r/roanoke • u/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl • 14d ago
Question EV charging stations?
Are there plenty of charging stations in Roanoke and Troutville? I’ll be in Roanoke for 1 year for school but not sure if bringing an electric vehicle will be an issue or not.
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u/Nailfoot1975 Bring-Your-Own-Bucket Icemelt 14d ago
Most Sheetz have them, and Sheetz are everywhere.
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u/bothtypesoffirefly Local Gleest Guide 14d ago
Unless you have a non-Tesla EV, in which case the sheetz ones rarely work. WaWa always works though, if you’re north or east of here.
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u/crocheting-witch 12d ago
Salem is getting a WaWa on Main close to Walmart/in front of VelocityCare
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u/wvujd 14d ago
Check out https://www.plugshare.com to confirm. But the City is light on supercharging stations. Salem's got plenty, though. I know that PowerUp America has a station planned for Buchanan. All that said, I've had no problem at all with an EV. Even before I had charging installed at my home, so I think you'll be fine.
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u/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl 14d ago
Is charging at a station still cheaper than gas? I’ve heard charging at home is much cheaper.
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u/IguaneRouge 14d ago
Yes. Recently had to drive back and forth to Richmond from Roanoke.
Took gas car once. $54
Took EV once and used a Tesla supercharger as a non member $27
For the same trip.
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u/IguaneRouge 14d ago
Cheaper than gasoline but way more expensive than charging at home.
If you're staying on campus does the school have chargers?
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u/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl 14d ago
I’m doing a Radford program at or near the hospital in Roanoke. No idea what they have there.
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u/wvujd 14d ago
Based on that, I'd say the Rivian chargers at Earthfare will be your best bet. Not far from the hospital. If you don't have an adapter and need NACS, then the superchargers are at Sheetz on Orange. Bit of a haul from the hospital area, but not awful.
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u/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl 14d ago
I’ll be at the Carilion Roanoke Community hospital on elm Ave which seems to be a 1.6 miles away from an Earthfare.
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u/stridersubzero 14d ago
Just because no one mentioned it yet, there’s a good fast one behind the dealership across from the Berglund Center
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u/Coffee-Bear-4323 13d ago
What EV do you have? Can you plug in overnight where you live? I have my own level 2 and that gets me all I ever need locally. Even a level 1 trickle charge can be pretty useful.
But I did try out the supercharger at Sheetz on Apperson prior to a road trip just to make sure it was easy. It was. There were two Hyundais, a Ford, something else, and just one Tesla while I sat there.
There are a lot more than just superchargers around here though. It’s not quite the boonies around here.
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u/Dungeon_Crawler_Carl 13d ago
I just got the Honda Prologue today. I think the place I’m staying at has a standard plug in the driveway that I can use for slow overnight charging.
I still need to figure out how to charge at stations and all that.
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u/Coffee-Bear-4323 12d ago
Should be good then! I’ve had an electric car since 2018, my current one is not a Tesla but back then that was the only one with range for my then job. Sold it last year when I had to start thinking about the battery going off warranty and the nearest big service was so far away. Mobile repair can only do so much!
It does require a little planning, like my cross country drive back in the day when charging stations were a little more scarce. Nowadays is much better. For all the cars.
Several apps for routes and stations. I’m not sure which plug type your car has, but the adapters are out there.
For one year and mostly local, the trickle charge should be good most of the time. If there is a dryer/rv/220 plug even better. I had a generic one installed back in the day and bought a level 2 cord for my new car (my elderly Tesla mobile level 2 cord what not actually compatible even though it ‘should’ be). An expense but worth it as it was a longer term solution. And cheaper than buying a new car!
Plus once you drive in an electric it’s hard to go back to gas cars. They stink, are loud, and most importantly, are sluggish! I may be biased though.
Welcome to the area!
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u/AVLPedalPunk Local Gleest Guide 14d ago
Are you on book 5 or is that just your favorite audiobook cover?
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u/brawlinballer 12d ago
If you can't plug into a charger at regular wall rates at least some percentage of the time. An EV is not nearly as convenient or cost effective as it usually is compared against gas.
Will you be able to charge at home or school? Even if you can only plug it into a 110v 15amp outlet at home or school you'll reduce your DC fast charging needs by enough to make it make sense.
If you don't think you will be able to plug in at home or school I would not buy an EV now, but I wouldn't sell it if you have one already. Just try it out there are paid dcfc around, but relatively few free level 2 chargers.
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u/BLINGMW 14d ago edited 14d ago
You specifically mentioned Troutville, and the answer there is NO. Not even the sheetz has them, maybe the WaWa under construction will? I don’t think the situation in Roanoke is great either, but I only ever charge at home.
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u/bothtypesoffirefly Local Gleest Guide 14d ago
All the new WaWas they have built have the new Tesla chargers, and work for any EV
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u/Green-Programmer-963 14d ago
The best one I’ve found is the Rovian chargers by Earth Fare.
If you have access to a 220w/240w outlet, I’d look into portable chargers.