[MSwinn]

This Blazer is my first EV and I have yet to go on a road trip because I am definitely experiencing a little anxiety over charging...and I am a diehard lefty who has dedicated my life to progressive changemaking across multiple issues. My charging anxiety is due to a combination of factors, like living in Midcoast Maine where there are not a lot of public charging stations yet, not having a lot of disposable income right now to install a 240V outlet for at-home charging and so needing two days via level 1 to get to 80% when I'm down below 30%, and wanting to regularly traverse remote areas in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to visit family in Vermont, where the RT range exceeds the maximum charge and so will require me to stop somewhere to charge-up in order to make it home (and with temps about to dip below zero in a month or two, I am expecting my battery to drain even faster)... but with only a small handful of Tesla charging stations populating on the map as being even sort of close to along the route (& I am not sure those are magic docks yet and I do not have an adapter), with just one ChargePoint station showing that only has two stations and is at a ski resort, apparently with a first come first served policy for charging - so no guarantees. Maybe my anxiety will lessen after I make a long distance trip or two, confirm magic docks nearish to my route, and experience the battery in cold temps but...the way I feel right now is no doubt why many people who live in similar areas are uncomfortable buying or leasing an EV right now, and it's legit. I mean...I have aging parents who live through the mountains in VT and if/when something happens next and I need to get to their local hospital, I now need to also worry about where I can plug in when I get there so I can get home...I can't just jump in my Jeep and go. That is legit anxiety that I hope and believe that it will lessen with time and experience, and getting to know the charging stations and my Blazer better, as well as with more charging stations being built out, but...this thread seems to forget that these issues are real and are very likely holding back more bold EV sales (although the new fed. admin removing incentives after 9/30/25 is likely to have the biggest chilling effect). If any of you longer term EV owners have interest and latitude to help, making a short video on YouTube sharing your tips for how to plan longer and emergency trips around charging availability, using different apps for locating the best charging stations, winter battery function, etc would be really helpful!!! Thanks for considering!

1) Get a Tesla adapter from GM Accessories (not some cheaper Chinese junk on Amazon). Opens up your options immensely - range anxietywill be gone, cuz Tesla (gag me - I loathe Elon) chargers are everywhere, are always functioning, and are FAST - great for Blazers.
2) Bite the bullet and get a 240V charger for your garage. Range/time anxiety minimized. Best thing we've done, and our real estate agent says it's good for resale.
3) Check YouTube for tons of long distance road trips and tips. Range anxiety should disappear.
4) Love your EV. We do (Blazer RS AWD is our second EV), and will be getting a third EV (either Cadillac, Mercedes, or Porsche) when our Blazer lease is up - regardless of what the Orange Dictator and his lackeys do to try and kill the industry.

 

[rkapuaala]

Thanks for the tips - I will check out the PlugShare app! I do NOT have a Tesla adapter and I do NOT have a bunch of money to buy one o go around installing chargers, not even at my own house. This is why the EV market often pushes out working class and poor people, like myself...as we simply do not have the means to buy all the extras to make EV ownership more reliable in rural areas. I've already spent $200 I did not have to buy an EV extension cord from EVDance to even plug in for level 1 charging at home...on top of the $900 to register the Blazer in Maine. It'll be another $750 to get the 240V outdoor outlet I need at home installed. Ouch.

When I thought about the cost of installing the 240V outlet at home I used math to determine how much I'd be saving or losing. I used to average 30 dollars a month (I'm retired and just watch the grandkids and pick them up from school but gas cost a lot in CA) that's about 360 a year and 2800 dollars for eight years -- which is how long the warrantee is on the power train. It cost me 2000 dollars to install the outlet in the driveway next to where I park my vehicle. I calculated that is would cost me 16.21 dollars a month to charge my car at home. That's about 194.52 a year and about 1556.11 after 8 years bringing my total cost (if I depreciate the cost of the installation over 8 years) to be 3556.11, that's 756 dollars more than it would cost me to pump gas! But wait, the average electrical outlet can easily last 30 years if used properly and at the most will cost a few extra dollars to repair. Once it is installed a person can charge any electric car for at least 30 years without having to fork out additional funds for maintenance or replacements. So, in reality (depreciating the cost over a 30 year period) I would almost break even at 2089.44 after 8 years of driving.
Then, I got an even bigger surprise; My electric bill hasn't increased significantly since I started charging at home. Granted, I do charge during off peak hours. But I'm no where never the costs I thought I would incur. If you add the convenience of never having to set in line at a pump or find a charging station, and always having your vehicle fully charged when you need it,,, that makes the initial investment totally worth it and the loss of 89.44 at the end of eight years is totally negated by the time I save not sitting in a charging station waiting for my vehicle to charge. My wife has a hybrid, and she is jealous that -- unlike her -- I never have to worry that there isn't enough fuel in my tank, because there always is a minimum 80% charge on my battery.

 

[Stu5901]

This Blazer is my first EV and I have yet to go on a road trip because I am definitely experiencing a little anxiety over charging...and I am a diehard lefty who has dedicated my life to progressive changemaking across multiple issues. My charging anxiety is due to a combination of factors, like living in Midcoast Maine where there are not a lot of public charging stations yet, not having a lot of disposable income right now to install a 240V outlet for at-home charging and so needing two days via level 1 to get to 80% when I'm down below 30%, and wanting to regularly traverse remote areas in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to visit family in Vermont, where the RT range exceeds the maximum charge and so will require me to stop somewhere to charge-up in order to make it home (and with temps about to dip below zero in a month or two, I am expecting my battery to drain even faster)... but with only a small handful of Tesla charging stations populating on the map as being even sort of close to along the route (& I am not sure those are magic docks yet and I do not have an adapter), with just one ChargePoint station showing that only has two stations and is at a ski resort, apparently with a first come first served policy for charging - so no guarantees. Maybe my anxiety will lessen after I make a long distance trip or two, confirm magic docks nearish to my route, and experience the battery in cold temps but...the way I feel right now is no doubt why many people who live in similar areas are uncomfortable buying or leasing an EV right now, and it's legit. I mean...I have aging parents who live through the mountains in VT and if/when something happens next and I need to get to their local hospital, I now need to also worry about where I can plug in when I get there so I can get home...I can't just jump in my Jeep and go. That is legit anxiety that I hope and believe that it will lessen with time and experience, and getting to know the charging stations and my Blazer better, as well as with more charging stations being built out, but...this thread seems to forget that these issues are real and are very likely holding back more bold EV sales (although the new fed. admin removing incentives after 9/30/25 is likely to have the biggest chilling effect). If any of you longer term EV owners have interest and latitude to help, making a short video on YouTube sharing your tips for how to plan longer and emergency trips around charging availability, using different apps for locating the best charging stations, winter battery function, etc would be really helpful!!! Thanks for considering!

Go on a road trip. Face your fears and you will be surprised...

 

[veganmelissa]

"Working class people"? I'd bet most of us on this forum are working class. I wouldn't blame it on that. Seems like not enough research was done and thus lack of preparation for having an EV.

Thanks for your kinda mean and unhelpful comment...

 

[syakov79]

Thanks for the tips - I will check out the PlugShare app! I do NOT have a Tesla adapter and I do NOT have a bunch of money to buy one o go around installing chargers, not even at my own house. This is why the EV market often pushes out working class and poor people, like myself...as we simply do not have the means to buy all the extras to make EV ownership more reliable in rural areas. I've already spent $200 I did not have to buy an EV extension cord from EVDance to even plug in for level 1 charging at home...on top of the $900 to register the Blazer in Maine. It'll be another $750 to get the 240V outdoor outlet I need at home installed. Ouch.

first of all anyone who wants an EV on a budget should start with the used EV market- that solves the pricing problem. In addition, incentives are at record highs and you have models like the Equinox starting at $35k BEFORE the tax credit and other incentives. That is not an EV priced for the upper class. I consider a vehicle available for $27,500 before taxes to be very affordable for the working class, especially when the average price of a new car is around $50k. With all the focus on EVs people act like ICE vehicles are not more expensive than ever. I think there is a $6k-$7k difference between average EV transaction price and the overall average price- not huge.

If you live in an area with minimal charging you need to get the tesla adapter. Plenty of people are unloading theirs for way less than a new one because they aren't using them. I'm not using mine.

 

[syakov79]

Yep, I'm enjoying "enhanced" registration fees for the privelidge of owning an EV, too. My state's registration fees are on a sliding scale with gas guzzlers the cheapest and EVs the most expensive. I understand the logic to replace state gas taxes lost, but it still feels punative.

The extras (which are really pretty much necessities) definitely add up. Even though I figured I would need $1500-$2000 to get fully equipped, actually writing checks for installing the EVSE circuit, buying a nacs adapter, etc. was different than budgeting for it. Your $750 is actually a pretty darn good price if that is for a licensed electrician to install a new circuit with the appropriate breakers and EV certified nema 14-50 outlet. Especially an outdoor one. I've seen folks on this forum reporting costs as high as $3K, with lots of folks well over $1K.

My panel is very close to my driveway and I spent about $900 but that included a little extra work so it really would have been around $700-$750 to get a new 240v outlet and breaker installed.

 

[TramoreJohn]

My panel is very close to my driveway and I spent about $900 but that included a little extra work so it really would have been around $700-$750 to get a new 240v outlet and breaker installed.

I think my cost for a new circuit and 14-50 outlet was about $850. The run from the panel to my garage was about 12 feet. But I wasn't smart enough to specify an EV certified outlet so I had to buy one and have the electrician install it when I realized what had been done. To his credit, he did the re-install at no charge under his satisfaction guarantee and even bought a torque driver to do it when I complained that "cranking it down as hard as I could" as he did on the first one didn't meet code.

I'm choosing not to include the cost of a whole house surge protector at the panel, but honestly, I think reasonable folks could consider that protection for your $45K+ car as part of the cost too. We'd been thinking about doing that anyway. Doing it when we added the charging circuit seemed like an obvious time. BTW, as nice as it is to have two 200 amp breaker boxes, it does mean I had to buy two whole house surge protectors.

 

[mwk]

I paid nothing to install my evse. My electric utility paid for the installation. They also paid part of the cost of the unit itself

 

[Jäse]

There's a tax credit for ev charger installation. Read the instructions, as I am unsure whether qualification criteria has changed under the One Big Beautiful Bill.