Charge It Up and Go! Insider tips for planning your EV road trip

Plan your accommodation, sightseeing, and shopping around the growing number of destination chargers available and look for those dual charging opportunities. While many of these are slower AC chargers, an overnight stay, for example, can be a cost-effective way to top up.

Stop often to recharge yourself and the car. It’s safer, it keeps you more aware, and you’re less likely to have any setbacks – plus, we’ve got you covered in terms of supplying both AC chargers and DC chargers for both those short and long stops.

Expect some queues as many EV drivers will plan ahead and choose the fastest charger available on their route. To improve accessibility and decrease wait times, more and more charging points are being added (370+ charge points right now)!

Plan to charge outside peak times if possible. A good rule of thumb is to avoid charging between 12-4 pm when sites are at their busiest.

Be sure to have tasty snacks and some entertainment options available if you’re travelling with kids and find yourself at an unplanned stop.

Download EV apps. Apps can be helpful to ensure you don’t find yourself stranded somewhere without a charge. Good map and weather apps are also a must-have for your trip. With these apps, you can plan your route, check for detours, and see real-time traffic conditions.

Here are a couple of our favourite apps:

• After setting up an account on the ChargeNet app, you’ll have access to the network of over 370 charge points nationwide. With so many stations, it’s easy to plan your trip without making detours. Plus, when you’re on the road, you can see which chargers are currently in use.
• Plugshare is a great resource for viewing chargers open to the public. The app is community driven and shows all DC fast chargers as well as Type 2 AC charging available in New Zealand. It also allows you to filter your charging stops based on the activities you want to do on the charging stops. For example, do you want to take lunch as your charge?
• With Power Trip you can find charging stations, plan your electric vehicle (EV) road trips and reduce your EV charging costs. The Power Trip route planner predicts your charging needs and schedules charging stops that optimize the amount of time you spend charging your EV while you’re travelling.

Always travel with your portable 3-pin charger. These overnight trickle chargers will save you in unexpected moments when you need a quick change of plan.

Check out the ‘Find a charger‘ map on the ChargeNet website in advance to know which towns have a charger and the current status of charging stations.

Travelling in winter? Don’t just trust your “range mileage” instincts. The charge goes down a lot while you drive in cold weather. For example, if your gauge tells you that you can drive 100km, factor in at least a 20km buffer per 100km that you’ll need to drive.

Have a backup plan (or two) for where to charge, just in case a charger station is down for maintenance or busy. You can keep an eye on the network status as well as download the PlugShare app so you’re kept in the loop.