Las Vegas to LA

planning a trip to LA from Las Vegas next month and would like to drive my Leaf. I've read a few posts here about folks driving from Orange County to St George, Utah and also noticed several Leaf's with CA plates here in vegas. so my question is, how did they get here? there are no QC stations outside of Orange County. how do folks do it?

rhumbliner said:

there are no QC stations outside of Orange County. how do folks do it?

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You might want to check out http://www.PlugShare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, select "CHAdeMO" only as a filter, and see where they actually are. It most definitely is outside of Orange County.

For non-CHAdeMO areas, I recommend RV parks with NEMA 14-50 "50 amp service" outlets and use the appropriate charge cable.

And don't be in any kind of a hurry...

TonyWilliams said:

For non-CHAdeMO areas, I recommend RV parks with NEMA 14-50 "50 amp service" outlets and use the appropriate charge cable.

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PlugShare is the source of my information. they show a CHAdeMO at AutoNation Nissan in vegas and another at Fontana Nissan in Fontana, CA. a distance of 224 miles. no others along I-15.

there are two campgrounds along the way in Baker & Barstow but then I need a NEMA14-50 adaptor with my J1772 and I still need to stop at Whiskey Pete's in Primm to recharge. that makes travel time at least 12 hours.

am I missing something or is that really the only way?

Tia

rhumbliner said:

am I missing something or is that really the only way?

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I happen to have a 2nd ICE gasser, which how I go to Mammoth or Tahoe, but in this instance, setting aside adventure and challenge as a part of the mix), I'd be shopping car rentals rather than taking my LEAF. Someone once asked how I'd take it to Vegas, and my answer was "I wouldn't, I'd rent".

Yes it will be a pitn. You are not missing anything. Really have to want the adventure. I would allow more than 12 hours.

rhumbliner said:

PlugShare is the source of my information. they show a CHAdeMO at AutoNation Nissan in vegas and another at Fontana Nissan in Fontana, CA. a distance of 224 miles. no others along I-15.

there are two campgrounds along the way in Baker & Barstow but then I need a NEMA14-50 adaptor with my J1772 and I still need to stop at Whiskey Pete's in Primm to recharge. that makes travel time at least 12 hours.

am I missing something or is that really the only way?

Tia

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You got it!!! That is what is would take. I would not even THINK about this trip without having a fully capable portable charge cable like JESLA or your modified existing cable by EVSEupgrade. You will need a NEMA 14-50 plug for RV parks (JESLA ships with a NEMA 14-50).

What year is your LEAF? If it's a 2011 or 2012, it will only charge at 12-13 miles of additional range per hour of charging (that's with a JESLA or other 16 amp or greater portable charge cable).

If it's a 2013 or newer LEAF-"S", it will likely have the same slow charger as the 2011-2012 cars. But, if it has the 6.6kW charger option, then you will add 20-22 miles per hour of charging.

My advice for driving is, "55mph saves lives and electrons". At that speed, you should be able to go about 80 miles safely between charge locations. Of course, that depends a bit on how much battery degradation your car has now.

That is easy to check with the relatively inexpensive LEAF SPY app for your smart phone.

This kind of adventure has peaked my interest. I discovered the Plug Share app and it's fantastic! I recommend it for everyone! You can go into "plug type" and set the filter for NEMA 14-50 only to see all the 240v 50A "RV style" outlets available. this got me really interested in building EVSE portables! Living in Vegas we found that we can go to Primm (stateline) plug in at the Level2 charge-point at Whiskey Pete's, take the monorail across the highway (that thing's a site to behold , eat dinner, see a show at Buffalo Bills "Star of the Desert Arena" (check House Seats for free tickets) and be all full for the trip back into Vegas. This is a fun trip we've done a few times now, however there aren't a bunch of other charge stations available for other out of town trips. This is where a 30A portable with a NEMA 14-50 plug comes in. I'm actually selling them now to members on the forum:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=18374" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So now I'm planning more adventures! It looks like the LEAF could do a trip down to http://cottonwoodcoveresort.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; on the river, It's a beautiful area we stayed at before I bought my LEAF. They show a 14-50 outlet there on Plug Share. so now a day trip/return is possible. Basically I look at where we could go within 85-95 miles of home and bring the 30A portable EVSE!