LAX to Redlands California

[RAV4Elly]

This is a 160 mile round trip. I am attempting to drive this in 2 weeks. I am still waiting for Amazon to deliver my 40 Amp charger. I have not been able to do a 100% charge since I picked up my car. My first question is: Is it possible to do this on a 100% charge without altering the vehicle? If so please let me know what to do. Cruise control at 62 mph the entire way?

My plan was to leave the car at Toyota of Redlands charging while I go and do my business and then pick it up.

My second question is:

Will range improve if lighter rims and non-run-flat tires are put on the car?

I was thinking:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=3797706545BS&wheelMake=Enkei+Racing&wheelModel=RPF1&wheelFinish=Bright+Silver+Paint&showRear=no&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=RAV4+2wd+V6&autoYear=2012&autoModClar=Limited&filterFinish=All&filterSize=All&filterBrand=All&filterSpecial=false&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Weight

 

[pchilds]

If you keep it at or below 55 mph, you can go 160 miles, with an extended charge, if you don't have much elevation change.

See Tony's range chart.

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=251#p251

 

[RAV4Elly]

Thanks. I appreciate the knowledge.

 

[BSki]

There are no run-flat tires on the Rav 4 EV. Just standard tires and rims. I doubt switching those out would alter much. The range limitation is more about drag, it has plenty of torque.

I would not attempt a 160 mile round trip on a single charge without knowing AAA had one of their mobile charge trucks in the area for me.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I would not attempt a 160 mile round trip on a single charge without knowing AAA had one of their mobile charge trucks in the area for me.

I presume you're going to pick somebody up? Just drive at 55mph (pump the tires up to 50 psi also) with the cruise control on.

BUT, leave an hour or two early and stop at one of the bazillion charging stations enroute. I would pick a station at the airport so that if the plane or your passenger is late, the car will keep charging until you get a call that they are on the curb with their bags. LAX parking structures charge $3/hr for parking with free charging stations. There Carl's Jr, Walgreens and Embassy Suites hotel south of the airport also.

http://www.plugshare.com/widget.html?latitude=33.93429338621634%20&longitude=-118.37228018831786&zoom=14%22;%20align=%22center%22%20width=%221000%22%20height=%22900%22

That charge will typically add range at about:

208v * 30 amps = 6.2kW * 87.5% efficiency = 5.4kWh * 3.4 miles per kWh = 18.5 miles per hour recharging

NOTE: 55mph with the air conditioner (cooling the cabin and the battery) hopefully will yield 3.4 miles per kWh on your trip. You'll have a headwind going west, and a tailwind going back to Redlands but it is largely level terrain.

 

[RAV4Elly]

I am starting at lax at my office and I am doing a project in Redlands, so I will be meeting with contractors there for about an hour. Every toyota dealer I have asked will let me charge at their dealer, so I was planning to charge at either toyota of Claremont or Toyota of Redlands. My charger is being shipped so I may attempt this on Tuesday.

 

[miimura]

Tony, if you read the OP, he has a business meeting in Redlands.
Anyway, I would recommend you start with as much charge as possible - an extended charge at a public charger if necessary since you don't have a 240V home charger yet. Then, make sure you have 14 bars before you take the car off the charger in Redlands. You should have no problem getting home at the speed limit.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Ok, going the other way. Be careful with "plugging in" at Toyota dealers. Most do not sell a plug in car, and are largely clueless. They may be thinking you'll just plug into 120 volts, which absolutely won't work (adding only about 3 miles per hour of recharging).

Anyway, I would call and verify that they have a regular 30 or 40 amp J1772 at the dealers for the Rav4 (and not a 12 amp Plug-In Prius J1772). Virtually all Nissan dealers have these stations, and are generally knowledgable about EV's (with almost 30,000 sold in the USA versus 472 Toyota Rav4 EV's).

Plus, again, go to PlugShare and see if there is something closer to your worksite in Redlands. You might be surprised. There are free ChargePoint J1772's behind the Arrowhead building at: 560 E Hospitality Ln, San Bernardino‎. If you don't have a ChargePoint card, you should be able to call them to get the charge started. Walmart at 2050 W Redlands Blvd, Redlands‎ has Blink J1772's that will require a Blink card. There is a Nissan nearby.

A Toyota dealership, frankly, would be my LAST choice for charging. I have yet to see a charging station at a Toyota dealer that wasn't hidden in the back.

You'll make it if you control your speed (please use cruise control at 55mph) and get one to two hours charging at a proper 30 or 40 amp charging station in Redlands at the several locations there.

Please check out the range chart linked in my signature line. It hopefully goes without saying that you will start with a 100% "extended" charge.

 

[SeaMonster]

I recommend avoiding cruise control. I find my foot does much better. Just keep the acceleration low. On a downhill keep the juice on lightly and gain speed, just use low power. On the uphill, allow the car to slow down (slowly). I often hit high 70s downhill and it's really cheap power for the next uphill. On uphills, when I want max range, I will slow down as much as I can without crossing into annoying/dangerous slowness territory. (That obviously depends on the road, the conditions, the number of other cars and more.) Big key is to never accelerate fast. In traffic, allow a big gap between you and the next car and speed up and slow down as slowly as possible. The ideal would be to find the average speed of traffic and drive that and never slow down. Obviously you'll never get that exactly right, but you can do pretty well sometimes. You have to not stress when someone jumps into the traffic gap in front of you. I find my driving range goes way up when I take a few breaths and relax.

Also only use B mode when you're just going too fast downhill. I use it coming down the Waldo Grade as I'd hit 80 without it. Otherwise, take the speed because its much more efficient than regen. i find that on some downhills, I barely depress the "gas" pedal to disengage the regular regen so that I build maximum momentum for the next uphill. You have to know what's ahead.

Anyway, that's my $.02. If you have a heavy foot, then cruise control is likely better. But if you are up for working, you can do much better than CC.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I recommend avoiding cruise control. I find my foot does much better. Just keep the acceleration low. On a downhill keep the juice on lightly and gain speed, just use low power. On the uphill, allow the car to slow down (slowly)..... If you have a heavy foot, then cruise control is likely better. But if you are up for working, you can do much better than CC.

Yes, I agree with you, except I wouldn't tell somebody new to this car and probably new to EVs to experiment with potentially a strange and new technique to them while pushing the ultimate range of the vehicle.

There's very little elevation changes on this route.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Since Toyota of Redlands didn't even show up on Plugshare, I had my doubts whether they had a charging station, so I called them.... nope, no charging station there, nor are they an electric vehicle dealer.

Toyota of Redlands
921 New York Street
Redlands, CA 92373
909-793-0300

The next closest Toyota dealers are in San Bernadino and Riverside. If somebody at Redlands said, "sure, plug in all you want", what they probably offered you is 120 volts, or 3 miles per hour of charging.

Again, as I suggested earlier, pick one of these spots:

Click here for charging stations around Redlands

 

[RAV4Elly]

I spoke to Toyota of Clairmont and they stated that they have a 40 AMP charger which I could use if I called. Either way I am going to attempt to do it on one charge. I will have my charger on Monday so I am hoping to do it on Tuesday.

I think I will set the cruise control to 55 MPH. If I am nervous I will stop along the way. I will bring the standard charger that came with it when I get there. I will conform with Clairmont on Monday.

 

[RAV4Elly]

Tony thanks for the info on toyota of redlands. I will call them on Monday and complain that they do not have a charging station. Your map is very helpful. I am driving the 105 to the 60 to the 10 each way. I do not have a charge account with blink.. etc. How do you tell if the charging station is free? Call on Monday? The two in West Covina might work. Nissan dealers? Are they cool with us?

 

[miimura]

If you have a smartphone - iPhone or Android phone, you can start a Chargepoint station without a card. You just have to sign up on their web site, download the app, log in with your newly established credentials, and find the station. Then, you will see a screen like the one below, which is the one Tony mentioned above off the 10, one exit east of the 215 in San Bernadino.

Just press the Start button, confirm your virtual card (smartphone login), and after a few seconds, the station will activate.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Tony thanks for the info on toyota of redlands. I will call them on Monday and complain that they do not have a charging station. Your map is very helpful. I am driving the 105 to the 60 to the 10 each way. I do not have a charge account with blink.. etc. How do you tell if the charging station is free? Call on Monday? The two in West Covina might work. Nissan dealers? Are they cool with us?

You seem to be stuck on Toyota dealers and I can't emphasize enough that those will likely not be your best choice on day to day use. That's why I have suggested PlugShare to help you find stations.

Please don't call and complain to a private dealer (all are private in the USA) that they don't have a charging station for you. That dealer doesn't sell the Rav4 EV, nor do most Toyota dealers in California. Toyota USA does not support electric cars at all, beyond this car for compliance with California rules. All the EV components were not built by Toyota, but instead were built by Tesla in Fremont, California. Toyota openly does not like EV's, and have no public plans of any mass market EV. They do like hybrids!!!

I wouldn't try this trip without a charge enroute. My experience with long range EV driving is substantial, BTW with 50,000 total EV miles driven and one 1800 mile trip from Mexico to Canada in a LEAF.

The half way point on fuel will be 10 of those tiny fuel bar segments, which is not intuitive. That will be 2 fuel segments above 1/2 on the gauge. On the way home from Redlands, even if you have 10 illuminated fuel bar segments, you will be pushing a headwind all the way home. That means that it will take more power to return home to LA.

If the fuel gauge shows half full in Redlands with 8 of 16, or even 9 of 16 illuminated, YOU WON'T MAKE IT WITHOUT A STOP SOMEWHERE.

I recommend a stop in Redlands while you're conducting business as the most efficient use of time, or stopping for an hour or two at some place enroute (either direction) that you want to stop at (eating, shopping, grooming stores, massage, etc.). Do you really want to hang out at a Toyota store?

The Nissan dealers are hit and miss, even for LEAF drivers. The Plugshare website or iPhone app will let you know if a site is free or how much it costs.

 

[RAV4Elly]

Thanks for the advice. I will set up a charge point account.