How to Plan an EV Road Trip: Step-by-Step Guide

By Gregory Wilson · Excerpt from Chapter 10 of EV Curious?

Your first road trip in an EV can feel daunting. I remember the anxiety I felt planning our inaugural long-distance journey from San Francisco to Colorado in our Model X. Would we find working chargers? What if we got stranded? These concerns are completely normal, but as I've learned over dozens of road trips since then, EV travel is not only feasible but often more enjoyable than gas car trips.

What makes EV trip planning different from gas car trip planning is the availability of fuel. Imagine planning a 500-mile gas trip knowing there were only four gas stations along the entire route — you'd do some careful planning. That's essentially what EV trip planning was like in the early days. Today it's much easier: the US went from about 4,000 high-speed chargers in 2017 to over 70,000 by early 2026, a roughly seventeenfold increase in under a decade.

The six steps

1. Use your car's built-in trip planner first. Enter your destination in your EV's navigation system. Most modern EVs (Tesla, Volvo, Porsche, Rivian, Ford, Hyundai/Kia) include a planner that selects charging stops, accounts for elevation and weather, and tells you exactly how long to charge at each one. The planner targets a 10-15% arrival buffer. Tesla's planner only shows Superchargers, which is fine for Tesla owners since the network is so extensive.
2. Cross-check unfamiliar stops with PlugShare. For any charger you haven't used before, open PlugShare and read the most recent two or three user reviews. PlugShare surfaces problems faster than the network's own status app — broken plugs, sites being repaved, equipment quirks. If the recent reviews look bad, swap that stop before you leave.
3. Pad your stops in cold weather. If outside temperatures are around 20°F or below, expect 20-40% range loss. Add an extra 10-15% to each charging stop, or add a backup stop in between. Cold also reduces charging speed until the battery warms up.
4. Plan the return trip too. Think about the entire journey, not just getting to your destination. If you'll arrive with only 10% battery, consider what return-trip planning looks like starting from 10%. If charging at the destination is unreliable, charge to 30% on the last stop before arrival to give yourself flexibility.
5. Stay flexible while you're driving. If your planned arrival percentage at the next stop keeps dropping during the drive, search for a closer charger and stop there instead. The expanding network means there's almost always a backup option within range.
6. Choose between networks based on price and amenities. When you have a choice between Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint, or Tesla Supercharger, consider price (which varies significantly by network and time of day), distance off your route, and what restaurants or restrooms are nearby. The best stop is usually the one closest to a meal break.

What to do when plans don't go perfectly

Most of the time, trip planning works exactly as intended. But unexpected things happen. You might arrive at a charger that's out of order, which is why backup options within range matter. This isn't always possible in remote areas, but the expanding network makes it less of a concern than it used to be.

Reliability has gotten dramatically better. Tesla's Supercharger network has been hovering around 99% uptime for years; Electrify America publishes uptime numbers that have climbed past 95% on their newer hardware; even the smaller networks have cleaned up their acts. The best signal you have as a driver is the recent reviews on PlugShare or the chatter on YouTube channels like Out of Spec Reviews — both will tell you if a particular site has gone offline before any of the official network apps catch up.

Why EV road trips can actually be more relaxing

The forced stops every few hours for charging naturally align with good travel practices: stretching your legs, grabbing food, taking breaks. These habits make for safer and more enjoyable journeys whether you're in an EV or a gas car — the difference is that an EV makes them mandatory. After dozens of road trips, I've come to look forward to that rhythm.