Has anyone driven from SF to LA?

[user 1485]

So my fiancé and I are likely moving from the SF area down to Orange County. As I’m thinking ahead to the move, I need to figure out how to get my 2017 SEL down there. Of course I could ship it, but also looking into driving it. Has anyone tried this drive? Looks like there are chargers along the way, but I also don’t want to be rolling the dice on this. Any feedback welcome!

 

[f1geek]

I have not made the drive in my e-Golf, but I don't see why you can't make it (in two days). If you want to be nice to the battery (and not potentially void the battery warranty), then don't DC quick charge two times in a row (per the manual).

Take either 99 or 101 south as there aren't currently enough stations on 5, in my opinion, and since it's going to be hot in the central valley, I would avoid 99, too, as the VW e-Golf battery has no way to actively cool the battery pack. I would suggest you stay away from the station in King City as it seems unreliable, so if you are going to take 101, perform your last DCFC in Salinas to make it to Paso Robles. Stay the night in Paso Robles (and charge up on L2). The next morning, you should be able to make to LA with one DCFC and one L2 stop.

Yes, if you follow the letter of the manual (that says to alternate DC with AC charging), it will require a several hour L2 stop to make it comfortably over 200 miles, but maybe you can plan a meal (with an additional hour stroll) to pick up 50-60 miles in a 2 hour L2 break.

You'll probably save a lot of money over shipping, even including the hotel stay, and then you get to enjoy the California coast. Best of luck.

 

[miimura]

Don't worry about the warranty or any lasting damage to the battery from one trip with fast charging. However, planning an overnight stop for San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, or Paso Robles would be a nice way to make the trip more leisurely and less stressful. The only real danger of getting stuck is if you blindly try to drive I-5 where there aren't really any charging stations. The only other possible bummer is if one or more of the slower CCS chargers on 101 in King City, or Paso Robles is broken. However, there are L2 chargers nearby, it will just take a lot longer than planned to make it across that slim charging corridor. Before you attempt the trip, check Plugshare and come up with a backup plan for every planned charging stop, and if possible, a backup to your backup. Remember, the fastest way to make the trip is to start with a full battery, then only charge enough en-route to make it to the next fast charge stop with a safety margin. When fast charging, there is no reason to go over 80% unless the next charger is L2, then stop at 90%. If you ever find yourself with less range than the distance to the next charger, slow down until you have built up a safety buffer. If you're not gaining buffer, slow down more or choose a closer charging station. As long as you're paying attention to your range and the distance to where you will charge next, there is no way to run out unless there is a mountain between you and your next charging stop. That reminds me, there is a big climb between Atascadero and San Luis Obispo, so prepare a few miles extra buffer for that.

 

[RonDawg]

The big question here is fiancé willing to sit from anywhere from 30 min to several hours, multiple times, during this trip? If the answer is no....there's your answer.

 

[johnnylingo]

if you are going to take 101, perform your last DCFC in Salinas to make it to Paso Robles. Stay the night in Paso Robles (and charge up on L2).

I just did this a few weeks ago. The L2s at the Paso Robles transit center are designed poorly as one is on a handicapped/motorcyle spot, and you'll be knocked down to 3.3 kW if sharing. Adding insult to injury, they charge by the hour, so I'd recommend parking next to the handicapped spot one and stealing their cord, even if you're not in a rush. An overnight stop would make a lot of sense (we did an Air BnB a few blocks away), but Paso Robles has nice downtown area and it's fairly easy to kill 5-6 hours there if you throw in some wine tasting. There's reliable eVgos in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville, and Salinas for top-off charges on the way down from SF. Likewise I'm sure there's options in the Santa Barbara area for your final stop in to LA.

Be advised the ChargePoint DCFCs at Cool Hand Luke's in Paso Robles at the Salinas Mall were both faulty when we hit them. Had no problems with the L2s in the San Luis Obispo Marsh street parking garage (only $1/hr). There's also abundant free ones at Hearst Castle, if you're thinking of a stop there. We also briefly visited the one in Santa Margarita which worked but was offline so I honestly have no idea what the pricing or kW was.

Definitely a doable trip, just requires planning and absolutely verify charger status via the PlugShare and ChargePoint apps before setting your itinerary. Just because a charger is showing online doesn't mean it's working. I get the impression it takes weeks if not months to get a broken charger fixed in the Watsonville to San Luis Obispo section.

 

[JoulesThief]

Unless you like adventure, and possibly have 3 days to do it, due to missed DCFC's not working, put it on a dolly and tow it down, or have it trucked down. I don't have time like that to waste when miles need to be traveled because I need to be at work on Monday.

Is is doable? Yes, probably if you are retired.

Is it practical? I can think of many other ways to do it for a lot less of your precious time. So ask yourself, do you want to save time and waste money, or save money, and waste time. Choice is yours.

Contrary to popular thought process and belief, you can save time driving slower, and get more range between recharges, doing a steady 55 MPH, than driving 65-70 mph and drastically reducing the range between battery recharges. I've done it both ways.... 55 mph wins, in my 2015 SEL, driving from Los Angeles to Tijuana, MX and back, in a day.

I would strive to get 150 to 175 miles on the first leg of the trip, driving 55 mph with the AC turned off, then use a DCFC to get to a 90% State of Charge, and then try for another 125 to 150 miles, and then overnight while getting a full L2 recharge. Sunday, rinse and repeat.

I know it will be hot, roll the windows down, but AC really sucks the range of the battery down easily to 110 to 120 miles on a charge. You want to drive miles between recharging, to make the trip quickly, skip the comfort of AC and bring plenty of drinking water, and drive the coast with the windows cracked 1 to 2 inches. Thats how I maximize miles per kWh of charging time.

Start your driving very early in the day, before the sun comes up, and you'll stay a lot cooler a lot longer. Get off the road and into a room sooner, too, if you have to stay cool.

Can you rent a tow dolly and tow it down one way, for less? Would save an overnight hotel /motel bill, and save a days worth of travel too.

 

[miimura]

Speaking of staying cool, there is a L2 charger in King City at Hartnell College that is just behind the movie theater. Get an early start from SF and take in a movie or two while the car slow charges.

 

[johnnylingo]

Speaking of staying cool, there is a L2 charger in King City at Hartnell College that is just behind the movie theater. Get an early start from SF and take in a movie or two while the car slow charges.

This is a good idea. We avoided the King City DCFC because it seemed sketchy; in hindsight, thanks to the ones in Salinas the Paso Robles being broken, a stop in King city may have been boring but would have lowered the stress level. The free chargers at Hearst Castle really saved our skins because we then just did a top-off in Paso Robles during dinner, and that was just enough to make it 120 miles to the eVgo in Watsonville.

And speaking of the King City DCFC , looks like it's also broken now, joining the Salianas and Paso Robles ones. Nice job, ChargePoint :?

 

[f1geek]

Don't forget the broken 24 kW DCFC in Monterey, too.

There is an EVGo ABB DCFC at the Nob Hill Foods in Salinas that has been reliable for me. Also, by the end of this year, I hope that there will be additional non-chargepoint DCFCs along 101 south.

 

[miimura]

Yes, there are more fast chargers coming, specifically to the 101 corridor. CalTrans will be installing chargers at the Camp Roberts rest stops. One unit each northbound and southbound. That is in the middle of the no-man's land between King City and Paso Robles near the town of Bradley. Those will reportedly be installed by October. We also expect chargers to be installed by Recargo by the end of the year in Gilroy, Salinas, Soledad, King City, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Maria. These are funded by the State through the Energy Commission.

I maintain a map of these future sites funded by the State here. The data is from public documents.

 

[f1geek]

miimura,

Nice map! I had a conversation with someone from the CA Energy Comission about DCFC stations and it sounds like a bunch should be coming online by the end of this year. I hope so... I was told that Tesla has already swooped in to take the Pacheco Pass Casa di Fruta site and currently it seems there won't be a publicly funded DCFC there. This is great for Tesla drivers but not for the rest of us with CCS or CHAdeMO cars. I hope Tesla doesn't take too many more prime locations.

 

[johnnylingo]

CalTrans will be installing chargers at the Camp Roberts rest stops. One unit each northbound and southbound. That is in the middle of the no-man's land between King City and Paso Robles near the town of Bradley.

I see they're planned to be 50 kW too. That's a relief (no pun intended) as I don't think anyone wants to spend any more time at a rest stop than required for a bathroom break and stretching of legs. Also, the busted ChargePoint ones were only 20ish, making their appeal limited to begin with.

 

[JoulesThief]

CalTrans will be installing chargers at the Camp Roberts rest stops. One unit each northbound and southbound. That is in the middle of the no-man's land between King City and Paso Robles near the town of Bradley.

I see they're planned to be 50 kW too. That's a relief (no pun intended) as I don't think anyone wants to spend any more time at a rest stop than required for a bathroom break and stretching of legs. Also, the busted ChargePoint ones were only 20ish, making their appeal limited to begin with.

If it's cool weather and your battery isn't hot from heavy discharge rates, (ie driving hard or fast on freeway immediately before recharging) I have seen 21.2 kWh rates out of those 24 kWh ChargePoint Charge 100's in my 2015 SEL w /24.2 kw battery. 50 minute will get you to 80% and 60 minutes, usually 90%. They are also easy on the traction battery, as far as charge rates go, too.

 

[tbier]

In my 2017 SE I got 16.5 kWh out of one in 45 minutes Tuesday for a rate of 22kW. It was free for a Chevy dealer while I had lunch next door. It's no supercharger speed, but I was happy with it.

 

[f1geek]

From first principles, it's clear that charging at 40 kW will generate more heat than charging at 21 kW, but does anyone have actual battery pack temperature data (say, starting temp and SOC and ending temp and SOC after charging for 30 or 45 minutes)?

Of course ambient temps matter, too. Due to the battery cell orientation (less cell stacking than a Leaf) and VW's apparent focus on conductive heat transfer through the car's frame (based on internet chatter), I'm guessing temps are better controlled than the Leaf, the other significant EV with no TMS.

 

[miimura]

One other interesting detail about the Camp Roberts chargers is that they will not be connected to a 480V utility service like a normal DCFC. Instead they will have a stationary battery paired with solar and a smaller 208V feed from an existing utility service. It is unknown at this time how many kWh it will be able to dispense before it starts slowing down. It's also unknown how many kW the 208V service can sustain when the battery is drained and the sun has already set. It's also free. I don't expect the available energy or freeloaders will be a significant problem due to the rural location.

Regarding e-Golf battery temps, if you're really interested, look into OBDeleven. I've heard that they have done some work to extract e-Golf specific information from the data bus.

 

[f1geek]

Nice to hear about battery storage at charging locations. I believe it will be the norm in the future and may be a fundamental part of the new renewable energy grid that is coming in the next few decades, to California, at least.

I have OBDEleven, but I don't have any data logged for a highway trip with DCFC stops. I hope to get some data soon.

 

[miimura]

miimura,

Nice map! I had a conversation with someone from the CA Energy Comission about DCFC stations and it sounds like a bunch should be coming online by the end of this year. I hope so... I was told that Tesla has already swooped in to take the Pacheco Pass Casa di Fruta site and currently it seems there won't be a publicly funded DCFC there. This is great for Tesla drivers but not for the rest of us with CCS or CHAdeMO cars. I hope Tesla doesn't take too many more prime locations.

Casa De Fruta is not really necessary because there are already stations nearby in Hollister and Gilroy. Recargo is also supposed to install one on the other side of the pass at the Petro station at the intersection of CA-33 and CA-152. That is a much more useful location.

 

[JoulesThief]

Slightly off topic:

I took my father down to Malibu, by the courthouse yesterday,and just due east of it, a new shopping complex is being built. A young man in a blue Tesla S with construction boots being put on pulled up. We chatted briefly. It seems a new Teslas supercharger parking lot and charge units are going to be put in at that shopping complex. No mention of how many charging stations, but rather interesting seeing a young man with a hard hat and blue prints going in to the construction site, stepping out of his loafers and into boots, coming out of an S model

There are a LOT of Tesla's down there in Malibu, driving around. I was told Tesla is just trying to break even on these Super chargers, that they are now pay to charge. We will see.

 

[RonDawg]

There are a LOT of Tesla's down there in Malibu, driving around. I was told Tesla is just trying to break even on these Super chargers, that they are now pay to charge. We will see.

All Teslas purchased after the end of last year do NOT come with "free Supercharging for life." That would include any Model 3, as those were only delivered starting last January. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-updates-free-lifetime-supercharger-policy-dec-31-deadline/ New buyers of the Model S and X can get up to 5 supercharging sessions not near their home if they get a referral code from an existing Tesla owner.

This policy change was done to perceived abuses by some Tesla owners, causing long waits at some stations.

Re the Model S driver putting on his construction boots, you can get used ones now in the $30-someodd thousand range for a 40 kWH model.