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From what I've learned and used...
1) Go supercharging where possible
There will be often time there won't be. So
2) CHAdeMo DC charge is the next best choice, almost as fast sometime.
Those two combined you can easily travel coast to coast
1) Go supercharging where possible
There will be often time there won't be. So
2) CHAdeMo DC charge is the next best choice, almost as fast sometime.
Those two combined you can easily travel coast to coast
Apparently you have not looked at the Winnemucca to Boise route, so your advice is kind of irrelevant. It is a stretch of a little over 250 miles from one Supercharger to the other, with only 14-50 outlets available in between.
Plan on taking this trip in the next couple weeks. (May 7th). Know that there is a charger the Casino in McDermitt but planning for a worse case scenario where the charger is not available for some reason; are the 4-50's in the RV park in Jordan Valley typically accessible? Any other words of wisdom for traveling from the bay area to Boise this time of the year?
I have not had to use the RV park in Jordan Valley, so I don't know how busy they are this time of year. I would recommend going ahead and calling them now to see how many openings they have. I didn't see mention of what power charger you have in your car. The J1772 at McDermitt is about 79 or 80 amps, so if you have a higher power charger, that would be preferrable. Otherwise, if you just have the 40, it wouldn't make a difference, although the casino is probably nicer to hang out in for an hour than anything in Jordan Valley.
I would say it's rare that it would be in use, but it is just the one handle, so it may be a delay. Fortunately, on the way north, you can check it first and only do the RV park if the casino is taken.
Hey, @acalbear, I just noticed another thing when looking at these places on Plugshare. There is an RV park there in McDermitt, too, called Mitchell's Stateline RV Park. If the Say When Casino station is unavailable for some reason, you might just be able to get a spot there and still hang out across the street at Say When to eat and pass some time. But really, the one at the casino is getting checkins about twice a month, which is often enough that it seems to be working well, but seldom enough, that it probably won't be in use when you get there.
@Rocky_H - thanks for the reply. I jumped on EVTripPlanner and the short version is that I will take the longer loop through Twin Falls. When I add in the time to charge at Say When with my single charger (85D) I don't save that much time. Also, 95 is a bit barren for me on this first long trip in the MS.
That said, for others who may be thinking H95 is the way to go here are some things to consider. Orovada NV (about 30 miles from Winnemuca) has a 14-50 per PlugShare. They have a restaurant there too that seems to have decent food if you trust Yelp. The RV park you make mention of in McDermitt isn't listed on Plugshare from what I can see but was able to find information on the place via Google. Looks like they only have a TT-30 (120V/30A) available there. Jordan Valley which is about 175 miles from Winnemuca has a 14-50. So there are options along this stretch besides Say When not to mention with the 90D and 100D's, you should be able to make this stretch fairly easily and 85s can do it with some hypermiling.
That said, for others who may be thinking H95 is the way to go here are some things to consider. Orovada NV (about 30 miles from Winnemuca) has a 14-50 per PlugShare. They have a restaurant there too that seems to have decent food if you trust Yelp. The RV park you make mention of in McDermitt isn't listed on Plugshare from what I can see but was able to find information on the place via Google. Looks like they only have a TT-30 (120V/30A) available there. Jordan Valley which is about 175 miles from Winnemuca has a 14-50. So there are options along this stretch besides Say When not to mention with the 90D and 100D's, you should be able to make this stretch fairly easily and 85s can do it with some hypermiling.
My car also has just the single 40A charger. I have done that route only southward, which is the uphill way. I was surprised that it only needed just about exactly one hour of charge time at Say When. But yes, I was being pretty careful and slow-ish with my driving. I still think there's probably some time savings going that way. I checked the route drive times, and it's about 4:22, plus the hour charging, versus 6:08, plus a couple of charging stops going around through Twin Falls. But as you say, there's a lot to be said for not going too risky on your first big trip, as you get to know the car.
Oh, shoot, I didn't think to double check that about the RV place in McDermitt not having 14-50's so few are like that, but yeah, there are those two other options along the way as well, so there are backup plans.
I've also done Boise through Mountain Home down to Elko Nevada in one shot, but that was tight and took some nerve. But dang, it was beautiful! There is a little gas station / food mart / hardware store on highway 225 that has some RV spots there with hookups, but I didn't check them out much to see what type. It's really in the middle of nowhere, so I wouldn't want to spend much time around there.
Made it to Boise via Twin Falls and that was one heck of a ride. I plan on taking 95 back home. Curious as to how fast you were driving on the way through when you say "slowish." I will call the RV parks on the way down to see what the charge situations looks like. Obviously, Say When would be the preferred but as noted, I want to have some back up options. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any plans to get a supercharger on 95.
Looks like I will be passed quite a bit...
https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/Documents/Speed Increase Map.pdf
https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/Documents/Speed Increase Map.pdf
I just saw that map at the bottom of the Oregon speed limit increases. Yeah...I sure wouldn't be going 70 or over. I think I was going more like 55-60. The nice thing is that it's such an isolated road with such little traffic, that's it's not really any big deal for people to pass you if they want. You just have to be emotionally OK with it.
This is always one of those tradeoff situations. The slower you are willing to go, the less charging time you will need at your stop. And with being limited to 40A, it's like this: You're driving about 60mph, and the recharging is at about 29 (or maybe 25) mph. You're recharging at half your driving speed. So keeping your speed down to save some energy is worth it. I've considered upgrading to get the second charger, but it's still $2,000, and I do something like this route only about once a year or maybe less. I could rent a car a lot of times for $2,000.Still, I really doubt you'll need any backup option. It's a nice setup at Say When and fairly little used. When I took an hour there, I didn't actually have any extra time waiting on the car, but if I needed to, it wouldn't have been bad. I ordered food, browsed around on my phone with their free wi-fi, took my time to eat, and then before leaving, ordered a latte to go.
The good thing about it being in the middle is that you'll get to see how your energy use is going. Are you having to use more air conditioning, or whatever, so you'll have an idea if you need to stay for another half hour or whatever. Might not be a bad idea to have a book to read or something if you do need to kill a bit more time. I found that Netflix now lets you save some shows locally onto a tablet, so that's nice for traveling if you may not have internet access.
Ended up taking 95 with a stop at Say When. I drove very conservatively to leave me enough charge to get to Orovada which was not needed. I had breakfast and took my time while the car charged for about an hour. Driving 55 from Boise wasn't so bad as I had an opportunity to take in the landscape. Shaved a few hours off my drive back to the bay area. Thanks for the input!
All right, that is fantastic to hear. Having a good place to spend the time makes it not feel too bothersome, even if it is an hour+ stop.
RclKag
BC CND P85+
Any update on range supercharging at winnemucca and making to boise?. Is it doable? At what speed? EVPlanner goes RED.
cpa
Active Member
As mentioned above, you can stop for a spell at the casino on the Nevada-Oregon line to pick up some electrons. There is also an RV park south of the casino and another one in Jordan Valley, Oregon, shortly before you cross into Idaho.
Or, you could monitor your speed (yeah, I know hard to do on that highway with speed limits 65-70 most of the way). I made it going the other direction with a 45-minute stop at the casino. I have dual onboard chargers, so was able to utilize the full 70A at that spot. I think I added about 40 miles of range.
Or, you could monitor your speed (yeah, I know hard to do on that highway with speed limits 65-70 most of the way). I made it going the other direction with a 45-minute stop at the casino. I have dual onboard chargers, so was able to utilize the full 70A at that spot. I think I added about 40 miles of range.
modelsinboise
Member
I’ve made this trip several time in a P85, so the info will be relevant for RclKag (P85+). From Winnemucca to Boise is easier to do on a full charge coming out of Winnemucca. Maintain 65mph and conservative on AC, this time of year should not need it much. If you need heat use the heated seats instead of the heater.
Stop at the Say When casino in McDermitt nd add about 20-25 miles. If you have Twin chargers then stay about 45min and take on some more charge so you can go a bit faster. If you don’t have twin chargers then make sure you add 20 miles of range. Then you should be ok to make it to Boise. If you are getting nervous, once you enter Idaho don’t speed up to the higher speed limit. But you should be fine based on my experience.
In the other direction, Boise to Winnemucca, it is a bit more challenging, and adding minimum of 30 miles in Mc Dermitt is recommended.
Stop at the Say When casino in McDermitt nd add about 20-25 miles. If you have Twin chargers then stay about 45min and take on some more charge so you can go a bit faster. If you don’t have twin chargers then make sure you add 20 miles of range. Then you should be ok to make it to Boise. If you are getting nervous, once you enter Idaho don’t speed up to the higher speed limit. But you should be fine based on my experience.
In the other direction, Boise to Winnemucca, it is a bit more challenging, and adding minimum of 30 miles in Mc Dermitt is recommended.
I do know someone who has actually done this with no charging going northward, being very careful on speed (like I think about 60mph or less) and arriving in Boise with a nail-biting 9 miles left. Don't even attempt it going southward, because it's uphill.
I noticed the word "TWIN" in your signature, so does that refer to twin chargers? If so, why are you bothering to try to turn this into a stressful range anxiety-inducing event? The Say When casino has a J1772 unit that provides I think it's 70 or 80A. You can easily get some lunch and make this no problem.
I have done this route the harder uphill way, going south, and my car only has the single charger, so limited to 40A. I did go pretty granny-like on my speed, keeping it in the 50's. Then I had lunch at the casino while browsing on their wi-fi and then got a coffee to go. It was almost exactly 1 hour, so not too bad on 40A, and then made it down to Winnemucca with about 25 miles left.
I think having the high amp charger along the way is about the best we're going to get for a while, so just use it and don't make it difficult on yourself by trying to skip it.
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