[elasticmedia]

I have done one long trip so far, going from SF to Grass Valley, which is 160 miles. I am wondering if anyone has driven to Tahoe during non-Winter time? My research show 209 miles to Truckee, so I should make it, but I am a bit leery. There are pay and what appears to be free chargers in Truckee, so it should be good to go. I normally get 260 to 270 miles per charge but that is mostly city driving. I don't have a level 3 charger option. I suppose I could play it safe and stop for lunch and charge at a level 2 charger for 1 hour: that should definitely get me there safely, but I should be able to get there without that.

 

[California]

Grass Valley elevation 2,400 ft. and slower two lane road during most of the elevation gain.

Donner Summit 7,000 ft up and all 70 mph freeway. (then 10 miles / 1,200 ft down to Truckee so you will regenerate a little).


Maybe ?

 

[Pvillerob]

According to Plugshare there is a DCFC in Truckee. And there are other DCFCs all along 80 and 50. So no need to stress about making it on one charge. It's just when you get outside the Reno and Tahoe area you start running into trouble.

 

[keeperchris]

I am wondering if anyone has driven to Tahoe during non-Winter time? My research show 209 miles to Truckee, so I should make it, but I am a bit leery. There are pay and what appears to be free chargers in Truckee, so it should be good to go. I normally get 260 to 270 miles per charge but that is mostly city driving. I don't have a level 3 charger option. I suppose I could play it safe and stop for lunch and charge at a level 2 charger for 1 hour: that should definitely get me there safely, but I should be able to get there without that.

My first long trip was from Houston to 45 miles west of Austin, a distance of 226 miles. I had been driving very efficiently in the city, so GOM showed about 260 mile range. I hadn't thought of highway speeds or vertical gain. I made it to the DCFC in Austin with about 25 miles to spare, thankful to be stuck in rush-hour traffic for about the last 15 miles.
Look on PlugShare App and figure out where there is a DCFC charger on your route, or as you noted where you can charge for an hour on Level 2 charge.
If you decide to go for it, know where the L2 chargers are and be prepared to change course and sit with one of them for a while.

 

[keeperchris]

FYI,
This older post showed up on the recent posts page today...
https://www.chevybolt.org/forum/90-...discussion/11497-los-gatos-ca-lake-tahoe.html

 

[elasticmedia]

Here's a question regarding hilltop reserve. Assuming I reach Truckee and need to return home, I have to climb 1000' and descend 7000'. How much hilltop reserve should I set? Also if I set zero hilltop reserve and start regenerating after Donner Summit, what happens when I regenerate and get to 100% battery and keep regenerating? I'm assuming the engine doesn't explode... Do I just waste power or do I lose the ability to have the motor slow me down? Because I live in San Francisco and do most of my driving on level ground, I set zero hilltop reserve and generally have 275 miles on the middle range estimate. I have never understood why that is so much higher than 238 and have never come remotely close to getting only 238 miles per charge.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

You could possibly make it on a single charge, but it would be close. I would suggest making a one-hour lunch stop at a Level 2 charger, as that should give you the last of what you need to get there. I recently made the run up, but I didn't start the run with a full battery (or from San Francisco). Skip to 29:50 for the run up I-80:

https://youtu.be/0i41s9NTgXw

As for the return, the main reason to use Hilltop Reserve Mode is because you have full regeneration. If you don't have regenerative braking force available, you'll have to use the friction brakes to slow down. So yes, you'll waste energy.

 

[elasticmedia]

There are so many ways to look for a level 2 charger, such as chargepoint, Volta, etc. How do people generally like to make the selection? One thing that strikes me is the value of searching for a charger that has a restaurant very close. As far as I know, none of the apps allow that as a selection criteria.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

I just use PlugShare and work backward. The convenience of the location, points of interest, and distance into the trip are all more important to me than the price.

Of course, I rarely, if ever, plan my trips around Level 2 charging.