TL;DR: The CCS network certainly has room to improve but it's adequate for a cross-country coast-to-coast drive. Electrify America never left us stranded and never made us wait a long time. I've only experienced one derated Electrify America stuck at 90kW but it was easy to switch. And L2 chargers are underrated. ABRP is reliable and can be fully trusted. The car's onboard navigation is consistently more pessimistic than ABRP and can also be trusted; we learned to like using the onboard navigation for its prediction of arrival battery SOC.
Long story: As part of a work-sponsored relocation, I needed to move from the Bay Area in California to Jersey City, NJ. My wife and I took turns driving our Ioniq 5, fully loaded with our luggage (the moving company took care of large pieces of furniture like mattresses but we brought about 6 suitcases worth of personal effects) and a cat and the cat's supplies. We also didn't take the shortest route, since we decided to visit some national parks in Utah and Colorado, as well as my wife's alma mater, UIUC.
We almost entirely used Electrify America, except for three occasions on Tesla destination chargers and three on L2 ChargePoints. My car actually cannot use NACS-enabled Superchargers yet, and originally I thought I would have to use some Magic Dock Superchargers but that turned out not to be the case. I used Electrify America a total of 24 times according to the app (more in reality due to some EA chargers in free mode). None of my EA charging sessions exceeded 30 minutes. Most were about 12–15 minutes long.
Here's the complete 14-day itinerary including charging stops.
* Day 1: I charged the car to 100% overnight at home. Due to the need to run some errands in the morning, when we started the road trip there was 90% left. The onboard navigation predicted that we would arrive at Harris Ranch EA at 17%, but due to significant traffic congestion we arrived at 35%. EA performed well, giving me 244kW max. Ordered burgers at the restaurant but unfortunately the car reached 80% before the burger was ready. Unplugged as soon as the burger was ready, at 91%. Then drove to an Airbnb in Bakersfield with Tesla destination charger. Charged to 100% overnight.
* Day 2: We drove from Bakersfield to Baker and arrived at 25% SOC. That Electrify America was glorious with very needed canopy. 12 chargers in total, 3 available. Charged to 89% at 177kW maximum. Then drove to our hotel in Las Vegas, arriving with 45% left. When we drove to a restaurant for dinner, we noticed a L2 ChargePoint nearby. While we had dinner, we charged to 66%. Then we drove back to the hotel at 65%. We didn't charge at any EA in Las Vegas area due to how congested they were. Honestly the L2 ChargePoint was essential in retrospect: if we couldn't charge in Las Vegas the battery would be awfully low when we got to the next EA.
* Day 3: We left the hotel at 65% and arrived at the EA in Mesquite, NV at 25%. The 350kW chargers were occupied so we plugged into the 150kW. It gave us 173kW which was fast enough. We used the restroom in the adjoining Walmart and ordered takeout from Subway. By the time we got the subway order the car was at 92%. We then drove to yet another EA at Telegraph, UT and charged to 95%. We thought we would drive to Zion and then Bryce Canyon along U.S. 89 which has no charging, so we charged here almost to full (ABRP said charge to 100%), but we changed our plans later on and decided to visit the Kolob Canyons area.
* Day 4: We didn't drive at all. Took the NPS shuttle to Zion and back to Springdale.
* Day 5: We drove from the hotel to Kolob Canyon and then to the EA at Cedar City, UT. Arriving at the charger at 44% and charged to 94%. Again the limiting factor was the slow subway order at Walmart. We didn't need to charge that long because we booked a hotel with Tesla destination chargers (Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn). Fortunately no one was waiting for the EA charger. Drove to Bryce Canyon National Park along the scenic drive and then checked in to the hotel at 60%. Charged to 100% in the evening. Took the NPS shuttle back into the park: the shuttle is more convenient than driving because one could start the hike at one shuttle stop and end at another without making it a full loop. I also appreciated taking a break from driving and letting a professional bus driver do it.
* Day 6: We started from the hotel at 100%, passed through Capitol Reef National Park, drove by a couple of attractions there and ended up at the Green River EA with 41% left. Charged to 80% and left for Moab, UT. Arrived in Moab, UT and visited a lot of places in Arches National Park. Charged to 90% at the newly opened Electrify America (RMP Moab) on the way back to the hotel. This charging station actually opened just a few weeks ago. If we had started the trip a few weeks earlier, we would have to find some other way to charge.
* Day 7: Drove to Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky district in the morning for some hikes. Passed by the same EA and topped up from 60% to 90%, and then drove to the Needles District to see some amazing views. Drove back to the hotel. During this drive I noticed the steering wheel shaking whenever the speed was above 55mph: it's a known issue probably because of the foam in the Michelin tires. Found a nice tire shop on Yelp. The tire shop was closed for the day so decided to go to the tire shop first thing in the morning for a balance.
* Day 8: Went to the tire shop just when they open. Unfortunately there was already a line of people with tire problems. Waited a bit and did the balance. Then charged one last time at Moab to 83% and left for Alamosa, CO. The ABRP said to take the southerly route, but that route has two ChargePoint stations each with only two plugs and charges at 125kW max. I decided to take the I-70 instead with two Electrify America stations. Arrived at the EA in Grand Junction, CO with 36%. Walked to the other side of the street for Chick-fil-A. The Chick-fil-A was crowded. By the time I got the carry out order and walked back to the car it was at 99%. Fortunately no one was waiting. Drove to another EA in Edwards, CO. This time there was a short wait and it was actually the only time I waited at all in this trip. ABRP told us to charge to 90% which we did. We then drove to Alamosa, CO. On this drive we encountered the tire imbalance issue again. Charged the car to 100% at a nearby L2 ChargePoint for the night.
* Day 9: I realized that if I visited a Michelin-recommended tire shop, they would be defending the quality of the tires and would refuse to remove the foam in the tires. I found a tire shop that does not sell Michelin tires at all. Finally the mechanic didn't try to convince us that the foam was fine and agreed to remove it. Did a balance and then drove to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Then drove to the Electrify America in Pueblo, CO, arriving at 51% and charged to 90%. ABRP said this leg would use a lot of energy but it turned out it wanted us to drive on the toll road E-470. But I didn't want the hassle of mailed toll notices so I endured Denver traffic. ABRP said I would make it to the next Electrify America at 20% but with traffic I arrived with 48%. Charged to 85% and drove to Estes Park, CO.
* Day 10: Visited Rocky Mountain National Park for the whole day. Drove on the highest paved road in the contiguous United States and visited the highest NPS visitor center. Left the park and drove back to the hotel with 50% left.
* Day 11: Drove east and stopped at the Electrify America at Fort Morgan, CO. The 350kW chargers were occupied so I used the 150kW. Arrived at 25% and charged to 85%. Next charging stop was in Ogallala, NE. Arrived at 45% and charged to 95% (actually ABRP asked me to charge to 98% but I decided to ignore that). The onboard navigation said I would not get to my next charging stop in Grand Island, NE. I in fact arrived with 27% left. Tried a charger but it stuck at 90kW; switched to a different one to get 160kW. To stay within EA's free charging rules, I made sure the combined charging time for both sessions did not exceed 30 minutes. Drove to the hotel in Grand Island for the night.
* Day 12: Left the hotel. Arrived at the Electrify America in Council Bluffs, IA at 29%. Charged to 80%. Drove to the Electrify America at Brixmor Haymarket in Des Moines at 28%. Charged to 80% again. Drove to the Electrify America in Williamsburg, IA at 44% and charged to 80%. Drove to our hotel in Davenport and plugged in to the Tesla destination charger. I guess I was lucky because out of the two destination chargers, one was broken so there was only one working and it happened not to be occupied. Had a nice conversation with the hotel front desk ("you drive a Hyundai but you want to charge with Tesla?")
* Day 13: Left the hotel with 100% charge. Arrived at the Electrify America in Champaign, IL at 24%. Charged to 80%. Parked near campus and walked around for a bit. The parking garage had a ChargePoint L2 so plugged in. When we finished the campus visit it was at 89%. Then drove to the EA in Indianapolis and charged to 90%. Drove to EA in Columbus, OH and charged from 30% to 80%. Drove to our hotel in Columbus with 75%.
* Day 14: Drove to the EA in Mansfield, Ohio. Charged from 54% to 92%. Charged at the EA in Clarion, PA and charged from 30% to 92% again. One final charge at the EA in Bloomsburg, PA from 35% to 92%. All these chargers were uneventful.
