Reality of a Coast-to-Coast Road Trip in the Leaf

I'm planning a possible move from Toledo, Ohio to Hanford California in the future. I'm sorting out the details of a move like this in the meanwhile. I have a 3-year lease with my Leaf and I have to get it out there somehow. Up to this point I've planned on hiring a transport company to get it there, while I take the train.

I'm kind of curious at the prospects of maybe driving my Leaf to Hanford California from Toledo Ohio. It would be in early April (a month or two). I would allow myself a month to make the trip (not really a set time to be there, that's an arbitrary date really). I've got a CHAdeMO port, and 6.6kWh on-board charger in my 2014 Leaf. I would be prepared to stop at any and all chargers to make it.

Do you think it would be possible or is it a crazy idea?

I've read of Kansas City installing CHAdeMO QC stations (and plan 1,000 total over time), and more and more nationwide coming online all the time.

Most likely I will be going with the Transport company to haul it there.

But, I just wonder if we've now entered an era where this kind of cross-country trip is possible? Or, maybe I'm crazy for even thinking of it, but what do you think?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/23/superfast-car-charging-stations-sprout-up-in-twin-/?page=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/faster-chargers-for-electric-car-are-heading-to-tampa-bay/2217505" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://transportevolved.com/2014/03/20/coast-coast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://transportevolved.com/2015/01/26/nissan-promises-1700-chademo-dc-quick-chargers-u-s-april-next-year/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096514_kansas-city-power-light-to-build-1000-electric-car-charging-sites" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://fox13now.com/2014/04/03/first-public-electric-car-charging-station-in-salt-lake-county-unveiled/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421594,00.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

electriccarfan said:

Do you think it would be possible or is it a crazy idea?

Click to expand...

Not sure those are mutually exclusive.. :lol:

Will be interesting to see if that's possible today...

desiv

Possible... sure. Practical? Probably not. Any stretches of road that don't have at least L2 stations nearby, expect to be charging from 120V outlets and expect to travel about 40 miles per day in those areas.

There are some pretty dang long segments of road between those two cities without any kind of charging infrastructure. ~120 miles of interstate between Green River UT and Richfield, UT. 101 miles to get there from Grand Junction, CO. 127 miles between the outskirts of Omaha to the next charger west of Des Moines.

Trips like this have been done- John Glenney's report of going cross-country in his Tesla Roadster would be a great read for you. He filled in the gaps with campgrounds.

http://pluginroadtrip.com/washington-sf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you are willing to take a long time, scout out new charging locations creatively, and follow John's model of driving during strange hours of the night to avoid wasting time sleeping with a full battery, you might be able to do this. I think your key would be calling ahead to places in those dry areas to try and find a 220V outlet you can use. A portable 30A EVSE would be a must- preferably with an adjustable rate to charge safety from 30A outlets. Carry a multitude of adapters for different plugs. If you do do this, write about it!

If you can take a month to do it, it should be possible. You'd have an adventure. All that charging would allow you to really see the country along your route. You'd want an EVSE Upgrade or TurboCord or something to use at campgrounds along the way.

evtripplanner.com + plugshare.com = a lot of work, but a very good solution to making a real trip plan.

I'd budget 45 minutes per quickcharge and 4 hours per L2 charge to get you the average charge you need to the next charging spot. Might have to do a few 120v charges along the way in the sparsely populated areas.

dhanson865 said:

evtripplanner.com + plugshare.com = a lot of work, but a very good solution to making a real trip plan.

I'd budget 45 minutes per quickcharge and 4 hours per L2 charge to get you the average charge you need to the next charging spot. Might have to do a few 120v charges along the way in the sparsely populated areas.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the links, I will give them a look. Like I mentioned before, I'll probably end up going the Transport route but I was just curious as to if Its possible.

As a sailor planning a trip to south and central America in a 30ft sailboat, a trip like that sounds very appealing to me. I average probably less than 8mph, anything else is fast.
Are there any other good sources for right ups about trips like that?

electriccarfan said:

dhanson865 said:

evtripplanner.com + plugshare.com = a lot of work, but a very good solution to making a real trip plan.

I'd budget 45 minutes per quickcharge and 4 hours per L2 charge to get you the average charge you need to the next charging spot. Might have to do a few 120v charges along the way in the sparsely populated areas.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the links, I will give them a look. Like I mentioned before, I'll probably end up going the Transport route but I was just curious as to if Its possible.

Click to expand...

Sure it's possible, especially with a month to do it (you could ride a bike X-C in that amount of time; it's about 2,400 miles). Here's a group that drove it in EVs in 2013: http://ridethefuturetour.com/611/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and there's a lot more infrastructure now. It all depends on how much time and inconvenience you're willing to put up with. Using only CHAdeMO, J1772 and Nema 14-50s you should be able to make it easily in ten days to two weeks.

As others have mentioned, plugshare and evtripplanner are definitely going to be your friends, and you also want a portable EVSE that can handle 208-240V, either an EVSEupgrade or preferably one that can deliver your maximum charge capacity like a Clipper Creek HCS-40P, http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/hcs-40p-32a-240v-charging-25-cord-nema-14-50-plug/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; with at least a 14-50 plug or adapter for RV parks and maybe one for motel A/C receptacles (forget which one that is, but someone here will chime in), if you're going to stay in them. Western Kansas/Nebraska/Oklahoma would be very difficult without a 14-50 plug, and Western New Mexico or Wyoming and part of I-80 in Nevada, you'll probably be restricted to L1 if you can't find an air conditioner. Getting to Kansas City doesn't look like a problem, and I-40 from Texas westward looks to be your best bet, although I-20 to I-10 would work too.

If you do go for it, you might look into campgrounds (KOA? others) and Shorepower and its map for out-of-the-way places that offer 220V plugs. Sounds like fun, if you've got the time. I'm sure (or "shore" ) that you'd arrive with more stories than doing it the 'safe and easy' way.

If the OP wanted to pick up an evseupgrade for cheap, here's their chance: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=19232" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Personally, with a 6.0 kW OBC and the X-C trip in prospect, I'd opt for a portable evse that can deliver the full 32A, assuming I could afford either. Perhaps the savings of not having the car transported would pay for one or the other.

GRA said:

electriccarfan said:

dhanson865 said:

evtripplanner.com + plugshare.com = a lot of work, but a very good solution to making a real trip plan.

I'd budget 45 minutes per quickcharge and 4 hours per L2 charge to get you the average charge you need to the next charging spot. Might have to do a few 120v charges along the way in the sparsely populated areas.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the links, I will give them a look. Like I mentioned before, I'll probably end up going the Transport route but I was just curious as to if Its possible.

Click to expand...

Sure it's possible, especially with a month to do it (you could ride a bike X-C in that amount of time; it's about 2,400 miles). Here's a group that drove it in EVs in 2013: http://ridethefuturetour.com/611/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and there's a lot more infrastructure now. It all depends on how much time and inconvenience you're willing to put up with. Using only CHAdeMO, J1772 and Nema 14-50s you should be able to make it easily in ten days to two weeks.

As others have mentioned, plugshare and evtripplanner are definitely going to be your friends, and you also want a portable EVSE that can handle 208-240V, either an EVSEupgrade or preferably one that can deliver your maximum charge capacity like a Clipper Creek HCS-40P, with at least a 14-50 plug or adapter for RV parks and maybe one for motel A/C receptacles (forget which one that is, but someone here will chime in), if you're going to stay in them. Western Kansas/Nebraska/Oklahoma would be very difficult without a 14-50 plug, and Western New Mexico or Wyoming and part of I-80 in Nevada, you'll probably be restricted to L1 if you can't find an air conditioner. Getting to Kansas City doesn't look like a problem, and I-40 from Texas westward looks to be your best bet, although I-10 would work too.

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I guess I didn't realize just how much gear you'd need to undertake such a journey. I don't have a portable EVSE, EVSEupgrade, and or array of adapters.

Ever since I got my Leaf I've only ever used the 120V Trickle Charger that it came with. I never wanted to dole out all that money for a 240V Charging station nor the $1000 to run all that copper to my driveway. So I've just kept using the Trickle Charger. Its worked great up to this point though, just not for long trips like this one.

I guess I thought I could maybe make this trip on CHAdeMO QC and J1772 Public Charging stations alone. Lol. I suppose that's pretty naive huh? I hope one day I can drive coast-to-coast on CHAdeMO QC alone such as can be done in Great Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsZgGqZrSQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't think I'll have it in my budget to buy a 240V portable EVSE, UpgradedEVSE, nor the various adapters needed right now. I was just mainly playing around with this whole idea, I don't think I would dare attempt this trip. My main thing would be getting through Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado!

It would be a great adventure and fun (to some extent), but I wouldn't feel comfortable risking getting stranded, blowing a tire, or something else. Also, It would be nice to be in California in a week rather than 3-4 weeks. I mainly just wondered at its possibilities and how realistic it'd be.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

If you can take a month to do it, it should be possible. You'd have an adventure. All that charging would allow you to really see the country along your route. You'd want an EVSE Upgrade or TurboCord or something to use at campgrounds along the way.

Click to expand...

That does seem exciting! I think though I wouldn't feel comfortable risking getting stranded, nor do I have any EVSE Upgrade,Turbocord, or Adapters. I could use the money I have reserved for the Transport for the gear instead, but for all he risk I think it might not be so worth it.

Now if there would be an "Electric Highway" like they've got running up and down the west coast, I'd be all over this trip. It seems as if it'd be a large expense, a lot of work planning, risky, and impracticable. When I first posted this, I thought maybe I could chain CHAdeMO QC stations and get through the trip! Lol, guess its more complicated than I thought.

electriccarfan said:

I guess I didn't realize just how much gear you'd need to undertake such a journey. I don't have a portable EVSE, EVSEupgrade, and or array of adapters.

Ever since I got my Leaf I've only ever used the 120V Trickle Charger that it came with. I never wanted to dole out all that money for a 240V Charging station nor the $1000 to run all that copper to my driveway. So I've just kept using the Trickle Charger. Its worked great up to this point though, just not for long trips like this one.

Click to expand...

If you can't afford a 240V portable EVSE, then this definitely isn't going to work for you unless you have the patience of Job.

electriccarfan said:

I guess I thought I could maybe make this trip on CHAdeMO QC and J1772 Public Charging stations alone. Lol. I suppose that's pretty naive huh? I hope one day I can drive coast-to-coast on CHAdeMO QC alone such as can be done in Great Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsZgGqZrSQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <snip>

Click to expand...

We're getting there, but I expect it will be at least another year or two until CHAdeMO and/or CCS can do X-C trips like Tesla owners can with the Supercharger network. Once BEVs other than Tesla with 200 mile range start showing up, I expect the infrastructure to improve rapidly.

GRA said:

electriccarfan said:

I guess I didn't realize just how much gear you'd need to undertake such a journey. I don't have a portable EVSE, EVSEupgrade, and or array of adapters.

Ever since I got my Leaf I've only ever used the 120V Trickle Charger that it came with. I never wanted to dole out all that money for a 240V Charging station nor the $1000 to run all that copper to my driveway. So I've just kept using the Trickle Charger. Its worked great up to this point though, just not for long trips like this one.

Click to expand...

If you can't afford a 240V portable EVSE, then this definitely isn't going to work for you unless you have the patience of Job.

electriccarfan said:

I guess I thought I could maybe make this trip on CHAdeMO QC and J1772 Public Charging stations alone. Lol. I suppose that's pretty naive huh? I hope one day I can drive coast-to-coast on CHAdeMO QC alone such as can be done in Great Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsZgGqZrSQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; <snip>

Click to expand...

We're getting there, but I expect it will be at least another year or two until CHAdeMO and/or CCS can do X-C trips like Tesla owners can with the Supercharger network. Once BEVs other than Tesla with 200 mile range start showing up, I expect the infrastructure to improve rapidly.

Click to expand...

Yeah, If I were to actually do this I wouldn't really want to spend much on this trip. I wouldn't mind signing up for Chargepoint, and or other services but I wasn't trying to actually buy equipment and be invested in this. It would be nice to just plan out the route and then set out, stopping at all the CHAdeMO QC & J1772 Public Charging Stations along the route.

I hope we do get to that point in a few years, hopefully when I get the 2017 Leaf Gen 2 (when my current Leaf lease is up), they'll have more CHAdeMO QC stations out there.

Unless you plan on sleeping in the car or a tent, the cost of a motel room each night for 2+ weeks would surely wind up being more than the transport.

FWIW, here's a map I made a couple of years ago mapping out a route between Long Beach, NY and Long Beach, CA. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zCnhuRXz3HFk.kpZl1OCwUKqc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I started putting lines between the points but gave up somewhere in VA. The route is clearly outdated, and a lot of my assumptions were too optimistic; if I were to redo it for today's infrastructure, I could probably shave off some distance and time. For example, you can already Quick Charge your way from the NY area to the DC area (done that already myself) and from there you can get to Tennessee mostly on QC, too.

Let me bring up another alternative...

Why not try to find someone to take over your lease on your 2014, even if you have to pay them to do so with the same amount as you would have paid to transport the car ($800? or so) You might find someone to take that on. Its basically a wash for you, since you would have paid the transport fee anyways. I think Nissan will let you transfer the lease to another party.

Then when you get out to CA, you can just lease a new 2015 model. Lease rates are really low now, likely lower than what you paid, and in CA we have a $2500 state rebate that you get with a 36mo or longer lease, so this would essentially negate your down payment. You could probably just drive off the lot with a new car and a fresh lease and a monthly payment.

tkdbrusco said:

Let me bring up another alternative...

Why not try to find someone to take over your lease on your 2014, even if you have to pay them to do so with the same amount as you would have paid to transport the car ($800? or so) You might find someone to take that on. Its basically a wash for you, since you would have paid the transport fee anyways. I think Nissan will let you transfer the lease to another party.

Then when you get out to CA, you can just lease a new 2015 model. Lease rates are really low now, likely lower than what you paid, and in CA we have a $2500 state rebate that you get with a 36mo or longer lease, so this would essentially negate your down payment. You could probably just drive off the lot with a new car and a fresh lease and a monthly payment.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea, however there are some hangups with that. I thought of that a couple months ago and thought of maybe using something like Swapalease.com or going to different dealerships inquiring. I have a couple relatives that got out of a lease early when the dealer called them and said they'd take over their remaining payments. I was about to head on down to a local Nissan dealer when I did a little reading on getting out of leases. I a couple articles (http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-tips/204232/early-termination-of-lease.jsp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false(http://www.finweb.com/loans/how-to-break-a-car-lease.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false, and they said that Nissan is one of a few manufacturers that doesn't allow lease transfers. Also, the finweb article says if I have another party take over my lease, I might still be held legally liable for the car and seeing that its payments are made.

I wasn't sure overall, but I wasn't really keen on giving up my lease anyway. So I decided not to go down that road.

Another reason is that my lease will be up in May 2017 (which I tried to time that way) which will hopefully align with the new redesigned Leaf, and I'd like to get out of this one and into that 2017 Leaf. I don't really want a 2015 Leaf that's going to restart my payments and all that. The lower payments sound nice, but I don't know. There could be the event that I just want to be done with leasing/making payments (financial situation or something), so It'd be nice to be done when I've planned to be done (if I should need to). You never know.

It sounds like a sweet deal and all, but I just don't know what I want to do when 2017 hits, I might get something else entirely (GM Volt, GM Bolt, Kia SoulEV, Tesla Model 3 or etc). I really don't want to restart a lease though (now 9 months since getting my 14'), and be right back to square one.

I think what I'll probably just end of doing is paying the Transport company $1,245 to haul it, and then keep my lease up to May 2017 and hopefully slide into a 2017 Gen II Leaf. That's what the plan is and was. When I got my 14' Leaf I'd never imagined that I'd be moving to California. I don't mind paying but, it does bite somewhat.

NYLEAF said:

Unless you plan on sleeping in the car or a tent, the cost of a motel room each night for 2+ weeks would surely wind up being more than the transport.

FWIW, here's a map I made a couple of years ago mapping out a route between Long Beach, NY and Long Beach, CA. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zCnhuRXz3HFk.kpZl1OCwUKqc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I started putting lines between the points but gave up somewhere in VA. The route is clearly outdated, and a lot of my assumptions were too optimistic; if I were to redo it for today's infrastructure, I could probably shave off some distance and time. For example, you can already Quick Charge your way from the NY area to the DC area (done that already myself) and from there you can get to Tennessee mostly on QC, too.

Click to expand...

I guess that's a good point. I hadn't really thought of that. I guess I thought I'd be sleeping in my car or something. That's probably not going to fly though. To have it transported is $1,245, but at least it makes the trip safely (hopefully) and in a 5-7 day time-frame.

skysail said:

As a sailor planning a trip to south and central America in a 30ft sailboat, a trip like that sounds very appealing to me. I average probably less than 8mph, anything else is fast.
Are there any other good sources for right ups about trips like that?

Click to expand...

As a sailor myself, I had to comment on this. A 30' boat has a hull speed of about 8mph. I would plan your trip assuming an average speed of 1/2 to 3/4 of hull speed (4-6mph).

Also, I assume you are aware, but beware of pirates off the coast of south america, particularly Venezuela. It sounds like fiction, but they are very real and very dangerous to American travelers.

To the OP, it sounds like you've made up your mind not to go. I can't blame you, but I'm a little disappointed that we won't get to read about your adventure!