Lessons from My 5,000-Mile EV Road Trip

A writer took a 5,212-mile electric vehicle road trip from western North Carolina to Newfoundland, using 46 charging stops along the way. The trip mixed fast chargers on highways, slower Level 2 chargers (a charging speed common at destinations like parks and hotels) at Canadian national parks, and plain 110-volt household outlets at inns and campgrounds overnight. The car used 1,345 kWh of electricity and cost $451 to charge for the whole trip. Driving a similar gas SUV the same distance would have cost around $975 at average East Coast and Atlantic Canada gas prices, based on the writer's estimate.

The trip reinforced two points for the writer: electrical wiring already reaches nearly everywhere, since power lines followed the route the entire way, and EVs remained cheaper to run than gas even on a long trip, not just for daily home charging. At home, the writer charges overnight on a discounted utility rate and says this saves about $1,500 a year compared with buying gas.

For homeowners curious about EVs, the practical takeaways are that overnight charging on a standard household outlet can work in a pinch, even at modest amperage, and that public charging networks, including Level 2 chargers at parks and visitor centers, are becoming common enough to support long trips without needing to plan around gas stations.