All EV Rally, BC2BC-2013, 1500 miles from Canada to Mexico

[TonyWilliams]

Tony,

I hope the momentum for this rally is still going.

Also, if anybody is looking at shipping their vehicle from SoCal back to the Seattle area after the rally, please PM me. Perhaps something can be coordinated to get the best possible price on the transportation of our EVs.

Interesting concept. One truck to haul numerous cars.

I'm not too concerned with a big turn out; I'm going to do it for fun.

[BIGneutrino]

Here are some possibilities for check points along the route:

The LeMay Car Museum is in Tacoma, WA (approx. 32 miles south of Seattle)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America's_Car_Museum

OMSI--The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (located in downtown Portland)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Mus ... d_Industry

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR (approx. 40 miles south of Portland)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_ ... ace_Museum
This could be a great location for a check point, as drivers would have a plethora of charging (Level 2 and 3) scattered between Portland and McMinnville.

The ScienceWorks Museum in Ashland, OR (approx. 24 miles north of the Oregon/California border)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ScienceWor ... _(Ashland)
With the likely bottleneck of folks waiting to charge at the DCQC in Ashland, this may help pass the time.

Obviously, this is a narrow approach to looking at possible check point locations. It gives us a start, though, and hopefully more auto-specific events start to show up on calendars in the coming months.

[leec]

Here are some possibilities for check points along the route:
(various locations along I-5)

I know this is being organized by LEAF drivers and I'm not entirely opposed to these suggestions for rally checkpoints, but I wonder if other EV drivers would prefer to avoid I-5 and instead take 101 at Grant's Pass; If they're relying on RV hookups then it might be preferable to fully-booked campgrounds along the Interstate. These are mandatory checkpoints for the purpose of this rally, yes?

[TonyWilliams]

These are mandatory checkpoints for the purpose of this rally, yes?

This is for all EV's, including LEAF's. I drove my car on the reverse of this trip last year. I'll probably drive the Toyota Rav4 this year. I'm confident that there will be some Tesla's also.

There will be mandatory checkpoints. Last year, I drove north up 101 through Crescent City and 199 to Grant's Pass, and the return southbound was down the 5.

Both have plenty of RV stations enroute, but 199/101 adds a bunch of miles to the route. Maybe we should make that split at Grant's Pass optional, coast or central valley route. This will be the most brutal part of driving a 3.3kW LEAF for the whole trip. You'll want a drink when you get here:

Chateau Montelena Winery
1429 Tubbs Lane
Calistoga, CA 94515

From Grant's Pass:

351 miles - Interstate 5 / CA-20 / CA-53 / CA-29

385 miles - US-199 / US-101 / CA-128

418 miles - US-199 / CA-96 / CA-299 / US-101 / CA-128

From the winery, it's just a short jaunt over the hills to the DC charger at Nissan of Santa Rosa, CA, then on to the SF Bay Area.

[SSS]

Last trip over the Grapevine, I was glad the Leaf stayed home, because I didn't see any chargers from Castaic to Bakersfield, and the grade there is brutal. Please tell me I'm wrong, because that is a real deal breaker for my Leaf, and our Tesla is, wait, I'm the poor guy here, the Leaf is my nice car.

[TonyWilliams]

Last trip over the Grapevine, I was glad the Leaf stayed home, because I didn't see any chargers from Castaic to Bakersfield, and the grade there is brutal. Please tell me I'm wrong, because that is a real deal breaker for my Leaf, and our Tesla is, wait, I'm the poor guy here, the Leaf is my nice car.

If you're considering this rally, I absolutely DO NOT recommend only considering actual J1772 pre-installed charging stations. Any source of electricity will be your friend, and that will typically be RV Parks with a 16 amp EVSE (for a LEAF) and a NEMA 14-50 plug. Obviously, 2013 LEAFs with 30 amp chargers will want a 30 amp EVSE in the car (I'll bet those round wall mount AV units are the cheapest way to go here). I will be carrying my OpenEVSE to pull 40 amps in the Rav4, and every Model S will have a 40 amp portable EVSE.

I probably carry 20 different plug connections with me. Planning will be the key to your success.

$1099 from AeroVironment:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10 ... -portable/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




Tesla UMC for 40 amp charging. You could remove the Roadster connector from this and install a J1772 nozzle for up to 40 amp charging:

http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections ... tober-2009" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BIGneutrino]

Last trip over the Grapevine, I was glad the Leaf stayed home, because I didn't see any chargers from Castaic to Bakersfield, and the grade there is brutal. Please tell me I'm wrong, because that is a real deal breaker for my Leaf, and our Tesla is, wait, I'm the poor guy here, the Leaf is my nice car.

PlugShare shows DCQC (x5?!?) at the junction of I-5 and 99 (29 miles south of Bakersfield).

[TonyWilliams]

Last trip over the Grapevine, I was glad the Leaf stayed home, because I didn't see any chargers from Castaic to Bakersfield, and the grade there is brutal. Please tell me I'm wrong, because that is a real deal breaker for my Leaf, and our Tesla is, wait, I'm the poor guy here, the Leaf is my nice car.

PlugShare shows DCQC (x5?!?) at the junction of I-5 and 99 (29 miles south of Bakersfield).

Those are Tesla Model S/X.

[SSS]

My previous long trip (150 miles) was to the El Segundo Plug-In Sunday. I was the guy in the black wheelchair-(my decades old EV). Maybe it's naïveté, perhaps old age, but I've been an avid EV reader over the past 4 years, and carrying all these adapters has missed my in box. Oh sure, I bought Phil's adapter for my EVSEupgrade, but where do I find these others? Are there specific brands, or is this a DIY job that is just assumed knowledge?
These connections in order to make such a trip are new to me, but vital to know to guys like me who plan on EVs for the long run. I imagine some other Leafers may need the same info.

[ebill3]

My previous long trip (150 miles) was to the El Segundo Plug-In Sunday. I was the guy in the black wheelchair-(my decades old EV). Maybe it's naïveté, perhaps old age, but I've been an avid EV reader over the past 4 years, and carrying all these adapters has missed my in box. Oh sure, I bought Phil's adapter for my EVSEupgrade, but where do I find these others? Are there specific brands, or is this a DIY job that is just assumed knowledge?
These connections in order to make such a trip are new to me, but vital to know to guys like me who plan on EVs for the long run. I imagine some other Leafers may need the same info.

For adapters, look here:http://www.evseadapters.com/

Bill