Renting an EV in the US

[kaiat]

We are planning for a vacation in Florida next year and I guess we will need to rent a car for the stay. I know Hertz at least have EVs, in particular Tesla and I think maybe that Tesla Superchargers will be the easiest way of charging. Anyone have any experiences or advice to share?

I could of course just go for an ICE (and we might have to as it is possible we need more than 5 seats).

 

[WetEV]

I've rented an EV6 twice from Hertz.

I didn't want a Tesla due to the poor driver interface.


The EV6 was great both times. Hertz location in Denver was much nicer to deal with than in Boston, the Boston Hertz location wanted to talk me out of an EV and made me stand in line for a hour before they would give it to me. I have Hertz gold membership so I should have just be able to pick up the car.

I picked a hotel with charging in Colorado, that was the only charging used. Return the car with over 80%.

I picked hotels with charging for two of the four stops in New England. Not the first hotel, however. Hertz gave me the car with 55% SOC and I needed to find a quick charger the next morning. In retrospect, should have just stopped on my way out of Boston as would not have been far out of my way or much time. Was tired, and wife just wanted to get to hotel, and had enough SOC to do that and to find charging the next day.

 

[Learjet]

Avis has an EV selection also

 

[kaiat]

Thanks for the feedback.

How difficult is it to pay for charging sessions? This has been an issue in Europe with different apps and RFIDs all over the place. That is the reason I would opt for a Tesla as I can use the same app as in Norway. I know there has been problematic for tourists to access chargers in various countries in Europe. Tesla and Ionity are usually recommended as these have the same app all over Europe. With some charging providers, you can not register a foreign credit card for instance.

I am guessing I will have to rely on DCFC as I am not sure if there will be possible to charge where we are staying.

 

[WetEV]

How difficult is it to pay for charging sessions? This has been an issue in Europe with different apps and RFIDs all over the place. That is the reason I would opt for a Tesla as I can use the same app as in Norway. I know there has been problematic for tourists to access chargers in various countries in Europe. Tesla and Ionity are usually recommended as these have the same app all over Europe. With some charging providers, you can not register a foreign credit card for instance.

I've used USA cards in Canada, and Canadian cards in the USA with no issues. I live close enough to the border to have my phone say "Welcome to Canada" once in a while unless I disable roaming, and have bank accounts in both countries. Norway, however, I have no experience with. If the bank card is a "Visa" or "Amex" I suspect you will have no problems spending money.

I am guessing I will have to rely on DCFC as I am not sure if there will be possible to charge where we are staying.

Rather than guess, check it out. A good research tool is plugshare. If you happened to be staying here:

https://www.plugshare.com/location/385407

it would be just like home in terms of charging. Regardless of make of EV. Might be all the charging you need, cost included with stay. Search for any likely hotels you might stay at.


There are two main types of DCFC in the USA. Tesla has better coverage, and some sites support both standards. CCS1 is everyone else currently, and some sites also support Tesla. (Also Chademo, which is mostly the LEAF)

There are also two types of AC charging, Tesla, or everyone else J1772. Rental Tesla cars might have the adapter for J1772, unless past renters lost it. This seems to be a problem. Non-Tesla cars can get an adapter for Tesla AC charging, but isn't likely to be provided with a rental car. J1772 is more common. But there are places that are Tesla connector only.

 

[GerryAZ]

Although I have not tried recently, the major charging networks available in Arizona require RFID card for their network rather than just VISA, MasterCard, or American Express. I have one RFID card that came with my 2015 (and included free charging for a short period of time). It required registration so I registered it with all of the networks along with a suitable credit card for payment. It still works.

I mention this because I don't think you can just use a credit card directly. You can probably charge by calling the charging station's customer service center and paying over the phone by credit card.

 

[WetEV]

Although I have not tried recently, the major charging networks available in Arizona require RFID card for their network rather than just VISA, MasterCard, or American Express. I have one RFID card that came with my 2015 (and included free charging for a short period of time). It required registration so I registered it with all of the networks along with a suitable credit card for payment. It still works.

I mention this because I don't think you can just use a credit card directly. You can probably charge by calling the charging station's customer service center and paying over the phone by credit card.

Good point.

Some times you can, sometimes you can not, use a credit card directly. By network:

Electrify America doesn't have an RFID card, to charge use the app or a credit card or a phone linked to a credit card.

Other networks are a mix by location. Some locations have tap phone or credit/debit card to pay, some are swipe credit/debit card, most take apps and a very few take RFID only.

Some networks are cross linked. You can use the app for one network at a station of a different network. If the two networks are linked.

Shell, ChargePoint, EV Connect and FLO are linked. I think.

Many but not all hotel charging stations are free and for guests only.


Advice? Regardless of car you rent, check out the network(s) you are likely to charge at and set up apps for these in advance.

 

[kaiat]

Thanks for your replies.

What are the major charging networks in Florida? I am not worried about not being able to use my card as such, but experiences from Europe shows that you can run into trouble registering your card in the designated app if it is a foreign card. Sometimes you may not able to download the appropriate app either as the phone may be connected to the app store of your home country. For that reason, most EV-owners roadtripping in Europe tend to use either Tesla or Ionity, which use the same app all over Europe. Tesla should work in the US as well which is the reason I am leaning towards getting a Tesla rental. I believe you could use Plugshare as well, but I don't really trust it.

 

[WetEV]

Thanks for your replies.

What are the major charging networks in Florida? I am not worried about not being able to use my card as such, but experiences from Europe shows that you can run into trouble registering your card in the designated app if it is a foreign card. Sometimes you may not able to download the appropriate app either as the phone may be connected to the app store of your home country. For that reason, most EV-owners roadtripping in Europe tend to use either Tesla or Ionity, which use the same app all over Europe. Tesla should work in the US as well which is the reason I am leaning towards getting a Tesla rental. I believe you could use Plugshare as well, but I don't really trust it.

Tesla is simple, of course, but then you are stuck driving a Tesla.


Electrify America, EVgo and Chargepoint are the larger DCFC networks. Of the three, Electrify America is probably the best, and has similar ownership to Ionity. EVgo has more reliable chargers, but has fewer chargers per location. Chargepoint varies a lot more as their chargers are owned by the site owner... Some are very good, some less so.

Shell is present, but doesn't seem to have a great reputation, and seems to be the same as the European Shell network. Which also doesn't seem to have a great reputation. I have no personal experience.


Chargepoint and Blink are the larger AC networks. Again, are mostly owned by the site owner. Some sites are great.


Again, Plugshare is a good way to research your hotel stays. Free, highly rated guest only charging will make your trip easier. Regardless of what EV you rent.


"Pay with Plugshare" seems to be a California thing.

 

[kaiat]

Thanks. Just checked and I can't download the apps for Electrify America and EVgo. I could perhaps try to change my location in the app store to download them. Chargepoint seems to be the same in Europe as in the US, so I think that will work fine.

We will be renting a house for our stay. I'll see if we can find one with a charging outlet (don't know how common that is though).