Trips to Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead

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fbarbat

Active member
Joined
Jun 28, 2011
Messages
29
Location
Orange County
Anyone went to Lake Arrowhead, or Running Springs or ... Big Bear with their Leaf??? Do you think I would be able to go 75 miles from my home to, let's say Big Bear, one way, charge it there level 2 over night and come back home the next day?
 
75 miles flat is a good trip.
Gaining 6000 or more feet will make it ... very difficult without charging.

Where will you charge up there?

A QC at the base of the mountain would REALLY help.
 
You should check this thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3512&p=107492&hilit=abasile#p107492

A forum member called 'abasile' lives up that way and has posted on his charge/climb/descent experiences, specifically through Arrowhead and Running Springs.
 
garygid said:
A QC at the base of the mountain would REALLY help.

You mean at, maybe, oh I dunno.......a 7-Eleven:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4680

I don't know how rapidly their plans call for it's addition, but grabbing an 80% Quick Charge right there on Highway 18 before the climb would be just ideal!
 
garygid said:
75 miles flat is a good trip.
Gaining 6000 or more feet will make it ... very difficult without charging.

Where will you charge up there?

A QC at the base of the mountain would REALLY help.

My friend's house (in Running Springs) has a 240V washer/dryer outlet there.
 
EricH said:
You should check this thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3512&p=107492&hilit=abasile#p107492

A forum member called 'abasile' lives up that way and has posted on his charge/climb/descent experiences, specifically through Arrowhead and Running Springs.
Yes, do check that thread. :D

The bottom line is that, to play it safe, I would recommend having at least seven or eight bars of charge when starting up CA-330 if your destination is Running Springs. And drive slowly (<= 40 mph). Both Fontana Nissan and Metro Nissan in Redlands have been willing to avail the LEAF community of their charging docks. Charging at that 7-Eleven in San Bernardino could also be a possibility. Drive slowly and gently on the freeways (55 or under) to minimize the additional charging time needed.
 
abasile said:
EricH said:
You should check this thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3512&p=107492&hilit=abasile#p107492

A forum member called 'abasile' lives up that way and has posted on his charge/climb/descent experiences, specifically through Arrowhead and Running Springs.
Yes, do check that thread. :D

The bottom line is that, to play it safe, I would recommend having at least seven or eight bars of charge when starting up CA-330 if your destination is Running Springs. And drive slowly (<= 40 mph). Both Fontana Nissan and Metro Nissan in Redlands have been willing to avail the LEAF community of their charging docks. Charging at that 7-Eleven in San Bernardino could also be a possibility. Drive slowly and gently on the freeways (55 or under) to minimize the additional charging time needed.

Thanks for the advice. So basically you are saying that if my trip from home (in Fullerton) to Running Springs , which is about 70 mile using 330, can not be done without charging somewhere in between, at least for a beginner like me (or let’s say for the first trip…) just driving “normal” 65 on FWY (57 and 210) and reasonably 40 going up on 330. Is that right?
 
fbarbat said:
Thanks for the advice. So basically you are saying that if my trip from home (in Fullerton) to Running Springs , which is about 70 mile using 330, can not be done without charging somewhere in between, at least for a beginner like me (or let’s say for the first trip…) just driving “normal” 65 on FWY (57 and 210) and reasonably 40 going up on 330. Is that right?
Yes, that is right. From Fullerton, you would have the better part of 6000 feet of net elevation gain. Assuming the LEAF and driver weigh roughly 3500 pounds, basic physics tells us that you will need at least an additional 8 kWh or so of energy for the elevation gain, on top of the energy needed to drive 70 miles on flat land.

In other words, if over one third of a full charge is required for the 6000 feet of vertical travel, that only leaves less than two thirds of a full charge to go the horizontal distance, 70 miles. Theoretically that could be possible, but only with just the right conditions and some serious hypermiling.

My advice would be to stop at Metro Nissan in Redlands for more charge, and walk to one of the nearby restaurants while your car is dining on electrons.
 
I have a 2015 leaf with only 11k miles. I drove from woodcrest to lake gregory st and arrived with 23% battery left and 11miles left i. The guess o meter. Drove uphill at no more than 40 mph. I have to charge for 3 hours at a restahrNt on 110V to vet 40% on the battery and then went downhill all the way and i got 56% battery charge, enough to get back to woodcrest. I will never do it again. I cant never make it to lake arrowhead to get full charge there.
 
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