Driving through a Christmas lights display, will we make it?

[punocchio]

Here in Atlanta we have one of those long drive through Christmas lights venues, namely at Lake Lanier Islands.

I'm trying to figure out if our 2013 SV will make it.

Distance wise, it's 37 miles to the location, then 5 or so miles through the light show, a hour to and hour and a half break for snacks and shopping (and a trickle recharge if I can't find anything bigger) and a drive home of 37 miles.

I have no idea how much battery we'd use up driving with our lights off slowly along those 5 miles. I guess my biggest concern is the heaters consuming the power. It takes a good 90 minutes for that creeping along drive.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Wennfred]

74 Miles round trip in the summer probably but in the winter? Use the PlugShare app and see if you can find a charging station nearby.



Fred

 

[apvbguy]

Here in Atlanta we have one of those long drive through Christmas lights venues, namely at Lake Lanier Islands.

I'm trying to figure out if our 2013 SV will make it.

Distance wise, it's 37 miles to the location, then 5 or so miles through the light show, a hour to and hour and a half break for snacks and shopping (and a trickle recharge if I can't find anything bigger) and a drive home of 37 miles.

I have no idea how much battery we'd use up driving with our lights off slowly along those 5 miles. I guess my biggest concern is the heaters consuming the power. It takes a good 90 minutes for that creeping along drive.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

you are on the very edge of not making it, a lot will depend on the speeds you travel to and from, what the weather conditions are and the load being carried.

 

[garsh]

I'm assuming that you'll have a fully-loaded (with passengers) Leaf? That will also hurt your mileage. And if you're planning to run the heater, that will really use up the battery.

I don't think I'd risk it, unless your family is the really adventurous type. You don't want to deal with "that look" if you have to stop somewhere to charge up. Or worse, wait for a flatbed to pick you up.

 

[thankyouOB]

get some reindeer as backup

 

[firtree]

I'm living in the SF Bay Area so take this with a grain of salt.

During our recent few days of (for us) freezing cold weather, I've found I can make these long trips if I leave early enough to drive slow and use surface roads more than the freeway, and definitely don't use the heater. I use the heated seats plus have an old down jacket I leave in the car to drape over my legs because they get cold. I'm also wearing down plus wool layers. The heated steering wheel comes in handy too. If I used the heater I wouldn't make it anywhere near where I need to go. It's virtually useless as far as I'm concerned and the one thing I miss about my Jetta.

So, I don't know if you can skip freeway travel or at least combine it with surface roads. If so, you might could do it, but as others have said, it's risky without having a backup charging plan. Definitely look on Plugshare and call the venue (if possible) and see if there's a 220 outlet they'd let you use. With all those lights, someone might let you plug in.

 

[punocchio]

Thanks for all the replies!

Total drive wise, it does seem to be too risky to do it.

However, I'm also looking to understand how much power the leaf would consume with that 5 mile drive at a low speed with just the contact heaters on, for example.

Another way to put it - if the total drive was 50 miles or so, does the fact that 5 miles of that is at 3 MPH affect the distance estimates?

 

[apvbguy]

Thanks for all the replies!

Total drive wise, it does seem to be too risky to do it.

However, I'm also looking to understand how much power the leaf would consume with that 5 mile drive at a low speed with just the contact heaters on, for example.

Another way to put it - if the total drive was 50 miles or so, does the fact that 5 miles of that is at 3 MPH affect the distance estimates?

while I cannot quantify what the loss of range would be, there most certainly will be a loss of capacity doing those 5 miles with the heat on

 

[planet4ever]

does the fact that 5 miles of that is at 3 MPH affect the distance estimates?

Yes, very dramatically. It's not the speed; the motor will be using very little energy. It's the hour and forty minutes with the heater blasting. Even though your 2013 SV would probably be using mostly the heat pump, it still takes a lot of energy to maintain - say - a 40°F difference between the inside and the outside.

Ray