would have had to use a public charger in the middle of winter. The dealership where I purchased my Bolt had finally installed a Fast charger on their lot a few months ago. However, the company that did the installation has not finished the connection for use. I was there recently and the manager I spoke to had no explanation why it's still unavailable. So I wasn't surprised that you had no access to the dealership's charger.
Yep, the average American would immediately turn this right back in. Electric cars at this point are only good for commuting to/from work and running around town. Any road trips need to be gas period. Electric will never completely catch on until there is charging stations at pretty much every gas station. And also that in 5-10mins I can go to empty to a full charge. Sorry on a road trip I don’t feel like wasting hours sitting.
So each person has to question how often they will take road trips. For me this year it has been 1 trip. So, every mile I drive other than the last 1,000 were super easy and convenient due to charging at work or at home.
Thanks for sharing! Nope, I really think Hybrid is the way to go. Always good to have a back up plan, right? EV is just not there yet for long distance driving. Maybe in the future, my opinion.
Since you made it. I am happy for you. As a long time EV driver and having 2 Bolts, for trips I use A Better Route Planner to plan the trip. Also the members fee is worth 4 dollars. It pays for itself in 1 to charge. Then just cancel it. I don't use my Chevy app for trips.
Great video Dave. It's good to know that we are moving towards a more unified charging network as the Tesla charger is becoming the standard over the next few years. It will make EV ownership alot easier. Still hoping to get a Bolt.
Dave thanks for video. My wife and I took our daughter’s Altima to dealership for a service and my wife talked them into letting us drive the new Aryia. I am a 2020 Silverado 1500 Z-71 RST 5.3 owner and love it but loved driving the Aryia. My wife a 2022 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige and can drive anything hated it and for some reason was a little afraid of it. I asked the dealership at the time how many they have sold and they said none so far. I used to be against electric vehicle but not now, however, issues like you just had and the length of time to charge on a trip turns me off from getting one. Although 45 minutes to an hour resting while charging on a trip would in some ways be good I just don’t want to take that amount of time and just want to get there. I will keep my Chevrolet that I love and love to hear it start up and rumble. You don’t get these sound with an EV.
😬🥴😵💫 I keep my gas powered gas ⛽️ car I imagine it’s like 98° outside you have somebody with you that’s a bit of a problem like always nice videos Dave B 🇺🇸👍🏻
A good backup plan for a Bolt highway trip would be to hit a RV park. Most have 50amp NEMA 14-50 outlets which will work with the evse supplied with the Bolt EUV.
Wow, I almost followed a similar path along 80 with my Rivian last month, and had considered the stop in Bloomsburg, glad I took the Subaru instead as timing was a factor on my trip.
Thanks for another great video with a little slice of ev life. I thought that looked like route 11, a place I travel often. Arriving at Bloomsburg Chevy confirmed it. Those circular marks on the road gave it away. Don’t see those in many places. I think they were installed to help drivers mark their distance from other cars to avoid rear end collisions. Lots of places to turn off on that stretch.
Hi Dave. Love your videos. I have been driving a Bolt EV since 2019 here in Southern California. U had a used 2017 EV, brand new 2021 EV and now a 2023 EUV. I love my 2022 EUV and I use it primarily for Uber driving. I have been averaging 4.7 miles/kw since 1/1/23. I get over 300 miles on a full charge with 90% street driving. This problem you are having is primarily a ccs problem and not a Bolt problem. You hear horror stories from thousands of ccs ev owners when it comes to road trips. My friend had a 170000 Porsche Tycan and after 5 months of dealing with the charging infrastructure, he returned it and bought a Tesla. I also own a Tesla model y performance and I have driven it from Los Angeles area to Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Colorado without a problem. I guess that is why Ford and GM are joining the Tesla supercharger network. The Bolt is perfect as a daily driver and as a ride sharing vehicle, but not for long road trips.
@danmc4133 I agree with you 100% when it comes to supercharging your vehicle. I was just eluding to ride sharing. I use the euv for my ride sharing and my model y performance for my travels. I get over 300 miles on a full charge on the bolt, which is plenty on even my busiest days.
My family and I took our first real "road trip" in our 2023 Bolt EUV recently - first trip where we were traveling far more than the capacity of the battery would allow. Our experience was good, but only because I did some research ahead of time and really planned the trip. All I could think though was how the average person (my Dad for instance) would never be happy with the way the current infrastructure is and the amount of forethought needed for longer trips.
Great video. I haven't needed to use public charging for my Bolt yet (love the ability to charge at my house) but because of these issues I have many charging apps pre-loaded on my phone. From many reviews such as yours, I know that should I need a public charging station I will first check the status of the chargers (good or out-of-service), their availability (in use or free), and previous customer comments (e.g., sketchy or good location, food or shopping available, etc.). Plus it certainly seems that some charger companies maintain their charging stations better than others. I am surprised that this area of Pennsylvania had such a paucity of charging stations. I live well northwest of Phoenix, and the range on the Bolt is sufficient for my occasional trips to southern Phoenix and back which is plenty for my normal use. Rural Arizona is quite devoid of chargers though, so I would use my Silverado for those trips. P.S. - curious what the Chevy and GMC dealerships would have said if you had time to go in and ask about their chargers? 🤔
Actually it would have been way less stressful if there had been a traffic jam. EVs use massively less power at low speeds than at highway speeds. His range would have shot way up if he had slowed down.
As others have said, I appreciate your honesty and transparency in this video. I would have been completely stressed out and then totally irritated to add so much time to my trip to recharge the battery (I mean you are not even at your final destination yet in this video, and I saw a 1+ hour charging time for this leg). I will stick with my ICE vehicles for sure.
That’s exactly what GM and Dave want. Making owners of the Chevy Bolt to say how hard they are to charge for any road trips. This is definitely working, because people as yourself will never go EV because of this negativity in charging for extended traveling. Tesla did build out an easy to use charging infrastructure when they introduced their first EVs in 2012. So a decade later they just made its 50,000th charger. You can definitely go cross country with ease in a Tesla. GM will just go away in 5 years or less.
One thing for sure is this makes good content, next year there will be fast chargers every 50 miles thanks to tesla, we can only hope charging a electric vehicle will get easier but for now charging at home is the best option.
There was a reason 120 years ago (when both gasoline and electricity technology were in their infancy) that gasoline was chosen. You have discovered it.
Yeah, Electrify America’s network was really bad 120 years ago. And GM dealers had tie wraps locking out their chargers then too. 1903 was a really bad year for EVs. 😂
Cars had manual crank starters back then. Electrics didn’t need a crank, but terrible battery tech. Should have started developing high voltage battery tech way back then. Just think where we’d be today?
Ev's are great if you charge them in your garage every night and just use them around town but if you need to drive 500 miles or so you got a problem in most cases. I have a friend who has an older Nissan Leaf and the battery has degraded to where it will only get around 75 miles to a charge. But he is ok with that because he just has a 5 mile drive to work and he only plugs the car in once or twice a week.
I have a Tesla on my 4th one. Definitely a Tesla fan boy. But I have thought about buying other bands of EVs. But the charging infrastructure isn't that great. Never know of they are working, or if they are going to be full with other people charging, or they are just slow to charge. I do think that will all change with Tesla opening up their charging network to other EVs. Tesla's Supercharging network from my experience is so much better. They are always working, never had to wait for one to be available, and quick to charge. I just drove from TN to Fort Lauderdale FL and back without any charging issues.
You are a major polluter with your diesel engine. Climate change is real and you are helping to make the climate change worse! Electric vehicles are the answer for this planet’s future. Charging infrastructure is slowly being built but you need to realize that gas stations didn’t pop up overnight back when gas vehicles were first hitting the dirt roads. That’s right, dirt roads. It took 60 plus years to pave all of the roads that we all take for granted. The EV evolution will happen over a period of 20-30 years just like the ICE cars.
With all the things one may have to deal with during a road trip this video exposes the shortcomings of EV vehicles & charging on a long trip like wasted time, stress of finding a charging station, going off the interstate to find a charger and also when you pull into the charging station there are no available chargers to start using immediately ( don't we all want to add time to our trip) A EV for local use and errands seems to be logical, but long trips its not ready for prime time.
So stressful not to find charge stations as it needs. on other hand, your sharing can help for decision to buy EV. Plus, followed your stream a few weaks ago about miles / kwt, distance range. it is one of most useful info for EV's.
I have an EUV. I always say, it is NOT a road trip car. If you are a two car household, the other being an ICE or hybrid, it makes sense. Go for it all the way, especially if your daily commute is long (like mine). You can use the ICE/hybrid for the trips and keep the EUV as the daily driver. We're just not there yet, and we won't be for a number of years. Standardization and infrastructure are key.
Was that weird being a Chevy delar for a sec - that you don’t work at to try and charge your car. But nice cidei to bring this yo us. And I appreciate you having some humor in this it shows that you are having fun at times.
Did it really take 1 hour and 16 minutes to charge? It only cost $12.54 for the charge, but I would have paid $125.40 to not have to wait that long. ;-) Excellent video!!
Bolt is 2017 tech. Max charging speed is 55kw. Most EVS now are above 150kw and have a better charging curve. You don't charge a Bolt above 60% on a road trip. The problem is people think you "fill" the tank for EVs like you do for ICE. That's not the best use of time.
Once the gov figures out how to apply taxes, the cost to drive (compared to sized gas car=Chevy Spark) will be greater since the policos assume drivers of EVs have a greater ability to pay. Your car got 47mpg (Cost of $14.44. Assume $3/gal=4.8 gal 226mi/4.8 gal= 47mpg) But you spent 1.25 hrs getting fuel and maybe another 2 hours searching for a station.
Seems like GM is making a big mistake discontinuing the Bolt and Bolt EUV just as sales really started improving. It’s just gonna drive people to brands like Hyundai for the electric Kona and Ionic 5. I don’t have an EV yet, but I’ve had a cordless electric lawn mower for the past 3 years and it’s worked great.😂 I think the main upside for me with an EV is less maintenance and mechanical repair cost vs internal combustion engines.
It'll be ok and I bet the Bolt name returns one day. They have many new vehicles incoming on the new Ultium Platform. They'll get more range and charge at a faster rate.
Great video! I have to say, I was panicking for you. I drive a Chevy Malibu, and I have been thinking about an EV for my next car, but after seeing this video, I think I will pass... LOL!
I was just driving 80 out of New York in my wonderful Kia K5. I would never do a cross country trip in an electric car. I love my 2015 Chevy Spark EV, but I only drive it around town. I only charge it on my home 120V outlet.
For me it would depend on the car. The Bolt just isn't the right vehicle for road trips nor do I believe it was designed for it. The Silverado EV I have on order however would handle this trip much better. That truck will get somewhere between 400-450 miles on a charge and charges much faster than the Bolt. This 500 mile trip I took would only require about 15 minute charge on a 350kw charger.
This video really demonstrated the term of "range anxiety" associated with EV's and you did a great job of relaying that. However, you kept a great attitude and perspective about it. I suspect most folks wouldn't have. Thanks for sharing this realistic perspective of EV ownership.
Correction Bro: CHARGER Anxiety. Most EVs are advanced enough with very decent range. It's the HORRENDOUS condition of DCFC chargers.
Have a Tesla.
Never had range anxiety.
Only a perspective of a bolt ownership.
Definitely not a Tesla perspective.
@@thomaswilson2917 This bolt costs 20k on road after tax credits and has a 60kwh battery. Tesla can't compete with that.
Being a Bolt owner, this is why the Tesla charging network opening up to Ford and GM owners is a great thing!
Please don't use the 250KW superchargers in your Bolt. 😊
I can't wait to get that adapter for my EUV. I was betting that it will take them a few months to get this deal, but Miss Barra must have yelled at one of her managers to get this shit done ASAP.
@@bmw803 I think it might be awhile until Tesla sorts this out with everyone - the Bolt's charging port is in the wrong place, and Tesla SC cables are very short. They are purpose built for Tesla, and a Bolt would currently take two stalls and charge at a fifth the rate of newer Tesla.
Kind of sad that the new guy, Tesla has to carry the other companies,
@@bmw803 Problem is the Bolt maxes out at 50kW...you're still sitting for 1:15 to 1:45 minutes . I owned a Bolt for 3 years. Loved it but Barra needed to tell her staff to upgrade all the charging components to at least 125kW...tying up space at a Tesla charger just going to make everyone mad
Thanks for showing this! They need to do much much better to make charging easier and more accessible to the average driver!
It isn’t hard if you plan .Steve of plug and play ev on RUclips had 2 bolts for 6 years and drove from Boston to Cleveland all the time and michigan, kentucky. He also drove to texas and back. Dave’s problem is not looking at Ea app and plug share before as he stated. I have a ev 8 years and i don’t have the problems. you have the apps preloaded with your card already on them. Dealership can be a pain with cars blocking. Gm is supposed to be installing public chargers at dealers. In ohio our Hyundai dealers have public chargers
That’s the point. Why does one need to plan?!?!? We had an X3 diesel (35 mpg highway and 450-500 miles highway range) and even planning for highway diesel at a few times was annoying. NFW electric planning at present. And this was summer and no big traffic backups.
They do. It's called BUY A TESLA.
3 minutes in and I’m going to give my Mazda CX-30 a hug.
Yep my crv hybrid is looking pretty darn good right about now.
Same! With my Honda Insight… 60mpg
@@CarlosLaraLife how are those?
Same! I just went outside and gave my steering wheel on my Tesla a great big hug.
@@travel4fun003 Same! Pople have been telling me to swap out my 2019 Model 3 Long Range for a newer non-Tesla but been there done that and it's awful.
Thanks for keeping it real.
Great video! Hope, drama, insecurity, positivity, suspense, success! Looking forward to the rest of your trip. 🙂
I still have not made a long distance road trip in my Bolt, but this info is helpful as I plan one.
I’d say the Bolt is perfect for person that’s only commuting back & for to work, short drives etc. I really don’t see it as a long haul road-trip car.
I have been watching you for over a year, indeed one of your best videos. The reason being is you have always been a fan of these electric vehicles, particularly the Bolt. That being said, your honesty in this vehicle showing the challenges one may face in having to charge this vehicle on a road trip makes this video one of your best. You didn't have to show us how stressful it can be to get into the situation that you got in to. You sell these vehicles for a living, as much as you love them, you were honest in your video about a something that could happen to anyone with this vehicle. I actually felt stressed for you watching you try to get to the charging station. That is what troubles me about getting an electric vehicle. It is a little bit harder for me to go to electric for two reasons, I live in a condo which will be challenge charging at home, plus I live in Queens, NY where it is another challenge finding a charging station. Part of me wants and is excited about getting an electric vehicle and the other part of me is the stress I would have portrayed in this video. The answer for my decision on purchasing an electric vehicle will be decided based on these two things which may take a few more years to happen. First, more charging stations being built around my area of travel and an increase in the speed a vehicle can be charged. I feel these vehicles were pushed way to fast ahead of having enough charging stations available. Anyway great video, I still feel one day in the future I will make the move to electric.
The new vehicles being introduced in the coming years will do this same road trip much easier. They'll get more range and charge much faster than the Bolt. All they need to do is close the 209 mile gap along rt 80 in PA with no DC Fast Chargers, lol.
So glad you did this video. Lots of insights to get people to think about EV
Got my car 4 days
I am happy and grateful I found the right car for me
The bolt is great car and will not miss gas station
It is a fantastic vehicle! Congrats!
I appreciate this video!
Very interesting! You are in great shape and handle stress well. If it was me, my t-shirt would have been soaked from nervous sweat. Soaking wet.
On the opposite end of the EV spectrum, I rented a Tesla Model Y from Hertz in Portland OR. Drove it over a week and put over a thousand miles on it. Tesla Superchargers are easily mapped by the car's navigation system and every one of them worked without me doing anything else other than plugging in. Driving the Model Y was no more hassle than any gas car.
Dave is super easy to talk to. If I lived in Livingston New Jersey I would come see Dave for all my car needs. He is full of valuable information. He is also a good listener. Dave, you are an inspiration. Thanks for all your advice.
Omg that was nail-biting
Your best video yet!! I love my Chevy Silverado! Full it up please!
Fantastic video showcasing the EV experience. Well done and I look forward to more!
Excellent video in capturing the angst of "range anxiety." I Thank all you early trail blazers of owning EV's. After watching the video, I learned that you need to put way more energy, faith, planning, and patience in using EV's for a long trip. Until a reliable National Grid of EV chargers are in place - I'll stay with ICE. Those that say use an EV for local trips, and have a second car for long distance kind of defeats the purpose of being environmentally active. One final thought, we're retired and considered an EV. We live in North Caldwell and often travel to Philly. I visited two dealerships, one was a GM dealership (no name) the other was a Subaru dealership. One dealership pushed buying an EV and mentioned the ease of recharging. The other dealership, was honest about an EV not being ready for seniors traveling to Philly. We appreciated the honesty of the dealership that said to wait a few years. You're video proved the point. I hope you and your colleagues are very open and honest about the pro's and con's. Thanks again for all your terrific informative videos.
You were lucky you didn’t have two little kids in the backseat saying are we there yet.😂
We got to stick with the plugin hybrid, we are not ready for full EV yet
Great video. Relatable and Informative.
Yes - CCS, Planning is a MUST
Alwayssss have a plan B, C and D with the public chargers. Half of them in my area are either broken down or not in service for some reason. We still have a long way to go with reliable public chargers. Great video dude!
Rich Rebuilds had the same issue with his Rivian traveling from Boston to Florida. Tesla has everyone else beat as far as infrastructure.
My cousin visited me here in Chicago in 2018. She drove her Tesla Model X here from LA and then drove to Indiana and back to LA. She didn't have many issues. Not like you're having and this was seven years ago.
Thanks Dave, I'll stick with my Diesel Mercedes.
This is exactly why Ford and GM are adopting the NACS standard and putting the Tesla plug in their cars. There is literally 0 issue road tripping in Teslas. You always know that you have reliable chargers the entire trip
I passed so many Tesla charger locations on my way.. they seem to be like every 50/60 miles if not more frequent
Your video was informative. You did not sugar coat it. It not impossible to travel with a EV but it takes longer and careful planning. Thanks for not taking the company line. Hopefully there is a part two to this video.
Excellent video...thanks for sharing your experience. Bolt EUV is an excellent vehicle.
We LOVE our EUV for all our local (200 miles or less) trips. Our Highlander, which sits in the garage undriven for weeks at a time, is our trip car 😉
Perfect way to do it. I bought my Bolt last August and this is the first time I needed to worry about charging. The Bolt is a pleasure to own and drive. A few hours of charge time over the course of a year is no big deal at all.
Hahahha... Great justification for having made a wrong decision in life..
@@SM-gw4xf What? Why would it be a weong decision?
Thank you for the realistic review.
Dave I would have a panic attack! Have been thinking of venturing out but still apprehensive for this exact reason
Thank you for this video! In gas cars, most of us don't really prepare where we're going to fill our tanks up so interesting to see how that differs in electric cars.
I have a Tesla.
I don't prepare either.
Just use the Tesla trip planner and tell it where I want to go.
Electric cars are not practical for me. I live in the middle of the country where there's only hundreds of miles of dirt and gravel roads with no civilization.
@@alien11able no electricity?
Where do you get gas?
How far do you drive each day?
@@thomaswilson2917 Unfortunately, there are few electric charging stations in my area. I'm in a rural area of the country. The gas stations do not have accommodations for EVs. Most people live well below the poverty level and barely afford an old gas driven jalopy. On some back roads, people can still be seen riding mules and horses. My driving includes lengthy trips out west where you drive for hundreds of miles without seeing a town. 500 miles can easily be racked up before one realizes it.
@@alien11able just curious what country you live in.
Last year in the USA I drove on a 4500 mile road trip that took me out to Colorado and Wyoming.
Colorado from the new Mexico border to Wyoming. The Utah border east to the Ohio border.
Had no issue charging.
You said you live in a rural area.
That means you should be able to charge at home.
You don't need a public charging station if you can charge at home.
I understand that you can't buy an EV if you don't have the funds but you also can't purchase a new gas car either.
Yes used EV vehicles are not cheap yet because there are not any that are very old.
Amazing,mindblowing!
Another good vehicle video. I had no intentions to buy or lease a electric vehicle, but after watching the video it confirms another reason why I do not want one. I live in Pa. and it is hilly also no gas station by me have the chargers but around 5 miles there is outlets that have them. These vehicles are good for in town running around that is about it. I will stay with my gas vehicles, like you said I passed probably 20 gas stations. Oh by the way, the local Chevy Dealer by me does not have electric chargers as of yet.
Penn state sheetz saves the day for Dave B 😁
A very useful video. It underscores the importance of some preplanning. Thank you.
Nice video Dave. This situation is exactly why I was dumbfounded that GM was abandoning their awesome Voltec platform, or their plug-in hybrid technology. The Chevy Volt was a great transitional car to let people drive electric, while having the gas engine for long range travel, or if you just forgot to plug in the previous night. A plug-in hybrid Equinox probably would've sold well, if the Toyota Rav4 Prime's popularity is any indication.
Some tips for your future EV road trips. If you have to stretch your range, drive slower. Set the cruise control to 5, 10, or even 15 mph below the speed limit (though turn your emergency lights on if on the freeway), and take secondary roads if possible. Avoid cruise control though if you're climbing a hill as the car will then use more power going up.
Some other apps you might want to consider is A Better Route Planner, which can help you plan for trips based on your EV and charging stations available. The Windy app is also useful if you want to see if you're going to have head winds to drive into on your trip. You mentioned Plugshare, which is also useful, especially if you want to check how reliable a station is based on community feedback of that station.
I'm glad that as of this post, GM and Ford at least are going to adopt Tesla's NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector in the US. The supercharger network is vastly superior to Electrify America, Chargepoint, EVgo, and other CCS charging stations due to how widespread it is, and the sheer number of charging stations they have. The Tesla connectors are also much smaller, so easier to use, and much more powerful. CCS cables are no fun to use when it's really cold out due to how massive they are. This should help ensure that their EV customers will have a much better ownership experience, and allow Tesla to build out even more superchargers in more places.
This times 100. I went out and gave my Volt a hug after watching this.
Do you know how short the cords are on Tesla superchargers? They won’t work on a lot of cars, including this Bolt, without considerable change. Hopefully Tesla sets up at least one charger at each station with a much longer cord.
Its good to know that you did not run into a traffic jam or worse, a car wreck on your journey, gads !
Thanks for putting this video out there Dave. I'm sure a lot of folks including myself have been skeptical about EVs for this very reason. There needs to be way more charging stations available before this segment of cars can flourish more. I'm sure as time goes on there will be. I'm not there yet on it.
That's why it's called CHARGER anxiety.
A bolt road trip is not a typical EV road trip
@@thomaswilson2917elaborate on that if you would
@@bmw803 I posted in another thread about a friend that rented an EV on vacation and he said that was the worst part. Being in an unfamiliar town in a unfamiliar car when it was hot, thus having the AC on max and watching the battery melt away while sitting in heavy traffic. He said Hertz made it worse by telling him the battery should never drop below 20%.
@@lobohobo9218 I don't know how can his AC melt the battery. Heaters do that. My 2023 EUV Bolt takes 1/2 kwh when I turn on the AC. Something is definitely wrong with that rental. If you drop below 20% once in a blue moon and recharge it immediately, nothing will happen.
Sweating bullets with ya Dave B. Safe travels and better luck charging down the road.
Your experience was exactly why I passed on the Tesla I was seriously considering last year. I talked to a few owners that have experienced what you did or worse on long trips. One friend who has owned a Tesla Model 3 for years bought a second gas car just for long trips. He loves his Tesla but won't replace it when it's time.
Tesla superchargers are great……do they not understand how to use them?
I have a Tesla .
Drive over 20k last year.
Mostly long distance road trips.
Longest onev4500 miles.
Never had an issue.
@@thomaswilson2917 Depends on where you live and travel I guess.
@@Joerides7 I have been from the Pennsylvania border to the Utah border
From Wyoming to the new Mexico border.
South Eastern states south Carolina Georgia Florida and Alabama.
It makes a big difference if you can charge on the Tesla supercharger network.
What? Lmao. Tesla is on it's own charging network and does better than most gas cars on long trips.
This video is very informative. I really like how Dave takes time to show his trip in the Bolt. This is a great example of the experience of owning an electric car. This video is honest in showing some of the difficulties of taking a long trip in an electric car. Dave has a style of showing the whole experience and presenting with taste and style.
Thanks Dave for sharing this review.
Love the positivity.. but this is why my new bolt is our main local car. Not a travel car
Your efficiency on that trip was 3.7 miles per kilowatt-hour. Which is very good. The BOLT EUV is efficient. Not as good as most Tesla's but still a good outcome. Of course that is greatly affected by weather, terrain, and how you drive.
Great video it remained me why I’m not getting an EV any time soon
Very interesting but ill keep my prius with 57 MPG
This was so good!
Looking forward to this video!!
This was a fun road trip, but I’m going to stick with my MDX lol. Worrying if I have enough charge for long road trips and trying to find a charging station would drive me crazy lol
Good thing you didn’t hit any traffic either!
Thank you for saving more gas for the rest of us!
Thank you for this video. I've been driving my 2020 Bolt for almost 3 years and love it, but the public infrastructure for long trips is not quite where it needs to be. I'm in northeastern PA and a week ago drove to JFK airport and back on a single charge. It was 246.5 miles which gave me 32 miles to spare. I would have had to use a public charger in the middle of winter.
The dealership where I purchased my Bolt had finally installed a Fast charger on their lot a few months ago. However, the company that did the installation has not finished the connection for use. I was there recently and the manager I spoke to had no explanation why it's still unavailable. So I wasn't surprised that you had no access to the dealership's charger.
My God you have guts!!!!!
Great job.
Yep, the average American would immediately turn this right back in. Electric cars at this point are only good for commuting to/from work and running around town. Any road trips need to be gas period. Electric will never completely catch on until there is charging stations at pretty much every gas station. And also that in 5-10mins I can go to empty to a full charge. Sorry on a road trip I don’t feel like wasting hours sitting.
So each person has to question how often they will take road trips. For me this year it has been 1 trip. So, every mile I drive other than the last 1,000 were super easy and convenient due to charging at work or at home.
This is a great example of a long trip with a electric vehicle.
I was able to drive a Volkswagen ID4 for a couple of days.
Thanks for sharing! Nope, I really think Hybrid is the way to go. Always good to have a back up plan, right? EV is just not there yet for long distance driving. Maybe in the future, my opinion.
Been driving ev’s for 10+ years, great video!
Since you made it. I am happy for you. As a long time EV driver and having 2 Bolts, for trips I use A Better Route Planner to plan the trip. Also the members fee is worth 4 dollars. It pays for itself in 1 to charge. Then just cancel it. I don't use my Chevy app for trips.
I love the idea of electric vehicles but the infrastructure needs to be improved for sure!
Great video Dave. It's good to know that we are moving towards a more unified charging network as the Tesla charger is becoming the standard over the next few years. It will make EV ownership alot easier. Still hoping to get a Bolt.
Dave thanks for video. My wife and I took our daughter’s Altima to dealership for a service and my wife talked them into letting us drive the new Aryia. I am a 2020 Silverado 1500 Z-71 RST 5.3 owner and love it but loved driving the Aryia. My wife a 2022 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige and can drive anything hated it and for some reason was a little afraid of it. I asked the dealership at the time how many they have sold and they said none so far. I used to be against electric vehicle but not now, however, issues like you just had and the length of time to charge on a trip turns me off from getting one. Although 45 minutes to an hour resting while charging on a trip would in some ways be good I just don’t want to take that amount of time and just want to get there. I will keep my Chevrolet that I love and love to hear it start up and rumble. You don’t get these sound with an EV.
😬🥴😵💫 I keep my gas powered gas ⛽️ car I imagine it’s like 98° outside you have somebody with you that’s a bit of a problem like always nice videos Dave B 🇺🇸👍🏻
Bonjour-Dave~bravo!pro picture!:)
A good backup plan for a Bolt highway trip would be to hit a RV park. Most have 50amp NEMA 14-50 outlets which will work with the evse supplied with the Bolt EUV.
Right in my hometown area near Bloomsburg, the closed sheetz! 😂
Wow, I almost followed a similar path along 80 with my Rivian last month, and had considered the stop in Bloomsburg, glad I took the Subaru instead as timing was a factor on my trip.
Thanks for another great video with a little slice of ev life. I thought that looked like route 11, a place I travel often. Arriving at Bloomsburg Chevy confirmed it. Those circular marks on the road gave it away. Don’t see those in many places. I think they were installed to help drivers mark their distance from other cars to avoid rear end collisions. Lots of places to turn off on that stretch.
I like your idea, take the plates off and abandon the piece of crap. No way would I ever consider going through this. You are a better man than I.
Hi Dave. Love your videos. I have been driving a Bolt EV since 2019 here in Southern California. U had a used 2017 EV, brand new 2021 EV and now a 2023 EUV. I love my 2022 EUV and I use it primarily for Uber driving. I have been averaging 4.7 miles/kw since 1/1/23. I get over 300 miles on a full charge with 90% street driving. This problem you are having is primarily a ccs problem and not a Bolt problem. You hear horror stories from thousands of ccs ev owners when it comes to road trips. My friend had a 170000 Porsche Tycan and after 5 months of dealing with the charging infrastructure, he returned it and bought a Tesla. I also own a Tesla model y performance and I have driven it from Los Angeles area to Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Colorado without a problem. I guess that is why Ford and GM are joining the Tesla supercharger network. The Bolt is perfect as a daily driver and as a ride sharing vehicle, but not for long road trips.
the problem is he is trying to take a road trip in a Bolt that charges at 50Kw max...I drove a 2017 Bolt for 3 years.
@danmc4133 I agree with you 100% when it comes to supercharging your vehicle. I was just eluding to ride sharing. I use the euv for my ride sharing and my model y performance for my travels. I get over 300 miles on a full charge on the bolt, which is plenty on even my busiest days.
My family and I took our first real "road trip" in our 2023 Bolt EUV recently - first trip where we were traveling far more than the capacity of the battery would allow. Our experience was good, but only because I did some research ahead of time and really planned the trip. All I could think though was how the average person (my Dad for instance) would never be happy with the way the current infrastructure is and the amount of forethought needed for longer trips.
Great video. I haven't needed to use public charging for my Bolt yet (love the ability to charge at my house) but because of these issues I have many charging apps pre-loaded on my phone. From many reviews such as yours, I know that should I need a public charging station I will first check the status of the chargers (good or out-of-service), their availability (in use or free), and previous customer comments (e.g., sketchy or good location, food or shopping available, etc.). Plus it certainly seems that some charger companies maintain their charging stations better than others. I am surprised that this area of Pennsylvania had such a paucity of charging stations. I live well northwest of Phoenix, and the range on the Bolt is sufficient for my occasional trips to southern Phoenix and back which is plenty for my normal use. Rural Arizona is quite devoid of chargers though, so I would use my Silverado for those trips.
P.S. - curious what the Chevy and GMC dealerships would have said if you had time to go in and ask about their chargers? 🤔
If you had hit a traffic jam you would have been screwed
Actually it would have been way less stressful if there had been a traffic jam. EVs use massively less power at low speeds than at highway speeds. His range would have shot way up if he had slowed down.
^ What they said
As others have said, I appreciate your honesty and transparency in this video. I would have been completely stressed out and then totally irritated to add so much time to my trip to recharge the battery (I mean you are not even at your final destination yet in this video, and I saw a 1+ hour charging time for this leg). I will stick with my ICE vehicles for sure.
That’s exactly what GM and Dave want. Making owners of the Chevy Bolt to say how hard they are to charge for any road trips. This is definitely working, because people as yourself will never go EV because of this negativity in charging for extended traveling. Tesla did build out an easy to use charging infrastructure when they introduced their first EVs in 2012. So a decade later they just made its 50,000th charger.
You can definitely go cross country with ease in a Tesla. GM will just go away in 5 years or less.
@@andrerodriguez7603 Tesla worked with GM/Ford to allow access to their 50k chargers.. so great news for us!
@@DaveBsellsChevy thank you! Dave. I’ll edit my comment. 👍😄
Sheetz did this to me in Wytheville Va , Circle K is a good one to look at.
One thing for sure is this makes good content, next year there will be fast chargers every 50 miles thanks to tesla, we can only hope charging a electric vehicle will get easier but for now charging at home is the best option.
Infrastructure is lacking for as hard as it’s being pushed on us
If I were going on a road trip I'd call the gas stations in advance just to make sure now because of this video 😅
I can feel the tension..😂
That would KILL me!😂
There was a reason 120 years ago (when both gasoline and electricity technology were in their infancy) that gasoline was chosen. You have discovered it.
Yeah, Electrify America’s network was really bad 120 years ago. And GM dealers had tie wraps locking out their chargers then too. 1903 was a really bad year for EVs. 😂
Cars had manual crank starters back then. Electrics didn’t need a crank, but terrible battery tech. Should have started developing high voltage battery tech way back then. Just think where we’d be today?
I have learned to plan but I'm fortunate we have a lot of charges in this part of the country. I can't compare, I have never been below 20%.
Ev's are great if you charge them in your garage every night and just use them around town but if you need to drive 500 miles or so you got a problem in most cases. I have a friend who has an older Nissan Leaf and the battery has degraded to where it will only get around 75 miles to a charge. But he is ok with that because he just has a 5 mile drive to work and he only plugs the car in once or twice a week.
Logical post!
I have a Tesla on my 4th one. Definitely a Tesla fan boy. But I have thought about buying other bands of EVs. But the charging infrastructure isn't that great. Never know of they are working, or if they are going to be full with other people charging, or they are just slow to charge. I do think that will all change with Tesla opening up their charging network to other EVs. Tesla's Supercharging network from my experience is so much better. They are always working, never had to wait for one to be available, and quick to charge. I just drove from TN to Fort Lauderdale FL and back without any charging issues.
Meanwhile I have the polar opposite, ford excursion 7.3 diesel with 44 gallon tank 😂
LOL... What's the highway range on a tank?
@@DaveBsellsChevy stock over 600 miles! Now I’m lifted with 37s so somewhere around 500
You are a major polluter with your diesel engine. Climate change is real and you are helping to make the climate change worse! Electric vehicles are the answer for this planet’s future. Charging infrastructure is slowly being built but you need to realize that gas stations didn’t pop up overnight back when gas vehicles were first hitting the dirt roads. That’s right, dirt roads. It took 60 plus years to pave all of the roads that we all take for granted. The EV evolution will happen over a period of 20-30 years just like the ICE cars.
With all the things one may have to deal with during a road trip this video exposes the shortcomings of EV vehicles & charging on a long trip like wasted time, stress of finding a charging station, going off the interstate to find a charger and also when you pull into the charging station there are no available chargers to start using immediately ( don't we all want to add time to our trip)
A EV for local use and errands seems to be logical, but long trips its not ready for prime time.
So stressful not to find charge stations as it needs. on other hand, your sharing can help for decision to buy EV. Plus, followed your stream a few weaks ago about miles / kwt, distance range. it is one of most useful info for EV's.
I have an EUV. I always say, it is NOT a road trip car. If you are a two car household, the other being an ICE or hybrid, it makes sense. Go for it all the way, especially if your daily commute is long (like mine). You can use the ICE/hybrid for the trips and keep the EUV as the daily driver. We're just not there yet, and we won't be for a number of years. Standardization and infrastructure are key.
Was that weird being a Chevy delar for a sec - that you don’t work at to try and charge your car. But nice cidei to bring this yo us. And I appreciate you having some humor in this it shows that you are having fun at times.
There was no one there because it was early in the morning. I'm sure if they were open they would have let me charge up a bit
I was nervous with you, as you pulled up hoping it wasn't down due to construction.
As much as cars cost nowadays, there is no way I would ever put myself through this! It hard enough finding a working air machine sometimes!!
Did it really take 1 hour and 16 minutes to charge? It only cost $12.54 for the charge, but I would have paid $125.40 to not have to wait that long. ;-) Excellent video!!
Bolts charge slowly, and they are real slow if you charge past 60%.
Bolt is 2017 tech. Max charging speed is 55kw. Most EVS now are above 150kw and have a better charging curve. You don't charge a Bolt above 60% on a road trip. The problem is people think you "fill" the tank for EVs like you do for ICE. That's not the best use of time.
@@gregpochet4812 Makes more sense now. Thanks. EDIT: So EVs aren't for people with OCD. I can't NOT fill my tank at a gas station.
Pennsylvania doesn’t have many stations. I’d say go to buckhorn but that’s only Tesla charging. Knoebels has one too.
Once the gov figures out how to apply taxes, the cost to drive (compared to sized gas car=Chevy Spark) will be greater since the policos assume drivers of EVs have a greater ability to pay.
Your car got 47mpg (Cost of $14.44. Assume $3/gal=4.8 gal 226mi/4.8 gal= 47mpg) But you spent 1.25 hrs getting fuel and maybe another 2 hours searching for a station.
Maybe carry solar panels in the trunk for last ditch emergency
Seems like GM is making a big mistake discontinuing the Bolt and Bolt EUV just as sales really started improving. It’s just gonna drive people to brands like Hyundai for the electric Kona and Ionic 5.
I don’t have an EV yet, but I’ve had a cordless electric lawn mower for the past 3 years and it’s worked great.😂 I think the main upside for me with an EV is less maintenance and mechanical repair cost vs internal combustion engines.
It'll be ok and I bet the Bolt name returns one day. They have many new vehicles incoming on the new Ultium Platform. They'll get more range and charge at a faster rate.
DAMN! You sat there for an hour and 16 minutes! For 80%? No way!!!😂
Driving in rain reduces range by 10% or so. Driving into the wind reduces range by 10% or so. Can you see why Dave struggled on this day?
Seems like not practical for long trips but maybe short distance only. I also think certain areas probably have more access to charging systems
Great video! I have to say, I was panicking for you. I drive a Chevy Malibu, and I have been thinking about an EV for my next car, but after seeing this video, I think I will pass... LOL!
I was just driving 80 out of New York in my wonderful Kia K5. I would never do a cross country trip in an electric car. I love my 2015 Chevy Spark EV, but I only drive it around town. I only charge it on my home 120V outlet.
For me it would depend on the car. The Bolt just isn't the right vehicle for road trips nor do I believe it was designed for it. The Silverado EV I have on order however would handle this trip much better. That truck will get somewhere between 400-450 miles on a charge and charges much faster than the Bolt. This 500 mile trip I took would only require about 15 minute charge on a 350kw charger.