If you take a quick glance at PlugShare, you will see the charging options are limited coming from Atlanta area to Savannah. Most of the chargers along the routes are L2 and the QCs are too far apart to make it a QC only ride (if you're in the 100 mile range like Evie). Also you have to check the comments for each charger because I found many to be out of order or powered down.
I decided to try one route down to Savannah and a different route home.
1st Route: Conyers 212-S to Milledgeville then 441-S to Dublin then 16-E to Statesboro to Savannah
2nd Route: Savannah to Statesboro then 16-W to Dublin to Macon then75-N to Locust Gove to Conyers
As always my main travel tools are: PlugShare, Google Maps and a calculator. I use maps to track actual remaining miles as compared to what the Guessometer is saying. I use the calculator to monitor my ration of actual miles to GOM miles. I also use it to determine what percentage charge is needed to make my next jump.
CONYERS to SAVANNAH:
Key: y = GOM departure miles, z = GOM arrival miles m=total distance in miles, * = Segment distance to GOM miles used, d=Driving time in minutes
Conyers> 98y at 4:36p Monday
Milly> 36z 6:00p 63.0m (63/62*) 84d
NOTES:
This is a very hilly segment and I expected to do more coasting/regen to stretch miles. However, the uphills were enough to eat away at any coasting/regen benefits.
Childre Nissan is the QC location BUT, according to PlugShare comments, they are not very friendly to non-Leaf owners. I've been told by other non-Leaf drivers that it's best to come here after hours. I arrived at 6p and they didn't close until 7p.
If you drive to the rear of GCSU West Campus (120 W Campus Dr, Milledgeville, GA 31061), there's a car wash canopy that has a 120V plug. After you enter, drive around to the right of the complex (next to the soccer field). Sign says for residents only so I didn't post it to PlugShare. Still a nice place to pull in and walk around.
Trickle charged at GCSU until 7:30p and drove over to Childre. There were still some staffers and security around. I got a few looks but thankfully wasn't asked to leave. I only took what I needed to get to Dublin and got out of there.
Milly> 56y 8:32p 73.9m
Dublin> 10z 9:31p 122.3m (48.4/46*) 59d
NOTES:
Dublin Nissan is my kind of spot. Charging is on the side of the complex so you don't interfere with operations. Convenience stores and restaurants right across the street. Nissan branded QCs have overheated on me in the past and that happened here. Just throw the circuit breaker to off and move over to the L2 to charge while you wait for cool down. If it's cool at night, then 15 minutes should do the trick. Turn the breaker back on and it should be good to finish your QC charge. If it's during the day in direct sunlight, it may take as much as 30 minutes to cool down.
I had hopes of making it all the way to Savannah from Dublin. After I topped off with the L2 to 100%, my GOM showed 95 miles. There just weren't enough good coasting/regen spots on 16-E to stretch the miles so I figured I should break for Statesboro for one last charge before Savannah.
Dublin> 95y 11:28p
Statesboro> 10z 1:06am Tuesday 204.8m (82.5/85*) 98d
NOTES:
I wasn't sure if Vaden Nissan charger would be powered on at this time of the morning. I was also beat so I decided to grab a hotel and head into Savannah in the morning.
Statesboro> 82y 4:00pm 208.1m
NOTES:
Vaden Nissan in Statesboro. Only an L2 but excellent service and close to every store/restaurant you'd want. Took the girls to the movie theater across the street and had a bite to eat while we charged.
Jason Ward is in sales and the social media guru for Vaden. We had a chance to chat and he agreed that dealers should support EV charging regardless of which model you pull in. Jason is originally from LA with some cool stories to tell. He's developing a new blog and I expect we'll heare more from him soon. Good luck Jason!
Savannah> 27z 5:02p 262.1m (56/55*) 62d
Total Distance: 262.1 miles // MPH: 51.9
GOM Miles: 248
Total Driving Time: 5 hours, 3 minutes
Total Trip Time (includes hotel stay): 24 hours, 26 minutes
Charging Costs: $0
Tybee Island:
Took a side trip to Tybee for Pirate Fest, shopping and to get ice cream at The Sugar Shack! No stats but, other than finding a trickle plug somewhere, plan on enough juice to get in and get back to Savannah.
Savannah:
Charging infrastructure is pretty good. There's a QC over by Johnson Square. Unfortunately, it was busted when I went so I had to drive out to Grainger Nissan in Garden City. Good location because the QC and L2 are pretty close to each other. There's not much to do in the area surrounding area though.
Whitaker Street parking garage has free L2 charging. I parked in the State Street garage and if you park in the compact spaces closest to the elevator (on the "W"est side), you can trickle charge.
SAVANNAH to CONYERS:
Key: y = GOM departure miles, z = GOM arrival miles, m=total trip distance in miles, * = Segment distance to GOM miles used, d=Driving time in minutes
Savannah> 91y at 11:36a Friday
Statesboro> 44z 12:31p 53.6 (53.6/47*) 55d
NOTES:
Shopping/Lunch while we charged. Vaden Nissan was great again.
Statesboro> 92y 3:19p
Dublin> 24z 5:10p 136.0m (83.6/68*) 129d
NOTES:
Dublin Nissan QC was in the sun and overheated after about 12 minutes of charging. I shut down breaker switch and moved over to the L2 to allow for cooling. Unit did not reboot until 32 minutes later. It went from 60% to 80% without shutting down again.
From this point, I could have made for Milledgeville but I didn't want to deal with Childre Nissan (see above) since they would be open when I got there. Decided to head for Macon and L2 charge it the rest of the way home.
Dublin> 81y 6:29p
Macon> 38z 7:25p 186.0m (50/42*) 56d
NOTES:
Originally stopped at Bibb County Courthouse but I didn't like the activity in the area. Some guy was arguing loudly with his girlfriend in the park next door. Then a car of young guys pulled up next to Evie with a little too much interest. Plus it seemed like the charge was moving at a snail's pace.
Rolled out of there and moved on to the Medical Center of GA - Orange Deck. Much better! Parking attendant right next to charging area. McDonald's in the hospital. Had a good meal while we charged. Left in just under an hour so parking was free!
Macon> 57y 8:48p
Locust Grove> 9z 9:52p 236.0m (50/48*) 64d
NOTES:
Tanger Outlets chargers located in parking lot behind Denny's. Stores were closed, but stopped into Denny's for dessert. Walked around and window shopped to burn some calories. Lost some time because Chargepoint charger inexplicably shut off and I didn't realized it until later. Restarted and stayed within site of car to watch the blue light. It was late, but Tanger had a security guard and grounds crew the whole time.
Locust Grove> 36y 11:40p
Conyers> 13z 12:14a 260.8m (24.8/23*) 34d
Total Distance: 260.8 miles // MPH: 46.3
GOM Miles: 228
Total Driving Time: 5 hours, 38 minutes
Total Trip Time: 12 hours, 38 minutes
Charging Costs: $0
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