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mtndrvr

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
52
Story about an EV rally yesterday in Carbondale

http://www.postindependent.com/news/13270755-113/electric-vehicle-rally-carbondale" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
“We probably have the most robust charging infrastructure of any rural area in America,” said Adrian Fielder, chair of CMC’s sustainability program, who drove a Nissan Leaf for the rally. “Fully electric vehicles are no longer just for commuting. We can tour in these.”
Well, no, not in a LEAF. A good L2 network does make longer regional trips possible, especially in winter when the range drops. But "touring" really isn't practical unless the BEV is a Tesla. I'd love to be able to take my LEAF to Denver (or even Aspen) but it just isn't going to happen.
 
A bit of overstatement but it was an exciting day. One of the organizers had worked for Ford on EVs and was very happy with the event.

I plan to tempt the gods with a trip to GJ in the spring for my battery check. I am thinking that I will need to stop in Parachute on the way there. Get a charge in GJ and then hit Rifle on the way home. It will be a long day but a (hopefully) fun adventure.

One of the things that the Leaf has made clear to me is how infrequently I drive more than 70 miles in a day but how often I drive 50-60 miles. This winter will be another story when the range falls from 90 to my more typical driving range. I will have to start thinking about trips but the proliferation of L2 chargers will make the decision about convenience rather than having dead batteries. It is amazing how many chargers are in place now and CLEER, the group that made it happen, deserves a lot of credit.

Having a EV in the Roaring Fork Valley is completely practical choice.
 
mtndrvr said:
...Having a EV in the Roaring Fork Valley is completely practical choice.
Oh, I agree! Having that charge station network will make dealing with winter range reduction fairly easy. Approaching my fourth winter in the LEAF I was concerned about my 60 mile — with 2500 feet of elevation change — grocery runs to Montrose because of my declining range (I'm down 14% in battery capacity). But that all changed because Montrose put in a public charge station in May. Since then, charge stations have been added in Ouray and Mountain Village as well, 80% paid for by the state fund that we contribute to with our annual Colorado plug-in vehicle registration fee.

I doubt that you will have any issues with the run to GJ but it will be a long day, as you say. If you have a LEAF with the 6.0 kW charger that will make it easier; I have the 3.3 kW charger and it is pretty slow even at L2. The main issue you will face is having a "plan B" in place in case that L2 station at CMC in Rifle is out of service or blocked. If you had to charge at 120 V that would take awhile!

I take my car to Durango for service (from Ouray County) and my annual battery check is in winter so I have to spend a night in Silverton for charging — a motel there has a 240 V L6-30 outlet they let me use — and to deal with the very short days (driving all those high passes at night in winter can be difficult). I can make the trip in a day in summer, but the five hours charging at the dealer plus another hour and a half in Silverton makes for a long day. The 184 mile trip has a cumulative 8000 feet of elevation gain on the return leg and almost as much on the outbound leg.
 
Still a bit early to hope for an I-25 & I-70 QC network, but I can dream. First we need to find some heartier QC's that can handle the altitude. I'd love to strap the ski rack on the Leaf and head up on the weekends.

We still haven't seen any of the L2's from the sticker tax up this way yet, but we already have a number of L2 options so I guess they are going to areas that need them more.
 
AlanSqB said:
Still a bit early to hope for an I-25 & I-70 QC network, but I can dream. First we need to find some heartier QC's that can handle the altitude. I'd love to strap the ski rack on the Leaf and head up on the weekends.
Yes, a DCFC in Idaho Springs or Georgetown and another in Silverthorne could open up the ski areas to Front Range LEAFs.
We still haven't seen any of the L2's from the sticker tax up this way yet, but we already have a number of L2 options so I guess they are going to areas that need them more.
They do seem to be going to areas without any L2 charging at all.
 
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