Bay Area <--> LA EV trip feasible???

[earther]

I live in Gilroy but will be taking a summer job for two months at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
I had originally planned on simply flying there (and likely still will), but when I found out that there are a multitude of L2 chargers on the LMU campus there, I started fantasizing about taking my Leaf.

Because of other work commitments, I would only have about 48 hours to cover the ~350miles, so unfortunately I wouldn't have the luxury of relying only on L2. Are there enough (any??) QCDC along either 101 or I-5 to make this doable? Have any Leafers tried this trip yet?

-Steve

 

[RonDawg]

Per PlugShare, there are no CHAdeMO units between San Jose and Glendale. You'd be doing this all on L2 at best.

Only Tesla has QC's in between (Gilroy, Harris Ranch, and Lebec). Their SuperChargers will not work with the Leaf.

If you have a sufficient tow vehicle, or have access to one, have you considered renting a tow dolly or flatbed and towing it to LA?

 

[surfingslovak]

Tony Williams did this last year, but he took the scenic route, I believe. Please look up Jack Brown's adventure as well. He managed to get to LA within 24 hours, but the ActiveE has a 6 kW onboard charger. Still, I think you should be able to make it in 24 hours with careful planning. Jack has very detailed route and charge plans on his blog.

 

[Phatcat73]

Worse case you can contact a car shipping company and have your car delivered. I don't imagine it costing you significantly more than $300

 

[KeiJidosha]

I live in Gilroy but will be taking a summer job for two months at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
I had originally planned on simply flying there (and likely still will), but when I found out that there are a multitude of L2 chargers on the LMU campus there, I started fantasizing about taking my Leaf.

Because of other work commitments, I would only have about 48 hours to cover the ~350miles, so unfortunately I wouldn't have the luxury of relying only on L2. Are there enough (any??) QCDC along either 101 or I-5 to make this doable? Have any Leafers tried this trip yet?

-Steve

I drove from Davis to San Diego in Tony’s LEAF last year. Your trip will take ~24 hours driving and charging (bring something to read). You will be able to knock off ~5 hours if Thousand Oaks Transit Center QC comes on line before your trip.

 

[johnqh]

You cannot take highway 5. There are no charges on that route.

Taking 101, you need to travel close to 400 miles. That means over two days, you need to charge for about 120 miles of electricity (starting each day fully charged), about 7 hours on L2.

It seems that you have to use the Hartnell College L2 at Kings City because there is nothing else between Salinas and Atascadero. (109 miles apart) That can be the most difficult part. If the charger is taken, you are stuck. You still could use L1....

So, I would start with 100%.
Recharge at Salina to 100%. (1.5 hours)
Drive to King City. If L2 is available, charge to full. Otherwise, use L1 for 6 hours to add 30 miles so you can get to the next stop. Either way, lunch.
Drive to Atascadero. Charge to 30 miles range.
Drive to San Luis Obispo for hotel overnight.

Second day:

Drive to San Maria. There are two L2 locations (including a Nissan dealer). Charge to 100%.
After that, it is easy. You can try to make the charger at Solvang. If not available, then you have to charge at Santa Barbara. If you can charge at Solvang, you can go all the way to Ventura.

Lots of chargers after Ventura.

 

[KeiJidosha]

...It seems that you have to use the Hartnell College L2 at Kings City because there is nothing else between Salinas and Atascadero. (109 miles apart) That can be the most difficult part. If the charger is taken, you are stuck. You still could use L1...

If you have a modified EVSE you can use the RV Park as back-up with a NEMA 14-50 adapter.

 

[TonyWilliams]

You will be able to knock off ~5 hours if Thousand Oaks Transit Center QC comes on line before your trip.

Wow, what a great place to put a DC charger! Walk north on S. Rancho Road under the 101 freeway to Taco Bell. Then, turn right (east) or left (west) on Thousand Oaks Blvd and there are numerous shopping / eating places.

Thousand Oaks Transportation Center on PlugShare

 

[Tyger]

Revising this old post, is this more feasible now? Looking at plugshare, it looks like you can ALMOST make it all the way on DCFC using either 101 or 99.

Along 101, getting to Salinas by DCQC is easy. But from there, there's nothing until SLO, which is 130 miles, and no good midway charging point which means likely 2 L2 charge stops. First in either Soledad or King City, and second in either Paso Robles or Atascadero.

From SLO, the final big jump is to Buellton or Solvang, then Santa Barbara and from there it's easy.

Overall 4 DCQC = 2 hours, + probably 6 hours L2 charging. So something like a 12-13 hour trip, certainly better than 24 but far slower than ICE/PHEV.

Along 99, getting to Fresno isn't a huge leap using DCFC... Pleasanton -> Modesto -> Atwater -> Fresno -> Visalia are all easily doable.

From there there's DCFC in Bakersfield, though the comments on Plugshare make me question whether to rely on it or not. Also, that's 84 miles, which is potentially pushing it, so probably add a stop in Delano for an hour or two to make it. After Bakersfield, there is pretty much nothing until the Pitchess Detention Center... Which is a 73 mile drive, on I5, over the grapevine. Probably not going to happen. (There is a place in the middle that lists charging as $25/hour... Not sure what that is about.)

Rather than heading down over the grapevine, heading through Mojave there is DCFC in Lancaster, which should be plenty to finish the trip to LA... But Bakersfield to Lancaster is 90 miles, and uphill at that. So another couple hours to stop at L2, probably at Tehachapi. which is a nice halfway point. Alternatively a free charge is available in Mojave at the CHP during office hours, but that may be a little far.

So that is 7 DCFCs = 3.5 hrs, + 6ish hours at L2, for a 14-15 hour trip. Still less than 24, but a pain.

Also both of these trips concern me that there is no quick backup plan. The 101 trip has a number of L2 charging alternatives, at the cost of more time, the 99 trip has some places where you must be able to charge to make it. Also, both these trips have some amount of elevation gain, and I'm not sure how much of an impact that would have on the driving.

So, has anyone done those trips recently?

 

[TonyWilliams]

I've done both routes multiple times in the past year. Just not with a LEAF.

April 30, 2015 - using only public CHAdeMO stations, I drove the RAV4 EV from San Diego to Santa Rosa (almost 600 miles) in one day, through Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno, Atwater, and Tracy.

There are lots of RV parks for backup... just carry a 30-40 amp portable charger cable that will plug into a 50 amp RV park outlet (NEMA 14-50) like the JELSA.

http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=84&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3885&cHash=30950535275759c616aecc4c0efca8ad

Assuming you have a 6kW charger on your LEAF, you can add almost 30 miles of range per hour charging at an RV park.

The "All-Stays" app is the best for filtering and finding "50 amp service".

 

[paulgipe]

I agree with Tony. You can do it and you can make it over the Grapevine, but you have to plan carefully and be prepared with the right hardware for the stop at the Flying J in Lebec. As Tony says, "Plan the drive. Drive the Plan."

We've done it several times and there are posts on this forum describing our experience and the kWh needed for each leg. Search for my name. You should be able to find them that way. Or you can visit my web site and look under EV Trip Reports. They are all listed there.

http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=612

Paul