IssacZachary
Well-known member
I LOVE my Leaf. It always starts, even at -36°F. Heat comes out almost instantly since there's no engine to warm up, and I don't have to worry about anti-idling laws or carbon-monoxide poisoning. I don't have big billowing black clouds of smoke come out of the tail pipe like in my 1985 diesel. 90% of my driving is short distance several times a day meaning my ICE vehicle sometimes never warmed up, which isn't a problem in an EV. But I also realize the limited range becomes a bit of a pain every once in a while when I need to go farther. Here are my circumstances:
If I keep my Leaf as it is I can:
Or I could do some modding:
Of course the other alternative would be to own another car. I do own two other cars at the moment still (a 1985 VW diesel with almost 500,000 miles on it and a mostly restored 1972 VW Beetle). However, if I did sell the two VW's so as to buy a newer car I would not keep the Leaf. The options would be:
So I guess I'm asking you as other Leaf and EV owners to put on your thinking caps and help me decide what's the best course of action. Renting would seem the cheapest and easiest for short term and then keep only the Leaf. But there's also that feeling of "wouldn't it be neat to take the Leaf instead." Towing around a pusher trailer might not be the best on emissions or safety, but neither is driving around one of my other two cars. A generator in a basket wouldn't be the greatest on emissions either. But it would end up being an emergency-only device only being used if I didn't make it to the next charging station or campground. Or since I need to rent or modify my Leaf to make it practical for every occasion then does that mean the Leaf is not for me?
As it is right now I think that for me a used 200lb 240V Yamaha EF6300isde generator in a basket behind the Leaf would be the best option, but I'm still undecided. If I did that and sold the other two cars then with the left over money I could also upgrade the chargers so that I could charge off of up to a 70A J1772 or off of two 40A or 30A J1772 chargers, which would be up to 13.2kW worth of charging. Then I would eventually add on some aerodynamic mods and hopefully increase my range that way too. The idea of a pusher trailer still attracts me and so does using my 1972 VW Beetle as a second vehicle. Decisions, decisions...
- According to PlugShare, lots of places around here don't have any place where I could plug in and charge.
- The distances between places that I can charge from are a bit far and few between.
- Lots of mountains. (e.g. it's only 60 miles to Salida, but I have to climb over 4,000ft to get there.
- Cold winters.
- I don't mind taking some time to get places. Yes, the quicker the better. But, if there were level 2 charging along the way that would be sufficient. I just don't want to have to charge off of level 1 except for emergencies.
- A few possible destinations (not every one every year) would be:
- Grand Junction
- Delta
- Crawford
- Ouray
- Rifle
- Glenwood Springs
- Leadville
- Denver
- Colorado Springs
- Salida
- Montrose
- I need to do a trip usually about once or twice every other month, which are usually just a day long, but can take up to 5 days, so about 12 days out of the year I'll be out of town.
If I keep my Leaf as it is I can:
- Rent a car for out of town trips ($40 per day).
- Take the bus ($35 one way). But only if I'm going east towards Denver since there are none that go north, south or west.
- Try it in the Leaf. Drive extremely slow, be prepared to ask someone if they'd let me charge from their home, take along a 240V EVSE that can plug in to a 240V outlet, maybe run an ad in the paper to see if anyone has a 240V outlet along the way, etc.
Or I could do some modding:
- Aerodynamics. Some quick research and calculations suggest that $400 worth of aerodynamic mods could possibly increase range by 35% although the Leaf would have a long "airplain" tail making parking a bit difficult.
- If I hit it right on eBay I could get some Brusa chargers and double the charging capabilities of the Leaf (heading east there's a 70A Level 2 charging station 60 miles away.)
- If I could get one cheap enough, a battery either in the trunk or on a trailer would help. But I wouldn't want to pay a premium price for one.
- A generator or pusher trailer could give me infinite range, so to speak. A small EFI propane engine with a catalytic converter probably won't get modern car emissions, but would be close. Said trailer could possibly be made for under $3,000.
- Port around a generator to pull over and plug into, possibly in a basket behind the Leaf. A used 240V generator that is known to work could cost $2,000.
Of course the other alternative would be to own another car. I do own two other cars at the moment still (a 1985 VW diesel with almost 500,000 miles on it and a mostly restored 1972 VW Beetle). However, if I did sell the two VW's so as to buy a newer car I would not keep the Leaf. The options would be:
- Keep the Leaf and the VW diesel. The diesel gets about 60mpg on the highways. However, it has a lot of miles and needs a lot of work. Also deleting it from my insurance would knock off about $40 per month or about $500 per year, about the same as I would be paying if I rented for those occasions.
- Keep the Leaf and the 1972 Beetle. The Beetle is mostly restored and has a new engine. I could get it set up as a classic/collector's vehicle, which would cost less to register and to insure. But if I sold it I could possibly get as much as $5,000 for it, enough to fund occasional renting for 10 years or for making a pusher trailer or for buying a new 240V name brand inverter generator.
- Or trade in all three, including the Leaf, for another car. I just don't see the practicality of paying full coverage and high taxes on two cars when I only need one car.
So I guess I'm asking you as other Leaf and EV owners to put on your thinking caps and help me decide what's the best course of action. Renting would seem the cheapest and easiest for short term and then keep only the Leaf. But there's also that feeling of "wouldn't it be neat to take the Leaf instead." Towing around a pusher trailer might not be the best on emissions or safety, but neither is driving around one of my other two cars. A generator in a basket wouldn't be the greatest on emissions either. But it would end up being an emergency-only device only being used if I didn't make it to the next charging station or campground. Or since I need to rent or modify my Leaf to make it practical for every occasion then does that mean the Leaf is not for me?
As it is right now I think that for me a used 200lb 240V Yamaha EF6300isde generator in a basket behind the Leaf would be the best option, but I'm still undecided. If I did that and sold the other two cars then with the left over money I could also upgrade the chargers so that I could charge off of up to a 70A J1772 or off of two 40A or 30A J1772 chargers, which would be up to 13.2kW worth of charging. Then I would eventually add on some aerodynamic mods and hopefully increase my range that way too. The idea of a pusher trailer still attracts me and so does using my 1972 VW Beetle as a second vehicle. Decisions, decisions...