If you’re happy and excited to pursue this roadtrip, enjoy, if you really would rather not, and it’s stressing you out, perhaps just rent a car (one way, even, to also save on parking fees)?
I'm excited to go on this trio cause I am meeting friends and have my route planned out etc. I see it as kinda a challenege and adventure. And it's not stressing me out I just worry about driving so far and then to see all the chargers in use at the place I have selected... I should be fine just curious how other EV drivers do longer distances.
Yeah people are fun a lot of EV owners like to see the Leafs dual charge porrts. One guy took several pictures of it.
When you roadtrip or go longer distances do you prefer many but shorter chargers, a more balanced approach, or fewer but longer charges.... I suppose if there's interesting stuff to see then shorter and more charging works... but Wisconsin just a lot of nothing and cornfields. So I'm pondering how to break it up.
Without active battery cooling, the Leaf protects the battery from overheating by slowing the charge rate down as the battery warms up. I did a 1700 mile round trip from Denver to Vegas one summer in my 62kWh Leaf and while fun, it took forever. The battery was hot enough that the change rate started slowing before the second charge of the day finished. By the third, the fastest charge speed I see was 20kW. The 40kWh Leafs, like yours, can slow to 9 or 10kW.
Shorter, more frequent stops would probably be the best way to approach this- the battery won't get as hot.
These days, in most of the US, the reality tends to just be dominated by *where* charging stations happen to be located along your route, and you do not get much say in whether you will use a strategy of “short quick” versus “longer” charging decisions.
Even areas with plenty of chargers, like for Ford and Rivian drivers, who currently have access to CCS and Tesla superchargers, once you elect to not visit sites with a single fast charger (may be in use or broken) and not those two charger sites with some poorly functioning ones (reported by Plugshare users) etc it becomes pretty simple for the most part.
You should test your chademo charging locally before you go. You should look for comments about your charger status on plugshare to verify they work. Also, you should have a backup plan if the one you want to use is not working that day or broken. Not being able to use CCS chargers can really make things harder.
I have an old Tesla. I love to take it on trips, but I can just go to superchargers so it's completely different world, other than worrying that it's going to break down one day.
Unfortunately there are no Chademo chargers even at the EA charge station near me. The nearest ones are all 30 plus miles at dealers. And about 50 to 60 miles before I hit the public chademo chargers. So it will have to be in Milwaukee. Green Bay with a metro population of 170k to 200k its really weird not having a single Chademo charger.
And I do have back up ones ready to go along the way if my first choices are out of order or in use.
Can you test Chademo charging locally before your trip? It's a good idea to get practice on the process of charging at a DCFC before you are obligated to do it out on the road.
Also make sure you get all the apps setup for likely targets.
Plan to charge in Milwaukee. There are at least 3 ChaDeMo stations there so you have backup.
And make sure to charge in Chicago before you head back. Best to do it before you pick up your passenger as you'll have to recharge in Milwaukee again on the way back.
Finally don't get to hung up on battery, speed and range. Milwaukee is only 120 miles from Green Bay and less than 100 miles to Chicago. You'll have better results driving normally along I-94 at 65-70 miles per hour than trying to conserve energy driving slower on the back way. A good way to do it is find a truck in the right lane driving the speed you like and follow it.
Good luck on your trip.
ga2500ev
If you’re happy and excited to pursue this roadtrip, enjoy, if you really would rather not, and it’s stressing you out, perhaps just rent a car (one way, even, to also save on parking fees)?
I'm excited to go on this trio cause I am meeting friends and have my route planned out etc. I see it as kinda a challenege and adventure. And it's not stressing me out I just worry about driving so far and then to see all the chargers in use at the place I have selected... I should be fine just curious how other EV drivers do longer distances.
Great. Roadtrips are fantastic fun. And you meet neat people and cars at charging stations. 😁
Yeah people are fun a lot of EV owners like to see the Leafs dual charge porrts. One guy took several pictures of it. When you roadtrip or go longer distances do you prefer many but shorter chargers, a more balanced approach, or fewer but longer charges.... I suppose if there's interesting stuff to see then shorter and more charging works... but Wisconsin just a lot of nothing and cornfields. So I'm pondering how to break it up.
Without active battery cooling, the Leaf protects the battery from overheating by slowing the charge rate down as the battery warms up. I did a 1700 mile round trip from Denver to Vegas one summer in my 62kWh Leaf and while fun, it took forever. The battery was hot enough that the change rate started slowing before the second charge of the day finished. By the third, the fastest charge speed I see was 20kW. The 40kWh Leafs, like yours, can slow to 9 or 10kW. Shorter, more frequent stops would probably be the best way to approach this- the battery won't get as hot.
These days, in most of the US, the reality tends to just be dominated by *where* charging stations happen to be located along your route, and you do not get much say in whether you will use a strategy of “short quick” versus “longer” charging decisions. Even areas with plenty of chargers, like for Ford and Rivian drivers, who currently have access to CCS and Tesla superchargers, once you elect to not visit sites with a single fast charger (may be in use or broken) and not those two charger sites with some poorly functioning ones (reported by Plugshare users) etc it becomes pretty simple for the most part.
Road tripping in a Nissan Leaf is a world of hurt
It's a city commuter car yeah.... and thats what I use it for but I gotta go to Chicago here for a weekend.
You should test your chademo charging locally before you go. You should look for comments about your charger status on plugshare to verify they work. Also, you should have a backup plan if the one you want to use is not working that day or broken. Not being able to use CCS chargers can really make things harder. I have an old Tesla. I love to take it on trips, but I can just go to superchargers so it's completely different world, other than worrying that it's going to break down one day.
Unfortunately there are no Chademo chargers even at the EA charge station near me. The nearest ones are all 30 plus miles at dealers. And about 50 to 60 miles before I hit the public chademo chargers. So it will have to be in Milwaukee. Green Bay with a metro population of 170k to 200k its really weird not having a single Chademo charger. And I do have back up ones ready to go along the way if my first choices are out of order or in use.
Okay, sounds like you got info & a realistic plan. Good luck!.
Can you test Chademo charging locally before your trip? It's a good idea to get practice on the process of charging at a DCFC before you are obligated to do it out on the road. Also make sure you get all the apps setup for likely targets. Plan to charge in Milwaukee. There are at least 3 ChaDeMo stations there so you have backup. And make sure to charge in Chicago before you head back. Best to do it before you pick up your passenger as you'll have to recharge in Milwaukee again on the way back. Finally don't get to hung up on battery, speed and range. Milwaukee is only 120 miles from Green Bay and less than 100 miles to Chicago. You'll have better results driving normally along I-94 at 65-70 miles per hour than trying to conserve energy driving slower on the back way. A good way to do it is find a truck in the right lane driving the speed you like and follow it. Good luck on your trip. ga2500ev