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After weighing pros and cons of electric vehicle (EV) ownership since becoming president of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition in 2020, I decided my next pick-up truck would be electric.
My gas-powered 2019 Silverado required a new transmission and expensive engine repairs before I made it to 70,000 miles, so I decided to make the switch a little sooner than expected. I purchased my first EV, a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado RST EV First Edition, earlier this year.
Fast forward to the fall and we faced our first all-electric adventure – a family trip from Birmingham to Alabama’s beaches, our first without needing to stop for gas. Could we make it work, conveniently?
The all-electric range of 440 miles on a full charge gave me confidence that my wife, four-year-old son, and unborn twins would be fine on an 800-mile road trip in Alabama. I knew there were multiple chargers along the way to keep this vacation on track.
Advantages of Home Charging
Like most EV owners, I charge at home most of the time, usually to 80 percent, or 350 miles, but I charged all the way to 100 percent on my home charger for this trip. Eleven hours of charging at home increased my battery’s charge from 51 percent to 100 percent and added about $19.96 to my power bill. As a comparison, this amount of range would have cost me about $38 at the pump in my old gas truck.
My home charger cost $550 from a local big box store and installation on a 60-amp breaker cost another $450. Since I’m an Alabama Power customer, I am taking advantage of their EV-related incentives, which include a $500 rebate for home charger installation and about a 10 percent overnight discount on all the power I consume between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Charging a Giant Battery in Public
My truck has a bigger battery than most EVs on the market, so I am looking for the very fastest chargers as a matter of convenience.
Of 115 unique fast charging stations currently operating in Alabama, 35 can deliver over 200kW to a vehicle and another 17 of those can deliver up to 400kW.
The sweet spot for a restroom, meal and fueling break is somewhere around 30 minutes for my family. Even with the biggest battery on the market, I never imagine my family spending more than 30 minutes at any fast charger. EV charging speeds slow significantly after the battery reaches 80 percent. I’d expect a 400kW charger to add 300-to-350 miles of range in 30 minutes.
Bottom line: I’ve got a big battery that I’m going to charge at home most of the time.
Our Beach Trip
Between Hoover and Bay Minette along Interstate 65, fast charging stations are conveniently located in Alabaster, Prattville, Montgomery, Hope Hull, Greenville and Evergreen. We made it to the Baldwin Beach Express after four hours of driving, ending at the Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging station at the Buc-ees in Baldwin County with 31 percent battery state of charge (SOC).
We parked, plugged in and headed inside to use the restroom, get food and stretch our legs. Once we returned, I didn’t have time to eat my brisket sandwich before the charging session was complete and we were on our way. Total time charging time? 29 minutes.
We decided to take the Dauphin Island Ferry one way, meaning we drove around the Mobile Bay to get back to Orange Beach. We also visited the outlet mall in Foley on another day, and we never worried about our electricity-powered driving range. Including a stop at Hope Hull on the way home, we charged for a total of 75 minutes at a cost of about $150 during this trip, which is a little more than I would have paid for gas in my old truck.
Once I returned home, I posted about our trip on Facebook and received a number of insightful questions, including this one: “If you were evacuating from somewhere in full traffic, would you be comfortable about not losing a charge and being stranded?”
Yes. I tested my truck one hot August day by sitting in it for four hours with the air conditioner blasting and it only used 1 percent of my battery. As long as power is available, I feel confident that my truck will always be in range of a working fast charger – EVEN in Alabama! And if the power is out? When there is a mass evacuation, gas stations typically run out of gas before the power goes out. EV chargers, on the other hand, will work until the power goes out. Without backup power, an electricity outage means no one gets fuel, EV driver or not.
Looking Ahead
Range anxiety, the fear of running out of charge, remains a major obstacle to EV adoption, even though approximately 90 percent of EV charging happens at home. But the range anxiety I felt before embarking on our beach vacation was real. This trip dealt a huge blow to any range anxiety I may have in the future.
This trip confirmed something I already knew: A combination of advances in EV battery range and the addition of EV chargers along Alabama’s interstates – thanks to ADECA’s statewide EV infrastructure grant program – made it easy for me to go electric on our vacation with no problems. To be honest, we had considered using my wife’s gas-powered SUV for the trip, but now we realize that’s not necessary.
As major auto manufacturers roll out more EVs, it’s increasingly likely one will fit your family’s lifestyle. You can visit www.driveelectricalabama.com to learn more about EVs and their impact on our state.
I love my truck. It’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned, and I’ll be using it again for future family trips. You can also check out a video on www.driveelectricalabama.com, where I go into more detail about our family beach trip and address questions and concerns surrounding EVs.
Here’s the bottom line: This trip did a lot to ease my range anxiety. We loaded up the truck, went to the beach and didn’t have to stop for gas over 800 miles with zero problems.
