I traded a gas Silverado that needed a new transmission before 70,000 miles for an electric one. Then I drove my family to the beach and back — 800 miles through Alabama — without stopping for gas once. Here's what I learned.
I'd been weighing the pros and cons of EV ownership since I became president of the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition in 2020. I knew the technology. I believed in the infrastructure. But I still drove a gas truck — until it needed a new transmission and expensive engine repairs before I hit 70,000 miles. That accelerated my timeline considerably.
I purchased a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado RST EV First Edition. It's the best vehicle I've ever owned. And to prove it, I took my wife, our four-year-old son, and my wife — who was pregnant with twins — on an 800-mile round trip from Birmingham to Alabama's beaches.
Like most EV owners, I charge at home most of the time — usually to 80%, which gives me about 350 miles of range. For the beach trip, I charged all the way to 100%. Eleven hours of overnight charging brought my battery from 51% to 100% and added about $19.96 to my power bill. The same amount of range in my old gas truck would have cost around $38 at the pump.
My home charger cost $550 at a local big-box store, and installation on a 60-amp breaker ran another $450. As an Alabama Power customer, I'm taking advantage of a $500 rebate for home charger installation and about a 10% overnight discount on power consumed between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. The net cost of that charger setup, after the rebate, was $500.
My truck has a bigger battery than most EVs on the market, which means I want the fastest chargers available when I do stop. Of 115 unique fast-charging stations operating in Alabama, 35 can deliver over 200 kW, and 17 of those can deliver up to 400 kW. A 400 kW charger can add 300 to 350 miles of range in 30 minutes — which happens to be the sweet spot for a restroom-and-food break with a four-year-old.
Between Hoover and Bay Minette along I-65, fast chargers are located in Alabaster, Prattville, Montgomery, Hope Hull, Greenville, and Evergreen. We made it to the Baldwin Beach Express after four hours of driving, arriving at the Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging station at the Buc-ee's in Baldwin County with 31% state of charge.
We parked, plugged in, and headed inside for restrooms, food, and a stretch. By the time I got back, the charging session was already done before I finished my brisket sandwich. Total charging time at Buc-ee's: 29 minutes.
| Stop | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound | Buc-ee's, Baldwin County | Mercedes-Benz HPC · 29 min · arrived at 31% SOC |
| Return | Hope Hull, near Montgomery | Fast charger along I-65 |
| Total trip | 800 miles | 75 min charging · ~$150 total cost |
We also drove around Mobile Bay for the Dauphin Island Ferry, visited the outlet mall in Foley, and never once worried about running out of charge. Total fast-charging time for the whole trip was 75 minutes at a cost of about $150 — a little more than gas would have cost in my old truck, but not by much, and nothing close to the maintenance costs I used to absorb.
After I posted about the trip on Facebook, the question that came up most was this: "If you were evacuating in full traffic, would you feel comfortable that you wouldn't run out of charge and get stranded?"
Yes. I tested my truck by sitting in it for four hours on a hot August day with the air conditioning running full blast. It used 1% of my battery. As long as power is available, I'm confident this truck will always be within range of a working fast charger — even in Alabama.
And the power-outage scenario? When there's a mass evacuation, gas stations typically run out of fuel before the power goes out. EV chargers will keep working until the power fails. At that point, neither gas nor electric drivers are getting fuel — it's the same situation for everyone.
Range anxiety — the fear of running out of charge — remains one of the biggest psychological barriers to EV adoption, even though roughly 90% of EV charging happens at home. My anxiety before this trip was real. I planned the route, checked the chargers, and accounted for contingencies.
None of it was necessary. This trip confirmed something I already believed but hadn't yet proven to myself: a combination of improved battery range and Alabama's growing fast-charging network — built in part through ADECA's statewide EV infrastructure grant program — makes an all-electric road trip genuinely easy. We had even considered taking my wife's gas SUV as a backup. We won't be doing that next time.
I love my truck. It's the best vehicle I've ever driven, and the beach trip only reinforced that. As major automakers continue rolling out electric options — including full-sized trucks — the question of whether an EV can fit your family's lifestyle is becoming easier to answer. For my family, it clearly can.
The infrastructure along Alabama's I-65 corridor is real and it works. The home-charging economics are genuinely compelling. And the maintenance savings compared to my old gas Silverado are already evident. If you're on the fence, I'd encourage you to visit driveelectricalabama.com and talk to someone who actually owns one.