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possible first time long distance + wrong side of the road. Tips? Mad?
- Thread starter Mrklaw
- Start date
Mr H
Active Member
I've just done a 10-day trip to Europe (France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourgh) this Easter holiday, 1700 miles roundtrip. Other people have touched on most of the things to be aware of but here are a few more related to charging:
- Buy charging cards to be able to use them at non-Tesla destination chargers: there are a ton of charge points in e.g., France and Netherlands (many more so than in the UK) but a large number of them do not accept debit/credit card. Some don't even have app access. The ones I bought were PlugSurfing & ShellRecharge because they were cheap (9 quid for PlugSurfing, free for ShellRecharge). I'd considered Chargemap Pass but at 20EUR it doesn't seem worth it, given that they're not as large as PlugSurfing.
- Searching for parking spots in busy city centers (or anywhere else, for that matter) then become super easy as I could use the EV charge point apps to do so. Getting an extra 30-40% charge when we had to stop a few hours for lunch/sightseeing was a boon.
Otherwise, it's indeed just pack up and go!. The supercharger network makes it a breeze even if you can't charge at destinations. I tend to use it as a backup and like to rely on destination chargers when possible.
- Buy charging cards to be able to use them at non-Tesla destination chargers: there are a ton of charge points in e.g., France and Netherlands (many more so than in the UK) but a large number of them do not accept debit/credit card. Some don't even have app access. The ones I bought were PlugSurfing & ShellRecharge because they were cheap (9 quid for PlugSurfing, free for ShellRecharge). I'd considered Chargemap Pass but at 20EUR it doesn't seem worth it, given that they're not as large as PlugSurfing.
- Searching for parking spots in busy city centers (or anywhere else, for that matter) then become super easy as I could use the EV charge point apps to do so. Getting an extra 30-40% charge when we had to stop a few hours for lunch/sightseeing was a boon.
Otherwise, it's indeed just pack up and go!. The supercharger network makes it a breeze even if you can't charge at destinations. I tend to use it as a backup and like to rely on destination chargers when possible.
I wasn't expecting superchargers to be off the motorways (although I should really have anticipated this. Typically they were at hotels and not too far from a junction). Twice, I think, we got caught out by the navigation being a little pessimistic and throwing in an extra stop (which could be avoided by adding the original next supercharger as a waypoint). I also completely failed to find a free/working non-supercharger in Caen on the return, which made for a slightly more tense queue at passport control than ideal. Passport queues (both ways) were slow, even though we avoided Dover. Off the supercharger network, I found ~1 hour per day at 11kW was enough to mostly break even, with just a couple of longer charges, including priming for the return trip - no overnight charging at the gite.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Some Aires in France have mixed-bathing, but most segregate the traffic from each direction.
Where the Aire is not mixed I would prefer "just off motorway", as it means that holiday traffic, travelling predominantly in one direction, can share all available stalls, rather than having only half the stalls on each side.
Mr H
Active Member
You think Plugsurfing is cheap....wait until you get the charging bill
Yes, had one, plus a 10M extension, but parking was in a layby down the road. Schuko was used when we had to share a borne with someone else, and it only offered one each of type 2 and type 3 (or Schuko on each side).
3rd party RFID tags are all very well, but only when the provider networks are talking to each other. My Freshmile pass was useless for 3 days, but at least Reveo (the local provider) has web/app access.
I expected the price to have been set by the charge point but as long as the price quoted is clear, I'm okay with it.
There are some charge points around Europe that are acceptable prise-wise (22kW, 0.33EUR/kWh). Many are 0.59EUR/kWh though and PlugSurfing doesn't make it clear how much they're getting for commissions.
Your comment prompted me to check for the price of Chargemap-supported charge points though and at a first glance many of those charge points are indeed a lot cheaper.
Do you use any charge card when traveling in Europe (assuming you do)?. I'm thinking about ordering a Chargemap Pass if they're more economical.
The price per kWh of charge points throughout Europe is certainly interesting though. I thought that Netherlands, with their huge network would be much cheaper but 0.42EUR/kWh is more common than I'd have liked.
To be fair, the only reason I considered getting a RFID charge card in the first place was because of Netherlands.. no idea why the all of the destination charge points I've come across there didn't even support app, let alone credit/debit cards.
Travelling around Europe in an EV has reinforced my belief that Tesla is the only sane choice at the moment. I'd be quite concerned driving any other EV without a bunch of RFID charge cards around, which would make spontaneous destinations non-viable.
Mr H
Active Member
I do have a plugsurfing card along with a Chargemap pass 'just in case' but i've not had to use them, we usually find Maingau to be cheaper. I did find a post in Benidorm last year that plugsurfing activated at no cost. Just be careful as they can put an admin fee on top. The most expensive in the EU apart from IONITY are Fastned which are eye-watering.
It sounds like you're using country-specific charge cards then?. For us it'd be a little tricky since we tend to travel without a specific destination in mind so our plan could change often. It's a pity these charge cards aren't available from a grocery store.
Mr H
Active Member
Maingau work in France and Germany, not tried other countries yet, most networks can be operated via an app anyway so no cards needed at all
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
THIS SOUNDS LIKE FUN!
I grew up in Blackpool, but have lived in the US for ... well more than half my life now. The comments about driving on the "wrong" side of the road are spot on. You'll never just suddenly veer over the median and blast into oncoming traffic, but what you perhaps WILL do is to end up on the wrong side of the road at a junction, because part of your concentration is given over to looking for traffic and you'll do the maneuver by muscle memory.
When I visit the UK, and I'm driving, I deal with this by saying to myself out loud "Left, left, left" when I make the turn. Sounds corny, but it does focus one's attention
One time I was returning the rental car at LHR and the road I needed was blocked. I got out to ask the police what the story was and he said it was a G7 thing, but I could go up that road if I wanted, but just tell his mate at the other end so I wouldn't get a kicking. I thanked him ... then proceeded to get in the wrong side of the car!
Oh how we both laughed
I grew up in Blackpool, but have lived in the US for ... well more than half my life now. The comments about driving on the "wrong" side of the road are spot on. You'll never just suddenly veer over the median and blast into oncoming traffic, but what you perhaps WILL do is to end up on the wrong side of the road at a junction, because part of your concentration is given over to looking for traffic and you'll do the maneuver by muscle memory.
When I visit the UK, and I'm driving, I deal with this by saying to myself out loud "Left, left, left" when I make the turn. Sounds corny, but it does focus one's attention
One time I was returning the rental car at LHR and the road I needed was blocked. I got out to ask the police what the story was and he said it was a G7 thing, but I could go up that road if I wanted, but just tell his mate at the other end so I wouldn't get a kicking. I thanked him ... then proceeded to get in the wrong side of the car!
Oh how we both laughed
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
I have a JD Gator in the garden for humping stuff about. Its LHD ... I never considered that an issue for an off road vehicle ... but I, too, get in the wrong side every time
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
I just tried Eurotunnel ... a "short break" was £230 Flexi, and a 14 day was £264 (cheapest crossings) or £592 (flexi) ... so I reckon it depends a lot when you cross
its July and each way was £219 short break ‘flexi’ if I want the ability to adjust/cancel/jump on any train which I probably need considering the risk of the M20 being screwed. so £438 all in. Even if I pick the early slots that only affects the fixed prices.
