I did my first "long distance" trip this weekend.

I did my first long distance trip this past weekend, Toledo, OH to Cleveland, OH (120ish miles). I'm sure this distance would be no biggie in other parts of the country but in Ohio once you leave the city, charging opportunities are few and far between. Temps were low 40's so I figured range wouldn't be hurt too bad. I almost underestimated the cold effect on range. There really isn't anywhere convenient to charge half way so I decided to take the turnpike and use the RV outlets at the service plazas at mile markers 76.9 and 140. I had a head/cross wind that didn't help either. I drove normal speeds (70mph) to the first service plaza as it was only about 25 miles from home. I topped off after 1.5 hours and then tried to draft a semi at 63mph but due to the wind being gusty and partially a cross wind drafting was mostly pointless. I started to experience range anxiety for the first time when 20 miles out, the GOM indicated I'd be 3mi short of my next charging destination. This left me with the choice to slow down to extend my range or get off and hope I could plug in to the 240v outlet behind the Jack's deli in Sandusky. I decided to adjust my cruise control to 51mph and gamble that would gain me enough additional range. I made it to the mile marker 140 service plaza with 3 mile left on the GOM. I charged for between 1 and 1.5 hours till the GOM said 30mi as I only had 24 more miles to go. I L1 charged at my destination since I wouldn't need my car till the next day. It finished at about 7am the next day.

For the return trip it was colder, 38F and falling. Since it was colder I figured that driving 20mph under the speed limit might not be enough to make it between service plazas. Also I expected traffic to be heavier and going that slow would be dangerous so I planned on driving straight to Sandusky to top off and then get on the turnpike and stop at the mile marker 76.9 service plaza to charge up to whatever I needed to get home. I ended up running around and going out to lunch before leaving which ate up enough range that I could no longer reach Sandusky. I saw that a Walmart in Elyria had some charge stations by a company I had not heard of called EVgo. I knew there would be a charge but I just needed a little bit to get me to Sandusky. Well I got there and the charge station had no buttons or credit card swipers, just a small screen. So I plugged in and it said waiting for payment but I didn't see any way to pay. I looked up the company's website on my phone and it looks like they want to lock you into some ridiculous 12 month contract with monthly fees on top of charging a high hourly charging fee! I noticed a small black rectangle below the screen that looked like it might be some sort of RFID reader that I would have had to of had a plan and one of their cards to turn on the charge station. So I changed plans and got on the turnpike to charge at the 140 mile marker service plaza. While charging there for 2 hours I plotted my next move and took a nap. As noted above making it to the next service plaza to charge wasn't an option. 53 miles away, a private business owner in Fremont, OH (Fort Stevenson House) had a charge station installed and listed it as available for public. I called ahead since if I got there and couldn't use it for some reason I'd have no option but a tow truck. The business owner was very friendly and even called his evening security to let them know I'd be coming and they offered to let me into the lobby where they had vending machines while I waited for the car to charge. It would be Sunday evening by the time I got there and not much in the area would be open. A friend who lives near Fremont called me shortly before I got there and offered to pick me up and take me out to dinner while my car charged. After dinner, I waited in the lobby for about 1/2 hour until the battery got to 75% charge since I figured that would be enough to get me the 40-some miles home. I guessed about right since there were 4mi left on the GOM when I got home. I did have charging options closer to home in case my 75% guess fell short of getting me there. In the end it was a fun little adventure that I don't ever intend to repeat! I may try again when it's warmer and I can make the trip with just one stop and not have cold and rain to deal with.

in this case the gasser is 1000% better

You are very brave. I would never attempt this..... I'll go to my grandmothers house about 30 miles away all highway and charge L1 there and make it back with plenty... I just hate being in the "LOW BATTERY" situation. Although usually when I am I know I'm going to make it because I planned ahead.

triangles said:

I did my first long distance trip this past weekend, Toledo, OH to Cleveland, OH (120ish miles).

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While I love driving electric, I wouldn't go to these lengths. If I were still single I perhaps would, but if I did now my wife would think I'm even more crazy than she already thinks I am for my commitment to EVs. She's not as enthusiastic as I am about EVs and making the needed lifestyle adjustments to get by with a short range BEV.

I've done a few trips beyond a single charge range. Most of them have been by myself; one trip involved the family and we had a nice fancy mall to hang out at during the charge (for only an hour or so).

I've always wanted to take my FFE on a similar long trip--simply to try ("why did you climb the mountain?" "Because its there!") but I'm sure the family would not want to accompany me. (My other wish would be to simply bring the FFE along camping: Its the perfect camping vehicle: You charge at the campground and in most cases all the sightseeing we would do would be within 50 miles of the campground or so. We did bring it once: the campground was just within driving range.)

When I was at my first Drive Electric event I had talked to another FFE owner who frequently takes his FFE from Saline, MI to London, Ontario (about 165 miles). He detailed every stop they had to make; took him all day to make what would be a 3 hour trip in an ICE car (and one tank of gas no less).

triangles said:

so I decided to take the turnpike and use the RV outlets at the service plazas at mile markers 76.9 and 140.

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Curious, what L2 charger did you use? Did you need to bring an adapter with you?

Thx

I made my own L2 based on the JuiceBox. I made it with a NEMA 6-50 plug on it. A 240V RV outlet is is a NEMA 14-50. I put 14-50 plug (without the neutral prong) on a 6-50 extension cord. I used this to plug in my JB to the RV outlet.

A brief explanation of connectors and why I chose the JB. I already had a NEMA 6-50 outlet (typical for small welders) in my garage so that is why I put it on my JB. The NEMA 14-50 and 14-30 only differ in the neutral prong. Since the JB doesn't use neutral, (NEMA 6-50 has no neutral prong) leaving the neutral prong off the 14-50 plug on my extension cord allows me to plug into either 14-50 or 14-30 outlets. I also have adapters to plug into almost any 240V outlet I might encounter. Since my JB has the screen and remote control I can set the max charge current to be appropriate for the outlet I'm plugged into. Without reinventing the wheel, I was un-aware in 2014 of any other L2 that would allow me to easily set max charge current.

I carry a Clipper Creek LCS-25p around with me with an adapter for campgrounds in the event that I need to stop and charge at one.

jmueller065 said:

I carry a Clipper Creek LCS-25p around with me with an adapter for campgrounds in the event that I need to stop and charge at one.

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scottt, you might also be interested in checking out this thread (that I started):

Check out my mobile Level 2 charging kit!

Basically, it shows how I customized a ClipperCreek LCS-25 by adding a NEMA L6-30 plug to the unit itself and then created a bunch of adapters with other plugs.

CC now offers LCS units with plugs built right onto them (those models end in "P", like jmueller065's) so now it's even easier to start there and then create (or buy) your own set of adapters to suit your needs.

I have an Aerovironment turbo cord, a bunch of adapters, and a 20 foot J1772 extender for unexpected situations. But when I'm taking a long trip I just take a Volt and make things easy. I even whiz right past Tesla supercharger locations.

triangles, thanks for posting this trip summary! I'd love to hear more stories if anyone has them. I've had the urge to push the range limits since I got the car.

henryfocus said:

triangles, thanks for posting this trip summary! I'd love to hear more stories if anyone has them. I've had the urge to push the range limits since I got the car.

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Nothing like triangles, but I had a scare last month. My uncle invited us over to his house last month, about 55 miles away. I asked him if I could use his dryer outlet to charge and he said yes. (I have a clipper creek LCS-25P with a 14-30 connector) I arrived at his house and found out he has an older dryer outlet so that won't fit. Luckily my dad's house is only 3 miles away so I went over there to charge. So if you travel, make sure you bring adapters or know what outlet they have before bringing your own EVSE.

Indeed! I believe the older dryer plug is the NEMA 10-30. I just recently picked up a L14-30P to 6-50R adapter so that I can use my generator if I ever really get myself in a pinch and can get someone to bring it to me. Also useful if we have an extended power outtage. I tested that it would work by charging from 60% battery to full. My Generator is only rated at 6.75kw continuous it was struggling a little at this, since my EVSE is adjustable I backed it down to 5.7 KW (23A-24A). I didn't track how long it took but the generator sputtered out right as the car was fully charged. The propane tank had 1/4" of frost on the bottom third so I may have issues if I try to do this when it's cool out.

Damn Son, that is amazing, and I always wondered how long you had to wait for a charge station .

How did you use the 220 station behind Jacks, was it a normal charge outlet or just a regular 220 vac wall plug.

A girl called you , for dinner, wow --- beter then a Uber call.

Nice

Tom French said:

How did you use the 220 station behind Jacks, was it a normal charge outlet or just a regular 220 vac wall plug.

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According to plugshare there are two NEMA 14-50 plugs at Jacks. No charge station. I've never been there so I can't confirm this. I didn't have enough range to make it there on the way back. Had to use RV lot on the turnpike.

Cool Stuff.

I've come to the conclusion it's a nice extra car, but beyond that, it becomes more a waste of time. I've done a trip from SD to Ventura and planned out each and every stop and where to charge and so on. But what would take maybe 3-4 hours Max, pretty much becomes a 2 day trip because it takes 4+ hours to charge along the way.

I've done more frequent trips to places like Newport Beach or Huntington beach and those aren't all day affairs per say, but it's a pain. And it's not that far away and a trip I used to make a few times month, maybe more. Since the FFE, it becomes one of those, "I don't want to spend all day" things. So from my place to the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach , i usually make it, but that's as far as I can go. And it's not even 70 miles from where I live, but it's pretty much all freeway and I get lucky if there is a ton of traffic. If everybody is driving 80+ MPH and I'm trying to keep it around 65MPH just to make it, drivers here get pissed. So what would be an hour drive, followed up by an hour to buy some stuff or shop or eat, and back home in an hour, becomes more of a I need to go very slow on a freeway just to make sure I make it, and oh yeah, it usually takes about 4-5 hours to charge.

And this doesn't include many of the charging stations that no longer actually charge quicker. There are quite a few machines that take about 6+ hours now when they used to take only 4. Suddenly a two hour round trip now becomes 8+ Hours.

I gave up taking the FFE to places an hour away, which really makes the car nothing but an extra car. Anytime I have to go up to Orange County or LA or Riverside, I rent a car now. And being I've had to rent a car 4 times last month, the FFE really has become a car that is many times pointless and why a lot of people never actually bought into EVs. I mean many other people I know, including myself, have kids sporting events up in OC. Or vice versa. If you need to rent a car or use another car a few times a month just to take kids to sporting events, it taps into the "why did I buy this car if I need another car all the time."

pjam3 said:

Cool Stuff.

I've come to the conclusion it's a nice extra car, but beyond that, it becomes more a waste of time. I've done a trip from SD to Ventura and planned out each and every stop and where to charge and so on. But what would take maybe 3-4 hours Max, pretty much becomes a 2 day trip because it takes 4+ hours to charge along the way.

I've done more frequent trips to places like Newport Beach or Huntington beach and those aren't all day affairs per say, but it's a pain. And it's not that far away and a trip I used to make a few times month, maybe more. Since the FFE, it becomes one of those, "I don't want to spend all day" things. So from my place to the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach , i usually make it, but that's as far as I can go. And it's not even 70 miles from where I live, but it's pretty much all freeway and I get lucky if there is a ton of traffic. If everybody is driving 80+ MPH and I'm trying to keep it around 65MPH just to make it, drivers here get pissed. So what would be an hour drive, followed up by an hour to buy some stuff or shop or eat, and back home in an hour, becomes more of a I need to go very slow on a freeway just to make sure I make it, and oh yeah, it usually takes about 4-5 hours to charge.

And this doesn't include many of the charging stations that no longer actually charge quicker. There are quite a few machines that take about 6+ hours now when they used to take only 4. Suddenly a two hour round trip now becomes 8+ Hours.

I gave up taking the FFE to places an hour away, which really makes the car nothing but an extra car. Anytime I have to go up to Orange County or LA or Riverside, I rent a car now. And being I've had to rent a car 4 times last month, the FFE really has become a car that is many times pointless and why a lot of people never actually bought into EVs. I mean many other people I know, including myself, have kids sporting events up in OC. Or vice versa. If you need to rent a car or use another car a few times a month just to take kids to sporting events, it taps into the "why did I buy this car if I need another car all the time."

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Yeah doesn't sound perfect for your lifestyle, or other Los Angelenos where your required range is larger than others.

Here in Austin, this is my 2nd "commuter" car (our family car is a Prius), where I drive to work 30 miles RT each weekday. Maybe a max of 50 if I run errands and other misc stuff. On the weekends when we do long trips, we take the Prius. It's pretty ideal for my family's lifestyle and where we live.

pjam3 said:

it taps into the "why did I buy this car if I need another car all the time."

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Yeah, so why did you?

pjam3, you seem to post only to complain, at length, that the FFE can't travel further than 76 miles and it takes hours to recharge.

You didn't know these things when you purchased the car?

And, if you did know, then why constantly complain, as if your purchase decision is somehow the car's fault.