Phoenix/Mesa to Tucson

Hi, Bought my 2011 SL Leaf 2/28/2015. It has 10 bars and appears to go roughly 61 miles with some freeway @65 mph and mostly surface to 45 mph. I would like to take a trip from Mesa AZ to Tucson AZ. I have mapped some fast charge stations along I-10, that are along the way, but I would like to hear from others who may have done this trip. I went to sign up for mobile plugshare app, through playstore, and it wants way too many permissions so I decided not to download. I still planned my route without getting the app. My lady drives the car to work and has had an enjoyable 32 mile a day round trip on surface streets the first week we have owned it. I have a small amount of range anxiety but my lady has extreme anxiety. So... Planned on leaving this thurs-mon return. Anyone done this trip? Also, my car came from California in the Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Park Area (Woodman Ave) around Mammoth Ave and Riverside Dr. It is a black Leaf. I have no paperwork other than all the manuals. I would like to know records on this car without paying the dealer, or would hope I have the warranty, or what I have to do to keep it current, if someone else has previously.

Please remember that range decreases greatly with increased speed. Traffic moves at or above the posted 75 mph speed limit on that route. You would probably need to travel below that speed and may become an impediment to other traffic. The LEAF is great around town. My opinion is why push it and risk arriving at a non-functioning public charger when you really need it. The cost of the public charging isn't even any less expensive than gas.

Should you decide to try it anyway I recommend traveling locally at 75 mph first to better gauge the range in that condition. Please also remember that an 11MY heater will reduce range quite a bit, so traveling between cities on a winter morning would be even less advisable.

I have a 15MY and have thought a number of times about making that trip. The cost of the public charging, its unreliability, and the need to wait for the charge have stopped me. I would probably try it if it were just the wait. My car's range would not be an issue, it can go between 90 and 100 miles in conditions very similar to what you say yours gets 61 miles. I also recommend checking the wind speed and direction first. I've seen +/- 10 miles due to wind.

Best wishes and enjoy your LEAF.

Thank-you for taking your time to respond. It is much appreciated. Looks as though you have owned a lot of leafs! Thanks for having helped pave the way.

Like Kovalb, I recommend against making this trip unless you need to get the car to Tucson for an extended stay. I never hesitate to take extended trips across Phoenix because I know there are multiple public charging stations (both L2 and QC) so I have a good chance of finding another one if my first QC choice is not functional. On the trip to Tucson, you would be in real trouble if you could not charge in Casa Grande and/or Picacho Peak. You would also need to charge on the south side of Phoenix and the north side of Tucson. My 2011 went 72 miles (100 km/hr or 63 mi/hr) without climate control during the Phoenix Range Test in September 2012 when it was down to 10 capacity bars. It was good for about 50 miles at normal freeway speeds with Normal A/C use (much less with heater use).

Enjoy the LEAF within its limitations.
Gerry

Ok, update. Thanks to those of you who responded. My daughter and I decided to test the boundaries a little and drove to Casa Grande after charging up at Chandler Fashion Center chademo charger. We had first attempted to charge at AutoNation Nissan Chandler (Gilbert Rd and 202) but the fast charger wasn't working. One of the three L-2 chargers at the Chevron station in Casa Grande were working but the chademo charger was not. So..we spent 2:45 minutes charging and went back to Mesa. Tesla has some nice chargers in Casa Grande but with the Leaf couldn't use them. We ended up taking the trip with Ice but i made it a point to check all the charge stations along the way. Our only slow up would have been the Chevron station in Casa Grande, which would have cost us almost 6 hours time at this one stop, going round trip. What I am learning, as most of you already know, is that the charge infrastructure is my limitation. I am angry at the poor condition and design of the charging equipment that renders it inoperable. An employee of the station in Casa Grande, was told by the owner that he wasn't going to have the equipment fixed because he was waiting for some newly designed equipment to come out to replace it.

Oh.... and I am getting better mileage since I made my tire pressure correct. The dealer hadn't done that. I like the extra mileage!

Evoforce said:

Ok, update. Thanks to those of you who responded. My daughter and I decided to test the boundaries a little and drove to Casa Grande after charging up at Chandler Fashion Center chademo charger. We had first attempted to charge at AutoNation Nissan Chandler (Gilbert Rd and 202) but the fast charger wasn't working. One of the three L-2 chargers at the Chevron station in Casa Grande were working but the chademo charger was not. So..we spent 2:45 minutes charging and went back to Mesa. Tesla has some nice chargers in Casa Grande but with the Leaf couldn't use them. We ended up taking the trip with Ice but i made it a point to check all the charge stations along the way. Our only slow up would have been the Chevron station in Casa Grande, which would have cost us almost 6 hours time at this one stop, going round trip. What I am learning, as most of you already know, is that the charge infrastructure is my limitation. I am angry at the poor condition and design of the charging equipment that renders it inoperable. An employee of the station in Casa Grande, was told by the owner that he wasn't going to have the equipment fixed because he was waiting for some newly designed equipment to come out to replace it.

Click to expand...

The Casa Grande Blink DC Quick Charge Station did work for some time, but recently on plugshare.com some drivers have made clear that it is not working. The Picacho Peak DC Quick Charge station (Eaton hardware) has never really worked properly. It would definitely be a time-consuming experience if you were to try to drive all the way through to Tucson and were counting on either one. Just in the last few weeks a driver made clear on plugshare that neither is working (maybe that was you, I don't know).

Yesterday GoE3 announced on Facebook that they will have a "grand opening" event on 12 May. I called the company and they said it was ok if I passed along they indicate that this will include the Casa Grande, Picacho Peak, and the Tucson/Speedway/I10 DC Quick Chargers, the equipment apparently will be new, IIUC. I have used the new Speedway/I-10 AMPM new quick charge station and I quite liked it. It is I think from this company:

http://act-chargers.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

so (fingers crossed) if the plan seems to be to install similar hardware at Casa Grande and Picacho Peak, and if GoE3 executes and supports the product, then maybe Non-Tesla EV travel between Phoenix and Tucson is about to get better. Background notes to you would include that GoE3 has had promising developments or announcements before. It is perhaps advisable for us to continue to just be a bit careful before planning a long trip. I would assume that neither Casa Grande nor Picacho Peak quick charge stations are working until there are clear signs of them working, such as drivers giving multiple reports of problem-free charging experiences on plugshare.com, and-or if you are able to speak with GoE3 directly and they can clarify once the new stations are in and tested, whether or not they are really expected to be super high reliability. Even the AM/PM charge station at Speedway and I-10 in Tucson.... I think it's a fantastic station, but when it first went in, there were some kinks to work out, so it's just a reminder that it's still new tech and stuff happens that we kind of have to watch out for I guess.

Should be easy now:
http://ktar.com/22/1833755/First-universal-electric-car-charging-route-between-PhoenixTucson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://goe3.com/grand-opening-phoenix-to-tucson-ev-route/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
How much do they charge?

Darn! I wish I didn't miss that event. Thanks though for the info.

DanCar said:

Should be easy now:
http://ktar.com/22/1833755/First-universal-electric-car-charging-route-between-PhoenixTucson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://goe3.com/grand-opening-phoenix-to-tucson-ev-route/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
How much do they charge?

Click to expand...

I've been using the GOe3 station at I-10 and Speedway a lot at AMPM in Tucson, I think last night it was $6 plus $0.10 per kWh, something like that. It is only 20 kW max, IIRC. Adequate for getting my Leaf a decent charge in 20-30 minutes, with the amperage scaling back once it gets up to 70 or 80% or so. They confused me because I thought I saw another billing structure there a couple of weeks ago, but anyway, that's the billing structure I recall from last night.

Did they actually install the new stations yet?

From what I understand, they have installed the ones at Casa Grande, Picacho Peak and at Speedway/I-10 AMPM in Tucson. You can get a bit more information by reading the comments on plugshare.com. Love's truckstop just south of Phoenix did not get done yet, and the DCQC at Bookmans Sports in Tucson does not work properly or consistently (from what I can see, having tried it recently). It is still the same old Eaton hardware at that one rather than the new ACT hardware they have put in the other spots, from what I'm told.

Evoforce said:

...An employee of the station in Casa Grande, was told by the owner that he wasn't going to have the equipment fixed because he was waiting for some newly designed equipment to come out to replace it.

Click to expand...

Umm. An owner of a gas station not fixing an evse.

ROTFL :lol:

When I did the trip a few months ago, Casa Grande Chevron was Blink, Picacho Peak was Goe3 and I think AM/PM in Tucson was Goe3. So where did they install equipment and is it now Goe3 at Chevron also or some other site in Casa Grande? Did any posters here participate in last weekend event?

Evoforce said:

When I did the trip a few months ago, Casa Grande Chevron was Blink, Picacho Peak was Goe3 and I think AM/PM in Tucson was Goe3. So where did they install equipment and is it now Goe3 at Chevron also or some other site in Casa Grande? Did any posters here participate in last weekend event?

Click to expand...

I didn't drive down from Phoenix to Tucson, but did meet them at the Tucson station and attended the TEDx presentation. Here is a link to the Casa Grande Chevron:

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/13802" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can see in the comments where one reviewer talks recently about the new station. I don't think any new location has been set up in Casa Grande .... GOe3 took over from Blink at that Chevron location is my understanding.

Basically the same person owns the AMPM Arco at Speedway and I-10 in Tucson and the Casa Grande Chevron, and both of those stations now have the ACT equipment, branded GOe3. I think perhaps also Picacho Peak got the new ACT DCQC though I am not sure it had a working L2 last I heard that was being worked on.

The Tucson station is only 20 kW max due to some sort of issue with the electricity at the site, for the moment.

Edit: also please note: GOe3 unfortunately has a history of putting up stations that may have issues. For one thing they had a lot of trouble with Eaton hardware in the past. I like GOe3 and they're working hard to address the issues, and there is a lot of hope that the new hardware from ACT will be much better. However, please don't take my attempt to provide information as some sort of vouchsafe of the idea of a trip down to Tucson. For that I'd suggest more discussion here with other drivers and reading through all the comments on plugshare.com. Perhaps also I can provide some contacts or points via PM or phone that will help scope things out.