Nubo
Well-known member
Recently completed my first and only "road trip" with my LEAF. It's a 3-year lease expiring in December and I had the time so figured I'd try it out. Plenty of folks have taken longer trips but I figured I'd do a brief write-up in case it might be useful to anyone else.
In preparation, I added a couple of charge network cards to my ChargePoint and Blink cards. EvGo has a lot of quick chargers in the LA area. From their website it's easy to get the idea that the cards are only regional but in response to my inquiries, the assured me the card will work on all of their network. Also some of the units I planned to use were SemaConnect so I got one of those cards too. Assembled a 14-50P to 6-20R adapter so I could use my Leviton unit at RV parks if necessary.
Per LeafStat, my battery is about 90%. Had no real problems or anxieties about range. Travelled somewhat below speed limit on some of the longer legs, especially on the return trip where there was a very strong headwind in the afternoon. Only got LBW once, and that was result of making a mistake entering destination on the NAV. Putting a space after the street number can give some strange results.
Maximum battery temp was 105F after third quick charge of the day on warm afternoon in LA.
Outbound:
Vallejo, CA - Origin.
L3:"Simpson Strong Tie" 5956 West Las Positas Boulevard, Pleasanton, CA, 94588
Blink. I've charged here several times without problems. One of the 2 units appeared damaged this time. The BLINK stations seem to have replaced the old awkward connectors with much better pistol-type plugs.
L3: Santa Clara Public Library, 2635 Homestead Rd Santa Clara, CA 95051
Another Blink station I'm familiar with, and has always been reliable for me.
L2: Gilroy Premium Outlets, 681 Leavesley Rd., Ste. C350, Gilroy, CA, 95020
SemaCharge. Took just enough charge to reach Salinas. Location was completely unlit, which further became awkward because my card was being denied. Called their customer service number and was eventually able to get authorized but it was a hassle since you have to find a serial number on the unit as well as enter your credit card number. This was all very enjoyable in the pitch darkness. A nice bank of Tesla Superchargers is right there also. I eventually realized my card problem that I was using the EvGo fob by mistake
L2: Salinas Rabobank, 1285 N. Davis Rd. Salinas, CA 93907
Free. An old Tesla Roadster charger converted to J1772. Restaurants and shops nearby. Went to IHOP for breakfast but as I sat down, I got "charging stopped" message. I thought "someone unplugged me already??". Got back to car and realized my 0600 end-timer was still set. Lesson learned -- disable your timers on road trips. Needed a full charge to get to King City, so I watched Lawrence of Arabia on the iPad mini, and took a nap.
L2: Hartnell College, 117 N 2nd St, King City, California, 93930
Chargepoint. A few restaurants nearby. This was probably the diciest part of the trip. This single J1772 station is the only one in King City. There is an RV park nearby so that was my fallback. I took my L2 charger and made up an adapter cable to fit a 14-50 outlet but never had to use it. There is a movie theater just around the corner. On return trip the 3-hour "Transformers" movie took care of a good bit of the charging wait.
L2: The Oaks Motel, 3000 Riverside Avenue, Paso Robles, CA 93446
SemaConnect. Free for guests (motel provides card). This was a good place to end the day on the outbound trip so I was a guest. On the return trip they were very friendly and had no problem with me using my own card to connect and charge.
L2: Pismo Beach Premium Outlets, 333 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
2 free connections. Got here early, picked up a charge, had breakfast with family in the area and spend the rest of the day with them. Also spent the night on the return trip.
L2: Veterans Hall, 1745 Mission Dr, Solvang, California 93463, United States
Chargepoint. There are 3 public lots in town with a pair of chargepoint units each. Plenty of shops, restaurants, a nice walking trail and and old California Mission to visit.
L3: Nissan, 425 S Kellogg Ave, Goleta, CA 93117
Chargepoint. This rare Chargepoint DCQC worked great. Ah… back in the land of Chademo No hassles. Maybe I should get my next leaf there...
L3: Pacific View Mall, 3301 East Main St, Ventura, CA 93003
EvGo. card was denied. Customer Service authorized me and opened a case for me. They weren't sure why my card wasn't authorized. I suspect I was an odd duck, not having recieved my card from a dealer but rather having applied directly. They kept asking what dealer I'd gotten the card from. "I applied online" seemed to surprise them. In any case the card was working by the time I made my return trip.
L3: LA DWP, 4824 Hazeltine Ave Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
a FREE quick-charger! Worked great. It's in an alley behind the substation. Kept my eyes open when using on the return trip at 04:30.
Placentia, CA - Destination
Return trip used basically the same charging locations except by going a bit slower I was able to skip Gilroy and go directly from Salinas to the Santa Clara quick-charger.
In preparation, I added a couple of charge network cards to my ChargePoint and Blink cards. EvGo has a lot of quick chargers in the LA area. From their website it's easy to get the idea that the cards are only regional but in response to my inquiries, the assured me the card will work on all of their network. Also some of the units I planned to use were SemaConnect so I got one of those cards too. Assembled a 14-50P to 6-20R adapter so I could use my Leviton unit at RV parks if necessary.
Per LeafStat, my battery is about 90%. Had no real problems or anxieties about range. Travelled somewhat below speed limit on some of the longer legs, especially on the return trip where there was a very strong headwind in the afternoon. Only got LBW once, and that was result of making a mistake entering destination on the NAV. Putting a space after the street number can give some strange results.
Maximum battery temp was 105F after third quick charge of the day on warm afternoon in LA.
Outbound:
Vallejo, CA - Origin.
L3:"Simpson Strong Tie" 5956 West Las Positas Boulevard, Pleasanton, CA, 94588
Blink. I've charged here several times without problems. One of the 2 units appeared damaged this time. The BLINK stations seem to have replaced the old awkward connectors with much better pistol-type plugs.
L3: Santa Clara Public Library, 2635 Homestead Rd Santa Clara, CA 95051
Another Blink station I'm familiar with, and has always been reliable for me.
L2: Gilroy Premium Outlets, 681 Leavesley Rd., Ste. C350, Gilroy, CA, 95020
SemaCharge. Took just enough charge to reach Salinas. Location was completely unlit, which further became awkward because my card was being denied. Called their customer service number and was eventually able to get authorized but it was a hassle since you have to find a serial number on the unit as well as enter your credit card number. This was all very enjoyable in the pitch darkness. A nice bank of Tesla Superchargers is right there also. I eventually realized my card problem that I was using the EvGo fob by mistake
L2: Salinas Rabobank, 1285 N. Davis Rd. Salinas, CA 93907
Free. An old Tesla Roadster charger converted to J1772. Restaurants and shops nearby. Went to IHOP for breakfast but as I sat down, I got "charging stopped" message. I thought "someone unplugged me already??". Got back to car and realized my 0600 end-timer was still set. Lesson learned -- disable your timers on road trips. Needed a full charge to get to King City, so I watched Lawrence of Arabia on the iPad mini, and took a nap.
L2: Hartnell College, 117 N 2nd St, King City, California, 93930
Chargepoint. A few restaurants nearby. This was probably the diciest part of the trip. This single J1772 station is the only one in King City. There is an RV park nearby so that was my fallback. I took my L2 charger and made up an adapter cable to fit a 14-50 outlet but never had to use it. There is a movie theater just around the corner. On return trip the 3-hour "Transformers" movie took care of a good bit of the charging wait.
L2: The Oaks Motel, 3000 Riverside Avenue, Paso Robles, CA 93446
SemaConnect. Free for guests (motel provides card). This was a good place to end the day on the outbound trip so I was a guest. On the return trip they were very friendly and had no problem with me using my own card to connect and charge.
L2: Pismo Beach Premium Outlets, 333 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
2 free connections. Got here early, picked up a charge, had breakfast with family in the area and spend the rest of the day with them. Also spent the night on the return trip.
L2: Veterans Hall, 1745 Mission Dr, Solvang, California 93463, United States
Chargepoint. There are 3 public lots in town with a pair of chargepoint units each. Plenty of shops, restaurants, a nice walking trail and and old California Mission to visit.
L3: Nissan, 425 S Kellogg Ave, Goleta, CA 93117
Chargepoint. This rare Chargepoint DCQC worked great. Ah… back in the land of Chademo
No hassles. Maybe I should get my next leaf there...L3: Pacific View Mall, 3301 East Main St, Ventura, CA 93003
EvGo. card was denied. Customer Service authorized me and opened a case for me. They weren't sure why my card wasn't authorized. I suspect I was an odd duck, not having recieved my card from a dealer but rather having applied directly. They kept asking what dealer I'd gotten the card from. "I applied online" seemed to surprise them. In any case the card was working by the time I made my return trip.
L3: LA DWP, 4824 Hazeltine Ave Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
a FREE quick-charger! Worked great. It's in an alley behind the substation. Kept my eyes open when using on the return trip at 04:30.
Placentia, CA - Destination
Return trip used basically the same charging locations except by going a bit slower I was able to skip Gilroy and go directly from Salinas to the Santa Clara quick-charger.
