Alaska Tesla Adventure!

[IdaX]

After my Baja California trip, this summer I and my family are driving to visit Alaska in our 2017 Model X P100D. We're over 100,000 miles now, and we've got a modestly degraded battery with 259 miles reported range at 100%. This trip has recently become much more tractable owing to the great job that the government of Yukon Territory has done installing fast chargers on its major routes.

Based on charging availability and individual segments that are within the capabilities of our range, this is the route that we took:

Two potentially tricky bits: (1) northern British Columbia, and (2) eastern Alaska. I'll talk about those in detail below

Adapters:

1. CHAdeMO Tesla adapter -- for Yukon and BC 50kW fast chargers
2. SETEC CCS adapter -- backup option for Yukon and BC fast chargers, and primary for Tok Bus Barn
3. NEMA 14-30 -- dryer adapter for Red Goat Lodge in northern BC
4. TT30 -- 30amp 120V 3kW charging option for emergencies at RV parks
5. NEMA 14-50 -- better RV park backup, but most RV parks on the route don't have 50amp service (hence the TT30 as well)

 

[IdaX]

The initial part of the trip is easy in that it's covered by Tesla Superchargers. Obv charging is easy where there are Superchargers!

The Okanagan Valley in south-central British Columbia, Canada is a really pretty area, and has plenty of convenience stores and restaurants as well as chargers. Lots of accomodation options as well.

Here's the charger in Osoyoos, BC, Canada, just across the border:

All great chargers up to Prince George, BC, which is pretty far north but was still super-hot in late July. Here's Prince George:

 

[IdaX]

Beyond Prince George, we headed west on Canada route 16 through western BC. This area is well-covered by BC Hydro 50kW CCS/CHAdeMO combo chargers. I had to install the BC Hydro app, but with that charging was straightforward and we didn't encounter any issues with chargers.

Charging successfully!

 

[PLUS EV]

Was this just day 1 of the trip? That seems like a long way to go in one shot with a family.

Also, I'm surprised you chose the Cassiar Highway. I haven't looked into the charging situation, but I would have guessed that the Alaska Highway had better infrastructure. Very curious about the condition of that highway and if you feel comfortable driving your X on it.

 

[IdaX]

Chose the western route because it would only require one overnight charging stop, if done carefully. Route through Alberta needed two to get up to Watson Lake. Paved up to Deese Lake, about 1/2 paved on the segment north from Deese Lake to Watson Lake. Good condition, though -- biggest issue was the construction on the dirt roads, but more an annoyance than a problem. Perfectly safe to do in a Model 3; in fact I met a Model 3 coming south who made it with no hiccups.

It was about 2.5 days for us from Idaho to Boulder Creek Rest Area.

 

[IdaX]

The segment north from Canada 16 up from Boulder Creek Rest Area was the trickiest on the whole trip, as was expected from planning. The segment is 241 miles long, and has 2000 feet of elevation increase. The usual rule-of-thumb is that every 100 feet of elevation costs you 1 mile of range, so "expected" ran the the trip might take 261 miles of rated range. With degradation, our car reports 259 miles at 100%. And, when we charged to 100% full at Boulder Creek, indeed the car was projecting an arrival charge of 0%.

We pulled out all of the stops on this one:

1. aired tires up to 50PSI. Tesla recommended is 42PSI, but the tires say 51PSI max
2. ran the whole way with no air conditioning or heating. Manual mode set to 60F with A/C off, ran fan with external air for ventilation
3. drove at 45 MPH
4. Range mode and Chill acceleration, although I don't think that these made much difference

Here's the predict a few miles out from Boulder creek, when it was showing 3%. Later it maxed out at 13%, perhaps owing to coarse topographic data leading to wonky projections up hills
.

Once it got to 13% I relaxed a little (too early tho, probably!) and sped up to 50MPH. While the temps were warm, in the low 80s, at the start of the drive, they had cooled into the high 50s by the end. Those cool conditions, perhaps, led to the predict dropping again such that we pulled in with 4% at the Red Goat Lodge. Whew.

There were a couple of chicken-out spots with wall plugs or TT30 3kW plugs on the way up there, so if things had looked bad we had planned to stop and gain some juice. On the other hand, every car Tesla sells these days, including the standard range Model 3, have more range than we have now. So while this segment was a white knuckler for us, it will likely be only mildly concerning for the rest of you if you're careful about it!

We reserved 2 nights at the Red Goat assuming that we'd be charging on a 3kW TT30 plug in their RV camping section. However, the morning after we arrived we ran into Plugshare user Stingray5ive, heading south from Fairbanks in a Model 3 Performance. He had discovered a NEMA 14-30 dryer plug at the Lodge main building, allowing 6kW charging! The proprietor there, Amy, was very gracious and accommodating of our charging needs. $40 for an EV charge there. Essential requirement on this section! We spent some time out canoeing on the lake behind the Red Goat Lodge while gaining Joules from the dryer plug.

If you try this route, then I recommend arriving at Red Goat in the late afternoon so that you can get onto the dryer plug charger for overnight (don't get in at 11PM like we did -- then everyone's asleep!). Then you can charge through the evening and night, and even with a 100kWhr battery be charged up in 16hr by the next morning. While the next leg, to Watson Lake, isn't AS tight as the one to Red Goat here, it's far enough between chargers around these parts that there's no reason not to leave with a full battery.

 

[PLUS EV]

Chose the western route because it would only require one overnight charging stop, if done carefully. Route through Alberta needed two to get up to Watson Lake. Paved up to Deese Lake, about 1/2 paved on the segment north from Deese Lake to Watson Lake. Good condition, though -- biggest issue was the construction on the dirt roads, but more an annoyance than a problem. Perfectly safe to do in a Model 3; in fact I met a Model 3 coming south who made it with no hiccups.

It was about 2.5 days for us from Idaho to Boulder Creek Rest Area.

Okay thanks for the info. I'd like to try the Cassiar some day. Have already done the Al-Can, though I wouldn't mind doing it again.

And I wasn't thinking through Alberta. I think going to the Prince George supercharger is a no-brainer in a Tesla. I was meaning that I was surprised you went from Prince George to the Cassiar rather than from Prince George to Dawson Creek (or at least Chetwynd) and the Alaska Highway. But I see now that the Cassiar is about an hour faster. I just wasn't sure the charging infrastructure would be as good, but it sounds like you're doing alright.

 

[Tectonic]

After my Baja California trip, this summer I and my family are driving to visit Alaska in our 2017 Model X P100D. We're over 100,000 miles now, and we've got a modestly degraded battery with 259 miles reported range at 100%. This trip has recently become much more tractable owing to the great job that the government of Yukon Territory has done installing fast chargers on its major routes.

Based on charging availability and individual segments that are within the capabilities of our range, this is the route that we took:
View attachment 839152

Two potentially tricky bits: (1) northern British Columbia, and (2) eastern Alaska. I'll talk about those in detail below

Adapters:

1. CHAdeMO Tesla adapter -- for Yukon and BC 50kW fast chargers
2. SETEC CCS adapter -- backup option for Yukon and BC fast chargers, and primary for Tok Bus Barn
3. NEMA 14-30 -- dryer adapter for Red Goat Lodge in northern BC
4. TT30 -- 30amp 120V 3kW charging option for emergencies at RV parks
5. NEMA 14-50 -- better RV park backup, but most RV parks on the route don't have 50amp service (hence the TT30 as well)

Thanks for the report - sounds like an adventure! Would love to do this drive some day.

A few questions come to mind: Did you manage to fit in a spare tire? Is Red Goat Lodge on a generator, or are they somehow connected to the grid? Are you driving back, or taking the ferry? Thx!

 

[IdaX]

Did you manage to fit in a spare tire? Is Red Goat Lodge on a generator, or are they somehow connected to the grid? Are you driving back, or taking the ferry? Thx!

While we have a spare tire made out of a lone 20" rim, we didn't bring it on the trip. With 4 kids space is tight, and because of that leg to Red Goat I didn't want to bring our basket carrier that rides on the trailer hitch. Kinda risky, it's true.

Red Goat is on the grid, so no excess Diesel was burned in the charging of our car

We will be putting the car on a transport in Anchorage to get home. Was fun to drive one way, but I decided on more time in Alaska vs. driving back.

 

[IdaX]

Driving north from Red Goat, the next charger was in Watson Lake, Yukon.

As mentioned above, road to Watson lake was maybe 1/2 dirt or gravel, with construction delays, but all passable in any Tesla, although you’ll get some mud on you. We arrived into the Watson Lake charger with 12% left, even through some adverse weather with cold rain.

When we were there Watson Lake was thick with mosquitos, though with a grocery store and a few nice restaurants. The charger there was solid and free (thanks Yukon!) on CHADeMO. I couldn’t get CCS to work on the SETEC adapter, which I had attributed to the adapter, but Rivians that checked in after us also failed to get the CCS to work. So…. bring all the adapters and keep your options open!

The whole area in Yukon and northern BC is more remote than anything in the lower-48, and by a lot. Rural Nevada maybe the closest analog. There just aren’t convenience stores or ANYTHING between chargers. Beautiful, desolate boreal forest is your only companion.

We made it all the way into Whitehorse that day after Red Goat with no trouble. Whitehorse is an outpost of civilization in northern Canada, with a population of 25,000 and plenty of shops and restaurants and lodging as needed. Two CHADeMO and CCS chargers in town as well.

 

[PLUS EV]

Driving north from Red Goat, the next charger was in Watson Lake, Yukon.

View attachment 840653

As mentioned above, road to Watson lake was maybe 1/2 dirt or gravel, with construction delays, but all passable in any Tesla, although you’ll get some mud on you. We arrived into the Watson Lake charger with 12% left, even through some adverse weather with cold rain.

When we were there Watson Lake was thick with mosquitos, though with a grocery store and a few nice restaurants. The charger there was solid and free (thanks Yukon!) on CHADeMO. I couldn’t get CCS to work on the SETEC adapter, which I had attributed to the adapter, but Rivians that checked in after us also failed to get the CCS to work. So…. bring all the adapters and keep your options open!

The whole area in Yukon and northern BC is more remote than anything in the lower-48, and by a lot. Rural Nevada maybe the closest analog. There just aren’t convenience stores or ANYTHING between chargers. Beautiful, desolate boreal forest is your only companion.

We made it all the way into Whitehorse that day after Red Goat with no trouble. Whitehorse is an outpost of civilization in northern Canada, with a population of 25,000 and plenty of shops and restaurants and lodging as needed. Two CHADeMO and CCS chargers in town as well.

Yup... Whitehorse seems like the big city after driving through that area. I had the same feeling driving the Al-Can.

FWIW, the Al-Can typically has a ton of construction and long gravel stretches as well. I remember thinking that it was only nominally "fully paved." The reality was more like 85-90% paved I guess the summer thaw is so short up there that they have no choice but to do all the construction during tourist season.

Seems like your charging will be easier in the Yukon. This thread is making me want to attempt this trip as well, but it will probably have to wait till next year. Ideally either northern BC or Alaska would install Chademos by then. I don't mind dealing with a couple days of L2 charging, but don't really want the majority of the trip to be like that.

 

[IdaX]

With RV parks between Haines Junction and Tok out of service, that gap becomes 290 miles — beyond the capability of my poor 259-mile-range car, even with extraordinary measures and a couple hundred feet downhill. Instead we struck north to Dawson City, which is 184 miles to Tok and has a charger.

The route up from Whitehorse to Dawson City is pleasant, if unpopulated, with 3 CCS/CHAdeMO chargers along the way with some isolated cell coverage. Dawson City was a pleasant surprise, though. Only 1300 people, but the remnant of a gold rush boom town, with good restaurants, some shopping, cost effective lodging, and with hiking and tourist attractions. All in all a really neat place!
Looking from the Yukon River toward town:

and out toward the river, just north of and beyond where the Klondike river empties into the Yukon.

 

[PLUS EV]

Yeah Dawson is fairly touristy with lots of amenities. I had to pick up a hitchhiker on that stretch, because apparently that's what you do in those parts. Ended up taking her all the way from just south of Dawson to Whitehorse.

Top of the World Highway is amazing! It's a rare highway above the treeline so the views are spectacular. No pavement though!

I'm curious why the RV parks would be closed in August.

 

[IdaX]

I'm curious why the RV parks would be closed in August.

Yeah pretty bizarre; I don’t get it. Maybe a covid thing? Tattoga Lake Resort south of the Red Goat in northern British Columbia was closed for the season, too…

 

[IdaX]

As @PLUS EV above says, west of Dawson City is the Top of the World Highway to Alaska. First you go on an Exciting ferry ride carrying cars across the swift Yukon River. Then you climb from the river valley up onto the saddle ridge between valleys on the north and south. The road is spectacular! Really amazing views out both sides for nearly the whole trip.

The in-car nav gets wonky along here, though. Started tracking through as if we weren’t covering any mileage, and then later when I cancelled and tried a new trip it insisted that it couldn’t find any way into Tok. A little weird and disconcerting in the middle of nowhere, there, but the nav came back around the metropolis of Chicken, Alaska.

Even we pulled into Tok with 16% though, so rest assured that you’re probably in great shape to make it to Tok even if your nav flakes out.

There’s a new opportunity to charge in Tok without overnighting at the RV park. As you can now see detailed on PlugShare, the a guy named Stretch who runs Tok Bus Barn has a 22kW CCS charger that he uses for an electric school bus that they’ve got. He’s willing to help EV travelers out for $0.60/kWhr if you email him ahead of time. This is a huge advance in Tesla travel to Alaska if you have a CCS adapter and can swing it to bring Stretch on board in time!

From Tok the trip to Fairbanks was fairly straightforward even with some cold rain for us in August. Much colder or with a headwind and we might have needed to too up, though. With more range than our 259 it becomes a total non-issue.

Fairbanks has two CCS / CHADeMO chargers that worked well for us so I charging issues there.

 

[PLUS EV]

From Tok the trip to Fairbanks was fairly straightforward even with some cold rain for us in August. Much colder or with a headwind and we might have needed to too up, though. With more range than our 259 it becomes a total non-issue.

Looks like the high in Tok on Tuesday was 45F! I thought that seemed a little unusual until I dug through the climate data. Tok has recorded freezing temperatures every day of the year including an incredible 11F on a July 24th!

On my trip in 2005, I went through Tok twice around June 20th and June 30th and don't recall it being cold at all. My trip up there was generally pleasant but not hot. Highs in the 60s and 70s with lows around 50 most nights.

 

[IdaX]

Looks like the high in Tok on Tuesday was 45F! I thought that seemed a little unusual until I dug through the climate data. Tok has recorded freezing temperatures every day of the year including an incredible 11F on a July 24th!

On my trip in 2005, I went through Tok twice around June 20th and June 30th and don't recall it being cold at all. My trip up there was generally pleasant but not hot. Highs in the 60s and 70s with lows around 50 most nights.

Yeah my Uncle who’s been here 35 years says it can snow any day, so you have to be actively ready . We’ve had some rainy overcast days in the 50s and 60s, along with gorgeous blue sky sun with highs in the mid-70s in early August. Late August is fall here: yikes!

 

[IdaX]

While in Fairbanks, check out the antique auto museum. They’ve got a couple of early model electric cars.

This one’s from 1903 (!), a Columbia Mark XIX with 40 miles of range. Almost as much as the battery-degraded 2012 Nissan LEAF I once owned while my Model 3 was being repaired from an accident…. But max of 12mph, so the LEAF wins on speed at least!

10 years later was this 1913 Argo Model C. It used an 80V battery and got 75 miles of range at 20 mph, more than the guess-o-meter on my old LEAF at full (56mi). No computer control on this old bird though

The museum shows the tremendous diversity of vehiculage in those early days — and strongly contrasts with the samemobiles that we see today. It feels like the Cambrian Explosion of cars. The re-emergence of electric cars today might then be the equivalent of trilobites returning to take over the Earth!

 

[wws]

The museum also has a Rauch & Lang electric and a Owen Magnetic gas/electric hybrid from the 1910s. It is a fantastic museum with many rare and one of a kind cars.

 

[IdaX]

Lots of wildlife in northern British Columbia — we saw no less than 6 (six!) black bears along the side of the road south of Watson Lake! 5 on the way to Red Goat, and the other past Red Goat. They were all visible on the side of the road in the distance, then scattered as we approached, so despite slowing down we didn’t get good pictures of any of them.

This is the best bear shot we got, of a seventh bear on the way into Dawson City: