Bought my 2024 electric truck (nicknamed the Flash) this summer, put around 2,500 miles on it so far. Decided to take it up to the mountains for a hunting trip last weekend. I got a lesson in how battery life can fluctuate with steep mountain passes!
Made it to camp with 54% battery left and had an RV park nearby (22 miles) with 50-amp EV hookups, so I wasn’t worried about range at first.
Then came a twist… Monday morning, it started snowing, and I offered to drive 4 miles up a forest road with a 1,000-foot climb to get to our hunting spot. Thought my Flash would handle it best, and it did great, but those 4 miles ate up 6% of my battery! I even kept the heater off! The cold and uphill trip drained more power than expected, and I started to feel nervous, especially with my brother and dad (who aren’t big EV fans) there too. They kept asking what we’d do if the battery died out on the mountain.
Coming back down to camp, I gained back 1% of battery from the steep descent, and driving out of camp used only 3% battery to reach the RV park 22 miles away. Could’ve left with 4% and still made it! Eventually reached a supercharger with 25% battery since it was mostly downhill.
Overall, the Flash was solid… just wasn’t sure what to expect and got a little panicked at one point. No elk on this trip, though.
