NC Leaf Owners

[altego]

Im not sure if this is the place to ask this but i thought i would start with our local folks.
It's that time of year that the Blue Ridge Parkway starts calling me and i would love to see it in the Leaf.
I am in Charlotte so to Blowing Rock looks right at 100 miles.
After checking Carwings, Plugshare and Chargepoint it looks like slim pickings around Hickory and Lenoir may be pushing it a bit.
Do you guys think that trip is doable, any suggestions?

 

[tt2007]

about 1 week away for our new Leaf (SL) to arrive. Can't wait.

newbie here, 1st post.

- TT

 

[muleferg]

Altego: The Nissan store in Hickory has a charger. and I'm working on a friend in Lenoir to install one at his restaurant/distillery. alt route would be Statesville (Energy United HG EVSE. Wilkesboro at Wilkes Nissan, and University Nissan in Boone.
Mule Ferguson

 

[lpickup]

It's that time of year that the Blue Ridge Parkway starts calling me and i would love to see it in the Leaf.

Tell us a little more about your trip. For example, would your plan be to just get to Blowing Rock by any means possible, charge up, explore the Parkway from there, head back to Blowing Rock to top off and go back? (and it looks like charging opportunities in Blowing Rock would probably be limited to L1, so you'd be there awhile!) Or were you going to get on the Parkway further south? Where?

I agree, this is going to be tricky as there does appear to be a giant hole in the middle of where you want to go. Other out of the way routes with more charging opportunities are practically not doable.

This makes an excellent case for siting a QC in Hickory though! That would benefit not only Charlotte->Boone but also those heading between Triad and Asheville.

 

[lpickup]

about 1 week away for our new Leaf (SL) to arrive. Can't wait.

I bet! Welcome! Where are you located?

 

[tt2007]

about 1 week away for our new Leaf (SL) to arrive. Can't wait.

I bet! Welcome! Where are you located?

Greensboro here. But getting it from Carolina Nissan in Burlington instead. Had a bad experience at Crown Nissan in Greensboro.

However, Ricky over at Carolina Nissan is very knowledgeable and very helpful to us.

-TT

 

[altego]

Weekend trip we would like to stay at Crippens i will have to call there and see if they have an outlet i can use, the owner Jimmy is a really nice guy im sure he will help if he can.
From there it will just be a short trip to Julian Price Park or maybe Linville Falls for some hiking.
I will call the Nissan dealer in Hickory and see if they have a L2 charger that's open.

 

[tjenkens]

This is for anyone familiar with the Charging Stations at the Durham Tobacco campus. We are going to the Bulls game on Sunday evening, and I would love to drive the Leaf, but I have to be able to charge while at the game to make the round trip. What are the chances of charging spots being available on a Sunday afternoon with a game going on?

I charge every day at these charging stations...and during the week I am mostly the only person charging (sometimes the WRAL Leaf is there and there has been a third Leaf there, but not charging. There are two spots per charging station. I have seen people talk about charging at night while at dinner so maybe the night time might be busier.

 

[Atebit]

Maybe we should keep copies of the article in the car to leave on the windshields of ICERs?

Yeah, not a bad idea. I still haven't done this yet myself, but here is another option (to be reworded as appropriate):
EV Parking Only

I like it! Now all we need is the ordinance number to create the "official" Raleigh version.

 

[harryjpowell]

What a @#$% . Just as I got to Whole Foods this low IQ @#$@ backs into the charging spot. An just eats his lunch in his car. I walked up and let him know he was blocking the charging spot, response, thanks for informing me.. Then he sat in his car for an hour...

Anyone good with plates? Does the new Raleigh $50 fine apply to spots like these?

Maybe a site to publicly identify these folks and attempt to humiliate them. No sure how else to get people to stop being a$$ holes..
This was the first day I actually needed a little juice to get home..

BTW the left 1 of 2 chargers was out of order so the one spot I parked in was my only option. The WF people we again, we cant do anything, cant call anyone, just sheepeople... I think I'll remove WF from my fav stores..

 

[Atebit]

Lol website's not a bad idea. I bet the revenue from all the ICEing fines would go a long way to covering the cost of the electricity drawn from the stations every month. Not that the city needs any encouragement to collect parking fines...

 

[NuclearLeaf]

This is for anyone familiar with the Charging Stations at the Durham Tobacco campus. We are going to the Bulls game on Sunday evening, and I would love to drive the Leaf, but I have to be able to charge while at the game to make the round trip. What are the chances of charging spots being available on a Sunday afternoon with a game going on?

I charge every day at these charging stations...and during the week I am mostly the only person charging (sometimes the WRAL Leaf is there and there has been a third Leaf there, but not charging. There are two spots per charging station. I have seen people talk about charging at night while at dinner so maybe the night time might be busier.

Update: I did not drive the leaf to the game, we carpooled in my car and I didn't want to chance a bad experiment on my passengers. The good news is, the charging stations where all open, and appeared to remain that way throughout the game. They were charging $4 to park in that area, so I guess you would have to pay to park, but the stations were available!

 

[lpickup]

Update: I did not drive the leaf to the game, we carpooled in my car and I didn't want to chance a bad experiment on my passengers. The good news is, the charging stations where all open, and appeared to remain that way throughout the game. They were charging $4 to park in that area, so I guess you would have to pay to park, but the stations were available!

Thanks for the udpate. How was the attendance at the game considering it was Easter? Would you say it was a representative crowd?

Whenever I've gone I've parked in the south deck and they collect the $ at the entrance to the deck. Is there another place where they were collecting money if you continued up Carr St to get to the stations?

 

[lpickup]

Maybe a site to publicly identify these folks and attempt to humiliate them. No sure how else to get people to stop being a$$ holes..

Unfortunately I suspect that wouldn't do much at all to deter this kind of rude behavior.

And of course he was driving a huge gas guzzler solo as well! Was the engine running with the AC on the whole time? I too have seen someone parked in huge SUV right there just hanging out with their car running the whole time.

I also doubt the Raleigh ordinance would have anything to do about charging in a private parking lot. That would likely be at the discretion of the hosting entity. It does put WF (or other hosting entity) in a bind. They probably don't want to piss off their customers by asking them to move when there are other open parking spots available. OTOH they risk pissing of EV owners if they can't get a charge. Couple that with technical difficulties (I wonder what the issue with the other charging station is?) and they may just decide that it's too much trouble dealing with the hassles of it all.

Having said that, I have read some stories about store management actively going out and asking people to move their ICEVs that were blocking a charging station.

I'll make a point of asking to talk to a manager next time I'm at WF to ask them what their stance is exactly and how far they would be willing to go to either make the space markings more visible (i.e. green paint on the spot itself with a plug logo) and/or enforcing the spots. If they are serious about it, they should attach a sign that says to come in and ask an employee to ask gas cars to move or provide a number to call if it's blocked.

 

[kao]

I'll make a point of asking to talk to a manager next time I'm at WF to ask them what their stance is exactly and how far they would be willing to go to either make the space markings more visible (i.e. green paint on the spot itself with a plug logo) and/or enforcing the spots. If they are serious about it, they should attach a sign that says to come in and ask an employee to ask gas cars to move or provide a number to call if it's blocked.

My wife has talked to Whole Foods a couple of times. She mentioned the green paint and they seemed to think that was a good idea. They also said that they could page the car owner to move their car but there was nothing they could do to force someone to move. I would suggest that everyone who shops at WF talk to the manager about this problem so they know it's not just a couple of people complaining. Also if you're at WF and the spots are blocked -- let the manager know.

 

[lspooz]

about 1 week away for our new Leaf (SL) to arrive. Can't wait.

I bet! Welcome! Where are you located?

Greensboro here. But getting it from Carolina Nissan in Burlington instead. Had a bad experience at Crown Nissan in Greensboro.

However, Ricky over at Carolina Nissan is very knowledgeable and very helpful to us.

-TT

You'll love it!

Just out of curiosity, PM me about the Crown issue since I'm going there next week for the software upgrade (I bought at Modern in W-S since they were LEAF certified before Crown, and I wanted to purchase before the end of the tax year - plan on most servicing at Modern since we have relatives nearby to visit)

Larry
Red LEAF in Greensboro

 

[NuclearLeaf]

Update: I did not drive the leaf to the game, we carpooled in my car and I didn't want to chance a bad experiment on my passengers. The good news is, the charging stations where all open, and appeared to remain that way throughout the game. They were charging $4 to park in that area, so I guess you would have to pay to park, but the stations were available!

Thanks for the udpate. How was the attendance at the game considering it was Easter? Would you say it was a representative crowd?

Whenever I've gone I've parked in the south deck and they collect the $ at the entrance to the deck. Is there another place where they were collecting money if you continued up Carr St to get to the stations?

I would say the attendance was about 50% maybe slightly less. There was a parking attendant walking around the open parking on Carr St. and he was collecting the money, I just assumed he would want somebody using the EV spots to pay also. I guess I should have asked him.

 

[lpickup]

I would say the attendance was about 50% maybe slightly less. There was a parking attendant walking around the open parking on Carr St. and he was collecting the money, I just assumed he would want somebody using the EV spots to pay also. I guess I should have asked him.

If you (or anyone else) gets a chance to talk to an actual attendant, ask them if they make sure those spots are not ICEd!

 

[nlagnew]

I drove over there last Friday with ANOTHER BLUE LEAF behind me most of the way! WE BOTH pulled in and parked at the American Tobacco Campus chargers - the only two there. We did not pay because those spots are not in the decks.

I have a Chargepoint card (I got it last fall when one had to pay $4.95 for one, but it has been handy to have), so it is no problem to get to the EVSEs. The other Leaf owner did not appear to have a card, but I unlocked the cord for him. I have not seen spots ICEd there - they always seem to be politely available. No bets about July 4th.

Enter via Willard St (off Chapel Hill St) and Jackson (can get onto Jackson from northbound Duke St) and you don't (or we didn't) have to pass through any parking attendants.

Perhaps later in the season when games are more highly attended, it will be different, but those spots are golden right now.

 

[tt2007]

You'll love it!
Just out of curiosity, PM me about the Crown issue since I'm going there next week for the software upgrade

Still no car. They said we will have it by last Friday or today. Now they are saying once they have it wholesaled, it will take 2 to 3 days for shipping. Already got my caring PIN and password. Feel a little bait and switch at the moment.

I am getting conflicting answers about Carwing. Maybe someone here know the answer. When does the 3 yrs Carwing service kicks in? At the moment I accept the agreement online to obtain the PIN and Password? Or after I enter the pin and password into the car's system?

Just trying to figure out if we are losing the Carwing days while waiting for the Leaf.


On a side note, not sure about Leaf service at Crown Nissan. Have a family friend work there as technician, but he wasn't certified for the Leaf. We were looking at the 2012 Altima at the time when issues arise at the sales department. Not sure you still want to hear it.