May have bitten off more than I can chew--road trip and general newbie questionsquestions

[Lillyhammer]

Hello!

I have joined the group just a touch prematurely...I will pick up a new-to-me 2017 e-Golf this Saturday in Eugene, OR, about 282 miles from my home in Seattle, WA. I had planned on driving home on Sunday, stopping (?2+ times) on the way to recharge. I have downloaded PlugShare and Nextcharge to get an idea of the type and quantity of chargers along the way. So, a couple of questions from this ultra-newbie (feel free to answer all or one question, and to give general road trip advice.)

1. Since I am buying the car used (8600 miles on the odometer), are there any special charging cord upgrades I should pick up in town before I head down there that would make it easier to get home in one day (with presumably 2 stops to charge)?

2. Is anyone from the area and have particular charging company recommendations I should look out for? Memberships, monthly fees, etc? I am a penny pincher and love to get bang for my buck out of a monthly membership, but don't anticipate doing many road trips with this car, mostly just driving kids around town.

3. Do I need to make hotel reservations just in case I get stranded? :shock:

4. Does AAA rescue electric vehicle owners with some sort of mobile charging station (not sure this is a thing!)

Thanks in advance!

 

[f1geek]

1. I am pretty sure your 2017 comes with DCFC standard, so as long as there are CCS DCFC stations on your route, you won't need to purchase an L2 EVSE. Otherwise, you should buy a portable L2 EVSE that can plug into a NEMA 14-50 receptacle so you can pull the maximum 30 amps at 240 volts (7.2 kW).

2. If you don't plan on doing a lot of DCFC sessions, then don't pay for any monthly plans. Several of the providers have interoperability agreements, but you should be sure you can use Greenlots, Chargepint, EVgo, EVConnect and Electrify America, at a minimum. Webasto, too, since you are in Oregon.

3. If you plan well, then you should not be stranded, but you can always decided to charge overnight at a hotel, assuming you can get a L2 charge (L1 may take too long).

4. No. AAA used to have this service but they found out that EV drivers plan ahead well and did not use the service, so it was discontinued. VW also has roadside assistance, but you will have to look into the details of this.

 

[Lillyhammer]

Thank you f1Geek, for the comprehensive and quick answers. Yes, you're right I should have the DCFC included.

Can't wait!

 

[nwduffer]

Try to make sure your seller has the car fully charged for you (or 80-90% full) You'll see a guestimate range of probably 140-160 on the odometer when you take off, if it's more or less charged. If you're not familiar with electric vehicles, you'll notice this range dropping quicker than you expect, especially driving freeway miles. I drove from Salem to PDX this past weekend, and driving into a headwind, using the heaters and defroster, and doing 65-70 all the way, I used 75-80 miles of range from a 150 mile starting range, just to go the 45 miles I actually traveled. Save miles by using the heat seaters instead of the heater, if you're comfortable doing that and driving conservatively rather than going 80 mph the whole way. My guess is, you may want to stop for a charge somewhere between Salem and Portland, based on how you're doing.

If you're trying to penny pinch along the way, there are great options you can see on PlugShare. To help you out, here are a few I can confirm:

In Salem - VW of Salem, off the freeway and down the parkway. They have two ports in their main parking lot. Sometimes there are cars blocking it, but ask a salesmen, and they will move one for you. Free Level 2 charging here, where you can expect to regain about 20ish miles per hour of charge. There are a couple coffee shops and food places within walking distance, or hang out in the lobby there.

In Woodburn - the McDonalds off the freeway also has a free Level 2 charger. Hang out there, or hike across the freeway to the outlets and shop for a bit.

Wilsonville - Tonkin Nissan and Cafe Yumm both have free level 2 chargers. (Actually, I'm guessing there are a decent amount of dealerships that probably have free chargers along the way.

In Bridgeport Village - there are two free chargers in the parking garage. Supposed to be a two hour limit, but both spots were open when I was there the other day.

And so on and so on. There are also plenty of pay-for stations if you really need one. I think your 2017 will also support a fast-charge, but there are varying opinions on whether or not you should use those, and if so, probably not back to back if you do.

Best of luck--should be a fun drive!

One other note. If you sign up for a trial period of the Car Net app (it's like 17 bucks per month, but at least with my 2019, they offered 6 months for free) you can use their roadside service, and according to the guy who connected me, they do offer the roadside charge up, which I'm sure would be minimal to get you to a nearby charging station. Your mileage may vary, but worth checking into.)

 

[Lillyhammer]

Many thanks, nwduffer. I have some more basic research to do, as I am a rule follower by nature so will probably try and avoid fast charging til I get a feel for the consensus on that.

I appreciate all the good info!

 

[alteregolf]

Congrats on your eGolf acquisition. Please post a report of your trip!

 

[f1geek]

If you are concerned about DC Fast charging, you shouldn't be. While you shouldn't be DC Fast charging the car every day, if you need to make the rare 282 mile trip that requires two consecutive DCFC sessions, you will have a minimal impact on the battery health, if at all. The 2017 e-Golf has a larger top and bottom buffer than the 2015 and 2016's 24 kWh pack, and at 40 kW, the C rate is lower than the 24 kWh pack as well (less stress on the pack). If your trip is on a mild day, and you drive conservatively in between charging sessions (say at 60-65 mpH), then the pack heating won't be excessive. It's possible you may be able to stop at a 24 kW station (the car will pull about 18 kW) and have even less temperature rise in the pack. I feel that being able to make my yearly 263 mile trip (up 5000 feet, too), I can take my EV instead of a fossil gobbler and get there in a reasonable amount of time. Best of luck.

 

[tbier]

You can do it! This will be a great chance to get to know your car. I live in Vancouver, WA and have taken mine up to Seattle and down to Eugene a few times each but never the whole stretch. Here is what I would reccomend:

Pro tip #1, keep it to 65mph max – even in WA where the limit is 70, just take it easy in the right lane. If you are by yourself with no climate control, plan on 3.8 miles/kWh at 65 mph.

If you want to stick to the book and avoid back to back DC then hit up these three free locations.

Stop 1: Eugene to Salem (Power Kia) 65 miles 16.25 kWh. DC charge for 20-25 min to get to 95%

Stop 2: Salem to Gee Creek Rest Stop (I5North MP 11, only the cable on the left works), Alternative is Illani Casino 65 miles 16.25 kWh. Charge 2-3 hours

Stop 3: Gee Creek to Northwest Harley Davidson in Lacey, WA. 100 Miles 25 kWh. Charge for 30-45 minutes. They have a 22 kW Charge point unit. If its unavailable or you want to save time, go across the road to Walmart for the Electrify America station.

Alternate – you could charge at Gee Creek for an hour and then his the new EvGO station in Chehalis up to 90% and then all the way to Seattle.


Note: the eGolf will charge a max rate of 39 kW up to 80% and 30 kW at 90%, after than it slows down to the point you don’t want to DC charge at any station that charges by the minute.

 

[JoulesThief]

Ask yourself how much time you want to spend recharging, versus driving... You can drive 65 mph with no accessories on, no heater, no fan, nothing, and if it's cold and the air is dense, with no headwind or elevation changes, you'll get 3.6 to 4 miles per kilowatt. That's 16.25 kWh out of maybe 30 or 31 kWh usable in your battery consumed in an hour. If you get to a L2 charger that puts back in at 6 Kwh, it will take you about 2.6 hours of charging time to replace an hour of driving time, plus time lost getting off the freeway, and mileage going to and from the charge station.

If you drive 55 mph, same conditions, no accessories, on cruise control, you will probably get 5.2 to 5.5 miles per kWh. You will use about 10 kWh to go 55 miles and about 11.8 kWh to do the same 65 miles. It will take you just under 2 hours of charging time to do the 65 miles. So you save about 35 -40 minutes of charging time, but you'll use another 12 minutes of driving time to do so.

So, the lesson to be learned is this, if all you have access to is a L2 charger on your road trip, and you are driving during the day, doing 55 mph to every leg of the drive will save to time, getting home. The only exception is if you still have the range from your last on the road charge before you stop for the night to plug in overnight to get a full recharge, at leisure... that leg you can drive faster and the recharge time won't impede your progress to your final destination.

You will have more range between recharges if you discipline your self with the cruise control and drive 55 mph instead of 65 mph, in the far right lane. Or find country road highways to drive home. Plan on making 120 miles on a full recharge, and if you drive 55, you might be able to get 150 miles of real range before needing a recharge.
Also understand that climbing mountains and going down mountains, and the elevation changes has a huge effect on range on your battery, too. Going up sucks the battery down, going down in d1 or d2 adds back in a charge. Going fast down the back side of the mountain wastes your battery recharging efforts, you lose too much recharge energy going fast, pushing through the wind resistance.

Plan on it being a 2 day trip with an overnight somewhere.

Your best bet would be to do the deal sometime in the late afternoon, drive into the night and spend the night at a location hotel or motel that has overnight recharging, or pay to camp at an RV park overnight if you have camping equipment and a level 2 EVSE unit that you can plug into an RV pedestal 14-50 outlet, to recharge overnight.

If you need to get range and distance between recharging sessions, slow down, from the start of a full recharge.

4 year owner here with a 2015 e-Golf SEL, and I am getting about 6 miles per kWh.... I try to always around town keep it at or under 45 mph, and that's how I get such high miles per kWh. It takes patience.... to me, it's worth it. YMMV, but the e-Golf rewards the conservative slow tortoise driver handsomely with much extended driving range. It's a learned art, most here are enthusiasts, and could give a rats ass about how far they can go on several charges, trying to get home.

 

[JoulesThief]

Requirements to do this: You must have a full topped off charge before starting this trip.

You must keep fans, heaters, and heated seats turned off.

You must use the cruise control set at 55 mph, not touch the throttle to accelerate or pass anyone, and set shifter in D1 .

If you do this, you should be able to get home in one overnight stop recharge at the Casino. You will need to plug in to recharge, first thing when you get home. You need a good dedicated circuit with no other electrical drain on it to do this. You might be able to stop at the BMW dealership in Seattle, and get a quick charge that should top you off within 90% on a ChargePoint account card in about 80 to 90 minutes.


Ilani Casino resort in Ridgefield WA would make a good 5 hour stop, for dinner. You will probably take on 30 kWh there, and good for another 150 miles of driving at 55 mph, the rest of the way to Seattle. See if they have cheap lodging overnight.

Make absolutely sure your car is 100% charged when you start, or else drive to nearest charging station in route, going north, and top that battery off, before heading the rest of the way to Ilani Casino.

Do you have a level 2 EVSE charger at home, already installed? At home with 240V and 30 amps, 4.5 hours at 7.2 kW per hour should give you pretty much a full charge.

 

[f1geek]

I just checked on plugshare. You can easily make the trip in one day if you are willing to have back to back DCFC sessions. Stop at Walmart in Portland, OR and then again at DuPont Ace Hardware in DuPont, and then head home. Each of these locations has two 50 kW CCS stations, so your chances are pretty good at showing up and immediately getting a charge. It is 116 miles to the Walmart and then 121 miles to Ace. Driving at 60-62 mpH with minimal heating and cooling, you should have no problems getting to these stations if the route is relatively flat. You should use www.abetterrouteplanner.com to verify route elevation, etc. Best of luck!

 

[nwduffer]

Well? How did the trip go??