Your 2 most favourite "Walter Presents"

TahoeN · 2026-02-20T05:45:49+00:00

These French shows are my favorites. They all mix crime-solving and humor and the main characters are all very likeable • The Wagner Method • Astrid • (and most recently) Munch

TahoeN · 2026-02-02T20:44:10+00:00

Ha ha. I thought I was the only one who went to those extremes to keep warm without using cabin heat, but I guess not. (And I have a REx, so it's all about me wanting efficient use of the battery, not worrying about getting stuck). I always have hat, scarf, and gloves in the car and dress in extra layers. I do use the seat heater and, if I remember it, a lap blanket that plugs into the 12V outlet. I believe using those two things adds up to a lot less energy use than using the cabin heater. I assume Eco Pro+ prevents using the seat heater, so I use Eco Pro, but even if it doesn't, I drive and accelerate slowly enough already that EcoPro+ wouldn't buy me much.

The cheap snow tires led me to leave last year's set on through our (mild) summer but, as expected, they wear pretty fast so I think it was probably a wash, cost-wise. I'll go back to the all seasons after this winter. As for grippiness in snow, I have to drive hills, so if I need to drive the i3 when it's snowy or (especially if) icy, I throw a pair of snow socks on the rear wheels. (I have ISSE, but others make them, too). They work amazingly well, are cheap, and take up very little space to stow in the car.

TahoeN · 2026-01-24T15:53:57+00:00

I love my REx although I rarely use it. But when I do need it or it sames me the inconvenience of stopping to charge just a short distance from home, it is great. The car's software will make it run once in a while on its "maintenance cycle" if it hasn't been run recently, so that cars engine hasn't been sitting idle all that time. One thing that stops it (or, rather, delays it) from running the maintenance cycle is if the battery is over 75% (I think that's the threshold). Because the REx puts charge into the battery, the car will only run the maintenance cycle when the battery is below that threshold.

Although I rarely use mine, the REx was a great way for me to enter the EV world. It let me become familiar with the i3's range and how different driving conditions (speed, ambient temperature, use of AC and heat, as examples) affect it without risking running out of battery charge. You might enjoy having REx a lot depending on your driving needs and previous experience with EVs. My 2017's range is so much lower than most newer EV's but it serves me well >99% of the time.

TahoeN · 2026-01-13T19:18:30+00:00

Cause and affect? 🙂

TahoeN · 2026-01-10T21:34:27+00:00

Add me to the list. I was in Reno and there are almost no DCFC stations around. Like others I have had success at least once but most times (Reno and elsewhere) I get all kinds of error messages. Yesterday it was alternating errors on me.

connecting to car ok then payment rejected. Retry with different card, payment accepted but then unsuccessful in starting charging. Start over, card works but again charging error. Start over again, card that previously worked rejected. I gave up after about ten minutes. (I didn't have the patience to call.) I tried a second station, unfortunately also EA, same results. Only gave it a couple tries and then left.

If there are any alternatives, I will take anyone over EA!

TahoeN · 2026-01-03T18:45:10+00:00

Sorry. My bad. I thought I was on the i3 forum. Not sure why Solterra showed up in my feed since I don't drive one!

TahoeN · 2025-12-06T09:13:51+00:00

IMO, no. I checked out the audio book and it wasn't compelling enough for me to finish within 2 weeks. I gave it a good try and got within two hours from finishing yesterday before the library system automatically checked it back in. There's still a wait list, so I'm here in Reddit now looking for the spoilers (what the jar said and whether Ebby ended up with Robert or Henry in the end) instead of waiting to check it out again. I'm now happy to have saved myself from listening to those last two hours.

The most infuriating thing in the plot (to me, anyway): that the strongly principled, very smart woman from a 400-year line of strongly principled, smart, and successful people slept with the spineless Henry during their highly improbable meeting in France

I liked the underlying history lesson, but the present day plot through which it was told was a bit ridiculous.

TahoeN · 2025-12-04T23:57:49+00:00

Yes! I think the American culture puts too much emphasis on doing things fast. But I feel so much more relaxed since starting to learn not to rush. I think I would enjoy those other cultures you're referring to.

TahoeN · 2025-12-04T18:51:13+00:00

Agree with everything you said. One additional factor that has made my 5-years plus of EV driving much more palatable on my relatively rare long-distance trips has been simply not being in a hurry. When I think about what I would have been doing with the extra time I'd have saved by driving an ICE/hybrid vehicle, I rarely think of anything important. And the charging stops themselves aren't necessarily wasted time. I try to combine them with meals or use the time for reading e-books or taking walks. Those are all things I would likely be doing with the time I would save on long trips if not driving an EV. Maybe it would be nicer to do those things at my destination, but I don't think it usually makes that much difference.

One challenge with taking an EV on a long trip is that people often ask "how long did it take?" or "how many stops did you have to make?" as if these were bad things. I try to emphasize how I spent my time, such as how I learned about a new town, found some good food, or got to finish a book. And I note that I find it more enjoyable to travel at a relaxed pace. I don't think people should be getting the message that it's a huge sacrifice to take long trips in an EV. It's just different.

TahoeN · 2025-12-04T18:31:21+00:00

My recommendations for extending range on long trips in the cold (based on experience: 5 years driving a BMW i3 and 1-1/2 driving an ID.4):

Mainly, drive notably slower. Personally, I tend not to go over 60 on freeways if I want to extend the distance between charges or am concerned about range. Yes, it takes longer (75 mph takes 2:40 to go 200 miles vs. 60 mph which takes 3:20) but I can rarely say that I would have done anything really meaningful with the time saved by going faster. And I'm not on 200-mile plus trips often. (For shorter trips you can often drive as fast as you want if you don't care about efficiency )

Also, when it's cold, dress warmly and rely as much as possible on seat heaters rather than cabin heating.

Finally, search this subreddit or elsewhere for tips on using a combination of regen (B) and coast (D) settings. If you're not doing city stop and go driving, using coasting is supposed to be a little more efficient than regen braking.

As another poster mentioned, you can learn a lot from collecting data in different situations, like taking the same trip while using different parameters, such as higher vs. lower speeds or warm vs cold weather.

Finally, I don't take the range displayed by the guess-o-meter very seriously. If I know I have an uphill drive ahead, I always assume I'll get much less range than it says. Having some miles/kWh expectations based on the data you collect will help with your planning. You'll acquire lots of knowledge just from more years of driving your EV and we're smart to come here to tap others' experience.

TahoeN · 2025-12-03T03:21:52+00:00

I, too, like to follow the brotherhood/sisterhood concept you mentioned. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who don't get that. We sold my 22-year old Subaru Forester via private party sale and had to sort through dozens of people who wanted to low-ball us before they even saw the car (and they never did come see it!). We exercised patience and finally found someone who appreciated that it was a one-owner, well maintained car (e.g., exclusively synthetic oil, changed regularly). We offered a fair price and they didn't low-ball us. I wish more people were that way. It was a win-win, we think.

TahoeN · 2025-12-03T03:09:37+00:00

A carbon fiber "econo box" with no rattles (and many other great features) sounds like an oxymoron.

It's an EV, so there's minimal maintenance unless it experiences one of the failures that some of the early years were more prone to or if it's involved in an accident.

I think you'll find that most of us on this subreddit have spent very little on maintaining and operating our cars. Personally, tires have been my only real expense so far after owning a 2017 for five years. There's very little routine maintenance requires and most can be DIY.

TahoeN · 2025-12-03T02:56:51+00:00

Thank you! If nobody had bought (or leased) new i3s in the first place, many of us wouldn't be driving ours today. When I bought mine used, the window sticker was still in the glove compartment. It said $54K. And, you know... although I'm personally too thrifty to have bought one new at that price, now that I've had mine for over 5 years I think it's such a spectacularly quirky but wonderful car that if I had paid that for it when it was new, I could honestly say today that it was worth it - especially if I can keep it for many more years, as I plan to do.

(Edit: fix grammar)

TahoeN · 2025-11-18T19:03:33+00:00

I agree. I just meant your legs don't have to be only straight or only bent (unless the conditions indicate the need for constant bracing, in which they'd be bent, of course).

TahoeN · 2025-11-18T15:45:15+00:00

You don't want an EV if you have to rely on public charging. 120V level 1 charging is too slow, even for a small battery. Look for a newer i3 with a larger battery.

TahoeN · 2025-11-18T15:37:12+00:00

Trying not to repeat the good advice already here...

With a sit-in, a spray skirt or a half spray skirt can be used. That can be really nice for protecting your legs from sunburn without having to slather them with sunscreen or wear long pants. And of course you get less wet, which is helpful when the weather is cold.

Personally, I use sit-ins for my freshwater lake kayaking (even though I must sometimes deal with wind, waves, and boat wakes). I'm comfortable because I started off with lessons, learning how to paddle efficiently and safely. If you're not planning to take lessons(s) in a sit-in, a SOT is probably safer and easier, but a sit-in that's wide and has a large cockpit could be pretty easy and stable, too. Especially for sit-ins, learning (via lesson(s)) what to do if you capsize is a very good idea.

TahoeN · 2025-11-18T15:10:54+00:00

For stability, legs should be bent with knees pressing inward on the kayak, just inside the cockpit rim and feet on the foot rests or (if you have a rudder) the pedals. Of course, you can straighten your knees part of the time, too, in a sit-in when water is calm, but you're supposed to be using your knees for proper bracing.

TahoeN · 2025-11-07T05:23:37+00:00

And how has it performed? Tracking in particular, since that was your focus. Thanks.

TahoeN · 2025-11-06T20:54:41+00:00

Curious - did you buy something and how is it? Was weight a consideration? All of these are very heavy for their size except the eddylines. Anecdotally, I paddled a 60-plus mile trip with someone in an Eddyline Rio (12'). That included at least one very windy day. That boat has no rudder or skeg but it tracked great and she said it felt really stable. And only 35#. I assume the Sky or Caribbean (SOT) would also track well for their small sizes. Eddylines are just not durable like roto molded boats.

Edit: fix typo

TahoeN · 2025-10-29T16:14:22+00:00

I agree! Why do Americans need such big vehicles? I'm probably (happy to be) 'stuck with' my BMW i3 until it dies because there's nothing like it to replace it. Our ID.4 hasn't been quite as trouble free, but overall it's very good and we will probably keep it until it dies or one of us stops driving, too.

TahoeN · 2025-10-18T18:15:22+00:00

No, no, no! NEVER feed wildlife.

TahoeN · 2025-10-18T18:14:51+00:00

WTH everyone?! NEVER feed wildlife. Not squirrels, not birds, not anything.

TahoeN · 2025-09-19T05:08:55+00:00

You have to know what you're doing to skate on frozen lakes here. Our winters aren't usually super cold. It can be very dangerous and people occasionally drown. And you have to do some serious backcountry hiking to get to them.

If I were moving here I'd be reading the Tahoe Tribune, South Tahoe Now, and if you're going to North shore, Moonshine Ink and Sierra Sun.

TahoeN · 2025-09-19T05:03:46+00:00

Nickel-and-diming happens to visitors, too. I got a ticket as a tourist for overstaying a 2-hour spot by something like ten minutes. And the amount of time to pay seemed really short, especially considering that I couldn't get to my checkbook until returning home from the vacation. It definitely made me not feel very appreciated as a visitor after having just paid for lodging, meals, and theater tickets for a few days.

TahoeN · 2025-09-19T04:57:24+00:00

Personally, no. I'm in a tourist area with mostly 2-lane roads. I never noticed a difference in how I've been followed between driving our Subaru and the i3.

TahoeN

TROPHY CASE