BC2BC Mexico to Canada via Electric Highway June 12-20, 2012

[Nubo]

With a full charge and no headwinds, you might just be able to make it the 90 odd miles to Monterey from San Simeon. I drove it coming south from Monterey a couple of months ago, and the section from south of Big Sur to south of the Monterey County line is fairly winding, and there was some roadwork underway in that section that slowed things down (single-lane convoying) even more when we passed through, but that may be fixed now. It's not too fast from Monterey to Big Sur, open and fast from just south of the Monterey County line to San Simeon. 101 would give you a lot more options, but will be hot and a lot less scenic.

Having bicycled that section a few times now, I've got to say the elevation changes probably aren't going to allow a 90 mile range through there (see below). It's not that it's particularly mountainous, but you are either going up, or going down, continually. Probably my imagination but it doesn't seem like there's more than 100 yards of level pavement betwee Carmel Highlands and Ragged Point

There are a couple of small towns, Gorda and Lucia, along the way. Might be able to arrange some form of charging. Lucia has a nice set of rooms, though expensive, and a restaurant.

 

[LEAFer]

Tony: Sorry for joining late ... I just saw this thread. Do you have a link to something like google maps to show us your route as planned so far ?

( If you still need the Nissan Sacramento DC contact, let me know. )

A J-1772 extension cord can be easily built from TucsonEV parts ... in effect I have one, but half of it is in constant use (charging LEAF from an Avcon).

 

[TonyWilliams]

Tony: Sorry for joining late ... I just saw this thread. Do you have a link to something like google maps to show us your route as planned so far ?

( If you still need the Nissan Sacramento DC contact, let me know. )

A J-1772 extension cord can be easily built from TucsonEV parts ... in effect I have one, but half of it is in constant use (charging LEAF from an Avcon).

The first post has the route. I update it daily, and I'll be surprised how much of the original plan works out! Just one broken Blink in the right location could serious ruin my day!!!

I don't think I'm going to use Sacto or Vacaville. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[LEAFer]

The first post has the route. I update it daily, and ...

Right, but a "visual aid" would be great ! I assume you're already using google maps ... like so (just a quick estimate): map

And (did I miss it somewhere) ... how are you coming back home ?

 

[TonyWilliams]

The first post has the route. I update it daily, and ...

Right, but a "visual aid" would be great ! I assume you're already using google maps ... like so (just a quick estimate): map

And (did I miss it somewhere) ... how are you coming back home ?

I don't have a get home plan !!! After the trip, I'm off to Europe for a cruise to St. Petersburg. Maybe somebody will buy the car in the northwest when the trip is over.

 

[GRA]

BTW, it's something like 87 miles from Crescent City to Grant's Pass on 199, and you've got to go over two passes with a total climb of ~2,500 ft. Did you find somewhere to charge en route?

No, I haven't looked at that leg very closely yet. I'm kinda planning and making reservations as I go. I'm up to the Bay Area now.

I just ran that leg on the iPad Range App, and it shows 87 miles range with 5% battery degradation, 70F, and 900 feet net gain. I can mitigate the ups and down pretty good; slowing all the way up to near "stall speed", and as much regen as possible down, without gaining too much aerodynamic drag (too much speed). I'll be heavy, so it will be very close.

If anybody knows of anything with electricity along that route, that would be great!

I suspect if you approach a few businesses in Cave Junction, OR you will be able to pick up enough range on 120VAC (or 240vac if you are lucky) to make it to Grant's Pass if you are running low. However, for a more whimsical diversion, you could call the people at the Treesort in Takilma, OR, (<10 mile detour off 199) near the mid point of this leg. They will likely be booked up for overnight accommodations in their tree houses, but they may let you charge up during the day if you arrange it ahead. It's a fun place to see.

Turns out Woodall's shows RV parks with 50A service in both O'Brien and Cave Junction. The one in Cave Junction (Mountain Man) is cheaper as well as being closer to the highway, so you're good to go. They're E and A respectively here:

http://www.woodalls.com/campground/default.aspx?subtype=rv-camping&city=cave-junction&state=oregon&radius=50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Further south, you might consider taking the Avenue of the Giants (101 secondary) if you want a scenic mellow drive to help stretch the range. It only adds 3-4 miles over about 30 miles north of Garberville.

It's Highway 254, the exit's about 6 miles north of Garberville.

<snip>
There's plenty of other (more) interesting stops on the north coast, but it may be a challenge to align them with charging opportunities of reasonable speed. If you are going to make Calistoga to Crescent City in one day it seems like planing on charging at 50amp RV parks with your portable unit at around 10kW will help quite a bit. Willits has an RV park with 50amp service, or the Willits KOA does, too, but it is probably pricier. There is a private RV park near Richardson Grove that could be a reasonable place to charge while taking a walk through the trees or down to the river. The state park doesn't have RV hookups. If you charge in Willits, Dean Creek RV park north of Garberville might be better spaced than Richardson Grove, though. Anyway, a fair number of options. I won't try to plan it because you know how far you want to go on each leg and its probably farther than my conservative legs. Have fun. I hope to do the north coast in my Leaf soon, too.

In Crescent City there are tours of the Lighthouse, but you can only get there (walking only, apparently) at low tide.

 

[LEAFer]

And (did I miss it somewhere) ... how are you coming back home ?

I don't have a get home plan !!! After the trip, I'm off to Europe for a cruise to St. Petersburg. Maybe somebody will buy the car in the northwest when the trip is over.

St. Petersburg ... nice ... but you don't want to keep the LEAF ???

 

[TonyWilliams]

And (did I miss it somewhere) ... how are you coming back home ?

I don't have a get home plan !!! After the trip, I'm off to Europe for a cruise to St. Petersburg. Maybe somebody will buy the car in the northwest when the trip is over.

St. Petersburg ... nice ... but you don't want to keep the LEAF ???

I don't want to drive it home!!!

 

[Reddy]

Centralia, Olympia, MT Vernon and Bellingham are now green on the AV site, making the Portland OR to Vancouver BC part of your trip officially doable by QC!

Can you please tell me what "site" you are referring too? The AV site I go to says no Washington chargers are available yet. Thanks!

Yes, me too. These guys have a secret stash of info :mrgreen:

Here's an email I got on 5/23 from WSDOT Partnerships <[email protected]>:
The West Coast Electric Highway is expanding in Washington and three events at electric vehicle charging sites in Blaine, Bellingham and Burlington will celebrate the opening on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Please click here to RSVP.

Please note that the charging stations will not be available for general charging as they will be used for charging demonstrations. The network of stations will be open for all EV drivers on Thursday, May 31. You can sign-up for an AVnetwork Charging keyfob and find the most current listing of charging stations at evsolutions.avinc.com. This site will be updated as new stations come online -- so check back regularly.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Tonia Buell
Project Development and Communications Manager
Public-Private Partnerships
Washington State Department of Transportation
Office: 360.705.7439

Project Pate: http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighways.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RSVP to May 30 Grand Opening: http://westcoastelectrichighway.eventbrite.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sign up for Keyfob: http://evsolutions.avinc.com/services/subscriber_network/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GRA]

I don't have a get home plan !!! After the trip, I'm off to Europe for a cruise to St. Petersburg. Maybe somebody will buy the car in the northwest when the trip is over.

St. Petersburg ... nice ... but you don't want to keep the LEAF ???

I don't want to drive it home!!!

Maybe you can find someone with the time available to do it for you?

 

[planet4ever]

The first post has the route. I update it daily, and I'll be surprised how much of the original plan works out!

You don't show anything between Big Sur and Palo Alto yet. Maybe spend a few hours at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk while charging a mile away at Ecology Action?

I'd love to join you there, but our theatre group opens its biggest show of the year that night (The Wizard of Oz) and I am going to be swamped.

Ray

 

[TonyWilliams]

The first post has the route. I update it daily, and I'll be surprised how much of the original plan works out!

You don't show anything between Big Sur and Palo Alto yet. Maybe spend a few hours at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk while charging a mile away at Ecology Action?

I'd love to join you there, but our theatre group opens its biggest show of the year that night (The Wizard of Oz) and I am going to be swamped.

Ray

Ya, that leg is easy, so I didn't spend too much time thinking about it. Plus, I'm real familiar with the area. I'll probably go wherever the wind blows on that leg :mrgreen:

South of Portland is still a problem.

 

[LEAFer]

South of Portland is still a problem.

I don't see why ... look at PlugShare.com for L2 in Albany and Salem. Except you may not be able to get thru Oregon in one day.

LINK TO Map

 

[LEAFer]

According to THIS there's also DC QC in Springfield, OR and Halsey, OR ... that should solve "south of Portland" problems

 

[TonyWilliams]

According to THIS there's also DC QC in Springfield, OR and Halsey, OR ... that should solve "south of Portland" problems

Part of the fun in planning is having the pieces of the puzzle all fall together. Thanks for pointing this out!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Here's a suggestion sent to me: How about a relay to bring the LEAF back home ... like one that was discussed last summer ? And it'll all happen while I'm on vacation !

I think there are enough MNL members along the route (in CA use I-5 to 99 to Grapevine (Nissan Dealers & MNL or PlugShare members)) that this could work. It would require a regional team of two (with a chase car in prefered order: ideally a LEAF, other BEV, PHEV, or ("worst" case) ICE) to transport the relay driver north to the pickup point, then drive about 2 hours to the next charge point. If the chase car is BEV with near same range as LEAF a substantial amount of time is added for charging (L2) before the team could get back home ...

Teams would need to be closely time-coordinated (to pass the keys) or your LEAF could spend overnight at MNL members' homes (no expense for hotels, RV parks, etc). There may be spots where the LEAF may not move continuously due to drivers' work schedules, etc.

 

[palmermd]

Here's a suggestion sent to me: How about a relay to bring the LEAF back home ... like one that was discussed last summer ? And it'll all happen while I'm on vacation !

I think there are enough MNL members along the route (in CA use I-5 to 99 to Grapevine (Nissan Dealers & MNL or PlugShare members)) that this could work. It would require a regional team of two (with a chase car in prefered order: ideally a LEAF, other BEV, PHEV, or ("worst" case) ICE) to transport the relay driver north to the pickup point, then drive about 2 hours to the next charge point. If the chase car is BEV with near same range as LEAF a substantial amount of time is added for charging (L2) before the team could get back home ...

Teams would need to be closely time-coordinated (to pass the keys) or your LEAF could spend overnight at MNL members' homes (no expense for hotels, RV parks, etc). There may be spots where the LEAF may not move continuously due to drivers' work schedules, etc.

sounds like more that twice the logistics of just getting there, but is also very interesting. I'd be interested in helping out in the section near me if it comes this way. If going back the same route, I'm not close enough to help much.

 

[GRA]

Here's a suggestion sent to me: How about a relay to bring the LEAF back home ... like one that was discussed last summer ? And it'll all happen while I'm on vacation !

I think there are enough MNL members along the route (in CA use I-5 to 99 to Grapevine (Nissan Dealers & MNL or PlugShare members)) that this could work. It would require a regional team of two (with a chase car in prefered order: ideally a LEAF, other BEV, PHEV, or ("worst" case) ICE) to transport the relay driver north to the pickup point, then drive about 2 hours to the next charge point. If the chase car is BEV with near same range as LEAF a substantial amount of time is added for charging (L2) before the team could get back home ...

Teams would need to be closely time-coordinated (to pass the keys) or your LEAF could spend overnight at MNL members' homes (no expense for hotels, RV parks, etc). There may be spots where the LEAF may not move continuously due to drivers' work schedules, etc.

The thought of a relay also occurred to me last night. Although I'm not all that close, I could probably borrow a friend as a chase car and handle a relay from say Stockton to Merced, if you can't find anyone else.

 

[LEAFer]

The route thru WA & OR is most easily covered due to DC QC. Of course we still need members to commit to this task.

For CA (almost no DC QC) the reason the I-5, then CA99 to Grapevine is suggested is ... correct me if I'm wrong, but north of San Francisco or Santa Rosa to the Oregon border we probably don't have any MNL members. At least Redding has one or two, and edatoakrun has good experience going via I-5 to Sacramento. Woodland to Stockton I could help. Then 99 has good spacings of Nissan dealerships, and we'd have to check, but at least to Fresno we have a member or two. Who is the member that's done the Grapevine ? Then, once you get to Santa Clarita "things" get pretty easy again.

For some areas I would think local EAA members known to MNL members could also help out.

( If needed ... I might be able to secure an adapter for the Tesla-only stations along I-5. )

 

[TonyWilliams]

Still looking for anything to plug in near Cambria, California