How do people own and drive a Leaf in Central California?

Is is possible to drive an EV as your daily driver in Central California (CoalingCA) despite its range?
I maybe moving to Central California in Spring 2015 (April or May). It seems like this region mostly consists of flat fruit fields, and farmland. There does seem to be mountains scattered about (and around it). I checked out PlugShare and there don't seem to be that many Charging Stations around (there seems to be a multitude around the Bay area and LA, but not Central California). Where I live now (in NW Ohio) everything is close by and I've been able to drive my Nissan Leaf without any issues at all, as my only car. Right now I don't even use charging stations, I charge overnight via a 120V outlet. I'm not used to being 200 miles away from places. I really can't afford 2 cars (nor do I want 2). In the future, when my lease is up my original plan was to release a Leaf (2017 hopefully with the 200 Mile battery). I don't know if even that'll be enough range given the lack of places to charge. I'm afraid those mountains will eat my range and the vast expanses of highway too. I don't want to go back to a gasoline Prius. But I guess I might have. Are there other people living in Central California that drive a Nissan Leaf or other EV? How does someone get around with one there?

That would seem challenging unless there is a second gas vehicle available.

That seems to be a problem for me here. I can't afford a second car and don't want one. I'm thinking maybe when my lease is up in 2.5 years (which is when I'm moving) I'll have to get a 1st or 2nd gen Prius, or something. I don't want to, but what other choice do I have? It looks like they've been slacking out there in Central California. And, I always thought California is the EV capital of the world. Maybe that's just Northern & Southern California only.

Remember that the Central Valley extends from just north of the Los Angeles basin (at the bottom of a steep mountain grade known as "The Grapevine") all the way north to Redding, a distance of almost 500 miles. Coalinga is simply a small part of it and yes while much of the Central Valley is agricultural, some of this state's largest cities including Fresno (#5), Sacramento (#6), and Bakersfield (#9) are also in the Central Valley.

There aren't a large variety of jobs in the Coalinga area. The region's biggest employers are the state of California (particularly the prisons, CHP, and Caltrans), Harris Ranch, and maybe local water authority. The tourist industry (hotels, gas stations, and restaurants catering to I-5 travelers) pretty much fills in the rest of the employment scene.

BTW in terms of EV infrastructure in Coalinga, while of no use to anybody else, Tesla owners can "refuel" at a SuperCharger station at the Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant. Otherwise Coalinga is no different than any other SmallTown USA in regards to charging infrastructure (or lack thereof).

And it IS possible to drive your EV in Coalinga...you just won't be straying very far from town. Yet there are a few people here who have made their Leaf work despite living in even more remote areas.

I think first you have to figure out where you'll be living, and where you'll be driving. Then it's pretty easy to figure out what kind of car you need to complete the task.

I'll give you a few reasons for "hope", and to keep your spirits up (most here never want to go back to gas either):

1. A lot can change in two+ years! Hopefully we'll see quick chargers appear in key spots up and down I-5.
2. If you live within the San Joaquin Air Management district (which Coalinga is), you will be eligible for an additional $3000 rebate on purchasing an EV* (on top of the state's $2500 and federal tax credit). Maybe it will help you afford the 2017 Tesla 3! (which would solve all your range concerns)
3. I live more than 60 miles from points in the Bay Area and Sacramento and make round-trips to both regularly. Fortunately, there are multiple well-placed quick chargers which enable this. But if DCFCs are installed at the right spots, you should be able to get to, say, San Jose* in just one "hop", even with a relatively new current LEAF. Getting to LA would require at least 3 however, because of the mountains in between.

* if the program is still in effect
** if you know the way ;-)

RonDawg said:

And it IS possible to drive your EV in Coalinga...you just won't be straying very far from town.

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I stand corrected...there is a CHAdeMO unit at Nissan of Visalia, 64 miles from Coalinga. From there, you can reach the CHAdeMO units at Atwater (66 miles away) and possibly Bakersfield (80 miles away). Fresno surprisingly has no QC but several L2's. So living in Coalinga with a Leaf is not as limiting as originally thought, but will require careful planning and reduced speeds.

Wow, thank you everyone for all the great information. I guess it would be possible to have a Leaf in Coalinga after all (but staying in town of course). A large issue for me is going to be that I will most probably have to commute to Hanford everyday if I successfully get my current job to transfer me (43 Miles one-way). And, I also don't want to be restricted to the Coalinga area. On weekends and stuff I'd like to drive to LA, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and or etc to "get away" for a little bit. I don't want to be couped up in town only. Indeed it would be nice if I could afford a Tesla, that would solve all my range issues. Unfortunately, I don't see that predicted $35,000 price tag coming down too far (even with possible state subsidies). I need something no higher than $24,000 (they took $8,200 off my Leaf when I took out my lease). When I first get out there, I will just have to have transportation (since I'm going to be handing my Leaf in, before I leave Toledo Ohio). I won't immediately have a vehicle to get to work. So, in this way I don't have much decision time. Because Coalinga is so small and whatnot, I may have to search outward to get a job if needed. I am more than willing to commute up to 1-1.5 hours away if necessary. I doubt if a non-Tesla EV could handle that. I've seen some high mileage Gen 1 and Gen 2 Prius for very cheap online in that region (at the moment), we're talking between $1,000-$7,000 cheap. So, I'm not sure if just getting one of those would be wiser both financially and driving wise.

If you're going to be working in Hanford, is there a reason you must move to Coalinga, as opposed to Hanford itself, or even Visalia? It's not like you have to work in San Francisco but have to live in Modesto, because you can't afford to live any closer. Coalinga is just a tiny little town, not particularly any more desirable than Hanford. As I said earlier, most of the people who live there probably work for the state, or Harris Ranch, or one of the tourist-related industries.

LA and the Bay area are going to be out of reach with a Leaf, for all practical purposes, unless more DCFC's are put in. You're best taking Amtrak (the San Joaquin train stops in Hanford) for trips north or south. Or rent a car in Visalia.

It looks like I'll be living in Hanford after all! My dad ended up moving there instead. He says that he actually likes Hanford more since there's more to do. That works out for me since I'll be closer to all the other bigger cities in the area like Visalia (which has a DCFC at the Nissan Dealership there), and Frenso to the north. And there seems to be a plethora of chargers compared to Coalinga.

From there I could head south traveling down 99 to Delano--> DCFC in Bakersfield --> Flying J Travel Plaza --> Valencia, Santa Clarita. This is of course a lot of patience and time. I would need to make this an all day trip of course, but it at least could be possible I think.

Or, as an alternate route I could instead go from Hanford down Delano, and then assume the same route. I would think it would be better to not go over to Visalia and just drop down to Delano instead. It seems silly to leave Hanford (with 100% SOC) to drive to Visalia and then I'd have to QC there to continue south. But, the stop at Delano is only a (J1772) 240V probably at 30A.

The funny thing is if they'd just put in DCFCs I wouldn't have to go through all this planning and whatnot. They could install them all along I-5/I-99 spaced 40-60 Miles apart. I'd then be able to traverse the Central Valley in no time. I know eVgo has talked about putting in their "Freedom Stations" but they are so slow. I hope they speed it up a little soon. Its been a while now.

electriccarfan said:

My dad lives in Coalinga. When I move out there in May of 2017 (2.5 years) I'll be living with him. I'm not wild about Coalinga, but that's the way it'll be. I know Coalinga isn't anything to write home about. But, they do seem to have a decently low cost of living, housing prices comparable to where I live (Toledo Ohio), they're right off of I-5, and right in the middle of SF and LA. I kind of like the lack of people too. California seems to be densely populated and this is one town that doesn't seem too bad. One day I will move out of my dad's, but at first I will stay with him. I work for Kroger and the nearest one is in Hanford (43 Miles) that's the only reason I may have to commute there (if I can successfully get a transfer).

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If you want to go anywhere out of town on the weekends, a BEV with LEAF range just isn't going to cut it in Coalinga, even if lots of QCs get put in. eVgo is on the hook to put in 15 dual CHAdeMO/CCS in the San Joaquin Valley (that's the southern half of the Central Valley, which includes Coalinga; the northern half is the Sacramento Valley) over the next couple of years, and there are a few others. Realistically, if you want to go west to the coast, NW to the SF Bay Area, east to the Sierra or south to L.A. in a reasonable amount of time you either need a BEV with much longer range, or a PHEV/HEV, as you'll need a minimum of two and possibly three QCs enroute to any of these with a nominally 80 mile range BEV, and you're surrounded by mountain ranges east, west and south. There used to be a member here who lived in Fresno, but IIRR he no longer has a LEAF, as it got to be too much hassle as the range dropped due to heat-related degradation.

RonDawg said:

RonDawg said:

And it IS possible to drive your EV in Coalinga...you just won't be straying very far from town.

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I stand corrected...there is a CHAdeMO unit at Nissan of Visalia, 64 miles from Coalinga. From there, you can reach the CHAdeMO units at Atwater (66 miles away) and possibly Bakersfield (80 miles away). Fresno surprisingly has no QC but several L2's. So living in Coalinga with a Leaf is not as limiting as originally thought, but will require careful planning and reduced speeds.

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Yeah, thank you I didn't notice the CHAdeMO in Visalia! It not as bad as it seems then. With that I could get out into other towns. And, also there are a lot more chargers around than in Coalinga! Wow, thats a big difference.

I'm glad I had the foresight the get the S with the Quick Charge package.

Except Central Valley summer heat combined with L3 heating your battery up during charging will destroy it. Unless it's guaranteed lizard.

I used Chademo only once and my '11 temp gauge went from 5 to 7 in 10 minutes. It took hours to go down again.

Just saying...

ILETRIC said:

Except Central Valley summer heat combined with L3 heating your battery up during charging will destroy it. Unless it's guaranteed lizard.

I used Chademo only once and my '11 temp gauge went from 5 to 7 in 10 minutes. It took hours to go down again.

Just saying...

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Aw dang. That really sucks. That was pretty much it for my plans of traveling with my Leaf too. I'm starting to think a Volt or other EV maybe what I'll be stuck with after my Lease is up in May 2017. It really bites because I don't want to go back to gas under ANY circumstances. And I mean ANY. I don't want the repairs, maintenance, gaskets, and all that baloney. I wish Nissan would have had the brains to put a TMS in the Leaf to for some kind of pack cooling (intelligently, such as Liquid Cooling). I know it would use up range but it would have allowed for faster cool-down time and battery longevity. This really puts me up against the wall here.

I don't think my Leafs pack is a so-called "Lizard" pack either. I'm coming from Toledo Ohio, so they probably didn't think it necessary to give me one. If I'm not mistaken, that is just for hot environments and Toledo Ohio sure isn't one (tops out at 90-100F even in Summer; only on really extreme summers for a few days tops). Also, I think the "Lizard" pack starts at the 2015 Model and I've got a 2014.

I don't want to give up on the Leaf but I'm not sure how to get around heat like that. Maybe the 2nd gen Leaf will be out by then and have TMS onboard with a 200 Mile range so I will be okay. But then again maybe it won't.

Major Bummer.

electriccarfan said:

...
I don't think my Leafs pack is a so-called "Lizard" pack either. I'm coming from Toledo Ohio, so they probably didn't think it necessary to give me one. If I'm not mistaken, that is just for hot environments and Toledo Ohio sure isn't one (tops out at 90-100F even in Summer; only on really extreme summers for a few days tops). Also, I think the "Lizard" pack starts at the 2015 Model and I've got a 2014.
...

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Your last sentence is correct.
Just a model year change thing.
All 2015 forward have the heat resistant battery.
You just leased about four to six weeks too soon to get a 2015.

Yes, DCQC does cause battery heating and in Central Valley summer temps could be undesirable.
But capacity degradation from DCQC is overstated by some.
The degradation is most likely because of higher average temperature.
The DOE studies showed a fairly small impact.

And some claim 2013 / 2014 chemistry tweak is much better than 2011 / 2012.
Just not a lot of carefully collected data to clearly show that.

electriccarfan said:

Aw dang. That really sucks. That was pretty much it for my plans of traveling with my Leaf too. I'm starting to think a Volt or other EV maybe what I'll be stuck with after my Lease is up in May 2017. It really bites because I don't want to go back to gas under ANY circumstances. And I mean ANY. I don't want the repairs, maintenance, gaskets, and all that baloney. I wish Nissan would have had the brains to put a TMS in the Leaf to for some kind of pack cooling (intelligently, such as Liquid Cooling). I know it would use up range but it would have allowed for faster cool-down time and battery longevity. This really puts me up against the wall here.

I don't think my Leafs pack is a so-called "Lizard" pack either. I'm coming from Toledo Ohio, so they probably didn't think it necessary to give me one. If I'm not mistaken, that is just for hot environments and Toledo Ohio sure isn't one (tops out at 90-100F even in Summer; only on really extreme summers for a few days tops). Also, I think the "Lizard" pack starts at the 2015 Model and I've got a 2014.

I don't want to give up on the Leaf but I'm not sure how to get around heat like that. Maybe the 2nd gen Leaf will be out by then and have TMS onboard with a 200 Mile range so I will be okay. But then again maybe it won't.

Major Bummer.

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You wouldn't be traveling far even with QC. As I mentioned earlier, Fresno and Bakersfield are about as far as you can get without a several-hour stay on L2. The density of QC's in the Central Valley is simply not enough.

Rent a car in town for those trips, or take Amtrak.

RonDawg said:

electriccarfan said:

Aw dang. That really sucks. That was pretty much it for my plans of traveling with my Leaf too. I'm starting to think a Volt or other EV maybe what I'll be stuck with after my Lease is up in May 2017. It really bites because I don't want to go back to gas under ANY circumstances. And I mean ANY. I don't want the repairs, maintenance, gaskets, and all that baloney. I wish Nissan would have had the brains to put a TMS in the Leaf to for some kind of pack cooling (intelligently, such as Liquid Cooling). I know it would use up range but it would have allowed for faster cool-down time and battery longevity. This really puts me up against the wall here.

I don't think my Leafs pack is a so-called "Lizard" pack either. I'm coming from Toledo Ohio, so they probably didn't think it necessary to give me one. If I'm not mistaken, that is just for hot environments and Toledo Ohio sure isn't one (tops out at 90-100F even in Summer; only on really extreme summers for a few days tops). Also, I think the "Lizard" pack starts at the 2015 Model and I've got a 2014.

I don't want to give up on the Leaf but I'm not sure how to get around heat like that. Maybe the 2nd gen Leaf will be out by then and have TMS onboard with a 200 Mile range so I will be okay. But then again maybe it won't.

Major Bummer.

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You wouldn't be traveling far even with QC. As I mentioned earlier, Fresno and Bakersfield are about as far as you can get without a several-hour stay on L2. The density of QC's in the Central Valley is simply not enough.

Rent a car in town for those trips, or take Amtrak.

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Yes, but they have a Quick Charger in Bakersfield to restore me to 80% or higher when I get there. I could just get to Bakersfield and then build it back up, and then keep going down to Valencia. If need be, I see there's a Flying J Travel Center along the way. I wouldn't mind waiting to recharge at a L2 there (if I bring a Charging Station of my own). They've got 240V @ 30A. And I've got the 6.6 kW charger onboard.

So that works out to around 3 hours of charging (provided I arrive with no less than 25% SOC left). Unless I'm off somewhere I think this could all work.

Although, I do worry about what you guys call "The Grapevine". I here that sucks down a lot of range.
Looks like this guy did it, and in a 2011 no less (which is odd because his info says he's got an iMiEV).

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=4901" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But, if he can do it I may also be able to.

Leaf isn't a realistic vehicle for what you are wanting to do. Volt or Prius would be a better fit.

downeykp said:

Leaf isn't a realistic vehicle for what you are wanting to do. Volt or Prius would be a better fit.

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Sure they would, but I don't want to rely on the Oil Companies for my transportation, maintain a clunky old ICE, and or etc.

The Volt is nice, but 40 miles isn't enough range, the engine kicks on when too cold, and you still have all the downfalls of an ICE vehicle. The prius is nice also, but a step down from the Volt in technology and EV attributes.

I think I'll just wait for more Quick Chargers and or the 2nd gen Leaf.

Good luck with that.