200 Miles - Sausalito to Bear Valley. HEIP!

We're going to drive our Bolt EV from our house in Sausalito to Bear Valley (probably via Tracy).

200 miles, 1 day, 7,000 feet of climbing. So, can we make it? Anyone with far more knowledge than us care to help or check my thinking? Am I to optimistic somewhere?

My plan: (conservative estimates due to charging taper and driving conditions)
- Home
mile 0: Charge 235 miles/60 kWh
Leave our house
- Tracy
mile 78: Charge 150 miles/37.5 kWh
Use EVGo DCFC in Tracy (EVGo at West Valley Mall) add 40 miles @ 18kWh
mile 78: Charge 190 miles/54kWh
Leave Tracy
- Bear Valley
mile 200: Charge miles 52/13kWh
energy use estimates:
driving – 120 mi/30kWh
climbing – 7,000/10.5kWh (@ 1.5kWh per 1,000 feet)

- Level 1 charge Friday – Sunday add 160 miles (4mi. x 40 hours)
- Head home
Charge miles 210/50kWh
expected regen downhill for 7,000 feet
miles 21/5 kWh

Note: Last Level 2 charger is in Murphys, Victoria's Inn (some begging and bribing may be required).

Help me Obi Wan. You're my only hope.

BBell33 said:

- Home
mile 0: Charge 235 miles/60 kWh
Leave our house
- Tracy
mile 78: Charge 150 miles/37.5 kWh
Use EVGo DCFC in Tracy (EVGo at West Valley Mall) add 40 miles @ 18kWh
mile 78: Charge 190 miles/54kWh
Leave Tracy
- Bear Valley
mile 200: Charge miles 52/13kWh
energy use estimates:
driving – 120 mi/30kWh
climbing – 7,000/10.5kWh (@ 1.5kWh per 1,000 feet)

- Level 1 charge Friday – Sunday add 160 miles (4mi. x 40 hours)
- Head home
Charge miles 210/50kWh
expected regen downhill for 7,000 feet
miles 21/5 kWh

Note: Last Level 2 charger is in Murphys, Victoria's Inn (some begging and bribing may be required).

Click to expand...

I assume you are taking the 580.

I do not understand your vernacular:

OK at home you will have driven 0 miles with a full charge of 235 miles (this number is irrelevant because you will be going substantially uphill) with 60 KWh available to you (this number is most important, so watch how many KWh's you use as you drive!)

Tracy: You know it is mile 78, but you should do a COMPLETE charge to 100% no matter how many charge cycles of 30 minutes EVGo requires you to do! What does 190 miles/54KWh mean here?

So now you have 122 miles remaining to Bear Valley with 60 KWh; so watch how your energy is being consumed as you go uphill.

Whey you reach Murphy's you must make a computation and a decision. Can you make it based upon consumption rate versus KWh remaining or should you stay and top off at L2 speeds?

Downhill: 40 hours of charging at 120v and regen you should be fine with a stop at any available fast charger as needed.

Plugshare says there is no L2 in Bear Valley.

I do not see a Victoria's Inn on Plugshare. On Plugshare, the Dunbar House is listed in Murphy's

I agree you should charge to full in Tracy. Don't speed from there. Keep it at the limit, even if it feels like you're going slow. If others are upset then tough. They can refill at any gas station and you can't. If you do that there's probably a good chance you can make it.

According to Plugshare the West Valley Mall only has ONE CCS charger!

This is problematic for two reasons:

1) If someone else is using it, you may have to wait up to a half hour, BUT he may want a full charge in which case I suggest you negotiate a "every other car" approach which is most fair. One of you may want to leave before a full charge and at least you will have achieved the max charge in the time.

2) There may be a technical problem disabling the charger! Check the Plugshare app just before you leave to see if there are any negative comments.

Currently, the comments are all favorable.

I have found EVGo Tech Support by phone very helpful in restarting these machings remotely.

That being said, you must have an L2 backup plan.

Super helpful guys. So...

When I get to Tracy (having checked the charger's status) I'll top off to 235 miles. That should take under an hour even if my taper rate is down to 12kWh. Any good lunch places in Tracy?

Murphys is only 80 miles and 1,400 feet of climbing so I should still have at least 140 miles reserve. Even without a top-off we should be good. But per your recommendation we will be paying close attention at our consumption rate, especially from Tracy to Murphys as we climb into the cold.

Finally, no charger in Bear Valley. But our friends have a condo with a garage and a plug, so we'll trickle in what we can and back to Murphys should be easy.

The good news is that my buddy Jim loves to drive. And after he get a taste of 266 foot-pounds of torque then the next time we go to Bear Valley his BMW will be gone and a Level 2 charger will have been installed.

I'll report on our trip around April 15th.
Thanks a ton.
BB

Does your friend have a 240v dryer outlet in his garage? If so, you might do what I did:

AV TurboCord 120v/240v Combo charger; fits nicely in the back of the Bolt EV and an adapter from http://www.EVSEAdapters.com to get the TurboCord to plug into the dryer outlet and perhaps a 25' 240v extension cord.

Even though he will install a L2 in the future you, like me, will have this capability for other drives in the future. I purchased two adapters to cover most 240v outlets I have come across, including 14-50, which are very prevalent.

How's the planning coming?

I adjusted my plan with 2 changes:
- 3.5 miles per kWh
- 1.5kWh per 1,000 feet of climbing plus .75kWh per 1,000 of descending and reclimbing

So now:

Sausalito to Tracy
- Doesn't matter because I'm going to fully recharge in Tracy.

Tracy to Murphys
- 79 miles plus 3,000 feet effective climbing
- I should have 88 miles when I arrive

Murphys to Bear Valley
- 38 miles and 6,280 effective feet of climbing
- I should still have 40 miles when I arrive.
Weill be paying close attention to our consumption rate from Tracy to Murphys. So we'll decide what to do there.

I wouldn't even attempt such a trip in my Bolt!

I have no personal experience with this but, based on what I've read, you should also take into account reduced battery performance and expect to use more energy as it gets colder.

Just did a quick Google search on the topic and came up with a reduction in range estimate of as much as 20% or more due to cold weather.

So, you should definitely take this factor into consideration when calculating your estimated range between charges when you are going up and down the mountain where the temp is at or near freezing.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice on the cold weather impact. I'll do some research and add that impact to the estimates. It looks like we might climb into 40 to 45 degree temperatures.

BBell33 said:

Thanks for the advice on the cold weather impact. I'll do some research and add that impact to the estimates. It looks like we might climb into 40 to 45 degree temperatures.

Click to expand...

For the next 5 days in Bear Valley, 3 warm days bet 43-50 predicted but 2 other days are predicted at 33 & 38. Overnight temps are predicted between 21-32. That's at/below freezing.

Just be careful not to underestimate the power reducing effects of the cold on your Bolt. Good luck!

What cellphone carrier do you have? Is there consistent coverage all the way up?

Ah, cellphone... Verizon. But I got some advice from the folks at the San Francisco Electric Vehicle Asso.
https://lusciousgarage.com/blog/san_francisco_electric_vehicle_association_meeting/
They suggested that we print Plugshare info just in case we don't have cell coverage. Those guys know their stuff.

We've never owned an electric car before hence all the research I'm doing for this drive.

The latest changes -
We're going to pass on Tracy for Salida. It's 20 miles further and has 2 CCS DCFC.

I adjusted my plan with 2 changes:
- 3.5 miles per kWh
- 1.5kWh per 1,000 feet of climbing plus .75kWh per 1,000 of descending and reclimbing

So now:

Sausalito to Slaida
- 100 miles
- Fully recharge in Salida.
Vineyard 76 Station
or Vintage Faire Mall Starbucks

Salida to Murphys
- 60 miles plus 4,000 feet effective climbing
- I should have 128 miles when I arrive
- Victoria's Inn for lunch and a Level 2 charge

Salida to Bear Valley
- 38 miles and 6,280 effective feet of climbing
- I should still have 75 miles when I arrive.
We'll be paying close attention to our consumption rate from Salida to Murphys. So we'll decide what to do there.


It looks like this puppy can come off the leash.
We can easily make it to Slaida. There are 2 CCS DCFC there. That will get me to Murphys for lunch and a Level 2. Then a quick 6,280 foot climb to Bear Valley. Do a little show shoeing. Let Jim tear around in the Bolt. Trickle charge with Hill-Reserve on. And roll down the hill Sunday.

OK, All comments welcomed. Pray for warm weather.

Bruce,

So here's the deal with EVgo - Their rates SUCK unless you have their cadillac plan, and it doesn't take long for the cadillac plan to make financial sense. EVgo will continue to suck, however, just less.

Second, EVgo chargers WILL shut off after 30 minutes, so you have to babysit and babysit and babysit and keep paying over and over. No phone notification, no printed warnings on the charger, just sad disconnection and wasted time. Go back to your car every 30 minutes. EVgo is the devil, and for now, we have to deal with the devil we know. Don't count on it being cheap. I pissed away $80 on charging in ONE weekend with those bastards.

Definitely try to leech 110V wherever you can. Ignore the extension cord warnings unless you're using the worst extension cord money can buy.

Good luck!

Yea, EVGo. My one and only experience was standing in the rain, holding an umbrella a phone to EVGo and the charge cord. EVGo got it going after taking $9.95 from my credit card. Added 75 miles. Gas would have been cheaper and faster.

We mostly use various free Level 2 chargers around Marin county and supplement with a 110 plug in our condo carport.

Let's not hijack this thread into a missive about EVGo; there is already a thread about that.

But yes, be aware that the EVGo's will auto shutdown after 30 minutes and you have to restart them each time thereafter for a new $9.95 session fee. I avoid these session fees with a $14.95 monthly subscription fee, but with a 12 month subscription that also gives me cheaper KWh rates.

Oh, you are the OP, so you are entitled to hijack it about EVGo as much as you want! DUH! hahahaha

BBell33 said:

Salida to Bear Valley
- 38 miles and 6,280 effective feet of climbing
- I should still have 75 miles when I arrive.
We'll be paying close attention to our consumption rate from Salida to Murphys. So we'll decide what to do there.

Click to expand...

Should this read:

Murphy's to Bear Valley?

You can RELAX. You do not need to be worried about cold outdoor temps on the way up (unless you use tons of cabin heat). The battery will be plenty warm from you driving it. ( Just use the tinyest amount of heat you can to keep the windows defogged, as needed. Usually if the windows are just 5 degrees warmer than outside, they won't fog.)

Cold only affects battery range after many hours of "cold soaking" (parking) in the cold. But your trip home after parking in the cold will be mostly downhill. And regen will warm the battery FAST.

You will have a good trip.

sgt1372 said:

I wouldn't even attempt such a trip in my Bolt!

I have no personal experience with this but, based on what I've read, you should also take into account reduced battery performance and expect to use more energy as it gets colder.

Just did a quick Google search on the topic and came up with a reduction in range estimate of as much as 20% or more due to cold weather.

So, you should definitely take this factor into consideration when calculating your estimated range between charges when you are going up and down the mountain where the temp is at or near freezing.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Yea, Murphys to Bear Valley.

But sadly it's looking like snowfall on Friday the 7th and we'll postpone if that's the case.

I'll be curious on how this turns out. We just bought a Bolt, live in Hollister, and have a vacation rental in Arnold. We installed a level 2 charger at the cabin for our Volt. We are hopiing to make it all the way up there on a single charge.