u/bobbiestump

Hi all,

I'm the developer of PlugLog (https://pluglog.app), an app I'm building for EVs running Android Automotive / Google built-in.

It syncs live vehicle data so you can log and review charging and driving. Before a wider release I need real-world testers across different makes and models because some support live data and some don't, but can be worked around by using other data.

I know, yet another EV drive tracking app. Most trackers pull data through a phone, a plug-in dongle, or a third-party account link, which can mean delays, gaps, or handing your login to another service. PlugLog runs natively on the car's Android Automotive system, so it reads data directly from the vehicle in real time. No extra hardware and no middleman. That's also why I need testers: every automaker exposes its Android Automotive data a little differently.

What's involved:

1. Create a free account and request beta access from the dashboard

2. I add your Gmail to the Play Store testing group (this is how Google handles closed testing)

3. You install the app on your car and use it normally, then share any bugs or feedback

It's free, and there's nothing to buy.

I'm mainly hoping to catch issues on vehicles I don't have access to. Real-time efficiency has some work still needed.

If you're interested, reply here or DM me and I'll send deets. Happy to answer questions about what data the app reads and how it's handled. Looking to add more privacy controls, too (like opting out of location tracking, being able to delete your account permanently, etc).

Your data is not shared with, or sold to, anyone but you, nor will it ever be. PERIOD. The plan is also to offer an option to store the data points on your own infrastructure, but that's not ready yet.

Here are some screenshots of the Android Automotive app.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you!

I'm back to pulling the 8' H x 8.5' W x 28' L enclosed cargo trailers with the Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss Max Range for marching band season!

Today's drive was just under 35 MPH average speed with mostly in-town driving, but also a couple miles at 55-60 MPH. We were loading up and transporting finished props for the show.

At 1.5 mi/kWh we're looking at a realistic in-town range of over 300 miles on a 100%-0% charge, over 200 miles of range for a standard 80%-10% charge. Perfect for contractors driving around town all day, especially since most aren't pulling a trailer anywhere near this large and would get even better efficiency.

For the standard 80%-10% charge it would cost $15.75 to replenish overnight at home to tow another 200+ miles the next morning. That's an equivalent cost of driving a 53 MPG vehicle at the national average $4.15 price of gas. Driving 200 miles a day would easily be a fuel savings of $40/day - OVER $10,000 ANNUALLY!

With this trailer at 65-70 MPH the towing efficiency drops significantly, to about 0.8-0.9 mi/kWh, meaning an 80%-10% charge nets me about 120 miles, still saving thousands of dollars a year in fuel costs. No big deal though, I just charge to 100% when I know we have a show further away.

Went out and did a night time drive with the Tesla Model Y and the Silverado EV after picking up a USB 3.1 thumb drive. Here are the raw results.

https://youtube.com/shorts/kGtEXLXPfRg

Clearly the Tesla wins in quality here, but I think I'm going to try to do some post-processing on the GM video to see if I can make it look a little closer to the Tesla one. I'm not an amazing video editor, so if anyone wants to volunteer to try their hand at it and send it my way, I'd love to do another video with all three (original, corrected, and Tesla) videos and include a reference for your help.

Also, I noticed my older thumb drive was causing issues with corrupted recordings sometimes. Now that I picked up a USB-C v3.2 thumb drive it's super fast and I'm seeing zero issues. When I tried to elect the older drive it took about a minute to finish writing to the drive after I ejected it. The new one was instantly ejected. It's pretty clear write speeds are factors here and you're going to want a newer USB-C drive. This is the one I picked out because it was readily available from Best Buy:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/sandisk-ultra-dual-drive-go-128gb-usb-type-a-usb-type-c-flash-drive-black/JXJ62C9L9Z/sku/6422263

I don't get a commission or anything if you buy from that link, just wanted to share what works for me. I went with a 128GB after reading bigger drives weren't much of an advantage for several reasons on several threads.

It's finally here! Update 662.30 added GM 's dashcam recorder (and possibly Sentry-like functionality, will find out with more testing)!

This update came to my 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss Max Range this morning.

Here's a first look video (you see it the first time I do):

https://youtu.be/lMOqTiJD6bo

I was also able to upload my first recording to the SentryTube website I created, I was surprised to see it work immediately without extra programming (though I have some other bugs I need to address):

https://sentrytube.net/event/5bf408ac-59bf-4ed3-9c04-4884d62bbd45

Please forgive the messy driveway, doing some house updates!