Eastern Electric Vehicle Club

The Nissan LEAF Page

Surprisingly, fuel economy only dropped from 4.5 to around 3 miles per kwh. The trailer actually rolls pretty good even though it weighs 2,000 lbs.  I travelled about 37 miles before stopping at the Chademo with 44% remaining.  

November 11, 2015

February 10, 2016


My round trip to the meeting tonight. 71.9 miles with 17% left. No charging. Speeds were 55-57 mph. 95% highway. Temperatures were below freezing.  I'm betting I could have achieved the EPA rating of 84 miles tonight if I needed to.

October 11, 2015


How do you transport a lathe from Cinnaminson to Franklinville?  The lathe measured two feet by five feet.  Ken wasn't sure it would fit in his LEAF so he attached his boat trailer.  Strapped down on the trailer it made the 30 mile trip without incident.  It was a light load compared to the jet ski, motorcycle, or landscaping trailer carrying a load of wood pellets that he hauls.  


The day's journey included 21 miles from Deptford to Cinnaminson, 30 miles to Franklinville then 14 miles back home.  The LEAF was plugged in for a little bit then a round of shopping.  It was easily a 100+ mile day.  



Deptford to Bridgeport to pick up the trailer then to Mt. Holly Motorsports with a quick stop at the Wyndham Mt Laurel followed by dropping off Dad in Franklinville then home to Deptford. 


A tech was installing a new Chademo cable and a CCS cable at the Wyndham. I waited for him to finish and he swiped his card so I got a free charge. 

February 13, 2016


Today I traveled from my home in Deptford to the Atlantic City Convention Center for the 2016 RV and Camping Show. I stopped in Franklinville to pick up my dad. Total one way distance was 53 miles. Roads used were Black Horse Pike (42 and 322) mostly with a slight detour onto Tuckahoe Rd to pick up Dad. We did not take the AC Expressway as I'm too cheap. Parking and free Chargepoint charging was provided at "The Wave" parking garage which is within walking distance of the Convention Center and the new Bass Pro Shops that I also visited. Temps today ranged from 14-20F and it was very windy.


Top speed attained was 55 mph.  A screenshot from the Chargepoint app showed I used 11 kWh to return to 100% charge for my 53 mile trip. This makes my efficiency for the trip down roughly 4.8 miles per kWh.  The radio, heated seats, and heated steering wheel were on.  Headlights, heater, and defroster were not used at all.  The heated seats kept us warm enough.


Surprisingly, we still had more than 50% charge when we arrived in AC so we could have returned home without charging at all but the garage has 6 free Chargepoint chargers and it made me  feel a little better about the $10 I paid for the 3 hours we were parked.  I saw Jeff's Honda Fit EV plugged in at The Wave while I was there as he also made the trip from Lumberton down to the RV show.  He reports only slightly higher kWh used for a slightly longer trip.  Chargepoint estimates I added only 37 miles of range when in reality it was 53 miles traveled.  I did not track energy usage on the way home because we stopped at a few stores and I charged at Dad's house where I can't check my kWh used.  Overall, it was a very cold but successful trip in the LEAF today. 

Don't tell me what it is designed to do.  Tell me what it can do.


Real world experiences from actual owners speak for themselves.  Want to speak with a LEAF owner?  There are usually three at our meetings so stop by for a visit, we'd like to meet you.  Just want an answer to a question?  Ask away through the CONTACT page.  Our knowledgeable group is willing to assist.

October 26, 2017

I travelled to Mt Holly Kawasaki yesterday to buy a trailer.  Today, I used the trailer to bring home 100 bags of wood pellets (4000 lbs. or two tons).  Of course, I used my trusty LEAF. I had to make a few trips to Tractor Supply as the first pallet I brought home was full of wet bags that turned to sawdust. They exchanged them for me with no problems when I went back for the second ton. Here's a pic:   

That's 1 pallet (50 bags) plus 9 bags on the front and 4 more in the trunk. So, about 2,520 pounds plus the trailer (380 lbs).  I may have exceeded the rating of the LEAF and the trailer but they didn't seem to mind. I'll have to do this trip 2 more times as it usually takes about 4 tons (4 pallets) to get through the winter.

It’s an 18' x 7' full deck car trailer. It’s 24' total and weighs about 2,000 pounds empty.  I finally got to use the 2 5/16" ball that I bought years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t have the 7 pin round connector and brake controller installed on the LEAF so I had no lights or trailer brakes.  Lights need to be rewired anyway even if I had the 4 flat to 7 round adaptor. The safety chains are missing too.  The trailer belongs to Mt Holly Motorsports and was stolen over a year ago. It was found by West Deptford Police and impounded in Bridgeport at a tow lot.  I volunteered to get the release form and pay the storage to pick it up because I live the closest. My boss was quite happy to get it back even though we are out $300 in tow/storage charges. Hopefully we can sue the thief for the damage to the trailer and for the storage charges. LEAF towed it just fine. I was on I-295 from exit 14 to exit 34 although i didn't exceed 55 mph.

June 2016


The Idaho National Laboratory has published Cold Weather On-Road Testing of a 2015 Nissan Leaf.  The pdf version of the report is available through the link below.  


 


"In summary at 11F, the LEAF has a range of only 50 miles when the heater is kept at 72F.  As outside temperatures approach 70F it has a range of 93 miles." 

Our own Mr. LEAF (Ken Barbour) reports, "I'll add my experience.  At 11F if you don't use the heater (only seat and steering wheel) you can still travel 70-75 miles on a charge.  That's how I make the round trip to the meetings at Plymouth-Whitemarsh HS during the coldest months.  The electric cabin heater uses that much juice!"