EV Road Tripping: Bakersfield Bolt to Yosemite via US 395 and the "East Side"

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paulgipe

Well-known member
Chevy Bolt Supporter
Joined
Feb 19, 2017
Messages
228
Location
Bakersfield, California 93305
In mid August we took our annual vacation to Toulumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. We drove the family car. Nothing special about that per se, we've been doing it for years. What was different was that we drove a Chevy Bolt EV, an electric car. And we drove it up the "East Side" on US 395, one of the nation's most scenic highways.

We could have done it easy enough in a Tesla. (We saw quite a few Teslas on the route.) But we don't own a Tesla. We drive a Chevy Bolt instead. (Some of have called the Bolt a poor man's Tesla because it costs a fraction of a Tesla, yet has the range of a Tesla--240 miles.)

However, there is only one charge location compatible with the Bolt on the entire 300-mile stretch from Bakersfield to Toulumne Meadows. That location, Mammoth Lakes, is 250 miles from Bakersfield--and on the other side of the Sierra Nevada.

We're a one-car family. And that car is a Bolt. We no longer operate a car with an internal combustion engine. In those circumstances where the Bolt won't meet our needs, we plan to rent a conventional car. Importantly, we haven't had to do so yet.

The drive from Bakersfield to Toulumne Meadows and return is one such trip where a rental might make sense. However, we've been adventuring with an EV for four years now and felt we could make the Bolt work. The trip would require more flexibility than most American would tolerate, but it could be done with minimum fuss.

And no, we didn't call AAA and had them tow the car to Mammoth Lakes. Though we know someone who did. . .

RTEmagicC_Bakersfield_to_Toulumne_Meadows_via_Mammoth_Lakes.jpg.jpg


What we did do was break the trip up into segments doable with the Bolt. In a previous trip we proved that we could cross the Sierra Nevada and reach Independence, California 170 miles from Bakersfield. There we would charge overnight. (See Bolt EV Successfully Crosses Sierra Nevada Bakersfield to Independence.) From Independence, the next leg would take us to the ski center of Mammoth Lakes where we'd spend another night charging. From there it's an easy hop to the exhilarating drive up to Tioga Pass and then down into Toulumne Meadows. The route back, mostly downhill, would take us back to Independence for a night and then on to home.

Mobile Charging

Despite California's reputation as being EV friendly, there are still many places without charge stations. The East Side of the Sierra Nevada is one of those places.

There are no charge stations in Independence. However, Jim Getzinger at the Independence Inn installed a NEMA 14-50 outlet at his 6-unit motel several years ago in the early days of the EV revolution. Any EV can plug into the NEMA 14-50 outlet if it has a mobile charge cable and the appropriate adapter.

RTEmagicC_20180811_Toulumne_Trip_02.jpg.jpg


The NEMA 14-50 is a receptacle often found in big RV parks. It can deliver up to 40 amps continuously for about 10 kW of power. It's the big boy of non-commercial charging.

Both times we charged overnight at the Independence Inn using our Jesla mobile charge cable. The Bolt draws its full 7.4 kW from the Jesla and the NEMA 14-50 outlet, adding 7 kWh per hour to the 60 kWh traction battery. This will charge the car overnight.

RTEmagicC_20180811_Toulumne_Trip_04.jpg.jpg


We've been using the Jesla for such out-of-the-way road trips since we've been driving electric. It's one of the most powerful mobile charge cables on the market. The Jesla's not cheap, but it's rugged and reliable and is superior to the mobile charge cable that comes with most EVs. We never leave home without it.

$425 for Level 2 Charge

We needed one more charge to make the trip work. There are four resorts in Mammoth Lakes that offer EV charging to their guests. These are the kind of places that cater to customers in Teslas. In fact, the charge stations were donated by Tesla for this very purpose.

Tesla is not your typical car company. They donate several of their "destination chargers" to resorts requesting them. These only work with Teslas and not other EVs. (There are ways around this limitation, see First Use of JDapter Stub for Tesla Destination Charger to Chevy Bolt.) But Tesla also donates chargers that work with EVs using the J1772 standard, such as the Bolt. (Imagine GM or VW donating a charge station that would work with a Tesla.)

RTEmagicC_20180811_Toulumne_Trip_05.jpg.jpg


We knew this was going to cost us. These are not the kind of hotels we normally frequent. And if the new fast chargers planned for the East Side are ever installed we may never have to charge in Mammoth Lakes again. Yet it was a necessity on this trip.

Our destination was the Westin Monache Resort where the valets will park your car in the garage at one of the three Tesla destination chargers or at one of the two ClipperCreek J1772 chargers. The valets assured me they knew what they were doing. My rule from bitter experience is "trust but verify". I checked Chevy's app and even went down to the garage to confirm that our Bolt was not only plugged in but charging. The valets did indeed know what they were doing.

We had dinner and breakfast. The total tab? $425. That was one very expensive charge. The 40 kWh we added to the battery that night cost us about $10 per kWh. Ouch! (I now chuckle when I see some EVers complaining about some fast charging station costing them a few more cents per kWh than what it costs them at home.)

Nevertheless, the stop worked. The car was charged. We got to visit another part of California that we wouldn't have otherwise. And we didn't spend much more than we would have anyway on a rental car.

Prices for a weekly rental from Bakersfield were ~$350 for a compact car. We would have spent another $50 in gas for the 600-mile round trip. So it was a wash. The total car rental cost of ~$400 offsets that expensive night at the Westin Monache Resort.

Lunch Not Quite Enough

I checked with the hotel's staff. They will charge your EV if you're there only for lunch or dinner. You don't have to spend the night.

However, a two-hour lunch at Mammoth Lakes is likely not enough time. You should be able to get 14 kWh into the traction battery of a Bolt. That's putting you at the limit of the Bolt's range when accounting for the drive up to Toulumne Meadows, the energy used driving back and forth to trailheads in Toulumne Meadows, and then the drive back to Independence. We used 11 kWh ferrying to and fro during the week we were there. And Aramark, the new concessionaire, has discontinued the shuttles. Driving is your only option.

The Lodge

The Bolt delivered. We were the only pure EV at Toulumne Meadows Lodge, but we did see two Volts.

No one charged at the Lodge, though it has been done before. My advice is not to plan on charging in Toulumne Meadows. There is only a 120-volt outlet at the Lodge and it's in a traveled way, making any overnight charging problematic.

We did raise some eyebrows when people realized the car was electric. The ranger at the entrance station even commented on the car when we entered the park.

RTEmagicC_Bakersfield_to_Independence_Mammoth_and_Toulumne_Meadows.jpg.jpg


Bolt Performance

I entered each leg of the route into three trip estimators: EV Trip Planner, Green Race, and Chevy's Energy Assist app. The app delivered the best results for any of the estimators. The Bolt met or consumed slightly less than the estimates by Chevy's Energy Assist app for most legs.

This was our longest trip yet in the Bolt: 600 miles. For us, the trip was a success and our planning paid off. We drove our EV to Yosemite and spent a week hiking in the high Sierra.

By 2020 driving to Independence and other East Side communities on US 395 will be much easier. (See DCFC Stations Bakersfield to the Sierra Nevada East Side Coming.) However, CalTrans three DC fast charging stations are delayed for an unknown reason. Those stations are needed to make US 395 accessible for those EV owners from southern California who want to vacation in the mountains or ski in the winter and who don't drive a Tesla.
 
Thanks for another great write-up Paul! I've been meaning to write something up about my summer trips this year, I need to get on that. I took my Bolt on a 1,340-mile trip through New England which was quite the adventure! Thankfully, their (relatively) rich availability of DCFCs made the trip a breeze. Plus I got to show off to my brother the joy of driving a peppy EV!
 
Paulgipe, thank you very much for this excellent account, and for sharing your thought process in the decisions you made. Shows that, with advance planning, it is possible to traverse out-of-the way sections of our country. Have you by any chance, during your travels, tried stopping at a welding shop? Seems to me they are everywhere (especially in farm country) and could serve as yet another backup.
 
Paul, I was wondering what 'gears' you used descending from Tioga Pass to Lee Vining (actually, just the steepest part in the first five miles or so). Were you in 'D' or 'L' the whole way or switch between them, and did you use the regen paddle and if so, in which 'gear'? As I am often descending the even steeper Old Priest Grade (18-20%) heading west from Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows, and occasionally Sonora Pass (25% at the top) going eastwards, I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory. IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle. I only got to test drive a Bolt on flat ground, so that wasn't much help. I see comments from IIRR Hyundai Kona tests that it could use more regen on steep descents, so I'd like to get your view of how adequate/inadequate the Bolt's is on a moderately steep descent like Tioga. Ideally, I'd prefer not to need to use the friction brakes at all on that route, at most just 'L' + paddle; was that possible for you?
 
GRA said:
I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory.

Welcome to the Bolt forum Guy!

I can't address your specific question, but I can attest that the L+paddle at least feels stronger than this. I drove 5-speed Hondas for years in the mountains of the northeast. Our grades aren't quite as steep, although there are certainly some steep descents especially on the mountain passes in VT.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
GRA said:
I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory.

Welcome to the Bolt forum Guy!

I can't address your specific question, but I can attest that the L+paddle at least feels stronger than this. I drove 5-speed Hondas for years in the mountains of the northeast. Our grades aren't quite as steep, although there are certainly some steep descents especially on the mountain passes in VT.
Been a member for awhile actually (see my join date and this post in reply to one of yours a while back: http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4894#p9093), but rarely visit or post. Thanks for the info.
 
GRA said:
GetOffYourGas said:
GRA said:
I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory.

Welcome to the Bolt forum Guy!

I can't address your specific question, but I can attest that the L+paddle at least feels stronger than this. I drove 5-speed Hondas for years in the mountains of the northeast. Our grades aren't quite as steep, although there are certainly some steep descents especially on the mountain passes in VT.
Been a member for awhile actually (see my join date and this post in reply to one of yours a while back: http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4894#p9093), but rarely visit or post. Thanks for the info.

Forgive my short memory. I just saw the name and the fact that (at the time) you had 6 posts.
 
GRA said:
...IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle...
Thanks for these numbers. I've been doing some searches looking for these as well as deceleration rates for any for other BEVs, with no success. Does anyone have any ideas where to find these? An alternate way of viewing regen is as a percentage of maximum power, up to the limit of traction.

For me, the Bolt's greatest distinguishing feature is its superb regen, its paddle, and its ability to bring the car to a complete stop by lifting the go-pedal. Now, if only the paddle provided variable regen instead of being an on/off switch...
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Thanks for another great write-up Paul! I've been meaning to write something up about my summer trips this year, I need to get on that. I took my Bolt on a 1,340-mile trip through New England which was quite the adventure! Thankfully, their (relatively) rich availability of DCFCs made the trip a breeze. Plus I got to show off to my brother the joy of driving a peppy EV!

Brian,

I love trip reports--and that sounds like a doozy. The more we show this can be done, the more acceptable EVs become.

Paul
 
JoeS said:
Paulgipe, thank you very much for this excellent account, and for sharing your thought process in the decisions you made. Shows that, with advance planning, it is possible to traverse out-of-the way sections of our country. Have you by any chance, during your travels, tried stopping at a welding shop? Seems to me they are everywhere (especially in farm country) and could serve as yet another backup.

Haven't done welding shops Joe. Good to know about them in an emergency but my knee-jerk reaction is that there's a lot of gear in such a shop that would have to be moved to get a charge. And that's before you deal with the owner/operator and whether they're amenable to letting you charge.

Paul
 
GRA said:
Paul, I was wondering what 'gears' you used descending from Tioga Pass to Lee Vining (actually, just the steepest part in the first five miles or so). Were you in 'D' or 'L' the whole way or switch between them, and did you use the regen paddle and if so, in which 'gear'? As I am often descending the even steeper Old Priest Grade (18-20%) heading west from Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows, and occasionally Sonora Pass (25% at the top) going eastwards, I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory. IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle. I only got to test drive a Bolt on flat ground, so that wasn't much help. I see comments from IIRR Hyundai Kona tests that it could use more regen on steep descents, so I'd like to get your view of how adequate/inadequate the Bolt's is on a moderately steep descent like Tioga. Ideally, I'd prefer not to need to use the friction brakes at all on that route, at most just 'L' + paddle; was that possible for you?

Guy,

I have another piece that I'll put up in a few weeks on my impressions of the Bolt with a section on driving with regen. In short, I drive in low and have trained myself to use the paddle if low is not enough. This combination works for most situations. Going down the Tioga Pass on either side low was nearly always enough. There are some other steep grades we've been down, Walker Pass is one, where low has been enough. So unlike our previous gassers we had no issues ascending or descending Tioga Pass in a Bolt, actually the easiest of any vehicle we've driven there.

Thanks for the data on low, paddle, and the combo. Didn't know the amount and that could be useful info some day.

Paul
Visiting family and driving a rental--and what a step down that is--tin box on wheels.
 
JoeS said:
... Have you by any chance, during your travels, tried stopping at a welding shop? Seems to me they are everywhere (especially in farm country) and could serve as yet another backup.
While this is true, be aware that the NEMA 6-50 outlet that is commonly used for welders has a narrower blade than the NEMA 14-50 plug on many EVSEs. You will need a 6-50 plug/adapter for your EVSE to use this option.
 
JoeS said:
GRA said:
...IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle...
Thanks for these numbers. I've been doing some searches looking for these as well as deceleration rates for any for other BEVs, with no success. Does anyone have any ideas where to find these? ...

Decel graph for LEAF, Bolt, Tesla M3;

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/exactly-how-strong-is-the-regen.105720/
 
keijidosha said:
JoeS said:
... Have you by any chance, during your travels, tried stopping at a welding shop?...
While this is true, be aware that the NEMA 6-50 outlet that is commonly used for welders has a narrower blade than the NEMA 14-50 plug on many EVSEs. You will need a 6-50 plug/adapter for your EVSE to use this option.
Thank you, but I'm all set as I have a 30-year ever-increasing collection of adapters that I take with me on long trips which allows me to plug into just about anything in North America, except a California Plug... :roll:
keijidosha said:
Thank you very much for this link. Still reading all the posts there.
 
paulgipe said:
GRA said:
Paul, I was wondering what 'gears' you used descending from Tioga Pass to Lee Vining (actually, just the steepest part in the first five miles or so). Were you in 'D' or 'L' the whole way or switch between them, and did you use the regen paddle and if so, in which 'gear'? As I am often descending the even steeper Old Priest Grade (18-20%) heading west from Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows, and occasionally Sonora Pass (25% at the top) going eastwards, I consider regen at least equivalent to 2nd gear compression braking in a 5-speed ICE as mandatory. IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle. I only got to test drive a Bolt on flat ground, so that wasn't much help. I see comments from IIRR Hyundai Kona tests that it could use more regen on steep descents, so I'd like to get your view of how adequate/inadequate the Bolt's is on a moderately steep descent like Tioga. Ideally, I'd prefer not to need to use the friction brakes at all on that route, at most just 'L' + paddle; was that possible for you?

Guy,

I have another piece that I'll put up in a few weeks on my impressions of the Bolt with a section on driving with regen. In short, I drive in low and have trained myself to use the paddle if low is not enough. This combination works for most situations. Going down the Tioga Pass on either side low was nearly always enough. There are some other steep grades we've been down, Walker Pass is one, where low has been enough. So unlike our previous gassers we had no issues ascending or descending Tioga Pass in a Bolt, actually the easiest of any vehicle we've driven there.

Thanks for the data on low, paddle, and the combo. Didn't know the amount and that could be useful info some day.

Paul
Visiting family and driving a rental--and what a step down that is--tin box on wheels.
Paul,

Thanks for the info, and I look forward to your impressions. I've only been over Walker pass once maybe 15 years ago, and IIRR wasn't driving at the time, so don't remember much about it other than the wildflowers (it was spring, and we were on the way back from Death Valley via a long loop: Bay Area - SLT - Lone Pine - Death Valley - Taft - BA).

keijidosha gave one source for the decel graphs, and one of those posts corrects some of the info in the MT article. Anyway, here's the article I got the numbers from, a Motor Trend Comparo of the Bolt, LEAF and Model 3LR. The relevant chart (also in the TMC thread): https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tes...rolet-bolt-ev-nissan-leaf-sl-one-pedal-wonder

and here's the link to the whole article: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tes...s-nissan-leaf-sl-vs-tesla-model-3-long-range/
 
GetOffYourGas said:
GRA said:
GetOffYourGas said:
Welcome to the Bolt forum Guy!

I can't address your specific question, but I can attest that the L+paddle at least feels stronger than this. I drove 5-speed Hondas for years in the mountains of the northeast. Our grades aren't quite as steep, although there are certainly some steep descents especially on the mountain passes in VT.
Been a member for awhile actually (see my join date and this post in reply to one of yours a while back: http://www.mychevybolt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4894#p9093), but rarely visit or post. Thanks for the info.

Forgive my short memory. I just saw the name and the fact that (at the time) you had 6 posts.
No worries, I'd forgotten that exchange myself until I did a search of my posts! Memory's the second thing to go, and I forget what the first one is ;)
 
JoeS said:
GRA said:
...IIRR, the decel figures I've seen for the Bolt are .19g for the regen paddle in 'D', .21g in 'L' alone, and .26g for 'L' + regen paddle...
Thanks for these numbers. I've been doing some searches looking for these as well as deceleration rates for any for other BEVs, with no success. Does anyone have any ideas where to find these? An alternate way of viewing regen is as a percentage of maximum power, up to the limit of traction.

For me, the Bolt's greatest distinguishing feature is its superb regen, its paddle, and its ability to bring the car to a complete stop by lifting the go-pedal. Now, if only the paddle provided variable regen instead of being an on/off switch...
My understanding is that you get variable regen using the paddle by holding it and adjusting the accelerator. I have no actual experience of that, but have read it. Personally, unless I have a prolonged steep descent such as the ones I've mentioned, I expect I'd use 'D' on highways, with paddle as needed. Seems more energy-efficient to coast as much as possible. Around town it would probably be 'L'. The nice thing about the Bolt and Volt are that they give everyone the options to match their own driving style. For people like me whose greatest regret upon moving to a PEV will be the lack of driving engagement through no longer using a clutch and shifting, more driving and regen modes directly under our control (and no futzing with touchscreens to access them, they need to be instantly available at all times) are nearly a necessity :lol:
 
GRA said:
My understanding is that you get variable regen using the paddle by holding it and adjusting the accelerator. I have no actual experience of that, but have read it.

Yes, this is exactly how it works.

GRA said:
For people like me whose greatest regret upon moving to a PEV will be the lack of driving engagement through no longer using a clutch and shifting, more driving and regen modes directly under our control (and no futzing with touchscreens to access them, they need to be instantly available at all times) are nearly a necessity :lol:

That's me, too. I miss my 5-speeds. There is nothing like it in terms of driving engagement. It's all connected - man, machine, and the road. But one-pedal driving sounds like the opposite direction of three-pedal driving. But in practice, it gives you that solid connected of a manual transmission. It's different of course, but still gives me that driving pleasure.

If you ever get a chance to try out a Bolt, I'd love to hear your impressions of driving in L.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
GRA said:
For people like me whose greatest regret upon moving to a PEV will be the lack of driving engagement through no longer using a clutch and shifting, more driving and regen modes directly under our control (and no futzing with touchscreens to access them, they need to be instantly available at all times) are nearly a necessity :lol:
That's me, too. I miss my 5-speeds. There is nothing like it in terms of driving engagement. It's all connected - man, machine, and the road. But one-pedal driving sounds like the opposite direction of three-pedal driving. But in practice, it gives you that solid connected of a manual transmission. It's different of course, but still gives me that driving pleasure.

If you ever get a chance to try out a Bolt, I'd love to hear your impressions of driving in L.
I test drove one in February, and enjoyed it a lot - it still torque steered, but even though it had even more torque it seemed easier to control under hard accel than the Spark EV I'd test driven a few years earlier, maybe due to the longer wheelbase. Unfortunately, all of my driving was on flat ground: a few miles of freeway late in the morning commute, and then a frontage road and local streets around the dealership, and I couldn't really thrash it with the salesperson riding along - I imagine the LRR tires would be the main handling limiter. I leaned more towards using D + paddle as needed, but I wasn't in stop and go traffic much, and while I toggled back and forth between 'D' and 'L' just to see the difference it really wasn't the best conditions for 'L'. Or maybe I just like having something to do with a hand if I can't shift - multi-level regen controlled by dual paddles would probably be my ideal, but I like Chevy's approach.

Once the Kona and Niro BEVs show up I'll test drive them as well. I lean towards the Niro for its longer length (to sleep in; have to see if it's long enough at 171.5", as the Bolt and presumably the same length Kona (164") are both too short. My Forester is 175", and the e-Golf is 168" but the seats slide way forward, and they both have enough room), but no AWD and that would be a major downgrade for me to accept, plus Hyundai/Kia tend to have overboosted steering with zero feel/feedback.
 
I tend to use D on the highway, with the paddle when I need to slow down. But I love using L on local streets (e.g. with traffic lights) or stop-and-go traffic. Sometimes I end up switching back and forth as traffic patterns change. This is when I realize how narrow the Bolt is, since I usually bump into my wife's arm in the process.

Regarding torque steer, Chevy was very proud of their design - they put the motor in the center of the front axle to reduce torque steer. Of course there will always be some on FWD vehicles with a lot of torque. I also wish they had made the car AWD. I don't personally need it (never had a car with AWD, and that's never caused me trouble - just drive appropriately). However, it would make the car more appealing to the AWD-CUV crazed market. Hopefully a future Chevy EV will be a larger AWD CUV.
 
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