LEAF in Kansas City

[mhigley]

Mark,

Please, whatever you do, don't take this wrong. But it's guerrilla charging....

Kudos to you for your adventursome spirit!!!

later....

WOW talk about a brain fart! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well, it's kind of a rude thing to charge without permission and gorillas aren't always polite and they never ask to charge before they charge. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I wrote a note on the payment envelope and asked the City of Atchison to contact me if they come up with a price for charging at the campsite. It will be interesting to see if they ever get back to me on it.

 

[mhigley]

Here is an email exchange I had with the Parks Superintendent at Atchison Kansas. Looks like I'm going bass fishing more this year.

Hi Clinton,

I just wanted to check in with you and see if you had come up with a price for charging my electric car at the RV park at Warnock Lake. I went up on Easter and checked out the plug and it works great. There were only two other people parked in the spaces at the RV park when I charged. I left $1.00 in the provided envelopes for the one hour that I charged. I probably used about 14 cents of electricity (probably less) in that time period. Let me know if you think $1.00 an hour would be fair. It would be about ten times what I pay to charge at home, but less than what I would pay for gas.

I attached two pictures so you would know what the charging cord looks like.

Mark Higley
Lansing, Kansas

Hi Mark – From the information you shared last time, you said it would take 4 hours to charge the 24kwh battery. That would put us around $0.42/per hour at $0.07 per kwh. We’re not in the business of reselling electricity so for us, it’s more a matter of camping space. Our camping fee is $10 per day. If you were to break that down into hourly increments, we’re also looking at $0.42/hr.

All things considered, we’re at $0.50 per hour per car. You would just use the camping envelopes provided and indicate on the envelopes that you were charging cars rather than camping…something like 6 cars x 2 hours = $6.00.

Sound fair?

 

[eclecticflower]

+1 - cheap! Bring all 6 of your LEAFs! :lol:

 

[mhigley]

+1 - cheap! Bring all 6 of your LEAFs! :lol:

Not sure why he said 6? At 50 cents an hour though, I think I will just let it slide and quit while I'm ahead.

 

[mhigley]

I did some road trippin' this evening. I drove to St. Joseph Mo. from Lansing Ks. It was a 108 mile round trip and I ended up with 5.0 miles per kwh. I took hwy 45 to hwy 59 through Weston. I got to Rolling Hills Nissan in St. Joseph having only used 7 bars. I was able to drive 50mph to 55mph most of the way. I charged at the Nissan dealer for 45 minutes. There is a nice mall three blocks away from the dealership where I grabbed some Taco Johns at the food court. I then went over to Heartland Med Center and plugged in for 15 minutes. On my way home I decided I was cutting it too close so I stopped at the Lewis and Clark campground (just outside Atchison Ks). It was 9pm, dark and I had three bars and 29 miles on the GOM. Turns out the RV plugs at the campsite didn't match my adapter so no dice on L2 and I wasn't going to wait for L1. I decided to chance it. I ended up pulling into my driveway with a LBW and 4 miles on the GOM. From now on I will use 45 hwy to 59 hwy to go to Atchison and St. Joseph. It's flat as a pancake and after I get another adapter the Lewis and Clark camp ground will be a great Plan B or even Plan A. It looked like a nice place to go for a walk around the lake.

 

[ksnogas2112]

With the warm battery again I'm getting 5.3 miles/kWh so far this month. This compares to the 4.8 last month and much lower in Feb and Jan.

 

[eclecticflower]

I did some road trippin' this evening. I drove to St. Joseph Mo. from Lansing Ks. It was a 108 mile round trip and I ended up with 5.0 miles per kwh. I took hwy 45 to hwy 59 through Weston. I got to Rolling Hills Nissan in St. Joseph having only used 7 bars. I was able to drive 50mph to 55mph most of the way. I charged at the Nissan dealer for 45 minutes. There is a nice mall three blocks away from the dealership where I grabbed some Taco Johns at the food court. I then went over to Heartland Med Center and plugged in for 15 minutes. On my way home I decided I was cutting it too close so I stopped at the Lewis and Clark campground (just outside Atchison Ks). It was 9pm, dark and I had three bars and 29 miles on the GOM. Turns out the RV plugs at the campsite didn't match my adapter so no dice on L2 and I wasn't going to wait for L1. I decided to chance it. I ended up pulling into my driveway with a LBW and 4 miles on the GOM. From now on I will use 45 hwy to 59 hwy to go to Atchison and St. Joseph. It's flat as a pancake and after I get another adapter the Lewis and Clark camp ground will be a great Plan B or even Plan A. It looked like a nice place to go for a walk around the lake.

Kudos for your adventurous spirit! I've never really gone so far as to cpmpletely lose my "it's too far" range anxiety (I just logged 6000 miles on the odometer, woo-hoo!). I've been to Legends and back from KC North (I29-I35 split area), but I'd love to wander further. I don't have any adapters for campgrounds at Smithville Lake and wouldn't know what to buy if I ever went there or thought I'd need to charge before going home, but I'm up for the challenge (and after 10 mos., I should really take that trickle EVSE all the way out of the bag ). We usually hook up my jetski to my SO's truck and go to area lakes, but I used to take Mom shopping in Smithville's historic district. Without any charging capability in the vacinity (other than the campgrounds?), I'm still "a-feared" of pushing it there in my LEAF with a disabled passenger and not be able to get back home (would only consider possibly stranding myself). Maybe one weekend we could do a LEAF caravan "destination picnic" (guess we need to resurrect the LEAFfest thread?) and everybody bring adapters for charging (you experts please find where to do that so I don't have to tax my brain :lol: ). I'm still pushing my SO to get the hitch I bought a few months ago installed, so I can use my bike rack (soon?)... :roll:

 

[mhigley]

In order to charge level 2 at campsites you need to have your evse (cord) modified to take 240v if you haven't done that already. I had mine done by http://www.evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . You can then use adapters at campsites for L2 charging.

I agree, until you get comfortable with your range, it can be very stressful getting too far “out there” especially with a passenger.

If you did decide to drive to Smithville, it’s only 10 miles to the charging station at the Harley Davidson in NKC. You would have a hard time using very much juice in Smithville If you are coming from NKC the trip to Smithville would be pretty close to my trip to Legends. I would try it on a day when you are by yourself and you have some time.

For my next trip, I am considering driving to from Lansing to Atchison Kansas (30 miles), charging for two hours L2 at Warnock Lake back to 100%, then driving on to White Cloud Kansas (33.1 miles from Atchison). White Cloud has a casino with 50amp service and they only charge $5. I plan to charge for two hours then (44 miles) on to Indian Cave State Park in Nebraska. I figure four hours driving time and four hours charging time. If I left at 6am I could be in Nebraska by 2pm.

I will probably just drive to White Cloud one day and see how that goes. It should be a pretty easy trip.

 

[eclecticflower]

In order to charge level 2 at campsites you need to have your evse (cord) modified to take 240v if you haven't done that already.
Nope, haven't done it (crap, I forgot about that upgrade being a part of that RV park equation). Too many darned "cost overruns" with this car (yeah, I need that EVSE upgrade, and those tinted windows, I'd love that sun roof, and that trailer hitch with storage bag, and that "ELECTRIC" badge on my hatch lid, and that "Infinity mpg" sticker for my rear window :x <--- I actually got those last 3 items). I had mine done by http://www.evseupgrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . You can then use adapters at campsites for L2 charging.

I agree, until you get comfortable with your range, it can be very stressful getting too far “out there” especially with a passenger. I just want extra cruising range to kill while there.
If you did decide to drive to Smithville, it’s only 10 miles to the charging station at the Harley Davidson in NKC. Do you mean in KCN off I-29 near Tiffany Springs Parkway, next to my dealer, Randy Reed Nissan, with the L2 EVSEs?
You would have a hard time using very much juice in Smithville If you are coming from NKC the trip to Smithville would be pretty close to my trip to Legends. I would try it on a day when you are by yourself and you have some time. I felt OK going round-trip to Legends, but wasn't at all comfortable enough to cruise around there; I wanted to ensure I had enough charge to get home. I'd like to at least be able to charge at my destination so I can ride around feeling comfortable I didn't use up the charge I need to get back home.

For my next trip, I am considering driving to from Lansing to Atchison Kansas (30 miles), charging for two hours L2 at Warnock Lake back to 100%, then driving on to White Cloud Kansas (33.1 miles from Atchison). White Cloud has a casino with 50amp service and they only charge $5. I plan to charge for two hours then (44 miles) on to Indian Cave State Park in Nebraska. I figure four hours driving time and four hours charging time. If I left at 6am I could be in Nebraska by 2pm. You are a patient man! I would just fly.
I will probably just drive to White Cloud one day and see how that goes. It should be a pretty easy trip.

 

[mhigley]

You are a patient man! I would just fly.

Most days I "just fly". Yesterday my son and I drove from Lansing to Atchison to go fishing. I drove 65 all the way and didn't even to bother to charge while I was at Atchison. It started raining and we just came back home.

It's a trade off. By going slow I conserve energy and I have the extra juice for cruising at my destination or more importantly for "Plan B". It may take me longer to drive 30 miles, but I have no stress or worries that I'm going to run out of juice.

I have been driving electric vehicles since 2005. I love driving electric. I could get where I'm going in anything but EVs are in my blood. Taking my electric car down back roads and going to tiny towns is a blast for me. You see some pretty cool things out there.

I'm tempted to try Tom's Abline trip sometime this summer but for now I am going to keep pushing my limits to the North. White Cloud will be my gateway to Nebraska. I am channeling my inner Francisco Vásquez de Coronado

 

[eclecticflower]

Taking my electric car down back roads and going to tiny towns is a blast for me. You see some pretty cool things out there.

Those are my kind of adventures, too! Unfortunately, I've yet to get my SO to even drive my LEAF in 10 months . Wrong challenge for him (he's a gearhead - likes trucks). I conquered his unbuckled seatbelt (dreaded dashboard warning lights)...baby steps. :roll: He'd be really good at calculating range and getting us around, if I could get him interested.

"For sale, handsome 43-year-old SO, with hair, many good miles still left..."
"Wanted: EV enthusiast, must be eco-involved..." :lol:
Just kidding.

 

[ksnogas2112]

11,300 miles since june 23, 2012. I like the idea of a weekend trip to Indian Cave park. It might be time to upgrade the evse.

 

[mhigley]

11,300 miles since june 23, 2012. I like the idea of a weekend trip to Indian Cave park. It might be time to upgrade the evse.

Tom,
I called White Cloud Casino and confirmed they have 50amp plugs in the RV park.

Nebraska City is only 44 miles from Indian Cave Park and then Omaha is only 45 miles from Nebraska City.

I saw this tweet from the City Administrator in Nebraska City. A Telsa parked at the charging station in Nebraska City. Electric road trippin' might become the new fad

https://twitter.com/nebraskacityadm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I want to drive to Nebraska City and use that station sometime. I think it's pretty cool that a small town put one in

 

[ksnogas2112]

3 EV spottings in 3 days. iMiev on Saturday and Sunday. I talked to the guy, he bought the only iMiev that Olathe Mitsubishi ever sold. He's got about 5k on it since Oct. He said he's glad he only uses it for short trips because he finds the seats uncomfortable. He said he bought it because he "needed" the tax credit.

Spotted another Cayenne red Leaf this a.m. on the way to the office. It's the same trek I take daily. Makes me wonder if it's a recent purchase.
<edit>
Hope Mark had fun at the Earth Day celebration at SM East.

 

[mhigley]

Hope Mark had fun at the Earth Day celebration at SM East.

I didn't get to go Tom. I had to work.

I did see a blue LEAF on the highway on my way to KC from Leavenworth yesterday.

 

[mhigley]

I had to put gas in my LEAF for the first time yesterday. I gave a Dad and his two kids a ride to the gas station after they ran out.


I also saw a white LEAF on State ave heading west past Legends. I was so excited!

 

[eclecticflower]

I had to put gas in my LEAF for the first time yesterday. I gave a Dad and his two kids a ride to the gas station after they ran out.

Sounds like you had a great opportunity to sell a LEAF!
I assume you gave him a ride back to his car with a smelly gas can. I'll bet it took awhile to rid your LEAF of the vapors (stink :lol: )...did you ride with the windows down?

 

[ksnogas2112]

1. Mark, thanks for being a good person and helping
2. That's just soo funny

 

[mhigley]

I made the Lansing Kansas to White Cloud trip today. I ended up going on to Rulo Nebraska and over to Big Lake Missouri as well. Big Lake has been flooded out so I was not able to charge at the RV park there.

187.5 miles round trip

Averaged 5.1 miles per kwh

Fun, easy trip. The White Cloud Casino was pretty boring though.

 

[ksnogas2112]

Rock n Roll Mark!