ABRP - on longer trips

[JIS]

So, overall I love ABRP, it competes well with Google Maps and in many respects it is much better (the quality of the map itself and the detailed information re charge points). However, on a recent trip to SW France to UK and back, I noticed that when one stops say, at a charge point, and then return to the car, re-connect my iPhone, ABRP does not continue from the current location but tries to start from the original start location. Of course I can resolve this by removing the start location and any upstream stops but this is all very "fiddly". Perhaps I have missed a trick here so I seek others' experiences.
PS We are just about to return to Spain and our trip has four charge stops en route (IONITY and ZUNDER uniquely, I do NOT trust the rest eg Shell and Total Energies) so if there is a better way, I am all ears

 

[webhiker]

I use "my position" as the starting point and I do not stop navigation when I leave the car, not even for staying at the hotel for the night.
If you stop navigation and replan, then it will obviously route to past stops as they are still in the plan

 

[JIS]

I use "my position" as the starting point and I do not stop navigation when I leave the car, not even for staying at the hotel for the night.
If you stop navigation and replan, then it will obviously route to past stops as they are still in the plan

Well, leaving my iPhone in the car is not really an option for me but yes, I would expect ABRP to pick up from the last position. But, it clearly does not, hence my question to this group.

 

[webhiker]

Nothing to do with leaving your phone.
ABRP runs on your phone, not in the car/play

 

[JIS]

Nothing to do with leaving your phone.
ABRP runs on your phone, not in the car/play

Yes indeed but I find that if I disconnect the iPhone from the car and then re-connect ABRP "forgets" that we are mid route and hence I have to re-plan. Just wondering if anyone has cracked this, that's all.

 

[webhiker]

Sorry, I'm on Android and is having no such problems

 

[Roldorf]

I use ABRP to plan the trip and then share it to google maps I can then run it on car play where I get real-time traffic info, weather, speed cameras. ( I am too stingy to pay for ABRP and it's overpriced anyway). No problems with restarting after reconnecting the phone, even after using the phone to connect to Ionity chargers.

 

[Gomev]

With so many chargers everywhere these days I do my own planning based on when I want to stop and find somewhere there rather than based on range. ABRP may have been useful (I never found it to be that good) when chargers were few and far between.

 

[Bam Bam]

With so many chargers everywhere these days I do my own planning based on when I want to stop and find somewhere there rather than based on range. ABRP may have been useful (I never found it to be that good) when chargers were few and far between.

Maybe useful for the first-pass draft route, and then refine from there.

For those who don't worry about the cost or amenities I can see the appeal of just doing what it suggests.

 

[Gomev]

Maybe useful for the first-pass draft route, and then refine from there.

For those who don't worry about the cost or amenities I can see the appeal of just doing what it suggests.

I find google maps or Waze perfectly fine for finding a route. I then decide that I will probably want to stop after...say....150 -180 miles and look for chargers in that area if needed. With time you get to know how far your car will go, and more importantly how far you want to go before a break. I don't really need an app to tell when I need to stop.
I have used WattsUp for finding chargers en-route in the past, put your destination in and it brings up the route - like all nav software - but go into overview and it shows all chargers on that route so you can see clusters of different chargers at different distances along the route , than I usually set Google to head there.

WattsUp is an often overlooked app and is very good.

 

[SimonomiS]

I find google maps or Waze perfectly fine for finding a route. I then decide that I will probably want to stop after...say....150 -180 miles and look for chargers in that area if needed. With time you get to know how far your car will go, and more importantly how far you want to go before a break. I don't really need an app to tell when I need to stop.
I have used WattsUp for finding chargers en-route in the past, put your destination in and it brings up the route - like all nav software - but go into overview and it shows all chargers on that route so you can see clusters of different chargers at different distances along the route , than I usually set Google to head there.

WattsUp is an often overlooked app and is very good.

Agreed re. WattsUp though last time I checked it wasn't available on Android Auto so unable to be used while driving. I've used Electroverse with AA to show nearest chargers which has been useful but WattsUp would be great on a journey!

 

[Gomev]

Agreed re. WattsUp though last time I checked it wasn't available on Android Auto so unable to be used while driving. I've used Electroverse with AA to show nearest chargers which has been useful but WattsUp would be great on a journey!

I have to agree with you. I use it find that cluster of charger sites at a distance I want to go.

 

[HazardLights]

I have never had the problem you describe. If I have a long trip I subscribe to ABRP for a month and have it set up to prefer Tesla chargers for cost and reliability reasons. I would check your starting point for the route but even if it is off it should fix itself once you start navigating. My only niggle is that it can be slightly slow at giving directions when navigating through complex city roads.

 

[Gomev]

I have never had the problem you describe. If I have a long trip I subscribe to ABRP for a month and have it set up to prefer Tesla chargers for cost and reliability reasons. I would check your starting point for the route but even if it is off it should fix itself once you start navigating. My only niggle is that it can be slightly slow at giving directions when navigating through complex city roads.

I'm all for using whatever works best for you personally, however I'm curious as to what advantage you get paying for a month's subscription when you could just as easily get your route from your choice of satnav apps and chosen your preferred Tesla charger locations (or any other) for free ?

 

[HazardLights]

I'm all for using whatever works best for you personally, however I'm curious as to what advantage you get paying for a month's subscription when you could just as easily get your route from your choice of satnav apps and chosen your preferred Tesla charger locations (or any other) for free ?

Short answer: I found it comforting

Dynamic charge prediction during actual journey, optimization of charging stops during journey, less fiddly than manually changing charging plan on Google maps during journey, comfort of one less thing on my mind when making an unfamiliar journey. My last trip was going from just beyond Dundee to Manchester leaving at temperatures close to zero, arriving in a warm and sunny Manchester. Once I have made a journey and am familiar with the charging stops I may be happy with Google maps on subsequent trips. I prefer Google maps for intermediate range driving that only requires say a single charging stop. On the Manchester journey I was sent on a different route due to the conditions on the day and the charging plan actually changed in route due to being more efficient than expected on the middle of the journey. The initial charging stop looked a bit risky when planning but was fine on the day. Ultimately the journey went well and would feel more comfortable next time. I have been through this already with other destinations too.


In the end it's personal preference. There are things that concern me that may not bother you. I certainly wouldn't use ABRP enough to justify an annual subscription. You may be more familiar with the UK charging stations and service stations than I am as it's been decades since I was driving 30,000-40,000 miles a year with work.

I also thought the developer deserved a little support for providing the free software.

 

[Gomev]

Short answer: I found it comforting

Dynamic charge prediction during actual journey, optimization of charging stops during journey, less fiddly than manually changing charging plan on Google maps during journey, comfort of one less thing on my mind when making an unfamiliar journey. My last trip was going from just beyond Dundee to Manchester leaving at temperatures close to zero, arriving in a warm and sunny Manchester. Once I have made a journey and am familiar with the charging stops I may be happy with Google maps on subsequent trips. I prefer Google maps for intermediate range driving that only requires say a single charging stop. On the Manchester journey I was sent on a different route due to the conditions on the day and the charging plan actually changed in route due to being more efficient than expected on the middle of the journey. The initial charging stop looked a bit risky when planning but was fine on the day. Ultimately the journey went well and would feel more comfortable next time. I have been through this already with other destinations too.


In the end it's personal preference. There are things that concern me that may not bother you. I certainly wouldn't use ABRP enough to justify an annual subscription. You may be more familiar with the UK charging stations and service stations than I am as it's been decades since I was driving 30,000-40,000 miles a year with work.

I also thought the developer deserved a little support for providing the free software.

Absolutely it's down to personal preference and if it helps ease anybody's concerns over range/charger anxiety then it's a good thing.
I know UK charging stations probably as much as you do but I do know that there's now thousands of them compared to a few years ago, and as I mentioned earlier I plan my stops around rest breaks at say 2-3 hours into a journey rather than anything else.
Happy driving however you do it and wherever you go.

 

[HazardLights]

Absolutely it's down to personal preference and if it helps ease anybody's concerns over range/charger anxiety then it's a good thing.
I know UK charging stations probably as much as you do but I do know that there's now thousands of them compared to a few years ago, and as I mentioned earlier I plan my stops around rest breaks at say 2-3 hours into a journey rather than anything else.
Happy driving however you do it and wherever you go.

To be honest range isn't a problem for me either as I will want a trip to the gents, a cup of tea and a stretch of the legs at least every two hours if not less. Extra range would he nice as I could do some intermediate trips without a charge before coming home in winter like I can in summer but that's just me being tight. I think the whole range thing is a red herring and my MG4 is a lot cheaper to run than any other car that I have had.