Fast Chargers along 101

[JetForMe]

So, it seems there's still no useful CHAdeMO infrastructure. I need to go to Vandenberg from San Jose on 2/10, and I wondered if I could do it in the LEAF. But a) it's hard to find all the fast chargers between here and there, and b) what I did find indicates there really aren't any.

Tesla is kicking Nissan's ass (except for the price).

I'm actually pretty angry right now that over a year and a half since taking delivery of my LEAF, and it's still impossible to take an extended trip with it.

 

[TonyWilliams]

So, it seems there's still no useful CHAdeMO infrastructure. I need to go to Vandenberg from San Jose on 2/10, and I wondered if I could do it in the LEAF. But a) it's hard to find all the fast chargers between here and there, and b) what I did find indicates there really aren't any.

Tesla is kicking Nissan's ass (except for the price).

I'm actually pretty angry right now that over a year and a half since taking delivery of my LEAF, and it's still impossible to take an extended trip with it.

The LEAF was never intended, nor marketed, for an "extended trip".

There are no DC CHAdeMO quick chargers between San Jose and Los Angeles.

Go to < http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; > and search for 662 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA.

That will be your next DC charger southbound.

 

[garygid]

Nissan says that they will be installing a significant
number of QC stations at selected dealerships
over the next two months.

Yes, it remains to be seen, and hopefully they will be
well distributed, not just clumped in 2 or 3 major cities.

If done well, this could be a major step forward for
our usage of our LEAFs.

 

[LEAFfan]

Nissan says that they will be installing a significant
number of QC stations at selected dealerships
over the next two months.

Yes, it remains to be seen, and hopefully they will be
well distributed, not just clumped in 2 or 3 major cities.

If done well, this could be a major step forward for
our usage of our LEAFs.

+1!

 

[Nubo]

If Google is to be believed, there aren't any Nissan dealers between Salinas and SLO. So there's still going to be a DC gap there.

 

[Herm]

Thank you Tony.. extended trips in Arizona are going to be dangerous.

The LEAF was never intended, nor marketed, for an "extended trip".

 

[TonyWilliams]

If Google is to be believed, there aren't any Nissan dealers between Salinas and SLO. So there's still going to be a DC gap there.

Except for King City, here are the Nissan dealers between San Jose (Sunnyvale) and Los Angeles:

 

[rcyoder]

I did the Pasadena -> Sacramento and back trip in my NiMH EV1 back in 2000. I had a portablized Large Paddle Inductive charger with me and plugged into dryer outlets at my overnight stops... All stops were done using 6.6 kW chargers, so we're talking 5ish hours each stop (I brought several books!) Would have been nice to have a fast-charge as an available option.

Stops were in Santa Barbara (public garage), then SLO (spent the night at a friend's house), then Gilroy (Costco), then Menlo Park (my mom's house), then Voltageville -- errr, Vacaville! (public lot), up to Sacramento and return.

Having a 140 mile per-charge range made it possible, though the stretch from SLO -> Gilroy was a bit nerve-wracking! The hill just north of SLO burns a lot of range quickly... On the way up I recall having burned more than 25% of my charge in the 10ish miles to the top, but the slope down to Gilroy stretched out my range so I pulled into Costco with about 5 miles left on the guess-o-meter On the way back I remember seeing 0 miles on the range guess-o-meter at the top of the hill.

Given this experience, I'd be surprised if you could actually make the 83 miles between SLO and King City without stopping and plugging in. The 95 miles between SLO and Santa Barbara will also be a slow nail-biter without a stop in the middle. For long-distance trips, I recommend a portable 220 J-plug -- map out camp grounds with camper plug-in services for power. (The 3.3 kW charger on the Leaf is a real drag in these cases.)

I love my Leaf, it would be perfect if it had a true 100 mile freeway range.

 

[JetForMe]

I love my Leaf, it would be perfect if it had a true 100 mile freeway range.

This is the conclusion I came to within a few months of having bought it, and not just for extended trips, but for the 45 mi one-way distance from where I live to San Francisco, which is the farthest I ever need to go with any kind of frequency.

Although, a small part of me likes the huge inducement to use public transit to make the trip. Unfortunately, public transit closes too early for a night out in SF, and is still terribly inconvenient from where I live.a

 

[JetForMe]

The LEAF was never intended, nor marketed, for an "extended trip".

Of course not. Even with quick charge, it's not a trip 95% of owners would be willing to make. But they did tout the quick charge port and capability, and a year and a half later we still don't have anything more than a demonstration-level QC infrastructure.

Contrast that with how Tesla approached it: free fast-charge network useable within months of initial delivery, with visible and consistent station additions.

 

[GoingGreener]

Is Santa Maria Nissan still around? We drove North on Hwy 101 from Santa Barbara Nissan (Goleta) to Santa Maria Nissan about 1 1/2 yrs ago. It was a good LEAF summer driving segment of about 66.7 miles. It took us a tad short of 5hrs to charge back up at Santa Maria Nissan to almost 100% on L2. Public fast chargers at Nissan dealerships would be a great charging resource as their locations are nicely spaced apart and easily accessible from the freeways.

 

[GRA]

I did the Pasadena -> Sacramento and back trip in my NiMH EV1 back in 2000. I had a portablized Large Paddle Inductive charger with me and plugged into dryer outlets at my overnight stops... All stops were done using 6.6 kW chargers, so we're talking 5ish hours each stop (I brought several books!) Would have been nice to have a fast-charge as an available option.

Stops were in Santa Barbara (public garage), then SLO (spent the night at a friend's house), then Gilroy (Costco), then Menlo Park (my mom's house), then Voltageville -- errr, Vacaville! (public lot), up to Sacramento and return.

Having a 140 mile per-charge range made it possible, though the stretch from SLO -> Gilroy was a bit nerve-wracking! The hill just north of SLO burns a lot of range quickly... On the way up I recall having burned more than 25% of my charge in the 10ish miles to the top, but the slope down to Gilroy stretched out my range so I pulled into Costco with about 5 miles left on the guess-o-meter On the way back I remember seeing 0 miles on the range guess-o-meter at the top of the hill.

Given this experience, I'd be surprised if you could actually make the 83 miles between SLO and King City without stopping and plugging in. The 95 miles between SLO and Santa Barbara will also be a slow nail-biter without a stop in the middle. For long-distance trips, I recommend a portable 220 J-plug -- map out camp grounds with camper plug-in services for power. (The 3.3 kW charger on the Leaf is a real drag in these cases.)

I love my Leaf, it would be perfect if it had a true 100 mile freeway range.

The Rabobank in Atascadero has a J1772 (originally a Tesla Roadster connector but converted), if you need a boost.

 

[cdh]

Before longer road trips, we need DC fast chargers in obvious destinations: center city, San Francisco, Los Angeles, LAX, SFO, Irvine, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Palo Alto. Who really wants to spend any more time at a Nissan dealership - which doesn't truly the support the Leaf in any case? Car dealerships are rarely a destination for me!

 

[JetForMe]

Before longer road trips, we need DC fast chargers in obvious destinations

I'd argue that we don't need fast chargers at the destinations, J1772 would do, because you spend time there. We need fast chargers en route.

There are other use cases where fast chargers are useful, like people whose job requires them to multiple destinations in a city, but to really support that would require fast chargers everywhere.

 

[GoingGreener]

Before longer road trips, we need DC fast chargers in obvious destinations

I'd argue that we don't need fast chargers at the destinations, J1772 would do, because you spend time there. We need fast chargers en route.

There are other use cases where fast chargers are useful, like people whose job requires them to multiple destinations in a city, but to really support that would require fast chargers everywhere.

I agree with JetForMe. After 2 yrs of the LEAF being available, I think ANY installation of fast chargers is much appreciated. Dealerships are not a daily drive destination, but they are sorely needed in helping build the fast charging infrastructure. I am REALLY happy that Nissan is listening to our needs in this regard and look forward to their announcement of which dealerships will be installing them in the near future. 20-30 mins at a fast charger passes pretty quickly... compare that to a 4-5 hr stay! EV drivers can make good use of that time, whether to catch up on emails/paperwork, organize the trunk, dust the dashboard/wipe down the cupholders, buy a beverage inside the dealership, bring along a meal/snack to have while waiting in the car, talk to those who walk up and are curious about EVs, or just having some quiet down time... Real estate, even a parking space is pricey in our area. Costcos/Starbucks/shopping malls etc... are wonderfully spaced apart, but challenging to convince them so far to install even L2s/convert old paddle chargers to L2, not to mention more expensive quick chargers. No-maintenance blue handicap spaces in parking lots at these places are very competitive to land, even on a weekday. I hope more go-to-destinations support EV drivers, but for now, it'll be nice to be able to drive our EVs as much as we'd like. So ANY installation of fast chargers will be awesome. No doubt, fast charging availability will help promote more sales of EVs, by decreasing the fear of range anxiety and increasing the usability of EVs.