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Post by Phoebe on Aug 9, 2013 14:02:52 GMT 11
Have transfered this post from Melbourne meeting so other NSW LEAFERs can seewhat we are looking at. It was Feng's idea. Yep, I was just going to check the map for that. My original calculations were made not reaching the Freeway 'til the Kurri Kurri exit. I am in Brooks St so don't need to hit the New England Highway at all so I've modified your map and make it about 87kms without touching the Freeway. If you can finnd somewhere to charge up at the Entrance, that might be possible. maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=Telarah+NSW&daddr=The+Entrance,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&ll=-32.968347,151.533051&spn =0.456829,0.891953&sll=-33.032844,151.537857&sspn=0.456495,0.891953&geocode=FSCXDP4dj0EICSnL3EdT4EVzazFA9TIWaH0BBQ%3BFWM5 A_4dbKsHCSkNPPE1dM9yazGQ3jIWaH0BBQ&oq=The+Entrance&dirflg=h&mra=ls&t=m&z=11 Read more: ozleaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=everything&thread=134&page=1#ixzz2bRAKsYD6
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Post by Feng on Aug 9, 2013 14:07:47 GMT 11
Thanks Phoebe. Can I get a show of hands who will be interested in this? I'll start looking around for a caravan park if there's enough interest.
I might propose a meet up north of Sydney for breakfast before we head up. Somewhere where we can charge to 100% before departing. Don't know where yet.
Depending on numbers I might even contact Dean for advice and see if Nissan wants to get involved, or might that be getting too carried away?
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 9, 2013 23:17:23 GMT 11
I'm in! Definitely contact Dean, would be great if Nissan were involved.
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Post by duncan on Aug 10, 2013 12:10:22 GMT 11
Yeah Kel and I would be in for sure....just need 4-6 week's notice and would prefer Sunday.
A good Sydney meetup point would be the quick charger at Nth Strathfield. There are cafe's there and the ability for a top up. Straight up Lane Cove Rd / Pacific Hwy from there.
BTW Feng, I know you are the master of Leaf cruising.....but it is 93klm one way from my place, so we would need to charge at lunch for sure. Or a Gosford location might be closer to central?
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 10, 2013 12:33:31 GMT 11
Duncan he picked The Entrance because that is half way between my place and his, so we can both get there but need to charge somewhat to return home.
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Post by Feng on Aug 10, 2013 14:39:34 GMT 11
I was thinking a caravan park at The Entrance so there'll be enough spots for 4+ LEAFs to charge over lunch. If we hang out for 2-3 hours there should be up to 40kms range gained. Hope that's not too long for people, otherwise we'll have to think up something else. Round trip from Hornsby is about 164km with no freeway driving ( goo.gl/maps/olnSP). I might do a trial run before we meet and work out if any stretch on the freeway is worth taking. If we meet in Hornsby Westfield or Hornsby Nissan we'll have a starting point that's further north. I'll check with both and find out where we can plug in over breakfast. You might have to do jumps and go from home to a public chargepoint and then top up at Hornsby to minimise charge time there, that's what I'm planning to do. From Steve Jarvin Nissan to Westfield is 25km and from Mildren Nissan is 18km If you use the QC in North Strathfield with more than half charge, does it charge to full? I've only ever heard of 0-80% in half an hour as the measure, not what happens if the car is mostly full.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 10, 2013 15:24:44 GMT 11
I had been thinking of a 2 to 3 hour lunch stop to make sure I had enough charge to get home, too. Feng picked out a no freeway route from my end too, 'cos the freeway was a large part of the problem when I had to go to Artamon before. Might I suggest 20 or 27 October as possible dates, before it gets anywhere near hot, after Jim gets back from WA and after School Holidays (want to make sure caravan park has enough vacant sites to plug into). And, Feng, that would give you enough time to do a trial run beforehand if you want to do so and would give you, Duncan enough notice. I think Hornsby is a good starting point for you lot from Sydney, otherwise Jim would be going backwards and that's no good There are at least 3 other forum members in Sydney. Hope they can come, too, a personal message to them once we have a date might be a good idea if we haven't heard from them by then.
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Post by duncan on Aug 11, 2013 20:11:02 GMT 11
Either date looks good to me, and an extended break at the destination makes sense
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Post by Feng on Aug 11, 2013 21:49:16 GMT 11
I might suggest October 20th instead of 27th because that's the weekend of the Hunter Valley EV festival in Newcastle. In case we find places to charge along the way it would be funny if there's a queue with other unrelated EVs on their way to the festival. Quite unlikely but just in case it might be best to avoid the overlap. For that matter, anyone interested in going to the festival?
I've mailed Dean for advice or assistance.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 12, 2013 12:11:25 GMT 11
I've put Sunday 20 October in my diary
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Post by Feng on Aug 15, 2013 17:31:04 GMT 11
I've called up a few caravan parks in the area and all want to charge full price for just a few hours over lunch. The cheapest one is El Lago Waters Tourist Park for $25 per car. Another two sites want to charge $35. I guess October is starting to get busy so they won't do discounts. It's not worth paying so much is it? I don't mind finding somewhere cheaper as long as it's safe and near a decent restaurant or cafe.
I'll keep calling around but might have to start looking into neighbouring areas or places other than caravan parks. Might try golf courses next since if they can charge golf carts, they might be able to accommodate us.
No word from Dean yet and not expecting much interest from Nissan.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 15, 2013 18:11:11 GMT 11
I was hoping we could do it for $10.
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Post by Feng on Aug 15, 2013 18:13:17 GMT 11
I was hoping we could do it for $10. That's what I'm aiming for. Still looking, haven't exhausted all options yet!
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Post by Feng on Aug 16, 2013 16:37:41 GMT 11
Just got the okay from Sun Valley Tourist Park for $10 per car: www.sunvalley.com.au/. They are located here: goo.gl/maps/sZOEM, conveniently near the beach. I'll try to find an alternate site just in case they're too busy on the day, unsure if full fare caravans get priority over us since I told them we're only there for three hours over lunch. There are some restaurants in the area within walking distance, this one's the nearest one which seems alright: www.pordella.com/. Open to other suggestions. Phoebe, it's a bit further south so it'll be closer to 186km round trip for you. Hope that's not a problem. Now to find a starting point near Hornsby and do a test run in the coming weeks!
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Post by duncan on Aug 16, 2013 17:04:04 GMT 11
Thanks for doing all the groundwork Feng!
I might be able to help with a mass top up point in Hornsby, I'll confirm back
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Post by Feng on Aug 16, 2013 17:20:18 GMT 11
I might be able to help with a mass top up point in Hornsby, I'll confirm back Thanks Duncan! I just got off the phone with Hornsby Nissan and got knocked back. The boss there seemed to think that you need a dedicated EVSE to charge and didn't want to risk damaging our cars if we plugged in there, etc etc. The guy who took the call was interested though and asked us to beep and wave as we drove past. I'll try Hornsby Westfield next. Worst case it'll have to be Mildren Nissan and they're probably going to be okay with that (after all, they're officially on the charge point map!). Just that it'll make it a ~190km round trip for us in Sydney as well.
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Post by duncan on Aug 16, 2013 18:49:15 GMT 11
I know a workshop in Hornsby with the space, power points and interest in nissans.....just need to make sure I can get them to open up at 9am on a Sunday
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 17, 2013 11:15:51 GMT 11
Just got the okay from Sun Valley Tourist Park for $10 per car: www.sunvalley.com.au/. They are located here: goo.gl/maps/sZOEM, conveniently near the beach. I'll try to find an alternate site just in case they're too busy on the day, unsure if full fare caravans get priority over us since I told them we're only there for three hours over lunch. There are some restaurants in the area within walking distance, this one's the nearest one which seems alright: www.pordella.com/. Open to other suggestions. Phoebe, it's a bit further south so it'll be closer to 186km round trip for you. Hope that's not a problem. Now to find a starting point near Hornsby and do a test run in the coming weeks! That's still less than a range anxiety distance each way. No problem so long as I can stay there until I am charged up enough to get all the way home again. Food, eating and communicating in noisey venues are a bit of a problem for me, so I'll probably just take a sandwich. But, don't let that stop the rest of you from going to a restaurant.
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Post by Feng on Aug 17, 2013 12:06:38 GMT 11
I might suggest lunch at Shelley Beach Golf Club instead ( www.shellybeachgolfclub.com.au), it looks nicer, has more space and a bar we could go to after lunch. I'll find out how busy they get on Sundays. It's about 1km away so we could plug in and one of us can shuttle the rest there before rejoining the group.
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 17, 2013 18:38:08 GMT 11
Damn, I'm in Brisbane on 20 October. Sorry guys.
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Post by Feng on Aug 17, 2013 20:30:39 GMT 11
It wouldn't be the same without you Jim, should we make it the 27th instead? Anyone not okay with that?
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Post by duncan on Aug 18, 2013 9:45:56 GMT 11
Yep 27th is good
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 18, 2013 9:51:39 GMT 11
27th is good for me and now they have cancelled the Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival there's no porblem there either. Is the Caravan Park OK with that?
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 18, 2013 11:58:57 GMT 11
That's sweet guys, thanks for that! Yep, 27th good for me!
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Post by Feng on Aug 19, 2013 14:37:12 GMT 11
27th is good for me and now they have cancelled the Hunter Valley Electric Vehicle Festival there's no porblem there either. Is the Caravan Park OK with that? Just heard back from the caravan park and they are fine with the new date. It's not worth taking any part of the F3 freeway, we went for a drive up north on the weekend in the Fiesta and most of it is uphills at various inclines at 110km/h. Hoping the long way will be more forgiving, will keep you all posted.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 19, 2013 15:43:38 GMT 11
Excellent! So, now it's just the numbers. Doesn't David from Bexley want to come
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 19, 2013 16:35:45 GMT 11
Just looked it up. That's 82km from me. I'm a bit nervous about my ability to get home after trickle charging. When hills are involved I often only get about 100kms on a charge.
Wish there were a quick charger in the route!
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 19, 2013 16:55:28 GMT 11
It's more than 90kms for me. I plan to get there early and stay until I'm sure I've got enough charge to get home again. C'mon Jim. If I can do it, you can
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 19, 2013 17:38:08 GMT 11
Wouldn't be the best PR if 5 LEAFs don't get home on the same day after attending a LEAF rally! ;-)
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Post by Feng on Aug 19, 2013 18:16:39 GMT 11
That would be a nightmare scenario! Would it help if you topped up in Hornsby before leaving? That would bring it down to 78km. Still have to find out how hilly Old Pacific Highway is.
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