I've Never Seen A Boutique DCFC Location Like This! Franklin's Charging Little Rock Full Tour
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Kyle's in Little Rock, Arkansas visiting Franklin's Charging hub run by JT Franklin, his family, and the local community! This is a boutique DC fast charging station right off of the highway that features ChargePoint and FreeWire chargers. Perfect spot to fill up your EV on your roadtrip, grab a coffee and a snack (maybe even some pottery), and say hi to the friendly and awesome folks at this electric vehicle stopover.
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If I had a place like this up here i'd stop by daily just to support them.
Really cool to see normal people getting into the charging business! Love supporting local and I’ll have to stop there whenever I’m driving though Arkansas!
In the spring of 2022 we did our first long EV road trip from New Mexico to North Carolina and found this gem. This was the best charging experience we had in a 3k+ mile journey! I love this place and it’s great to see all of the expansion that has happened since last year. We will ALWAYS stop here when coming through to support this amazing group.
This is a great video, Kyle! Our team is constantly working on Boost improvements and we’re working with JT to resolve the issues at this location.
cool
JT's issues are exactly what I expected when I saw the previous videos on Freewire.. The concept is sound but implementation is easier said than done. It shouldn't take a public video to fix his issues though and Freewire's support really dropped by the ball on not resolving this sooner with JT directly. - He could have been a beacon of support for Freewire and a perfect commercial use case had things been resolved sooner before out of spec arrived.
This is PRECISELY what I had in mind as a business model for charging stations. A hub, different chargers, food, coffee, food trucks, events, shopping... All around charging. Perfect! I would gladly pay an extra 5-10¢ per kWh and go to a site like that.
I was there a few weeks ago. Fantastic experience.
This is so cool. JT is my hero. Thanks for bringing us stuff like this Kyle. This is the real top tier content, not boring press drives. This is why Out of Spec rules all of car RUclips in my book.
Clarifying edit; Out of Spec press drives tend to still be interesting due to digging into details other channels don't. But still the best stuff is when you can do charging and efficiency tests, etc.
It gives me some hope in humanity that this is in Arkansas. Good on ya, JT! All the best!
This place is really cool!
I’m a Little Rock native and resident, and recently acquired a ‘22 Model S. This is a very cool station…love their vision and concept. Very forward thinking!
I really hope this group can grow this business and expand across the U.S. this is sweet! 😊
Best video of the year! love it! A dude who love EV in a dry EV state decided to help himself and others!
Love the idea and execution. The canopy is something that should be mandatory here in Texas. I like that he is doing it privately too.
I also have to say I love this station and the family!
I love everything about this. I'll be sure to stop by the next time I'm in the area!
Thank You for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤
Very interesting aquaponic setup. Thanks for the tour!
OMG I wish I was have know you were in town! I stop here from time to time to charge my model 3 performance. It’s a lovely place! JT is awesome too. Talked with him when I had my Mach E. Great guy. Glad to see people getting involved in the EV game.
Wow, thanks for covering this! This is too cool. As a small business owner myself, seeing another small business owner break into the EV industry is awesome. I hope those guys find tremendous success and resist getting bought out (corporate culture seems to kill everything) and we see more of these all over the country.
This is amazing!!! So cool that someone with the passion has run with it and is making it work. Wish there were more people like them. If I am every in the area I will for sure coming here and charge up!!! Keep the inspiration going!!
This guy is awesome.
I love the vertical farm. Coming from carwashing, it pairs well with a site like this also.
Wish I lived there... Good Luck !!
Add a shower stall, and maybe you’ll draw Tesla campers, especially if you can add a few more parking spots with 110v or 14-50r receptacles to rent as EV overnight sleeping stations.
Ooo interesting idea ...
It's an interesting idea but I wonder what regulatory challenges it would face. Local laws can be a maze.
seconds into the video I see a +1 for the install the finished ceiling of the stalls looks like the framework is on the upside so the panels connect to that and kinda forces air up and under the panels
I wish I knew about this spot in August when I came through. I would of definitely stopped by.
I love everything about this.
This guy is too smart and too small to fail! He needs to be supported
I’ve never been to Arkansas but would go there just to see this. I’d LOVE to do the same in Michigan. I think this will be a very popular retirement job, etc.
I live in the small city of Manchester, MI (just became a city, was a village for 150+ years until last year) that is 12 miles south of I-94 betweenn four cities (Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Adrian, and Jackson, MI.) It’s basically a suburb of Ann Arbor. We have a quaint downtown, about 2000 resident’s in town and a few thousand more in the townships around us. Lots of farms, a river going right through town (the River Raisin, some famous battles of the War of 1812 happened way downriver). Major draws are the “World famous Chicken Broil” in July, the 2nd oldest competitive canoe race in the country in May and high school athletics (perennial state wrestling top ten team in our division, very good high school shotgun team, won a national championship in Sporting Clays, etc.) We’re on a state highway (M-52, just a few miles south of the Chrysler Proving Grounds.)
What makes sense to me would be level 2 chargers downtown along the street parking and a fast charging facility like this in the east side of town along M-52. There is even a commercially zoned property for sale in an ideal location for it (right at the intersection of M-52/Austin Rd/Parr St.) There are factories to the south, so you know the power supply is sufficient for fast chargers. There’s a restaurant/bar across the street. You can see City Hall (Sheriff’s substation) from this parcel. It seems like a golden opportunity! But… how? Chargepoint is a no-brainer. I even think a touch less carwash
could be part of it (as well as selling stuff of course, car related, vending machines, even electronics like some of those storage areas you visited in Europe!) I even have a name for it: “Stop N’ Spark, a ChargePoint Joint!”
Awesome setup and people. Glad you did a VIDEO to showcase their passion. This setup is so IDEAL. I'd love to do a similar setup but more foods and bathrooms. Maybe also advertise local businesses and entertainment venues. Plus upcoming improvements or additions to the facilities and local towns/cities.
I've charged at the location in Hot Springs. It's great to have bathrooms on site. It's a great site!
Amazing family and facility! Very cool! We need more of this across the nation! JT, set up a franchising business!
i'm liking this more and more
Covered EV charging! What a bold concept…. Congratulations to Franklin’s for its leadership. Sadly I don’t get Little Rock very often.
just awesome!!!! could not stop watching :)
Great coverage Kyle, how did I miss this gem of a video. Need a follow up with them.
Can't wait to check it out!
Impressive!! I travel from West Virginia to northeast Arkansas and around Craighead county it’s a charging desert! 🐪 Please consider putting one in this part of the state!!
Fantastic video! Love seeing small business owners get in the game. If I lived anywhere near there I would definitely give them business. Goodluck!
Stopped at Franklin's about a year ago. I love the concept, but both Chargepoint stations were down. The FreeWire station wasn't there yet. It's a great location right off the highway on the way to Memphis. Most of the other fast chargers in Little Rock are on the other side of town. I'm really rooting for JT, but it's not a station I trust yet. I'll be driving thru Little Rock again in 3 weeks and will give them another try.
awesome
Kyle, OOS Plaza should look like this in CO. 4 or 5 units, little snacks/drink retail space and bathroom structure. Then the OOS garage/car storage and admin space. If you had a little acre or two to work with, expand down the road with another detailing shop onsite and a your viewers would come from out of state to check out the OOS Plaza. Be like Chip and Joanna and the Magnolia Silo complex in Waco. Just my two cents… easy for me to say, I don’t have to pay for it. 😊
Hey Kyle, I had several eureka moments that led me to believe that the cornerstones of a new and sustainable world was vertical farming, cultured meat (any idea of how many thousands of litres of water is required to create a single fillet seat), primary energy production (solar, wind, underwater turbines that generate energy with tides that are predictable a 100 years hence) and electrification.
If your customers aren't normally going to walk through or even be allowed in the back area, but if you are selling products from there, you should have some screens or photos on the wall so they can see it. It looks awesome back there, so it should be on display somehow.
Trying to remember where Kyle was in Europe when he stopped at a place that had a pizza vending machine. Could totally see one of those here.
One thing I would recommend is car washing. $5 for a very quick spray-soap-spray-quick towel dry. 5 minutes. Nothing fancy.
This is so cool ! love it . 😍
Love this concept. I am curious about all the extra parking spots. Is that for future charging or just spots to wait?
we need more of these NEW old school gas stations
This is a interesting site and model for other entrepreneurs interested getting into the Eevee charging space. It is clearly a passion project for the Creator but I think it is a good model for the for business you know my only concern is if it is throwing off enough cash to cover not just the operational expenses but the capital investment. The owner is clearly concerned about the electricity charges and as I said I'm concerned if he really has a good handle on all the numbers in this business. I wish them the best of luck with their two sites I hope it is a model for future businesses elsewhere.
That's a really great site! Demand charges don't bite as much once the utilization is high enough. I wonder what his utilization is?
The circle k by the house has 2 freewire 200kw stations
Need more infrastructure in Atlanta Ga!!
We still love you, Kyle.
By the way, you sound a little nasaly. I hope you don't have a head cold. That wouldn't be good. Take care of yourself and thanks for all the great videos.
Hey Kyle! I love watching your videos and I’m a supporter of the channel. I live in Little Rock, and my dad and I charge at and love this charging hub. We met JT and he’s such a nice guy who loves new tech. We also have a Rivian just like you and we also believe it to be an amazing car, packed with features and opportunities. I would have never expected you to come to Little Rock and I feel like AR rarely gets noticed. It’s good to see some recognition. I’m also interested in the charging and EV infrastructure of the States. I can’t believe and I never would have thought that you were friends with JT! Soooo cool to see a RUclips channel with almost 200k subs, meet someone that I know and come check out the most reliable and cool charging station in my opinion. We love JT and hope he has good business!!!! @OutofSpecReviews
Something to be aware of is that the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ioniq6, and the others on the same platform, the Lectron adapter does not work on them.
Looks like an 11 to me!
This was a great video, @kyle. Multi-service hubs like this will become even more important as time goes by, perhaps even as franchise opportunities! A couple (OK, 3) questions. What backend package is he using to manage his chargers? Is it staffed 24/7? If not, how does he handle security for the facility after hours, both for customer safety and vandalism prevention? Lastly, given how important station uptime is, has he thought about maintenance/repair after the equipment warranty periods end? Once again, awesome video!
Nice video Ty
That's pretty freaking cool, can't imagine what that operation costs? Wonder if he got some grant money or something? And yeah that business model would definitely go really really well in some areas around the country That's for sure...
9:53 doesnt that freewire have a 200A or 250A cable? So at 400V its about max?
Not sure how this business model will ever work. The capital expenditure is through the roof. It's a very nice charging station but it needs to learn from gas stations when it comes to overhead costs and revenue generating items. I want to see Franklin Charging grow and open more locations so a working business model is paramount to their success.
Virginia has charging stations like that buddy
Nothing bad about a 73kW charge. And they really do speak like they do in Arkansas.
If I was them, I'd offer carwashes as well. Just buy a cheap $300 roll around pressure washer unit. It seems like they are trying to be the "everything around cars and charging" spot. I didn't see enough branding and signage, I'd invest a bit more into that. (If even to tell people where they can go/"ENTER"/"OPEN"/etc.)
Living the dream. This guy is the best. This is the way our infrastructure needs to be. Keep the doofus big corps out of this space. They will ruin the goodness of this project.
You can be connected to the grid, but who says you need to use it.
nutritions for the plants yesirskiii
38cents would be fine keep it below the 40cents.
Too bad didn't discuss funding and government incentives.
A liberal environmentalist business owner in the middle of trump County!
WOW !
I thought them charging boutiques were just fer the ladies?
This is a great visit to a third world country.
when we get a new presidend 2025 the EV IS DEAD
The EV industry survived a Trump presidency before, it can do it again.
Just the addition of a windshield washing station alone brings this place leagues ahead of most other EV charging stops. The rest is pure icing on the cake. Wish them well, and will make a point to stop here if I'm anywhere nearby.
So cool to see my hometown featured in such a great way! Franklin’s is awesome. I always enjoy stopping by
Such a cool charging site and great people! Really love to see a whole family get behind a business!
After watching hundreds of hours of OOS videos, this is one of my favorites. The integration of businesses that JT has done here is awe inspiring for the future of EV acceptance. I've done many multi-day road trips and am definitely headed to Little Rock soon.
Kyle leading the way for energy efficient transportation. Very interesting and much to see and admire about what JT is doing in Arkansas. Wouldn't it be great if some IRA money was earmarked for small independant, agrarian operations like JT's. Thanks Kyle, keep up the great work. 😀
If you're heading to Charlotte, Duke Energy has a Freewire that was free in September at their Innovation Hub that is attached to a great food hall that I got 170kw on an e-GMP car. It worked great. I recommend the dumpling and Bao place in the food hall!
I will be checking it out in April, if not sooner. Audio isn’t excellent, but I’ve heard much worse.
Charging your car and getting a good cup of coffee at the same time awesome and love the hydroponics ❤❤❤
Great job. Love the creativity of income streams. Would love to see this place in 5 years
Love seeing normal locale people trying to better their community. I wish that we would get more of these type of things in rural and small towns in Michigan
This beats the back parking lot at a Walmart.
This is what a charging station should be. Once he figures out the charging speeds he will be golden. The fact that he has adapters says some about the thought process. It's the little things that separates businesses like his. 👍
Love to see this. I've wondered how a full service charging station could work, check tires, maybe even a wash, and anything else. Also had the idea of a valet in a strip mall that will take the car to a charger and then bring it back when done shopping. So no hunting for a charger or worrying you're taking up a space when full.
Honestly this is such a great idea and setup I hope we start seeing more stuff like this.
i suggest someone who know the laws well should investigate and make a class action lawsuit on these EV Charge companies! there have been a lot of BS against EV car drivers/owners charging their cars going on!
I made a comment about this place like a month ago on one of your videos! This place is cool af during the day but was a little more sketch at 1am when trying to get a little nap. 😛 My wife and I stopped here on a cross country drive from Charlotte, NC to Palm Springs, CA in our 2017 Bolt EV. We didn't plan the trip and tried to only hit EA stations but this was one of a handful of none EA stops we had.
This is really cool. What I like o out this setup ‘ boutique’ or ‘mom and pop’ charging location, is that we are seeing the entry of the smaller opportunistic business entering the charging space. This is an opportunistic condition where businesses of this type can hopefully plug into some of the many smaller underserved locations so we will not have charging infrastructure deserts in many areas, possibly the more urban suburban and small town areas where you don’t see large populations or large traffic areas.
That reminds me of how Roland Schüren started with the first chargers at his bakery in Hilden. I wish JT Franklin the best of luck with this business. Hopefully it grows as big as Seed and Greet one day.
It’s great, my concern is that with TSLA opening up their network very few EV owners are going to search out non TSLA charging facilities by 2025, unless your car can’t charge fast on TSLA systems. Not saying no-one will charge but will they get enough volume to sustain expenses. We just saw BP do a deal for TSLA chargers, I believe that’s the way to go if private persons can get that done too. Elon is all about helping the small guy, so he says. If they have the money they should enquiry with TSLA to rent/buy their machines and add them to the site. Wish them well hope they make it big.
Happy to hear Hot Springs. I literally started the video thinking "I need to call out Hot Springs if it wasn't location #2"
Hopefully you guys can make the finances work out, it's a great site and I wish you guys phenomenal success!
For old people like me, every charging station should have nice restrooms. 😊
Business plan (especially for the location) is questionable but loving the enthusiasm. Wishing them the best of luck.
He didn't seem to want to say what his demand charges are per month but doing a little googling and estimating his max energy output I would guess somewhere around 4 to 4.5k per month In addition to his per kilowatt hour rate
I'm impressed. We are retired and probably driving our last cars (ICE). This is a great idea. If I'm ever in LR and need a cup of coffee and a snack I'll hide our Accord around the corner and check you out.
I've noticed that there's a Supercharger desert in SE and NE Arkansas. Driving a Tesla from Conway to St. Louis appears to be inconvenient. Opportunity?
This is so great!! Definitely encourage everyone to drop by and give then some business if you're in the area! Such fine folks!