North State I-5 California Charging Infrastructure, November 2024
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- I needed to go shopping, so I decided to do a sampling of the chargers available along I-5 in Northern California. There were some exciting new stations that opened since the last time I visited, including what I consider to be the most promising new public charging provider, Electric Era.
PlugShare links:
Electric Era, Mount Shasta: www.plugshare....
EVgo, Pilot, GM Energy, Weed: www.plugshare....
BP Pulse, Redding: www.plugshare....
Tesla Supercharger, Red Bluff: www.plugshare....
EVgo, Willows: www.plugshare....
Thanks Eric. Your videos are few and far between but they pack in a lot of information about the evolving Northern California charging landscape.
Thank you. I'm hoping to increase the frequency of my videos soon. I'm still operating with limited bandwidth.
Can’t believe you’re still doing these videos in your bolt! Power On! 😊
Thanks for taking us along!
Still bummed I didn't have time to jaunt a bit further down to northern California when I hit the West Coast this past summer. Looks like such a varied and scenic region...not that the Columbia River Gorge route wasn't also lovely, but there were no OG Bolt EV bros on that route 😁
There's definitely a lot of variety in California, but the scenery is probably very similar to what you saw in some parts of Oregon and Washington. The differences and details only really become apparent when we get out of the car and actually explore.
12:08 I too have been pleasantly surprised with the Hummer + Shunner counter balance precision.
Great video! Always look forward to watching these while charging up lol
Thanks!
I just did a trip to Reno from Southern Oregon in my 2018 Chevy bolt. I was pulling a trailer so range was definitely a concern. I took I-5 and cut off on 99 and then 70 through Oroville. I was planning on charging in Chico but t the DC fast charger was down at the Nissan dealer and nothing else to choose from. So I limped into Oroville with a 6 mi left. The DC fast charger which was purported as working according to plugshare hasn't worked in years according to the employees at the gas station. So we went to a level two and sit there for 3 hours. Long story short it took 13 and a half hours to get to Reno. I bought a Tesla adapter in Reno on the way back I charged in susanville. There was a Tesla high speed charger in Burney is that according to my app would work with my car but it didn't it was mistakenly included in the filtering by Tesla. So we charge that an Indian casino on level 2. Luckily I had a 1450 nema cord with me
Interesting. I'd normally avoid charging in Chico just because it's a city, but they've added several new public fast chargers beyond the dealership locations. A Supercharger adapter would definitely be helpful, though, because Highway 395 north of Reno has zero public fast chargers.
@@newscoulomb3705 I usually take 89 to 44 to susanville. I charged about 95% in Shasta. Arrived in susanville with about 30% then charge at the Tesla destination charger. For about an hour and a half to make it to Reno. But now I only have to hit the supercharger with my adapter for about 15 minutes. Oh and by the way I had a couple of those BP fast chargers that are new. They worked well but they were not numbered to turn them on you had to guess which one you were at
@@shredmas Yes, I just used the credit card reader, so it was pretty straightforward.
This is why when I check PlugShare to see which chargers I can trust, I pay attention to the recency of the reviews. Ideally, I want a charger that has a positive review within the past few days. If a charger has no reviews at all in years, I will mentally consider it dead, even if the several-year-old reviews it does have are positive.
At least you were able to find a level 2. Not ideal, but still way better than having to be towed.
Definitely need more chargers in northeastern California. One should be able to travel without single point failures like this.
We scooted past Mt Shasta on Nov 19th and just beat the snow! I wanted to check out the Weed CCS1 stations via my adapter but because of the weather I chickened out and used the Weed Tesla SCs. We also spent the night in Corning just west of the Olive Pit, and encountered severe rain all the way to Sacramento. Also in our original plan we were going to stop at the Black Bear in Willows and charge n' eat via EVGO!
16:14 tremendous video of the surrounding!
Wow, you’re getting close to 200k miles. Hope you do a video about your car and battery when you hit 200k miles. Safe travels.
Thanks! Definitely! I'm also coming up on my 8-year anniversary, so it's about time for an update.
@@newscoulomb3705 How many miles on this battery?
@@raitchison Only about 25,000 miles. I really haven't driven much in the last year.
Just want to say, I think it's wonderful you are still driving the Bolt after all these years. All the other RUclipsr's I follow with Bolts have moved on to newer models with fancier tech, but buying a car once and holding onto it for a long time is much more economical. And, even though the technology may be out of date, the car still drives, still charges, and still gets the job done.
Regarding occupying 2 Tesla stalls you should not worry about this in the future. Tesla is updating their route planning so that when it detects a non Tesla plugged into a site that would require that vehicle to occupy 2 stalls the route planner and Tesla navigation will show 2 stalls occupied even if only 1 is in use and it will route Teslas accordingly. Since there are plenty of other SC options available and Tesla drivers hardly ever show up to a random SC location on theit own but rather follow the Tesla route planner navigation this should largely mitigate that issue
At 24:25 I hope that was not a card skimmer, on the charger.
I checked to make sure it was attached and integrated.
Yes, there is a battery in your tire pressure sensor and no the battery cannot be replaced. I have a 2013 Toyota truck, and the sensors have failed. I contacted the dealer, and they wanted over 1200 dollars to replace all four. Go to Discount tire they are much cheaper. By the way do all four at once.
Thanks. That's unfortunate that the batteries can't be replaced. That seems wasteful. Either way, I'll definitely replace all of them at the same time. Hopefully the next set also lasts another 8 years.
@@newscoulomb3705assuming you do keep the Bolt for 8 more years, how many miles do you figure it will have accumulated by then?
@skyemalcolm My driving will probably slow down by then. I still have several vehicles to get rid of or replace, but the Bolt EV might not be my primary daily driver for much longer. I'd be surprised if it's even double by then. Maybe 300-350k.
I wonder what the typical life span of a TPMS sensor battery is.
The first car I ever owned with TPMS was my 2004 Mazda3. That car is now almost 21 years old and still on the original TPMS sensors. I'll probably replace them proactively the next time I change tires cause I figure they are overdue.
@@raitchison That's a pretty long time for a battery. Outside of plutonium batteries, I don't know of any that would normally last that long. Lithium watch batteries have a typical lifespan of around 7 years.
Yes TPMS senders have batteries
Thanks! I'm pretty sure that's the issue because it keeps flickering out as the temperature drops.
@@newscoulomb3705 It likely is the sensor, but make sure before replacing all four. Some cars have an antenna for each wheel to receive the TPMS signal, so it could be a bad antenna connection.
27:24 They didn't want any of those Bolt cooties. 😂
The national EV charging infrastructure picture today is just a night & day difference from what it was just 18 months ago. Gaining access to Superchargers is sort of turning out to be somewhat anti-climactic because since the Ford-Tesla NACS announcement, we’ve had Circle K, Mercedes-Benz, PFJ, BP Pulse, plus many others come onto the scene.
Yeah, I definitely agree. Without native support, I keep finding the Superchargers to be more trouble than they were worth. I think it would be a different story if I didn't need an adapter and the app.
@@newscoulomb3705 maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t find the adapter to be problematic and since I drive a Ford with P&C enabled, activation is no biggie. Instead, I’ve discovered that with the proliferation of new stations, I just don’t really feel the need to visit them. Walter long ago pointed out (and I’ve come to appreciate) that many Superchargers have no driver amenities like restrooms. That makes them far less attractive than even a station of 200A CPE250s at a Starbucks.
@@anthonyc8499 In my experience (8 years of roast trips in US and Canada, east of the Mississippi) superchargers usually have a nice selection of restaurants, but sometimes only one, or even zero. I have yet to find a supercharger without restrooms.
@@georgepelton5645 there are plenty of Superchargers that are at hotels or otherwise empty parking lots and have no driver amenities. It can be a bit frustrating, not mention biologically uncomfortable.
At the supercharger, could you use one of the stalls on the left with the wide spacing and not block a neighboring stall? Another option would be to use the pull in stall. Your car could not pull in completely, but that probably would be OK. Much better than a Tesla with trailer attached.
Yes, I suppose that's possible. The left side was an ADA compliant stall that I would leave for last if possible. I've also been lectured by Tesla owners who say that I should always leave the pull-in stall for last because it's the only one.
ElectricEra continues to impress me with their equipment and stations. I don’t think they have an app and rely solely on card readers. I bet you’re right, that when Williams’ site starts construction, it won’t be long til they’re energized. It’s just a PITA dealing with regulators and permits.
Yeah, I wasn't sure about the app. I didn't see anything on the website about it, and to my knowledge, they haven't implemented plug and charge for any automakers. If they continue to expand at this pace, I expect to see that happen within the next year or so.
My polestar 2 fits superchargers perfectly (just like a tesla). Used it 3 times just to judge functionality. Worked perfect each time.
Yes, I was mostly just poking the Tesla bear. With the Bolt EV, the Superchargers have three strikes against them: The adapter, app-only activation, and poorly configured stalls. Fix one or two of those, and they would be one of the most convenient charging providers.
@newscoulomb3705 btw, did you see that the equinox beat the model Y in efficiency (all without looking like a cockroach with a tumor).
@homomorphic Yeah, I saw that from the Edmunds testing. Did it beat the efficiency, or just beat the range (it has a slightly larger battery than the Y).
@newscoulomb3705 you're probably right. I just saw the headline in my feed and didn't have time to read
Eric,
Another informative video! At the Pilot/GM station in Weed, does the auto charge function work via EVGO or ?
Thanks,
P.Q.
@@JosephPatrickQuinn-rj1tg Thanks! Yes, Autocharge worked perfectly for me. I've heard from others that they can't get Autocharge to work, but I'm not sure why.
I was under the impression only the 350 kWh chargers were 800v capable for CCS and the V4 for Tesla.
@@kujo49 Yes, that was a rumor being spread around, but it is not true. There are some faster 400 V chargers in Europe, but even there, they are rare. Any public charger that's 100 kW or more in North America is basically guaranteed to be 1000 V. Tesla is the only exception.
Was reading some of EE documents and they claim that if their network is down they can still accept credit card transactions and start stop charging sessions while offline.
@@tkmedia3866 That's interesting. The error I ran into is that the reader itself was down. They can be rebooted remotely (I've done that with Electrify America), but I didn't want to bother calling it in this time.
@@newscoulomb3705that was a issue with the reader and not specific to their network being down.
TPMS sensors do indeed have batteries in them but they are not replaceable. The entire sensor needs to be replaced.
26:38, got my refund processed. They have a video how to destroy the old one. Gonna skip that step to have two for 😅😅
Oh, nice. I'll have to check that update. I really don't want to have to send the old one back.
@ as I understand it, u get to keep the old.
Have you noticed your bolt creaking in cold weather? Or the front seat having a metallic spring sound. Driving me nuts and wondering if there are easy fixes
Hey Eric. The 'Alexkram' YT channel has a video where he replaced his stock Bolt wheels and tires with 15in Chev Sonic wheels and tires sized to match the height of the stock tires and he claims a 20% boost in range!
@@dmunro9076 Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to check it out, but I have some doubts. 20% is a lot. Deleting 8 lbs per corner with the aerodynamic Cruze ECO wheels was within 5% of the original, stock efficiency.
Did u see my chadamo adapter now lets me charge my leaf at superchargers now?
Yes, I saw that went up, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.
@ I thought it would be impossible, but it worked very first time it was crazy
24:21 I’ve been seeing lots of those Tritium at BP. Around Chicago there is like a dozen stations. Not really sure, but maybe they bought up their inventory. They seem pretty functional, so no complaints so far. Lots of EVs too tap out bout one fifty anyway so probably is practical decision too.
Yes, I think they are fine power wise, but they might not be fast enough for a dedicated freeway stop. The convenience store has food, but I'd expect most people to want to get back on the road in less than 15 minutes. These would be perfect for sit-down restaurant location, though. I might need to check the one out that's next to a Habit Burger. 😀
@@newscoulomb3705 The one in Marysville?
@@tkmedia3866 Yeah. I think it's at the Arco AM/PM right next to Habit Burger.
@@newscoulomb3705 oh right, thats the one. I think I added to PS. Was going to the Habitat for Humanity restore and was surprised to see it.
@@tkmedia3866 Yeah, I drove by it going the other direction and thought I saw chargers, but I didn't have a chance to turn around to and confirm. Not all the BP Pulse chargers are listed under BP Pulse in PlugShare either. Some of them are still "non-networked."