UPDATE: We made it! Long Island to Washington, DC

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

NYLEAF

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 5, 2011
Messages
574
Location
Long Island, NY
UPDATE: 7/28/2014
Thanks to everyone's help with planning this EV Road Trip. Here's a quick trip report from our EV road trip.

The original plan called for us to leave my house at 6am and get to DC by 1pm. Instead, we were actually on the road at 6:46am. Thankfully, traffic at this hour was light, and we arrived at our first stop, the Holiday Inn Express in East Brunswick, NJ at 7:49am. Unfortunately, we found the spot in front of the QC ICEd!

56177.jpg

56178.jpg


By parking on a very sharp angle, we were just able to get the plug connected. This station is officially rated for 20kW. In reality, we saw a peak of 18.5kW, and once we reached an SoC of 70%, it started to taper down. After watching a few minutes of "Pitch Perfect" on an iPad precariously perched on the dashboard, we disconnected and were on our way to our second stop of the day.

Just over an hour later (9:23am), we arrived at the Wyndham hotel in Mt. Laurel, NJ, home to a 50kW station owned by U-GO, the same provider from our first stop of the morning.

56181.jpg


This station is networked on the GreenLots network, meaning we needed to use a GreenLots RFID car or the GreenLots App to pay for the station's use. I had attempted to obtain a GreenLots RFID before leaving for the trip, but I was assured by the phone representative that using the smartphone app would be easier than obtaining a card. However, when we arrived at the station, I made my first mistake of the day. Once I had started my session on the GreenLots app, I plugged the station into the car, not waiting for the station to actually tell me to do so! I had seen an image on the touchscreen demonstrating how to plug the car in, and I assumed that it was telling me to actually do so. In reality, having the car plugged in before the station was ready caused the session to fail. I called GreenLots and had them start a session for me over the phone. Seven minutes after arriving, my Leaf was happily sucking down 47kW from the station.

56182.jpg


The charging rate began to taper down again just 7 minutes into the charge, falling into the mid-20kW's around 65% SoC. This U-GO Station is set to charge $7/hr, and it does not prorate by the minute, which led me to stay for as long as I could to ensure I got my money's worth. This was probably mistake #2 for the day. Seeing as how are next stop was only 37 miles down the NJ Turnpike, we should have charged just enough to get us to our next stop. When I realized how full the battery was getting, I approached the machine and pressed "STOP", only to be greeted by a message on the touch screen instructing me to tap my RFID card to end the session. Perplexed, I opened the GreenLots app on my iPhone and attempted to end the session. With the app "unable to connect to server at this time", I was unable to stop my car from charging! I called GreenLots again -- the friendly representative explained that sessions started by the call center must be ended by the call center, as well. A few minutes later (9:54am), all was well and we were off again.

We arrived a short while later (10:30am) at the Flying J travel plaza, on the NJ side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, home to the only Blink quick charger on the entire East Coast.

47472.jpg
(Borrowing this photo from PlugShare)

I tapped my never-before-used Blink card and started charging the car. I've read a lot of negative things about Blink QCs on these boards, so I was extra happy to have this one work flawlessly! We quickly ran inside to (finally) grab some breakfast at Denny's. Knowing that our next stop was two states and 70+ miles away, I planned on staying here for a full charge. Twenty minutes later, just after placing our order with the waitress, I checked my phone and noticed the car had stopped charging. I excused myself from the table and went back to the car to start another $5 charging session. Although I had chosen 100% the first time, I knew a second session would be needed to reach 100%.

56183.jpg


At 11:16am, I received a notification on my phone that the car was done charging for the second time. Unfortunately, our waitress wasn't as prompt as the charging station. We finally got the check, used the restrooms, and were back in the car at 11:45am. I started the car up, glanced over at my Android phone running LeafSpy, and felt a knot form in my stomach; although the car had 12 out of 12 bars showing, LeafSpy was reporting 227 Gids, only 81% charged! That was certainly not enough to get us the 70 miles we needed to reach our next stop in Towson, MD. However, with the car thinking it was fully charged, I had no way of charging it up any more. Left with no other options, all I could do was hope that LeafSpy was wrong. Maybe it was a glitch, I thought -- after all, the battery temp had just hit the hottest ever, 9 bars (114F according to LeafSpy).

After crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge, we avoided I-95 and opted for Route 40 (Pulaski Highway) instead. This road runs parallel to I-95, but with a top speed limit of just 55mph. The slower speeds and calm traffic allowed me to achieve a 4.8 mi/kWh efficiency. Two hours and 6 minutes later (1;51pm), we had arrived at the eVgo station in Towson, MD. This route should have only taken about 1:45 according to Google, but we used the car's built in navigation and had it set to "shortest route", meaning it took us through some residential areas with very low speed limits as we got closer to Towson. That was probably mistake #3 (or #4, if we count the waitress at Denny's) for the day. We arrived in Towson with 29 Gids, indicating to me that perhaps something was wrong with LeafSpy (or the readings it was receiving from the Leaf) after all.

56198.jpg


Charging in Towson gave me the opportunity to use yet another never-before-used charging card, my eVgo card! I happily tapped the card to the reader, only to see a message saying "Card not authorized". After a few more tries gave me the same result, I called the number on the screen. The friendly agent started my charge for me in just a few moments, and at no cost! Awesome. The agent assured me the issue with my card would be fixed by Monday for my return trip to NY.

We spent 27 minutes charging here, giving us time to purchase some much-needed Red Bulls at Walgreens and watch a few more minutes of "Pitch Perfect" on the iPad. With 210 Gids in the tank, we left for our final destination at 2:25pm. This is, unfortunately, where we made our final mistake of the day. Instead of using the wonderful App "Waze" to navigate us through Friday afternoon DC-area traffic, we relied on the navigation skills of the Leaf to take us the final 60 miles to our hotel. Unfortunately, it took us through some awful traffic in Maryland, and then dumped us on city streets in the center of our nation's capital to make the last few miles of our journey on LBW. At 4:22pm (just 3 minutes shy of 2 hours after leaving Towson), we finally arrived at our hotel, the Key Bridge Marriott, in Arlington, VA.

My plan for charging in Arlington was to take the car to a Walgreens just a mile or so from the hotel and use their eVgo QC. However, when checking in, I asked if there was anywhere I could plug the car in. Sure enough, they directed me to a parking lot that is typically used for tour bus parking and showed me a few outlets I could use. Sadly, none of them were working! After a few phone calls between the front desk and engineering, they assured me they would find some way to juice up my car. We went into DC to do some touring, and when I came back, I found a yellow extension cord tied up to the railing next to my car. The employees at this hotel went above and beyond!

56557.jpg


Our return trip took place today, 7/28/14. We essentially did the same trip, just in reverse. We attempted to get a full charge at the eVgo station in Towson, in preparation for the long drive back to NJ, but we weren't able to get the eVgo station to go past 227 Gids. This must be some sort of limitation with the Leaf. (We also couldn't get my eVgo card to work, and had to call twice to start both our charging sessions). We made it on LBW with a few miles to spare. Today's trip went faster, thanks to the lessons learned on Friday's trip.

In total, we traveled 554.6 miles. We never finished watching "Pitch Perfect". Here's a link to my LeafSpy logs from the trip down and the trip back, for anyone interested. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16V40V1WH62-VQvMxuccjPfw0etOQGO1aliobFVYTRLA/edit?usp=sharing. The charging sessions are color-coded: Blue is the Holiday Inn Express, Orange is the Wyndham Hotel, Red is Flying J/Denny's, and Green is Walgreens/eVgo. The GPS data seems to be off, not sure why. Speed looks accurate, though.

To those who question taking an EV on this type of trip...you're right. If time is a consideration, don't take an EV on a road trip. We went into this trip knowing it would take longer. Ultimately, we had fun, and made lots of great memories. No regrets!
-------------------------------------------
I'm planning a road trip to Washington, DC at the end of this month, and I'm hoping to take my Leaf. There will be four adults in the car (including myself), plus luggage -- so probably around 800lbs or so. The Leaf is a 2012 model with about 28,500 miles. Last time I checked a full charge on LeafSpy (about 2 weeks ago) I was at 264 Gids, AHr was 64.18 and SOH was 97%, so my battery is in pretty good shape, as far as I can tell.

Here's my proposed route... https://goo.gl/maps/segHf

Home to Holiday Inn Express, E. Brunswick, NJ (UGO Stations 20kW CHAdeMO): 51.4 mi
Holiday Inn Express to Wyndham Hotel, Mt. Laurel, NJ (UGO Stations 50kW CHAdeMO): 50.6 mi
Wyndham Hotel to Flying J Travel Plaza, Carneys Point, NJ (Blink 50kW CHAdeMO): 34.7 mi
Flying J Travel Plaza to Walgreens, Towson, MD (eVgo 44kW CHAdeMO): 71.0 mi
Walgreens to Washington, DC (Hotel Level 2 Charging): 61.0 mi


I know to make sure my tires are up to 40 psi before I leave, and I know to try and drive slow and steady on the highway to increase mi/kwh. Any other advice? The return trip would follow the same route, making the same stops. My biggest concern is the length of the stretch between the Blink Station in NJ and the eVgo Station in MD (plus the fact that I'm relying on a Blink station to begin with, but this particular station does have a good reputation on PlugShare, and I do have a Blink Card ready to go.)

My plan is to leave home at 6am and hopefully get to DC at 1pm. I might try and follow (not draft) a slow moving truck on I-95 between NJ and MD to increase efficiency. Should I maybe consider local roads instead? I'd really rather not stop at a L2 on the way. Will I have issues trying to get the Blink QC to give me as close to 100% as possible? There is no L2 at this location to finish charging on. Am I correct in assuming that I'll have to restart the Blink QC after 80% so I can charge to 100%, and that this will charge me the $5 fee again?

Thanks!
 
NYLEAF said:
Am I correct in assuming that I'll have to restart the Blink QC after 80% so I can charge to 100%, and that this will charge me the $5 fee again?
Yes. even if you select "100%" from the Blink menu, you'll only get slightly above 80% before it terminates -- assuming the car is below 50% when you begin charging. If the car is above 50% when you begin charging, you'll get close to a full charge.
 
As you say, the 71 mile leg will be the biggest issue as you'll absolutely need a 100% charge to make it at 65 mph. If you can slow to 55-60 mph it'll be easier. Worst case, the White Marsh Park and Ride appears to be a good spot to pick up a bit of charge if you fall short.

The 50 mile legs should be possible on a 80% charge given the condition of your battery.

I would recommend cutting your charge short on the 35 mile leg and perhaps only charging to 65-70% or so to save time, unless you have it.

Watch the elevation gain, too! The Walgreens in MD is also about 400 ft above your previous stop which will sneak off a few miles of range, too.

Edit: And pump the tires up to the sidewall max, too (44psi), especially since you'll have the car just about fully loaded.
 
I am not trying to provoke an argument but why would anyone attempt such a long trip in a car that is not designed for this kind of travel?
for example how much time will be spent at each charger?
does the OP realize the levels of heavy traffic he might encounter all the way from LI to DC?
IMHO I would consider other forms of transport.
 
Thanks for the information, Nubo.

drees said:
As you say, the 71 mile leg will be the biggest issue as you'll absolutely need a 100% charge to make it at 65 mph. If you can slow to 55-60 mph it'll be easier. Worst case, the White Marsh Park and Ride appears to be a good spot to pick up a bit of charge if you fall short.

The 50 mile legs should be possible on a 80% charge given the condition of your battery.

I would recommend cutting your charge short on the 35 mile leg and perhaps only charging to 65-70% or so to save time, unless you have it.

Watch the elevation gain, too! The Walgreens in MD is also about 400 ft above your previous stop which will sneak off a few miles of range, too.

Edit: And pump the tires up to the sidewall max, too (44psi), especially since you'll have the car just about fully loaded.

That's a location I had previously looked at as a backup stop, but didn't realize until just now that there's an IKEA within walking distance. That makes it much more likely that my party will want to stop for a bit.

I've made a few spreadsheets to help me figure out just how long the trip will take, including charging time. Obviously traffic is not calculated in this, but we are planning on leaving on a Saturday morning, so hopefully we won't encounter much at all. Coming home on a Monday I'm sure we will, but we would be hitting traffic in a gas car, too.

Trip to DC, Including stop at IKEA, QC set to max 85% charge
Trip to DC, no stop at IKEA, QC set to max 95% charge

The stop at IKEA adds roughly an hour to the trip. The charging times are probably not very accurate, because it's hard to predict what the average power will be for each Quick Charge, but I did my best to rough it out based on starting SoC and ending SoC. In general, 20-25 minutes at each QC sounds about right. The only one that looks very off is the Blink QC when I need a 95% charge on it -- I'm sure it'll take closer to an hour, rather than 38 minutes.

Ultimately, I want to do this trip because it seems like a fun adventure. I've wanted to take the Leaf on some sort of road trip since I first got it, but with a 3.3kW OBC, I had to wait for the CHAdeMO infrastructure to arrive. My 3 traveling companions all understand that this will take us longer than if we just took a gas car, but that it's going to be an adventure, and that it's not just about the destination, but about getting there as well. The only other form of transport we could consider would be taking Amtrak down, and that is way more expensive than just driving, and not much faster than taking the Leaf (even with charging factored in), once you consider the time it would take us to take the LIRR to Penn Station, and then waiting at Penn for our train.
 
You're going to need three very cooperative passengers. I can't imagine anyone that would accompany me on this trip given the circumstances. :)

Bob
 
apvbguy said:
I am not trying to provoke an argument but why would anyone attempt such a long trip in a car that is not designed for this kind of travel?
for example how much time will be spent at each charger?
does the OP realize the levels of heavy traffic he might encounter all the way from LI to DC?
IMHO I would consider other forms of transport.
I agree with you on your first two points.

But, wouldn't the heavy traffic be a benefit to the Leaf? ;)
 
jlv said:
apvbguy said:
I am not trying to provoke an argument but why would anyone attempt such a long trip in a car that is not designed for this kind of travel?
for example how much time will be spent at each charger?
does the OP realize the levels of heavy traffic he might encounter all the way from LI to DC?
IMHO I would consider other forms of transport.
I agree with you on your first two points.

But, wouldn't the heavy traffic be a benefit to the Leaf? ;)
to a point yes, but I've seen traffic jams that can run from MD to central NJ, and that wouldn't work out too well for a limited range EV
 
also, make sure that you have an evgo card if you can before you go. Calling their customer service to do a one off charge can take about 15 minutes to complete the transaction and it not the most reliable process.
 
P71VIC said:
also, make sure that you have an evgo card if you can before you go. Calling their customer service to do a one off charge can take about 15 minutes to complete the transaction and it not the most reliable process.

I requested a card from them just before the July 4th Holiday Weekend, my CC was charged the $5 fee, but I haven't gotten the card yet. I'm sure it will be here soon.

I've been playing around with EVTripPlanner.com to see if it thinks I'll make the ~71 mile leg from NJ to MD. If I take Rte 40 (Pulaski Hwy) instead of I95 it predicts I'd use a lot less energy, but obviously it would take more time due to traffic, traffic lights, slower speed, etc. P71VIC, seeing as you're from the area, can you share your thoughts on the choice between these two routes? Thanks.
 
rt 40 isn't that bad. There are many lights but it is 6 lanes in many places. I-95 in that area is very fast moving. If you think you want to keep your speeds to 60MPH on this stretch you might be better off on Rt 40 so that you don't get the feeling of being run down by faster traffic.

Especially as you will be coming off of a Chademo charge and not at 100%, Rt 40 is likely your best best to ensure you arrive in Towson and don't need to detour to Ikea for an hour.
 
NYLEAF said:
I'm planning a road trip to Washington, DC at the end of this month, and I'm hoping to take my Leaf.
Here's my proposed route... https://goo.gl/maps/segHf

Home to Holiday Inn Express, E. Brunswick, NJ (UGO Stations 20kW CHAdeMO): 51.4 mi
Holiday Inn Express to Wyndham Hotel, Mt. Laurel, NJ (UGO Stations 50kW CHAdeMO): 50.6 mi
Wyndham Hotel to Flying J Travel Plaza, Carneys Point, NJ (Blink 50kW CHAdeMO): 34.7 mi
Flying J Travel Plaza to Walgreens, Towson, MD (eVgo 44kW CHAdeMO): 71.0 mi
Walgreens to Washington, DC (Hotel Level 2 Charging): 53.9 mi

Thanks!

Hi, I'm Larry, the new kid on the electric car block. I became a member of this forum just now so I could encourage NYLEAF to "Go for it!" with his Long Island to DC Trip. Someone asked the question "Why take a short-range car on a long-range trip?" The answer is easy if you're a mountain climber -- "Because it's there!" If you are a sailor or other adventurer, the answer is just to see if you can do it. I have owned my 2014 Leaf just over a month now. In that time I have taken it on two trips it was never designed for. My home is not far from Fredericksburg, VA. Long Trip #1 took me to Annapolis, MD and return, about 200 miles. Having done that trip without dying, Long Trip #2 went from home to Newport News, VA, several short trips around there, and back home again. I left home with a 100% charge. I got a number of free recharges during the trip. Back home again, I had driven 375 miles, and pumping back up to 100% charge cost me $1.97. Seriously. With gas costing about $3.50/gal, I did the "feel good" math and determined that my MPGe was about 660 miles/gallon equivalent, not counting the free fuel. That's Fun!
 
One other thought for your planning: Be sure you have something entertaining for the four of you to do while the Leaf is getting all juiced up again. Cards or word games, anything to help reduce the feeling of "We drive an hour, then sit a half hour, then drive an hour and sit again." When your trip is over, your passengers will feel like they spent more time sitting than driving. And you may, too. So just prep them for that, so nerves don't get raw towards the end of the day.

Suggestion: If one of your passengers has good writing skills get him/her to keep a trip log of what happened during the trip. This could be the basis for an interesting article on traveling without gas, but especially how important it is for governments, businesses, and other organizations to support installing more fast chargers for travelers.

Best of luck, and let us all know how the trip goes! Larry
 
Thanks for the encouragement, Larry. I will update this thread at the end of the journey.

P71, based on your advice, I'm going to stick with Rte 40. I'd feel very pressured to drive faster than I realistically can on 95.

We found a hotel in Arlington that's only a mile away from an eVgo QC station, so we should be all set for the return trip as well. Oh, and my eVgo card came in the mail yesterday! :)
 
NYLEAF: I really am curious to learn how this goes for you. As others have said, I'd not take I-95 in the LEAF. You'd be pressured to travel at least 70 MPH for large portions of the time. Would probably take the fun out of the trip with the feeling that you are being tailgated 100 of the time and then also constantly looking at your remaining range meter. What has not been discussed is if it is a really hot and humid day, will you use the a/c? That would also reduce your range. In any event, enjoy the trip.

Lou
 
apvbguy said:
I am not trying to provoke an argument but why would anyone attempt such a long trip in a car that is not designed for this kind of travel?
for example how much time will be spent at each charger?
does the OP realize the levels of heavy traffic he might encounter all the way from LI to DC?
IMHO I would consider other forms of transport.

2nd! Just rent/borrow a regular car for this trip or take a train...
 
As a former LIer I agree to get a rental. From Huntington, I could spend 2 hours easily just trying to get off the island. If there's an accident you're screwed. If one of the stations is out of service... also screwed. Technically it sounds like it would work fine, but just be ready to deal with the possibility it won't. Also what the others said about being tailgated. Thinking of a semi going 80 trying to run your Leaf off the road.. . Maybe that' just my insecurities as someone who didn't buy a Leaf talking.
 
It's not an issue of needing a car, between the four of us we have the Leaf, an Altima, a Rogue and a Subaru Forrester available for this trip. We want to take the Leaf because it'll be an experience.

I live in the far southwestern corner of Nassau County, right near JFK Airport, so getting off the island doesn't take anywhere near as long (or as many miles) as it would have from Huntington. Traffic, caused by an accident or just from rush hour, would actually help keep speeds down and therefore increase efficiency; however, it would make the trip take that much longer, which isn't ideal, of course. The only segment of the trip that I'm concerned about speeds is on I95 from southern NJ to MD, which is why I'm going to take a local road that runs parallel to 95 instead. This will add time, but I won't feel pressured to speed.

Lou, I plan to use the AC, but sparingly if possible. The AC tends to be very efficient, so I'm not too worried. I'm usually able to get my energy economy up to 4.3 mi/kWh during the summer months without trying too hard, and that's with the AC going.
 
NYLEAF said:
It's not an issue of needing a car, between the four of us we have the Leaf, an Altima, a Rogue and a Subaru Forrester available for this trip. We want to take the Leaf because it'll be an experience.

I live in the far southwestern corner of Nassau County, right near JFK Airport, so getting off the island doesn't take anywhere near as long (or as many miles) as it would have from Huntington. Traffic, caused by an accident or just from rush hour, would actually help keep speeds down and therefore increase efficiency; however, it would make the trip take that much longer, which isn't ideal, of course. The only segment of the trip that I'm concerned about speeds is on I95 from southern NJ to MD, which is why I'm going to take a local road that runs parallel to 95 instead. This will add time, but I won't feel pressured to speed.

Lou, I plan to use the AC, but sparingly if possible. The AC tends to be very efficient, so I'm not too worried. I'm usually able to get my energy economy up to 4.3 mi/kWh during the summer months without trying too hard, and that's with the AC going.
please log in and update us as your trip unfolds, good luck
 
Back
Top