How do I take it home...Redwood City to Fresno

I need help figuring out the fastest way to get from Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City to Fresno. Google Maps is telling me 163 miles door-to-door. Since there are no DC quick charge stations near the route (that I can find at least) that leaves me with RV parks and Nissan dealerships. I am gathering plug adapters and a quick 220 and hope to have Ingineers EVSE upgrade the day i take delivery of the car. Without it, it's going to be a long drive home.

Plan B: Drive to Aptos and spend the night. That only gets me about 20 miles closer to home (Aptos to Fresno is about 140 miles) however the first 25% of the drive is around 55mph on 2 lane roads as I snake my way over to highway 152. Crossing Pacheco Pass becomes a problem here. There is always the Casa De Fruta RV park.

Plan C: call AAA and use the full 100 mile tow straight from the dealer and have them drop me and the car off near Los Banos. I should be able to make it home from there. Kind of lame to have to tow your new car straight off the lot.

We definitely need a network of strategically placed DC charging stations in order to make distance driving more feasible.

Thoughts?

Draft an oil tanker at 38mph?

Many of the dealers are making deliveries or can facilitate a delivery for a nominal fee. Have you tried asking yours?

Good point. I'll check with Brendan. Part of the fun of being and early adopter (for me at least) is to be able to push the limits of the vehicle and see what it really takes to use these cars as ICE replacements. Also, it's sort of like a game to me. I like the challenge. When I'm not in a hurry that is...

Flat Bed! Have your dealer price delivery of the car to your house. I know Fontana would do 100 miles for free. See if your dealer will also deliver to 100 miles and then drive the remaining 63 yourself.

For $200 you can get a U-haul pick-up and full car trailer.

I take it you're driving the trade-in to the dealer? Then you can scout a campground or two, find a cooperative owner and 240v hookup. Then you bring camping gear and charge up mid way. That's if you're looking to have an adventure.

I'll be getting a ride to the dealer. I'm all for adventure, however part of the fun for me is trying to make the trip in the least amount of time possible. I hope to be able to drive from Fresno to the Santa Cruz area soon so this is an experiment of sorts.

I do have access to a truck so I can always rent a uhaul car carrier and go that route.

sdbonez said:

Many of the dealers are making deliveries or can facilitate a delivery for a nominal fee. Have you tried asking yours?

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Just called Boardwalk. $500 to deliver to Fresno. Ouch!

Also spoke with Casa De Fruta RV Park and I got shot down hard. They said NO EV charging. I asked them what if I rented a site with full hookups and I had all the adapters and they still told me no. That was quite disheartening. They said only trailers. That was a pretty narrow minded statement.

Looks like AAA will be the cheapest route.

If you stop for a couple of hours of 240v at Casa de Fruta you can make it to Los Baños. Reserve a room in a motel in Los Baños that will let you plug in for the night. A place like Days Inn which has a coin-op laundry may well have a 240v outlet you can use. Otherwise there is a good chance your Quick220 will work somewhere. In a pinch you could get by on 120v if you arrive in the afternoon. Offer to pay them an extra $10 for the electricity. If you're running low as you cruise down 99, stop in Madera at Country Living for a shot of 240v.

Ray

nader said:

Looks like AAA will be the cheapest route.

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I would use Nissan towing before AAA. Just drive until it stops and have them take you home.

But since you have a truck I would do the car hauler.

smkettner said:

But since you have a truck I would do the car hauler.

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You could leave the truck and hauler part way to BW if you really want to drive your car off the lot.

I am not familiar with the Nissan towing service. How far will they tow you? Home? To the nearest dealer? In this case the tow will be about 100 miles.

1. There is a Nissan dealer in Gilroy. Stop and charge there. You need enough to get to the top of the pass.

2. Once at the top of the pass, your regen should get you pretty much topped off. If not, call April at the KOA Kampground located just west of Las Banos. I've spoken with her and they are open to the idea of allowing LEAF's to charge there while you take advantage of the facilities. Their pool opens on May 1st. They will charge the price of a tent fee ($24 I think). Remember, you may not need this if you have enough charge from the regen on the way down the pass.

3. Last Sunday, I drove my LEAF from west Fresno (Olive and Polk) to Firebaugh and return. Firebaugh is slightly more than 1/2 way from my home to Las Banos. The trip convinced me that it is possible to travel to/from Las Banos IF you keep it in ECO mode, with climate control off and keep the speed down to 45 mph or so. To do that, I took highway 33 to the rural streets (Ave. 7, etc).

Worst case scenerio, stop at Firebaugh at one of the Mexican restaurants, ask to plug in for a couple of hours while you enjoy a meal and maybe (just one) Mexican beer...

Given enough time, I'm convinced it will work. I plan to try going the other way when I get some time off of work.

I like your thinking Randy. I wonder if the Los Banos KOA would charge a dump fee instead of a camp site fee? Any word on Whether Gilroy Nissan is granting usage of their chargers to the non-customers?

-Nader

I just called Rob at SouthBay Nissan (Gilroy). He says they will let us charge at their dealership anytime during regular business hours.

nader said:

Also spoke with Casa De Fruta RV Park and I got shot down hard. They said NO EV charging.

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Sounds like you asked the wrong question!

Randy3 said:

I just called Rob at SouthBay Nissan (Gilroy). He says they will let us charge at their dealership anytime during regular business hours.

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Gilroy works as well as Casa de Fruta for the plan I suggested, and the dealer is only about three blocks from where you turn off 101 to take 152 over Pacheco pass. While the car is charging you can walk back up to 10th and Chestnut where you'll find the best burritos in the Bay Area at the Super Taqueria.

Ray

DarkStar said:

nader said:

Also spoke with Casa De Fruta RV Park and I got shot down hard. They said NO EV charging.

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Sounds like you asked the wrong question!

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For future reference, what is the correct question?

Since the Leaf is a "Revolutionary Vehicle", perhaps you should ask for an RV spot, instead of an EV spot?

Randy3 said:

I just called Rob at SouthBay Nissan (Gilroy). He says they will let us charge at their dealership anytime during regular business hours.

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Cool. Thanks Randy. It looks like I'll be starting early in the morning then stopping in Gilroy and then Los Banosmat the KOA. Now I have to convince Ingineer to sell me a modified EVSE before the car arrives!