EV Trip Reports
As the title suggests, this section is devoted to our experience driving an electric vehicle (EV). In late 2014, we leased a Nissan Leaf, a mass-market EV with an official range of 84 miles. In late 2016 we bought a 2017 Chevy Volt. When the lease expired on the Nissan Leaf in the fall of 2017 we leased a 2017 Chevy Bolt EV. We sold the Volt in the spring of 2018 when we downsized to one vehicle. We now drive electric only. In the fall of 2020 we returned the Bolt to GM at the end of the lease and bought a 2020 Bolt.
Trip Report Bakersfield to Palmdale and Return with Chevy Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
12 March I drove our Chevy Bolt to the ChargePoint station at the Palmdale Water District (PWD). I had an interview with the executives there, and, conveniently for me, they had recently installed a 24 kW DCFC. This is a round trip of about 200 miles. Because of the steep climb from Bakersfield over the Tehachapi Summit, this circuit is near the edge of the Bolt’s range. I would charge for a half-hour at the DCFC station and pick up a few kWh as a precaution.
Trip Report: Bakersfield to Grover Beach in a Bolt–Mileage Estimates Off
By
Paul Gipe
On 12 February 2018 we drove our Chevy Bolt to Grover Beach from Bakersfield, California, a distance of nearly 150 miles. I’d been anticipating this drive for several months. It was a first for us to drive directly from Bakersfield to Grover Beach in an electric vehicle (EV). We’ve driven to the coast several times before in our Leaf, but the Leaf’s limited range necessitated a circuitous route that added 100 miles to the trip and many hours of charging en route.
Trip Report: Bakersfield to LAX in a Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
In my first extended trip in our 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, I drove down to the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) Marriott for a conference, a one-way distance of 120 miles. Unlike my previous experience driving to LAX in an electric vehicle (EV), I don’t have much to report. The Bolt worked as designed and I had ample charge and could stay with traffic.
EV Trip Reports Posted to MyNissanLeaf.com
By
Paul Gipe
Below is a short summary of the EV Trip Reports I’ve posted to MyNissanLeaf.com. They can also be found on my web site www.wind-works.org under EV Trip Reports. There’s more commentary both on my web site and on MyNissanLeaf.com about driving and living with an EV, but these are the main trip reports. There may be a few on my web site that were never posted to the forum.
Bakersfield to Tehachapi Trip Report Redux
By
Paul Gipe
For various reasons we haven’t been able to take our Nissan Leaf, a battery electric vehicle (EV), out on the road until this past weekend. I was speaking at the March for Science in Tehachapi 22 April so we drove our Leaf from Bakersfield to Tehachapi.
Bakersfield to Grover Beach Using Only DCFC
By
Paul Gipe
On 8 September we drove our 2015 Nissan Leaf from Bakersfield to Grover Beach, California using only DC Fast Charging (DCFC) stations.
