Wiki Canadian Trip Planning

[doubeld]

Kelowna would help a lot, Ideally before December (not holding my breath)
Merrit I don't really care about, I do go there every year, but destination charging is fine while I'm there (last year my vehicle spent the whole weekend parked 2 stalls away from a destination charger) and the superchargers get you there just fine.
I'd rather they put that one in Invermere...

To me, it seems that Invermere is more of a destination than a pass-through town. If Golden and Cranbrook were much, MUCH larger, I can see a SC there, but not with the numbers of drivers that go through Invermere. I guess you have some folks heading onto Kimberley, but those people might go the south route anyway. Does the place you stay in Invermere have a good L2 charging option? If you stay there enough, might be worthwhile to invest some time or money convincing some folks to get that done.

I've done a fair bit of driving in that area, and on Highway 3, and I'm still unsure where I would all stick the SCs. Maybe Fort Macleod, Fernie, Cranbrook, Creston?

 

[decibel]

I'd rather they put that one in Invermere...

Cranbrook would be a better location than Invermere, in terms of spacing with other superchargers. Cranbrook is 255km from the supercharger in Coeur d'Alene (Invermere is 390km) and still within range of superchargers in Golden (250km) and Canmore (300km).

 

[green1]

In Invermere I usually stay at copperpoint, and they have a HPWC (2 maybe?) but it's the access to cranbrook and kimberly that really makes me want a SC there

- - - Updated - - -

Cranbrook would be a better location than Invermere, in terms of spacing with other superchargers. Cranbrook is 255km from the supercharger in Coeur d'Alene (Invermere is 390km) and still within range of superchargers in Golden (250km) and Canmore (300km).

Realistically Coer d'Alene is 2 SC stops from either Golden or Canmore using normal SC spacing. Invermere makes sense for several reasons (including day trips to radium, pass through to destinations south, and the common "golden triangle" drive) I think a second one should exist in the Cranbrook area or even a bit south of there to link to Coer d'Alene

 

[TEUNTSLA]

Calgary (Airdrie actually) to Winnipeg - I am looking to do this trip this Christmas, I browsed this thread an see no previous mention of anyone else planning a similar trip through the prairies. Now given there is no Supercharger Network this will be a challenge to do it in a timely manner, and when i say that, i mean minimizing charging time during the day.

I am looking for insight as to what other people have done or heard and whether i've looked in the right places.

For my charge network i have reviewed
- Plug share
- Sun Country's Charger map
- CAA EV map

My car is a Model S 85 (non D, Non P)

In my analysis i ended up using 225 kwh/km
Total distance to cover 1,375km's
I plan to range charge before leaving and the entire trip there/back (assuming 400kms available on full)
6 hours of day time charging (non sleeping)

I have come up with the following plan and questions italicized below
in normal weather i anticipate to get a normal usage of 225 kwh by using cruise control,instead of my right foot, which would make it more like 245 from what i've learned driving the car so far. what have others seen happen in inclement/windy/snowy weather do to their range?
What buffer of range would you recommend?

Airdrie to Brooks - 208km's
I plan to use the Ramada Charger and top up the charge, its supposedly a 70 amp charger so i'll be there fore just under 3 hr
Has anyone charged here? i/e will the let non patrons use the charger?


Brooks to Medicine Hat - 107kms
Med Hat only has a 25 amp charger which i will be passing on, but can have as a backup

Medicine Hat to Swift Current - 225 kms
Leg traveled since last charge 332 km's
The Kal Tire in Swift has a 90 amp charger and i hope to use it over night if possible, there are store hours listed and i am not sure if that causes a hindrance. from what i read its behind a gate?
I am worried about this distance since i am unsure on the impact of inclement weather on the charge/range, thoughts?

Swift Current to Moose Jaw - 175km's
Moose Jaw has a 70 amp charger which i will be passing on, but can have as a backup

Moose Jaw to Regina - 72km's
Leg traveled since last charge 247km's
Regina has 70 Amp at the best western which i plan to charge at for 3.5hrs to get me enough juice to get to Brandon.

Regina to Whitewood - 175km's
Whitewood library has a 70Amp plug supposedly, will not be using it. backup however if the weather is causing significant range reduction

Whitewood to Virden - 115km's
Virden has a 30 amp plug, again, i'll be passing on this

Virden to Brandon - 78km's
Leg traveled since last charge 290 km's
Brandon has a 30 amp plug, at the comfort inn which i plan to sleep at.

Brandon to Carberry - 50km's
Carberry town hall has a 90 amp plug, will be passing through, backup plug

Carberry to Winnipeg - 171 km's
Winnipeg has Level 2 & 3 Chargers which will get me around while i am there.
Leg traveled since last charge 231 km's

If some one sees a gap or a better strategy it would be much appreciated.
I have a spreadsheet with more detail that i would gladly upload/share, but i am unsure how to do that on the site. - Edit, it actually uploaded, look at that.

 

[beeeerock]

When I was low on charge heading from Medicine Hat west to High River, I called the Ramada Inn and very politely explained that I was running low on charge and wondered if I could have an hour or so to tide me over on my trip. I got a snotty response that the charger was for overnight paying customers only. I said 'Thank you very little' and made a very careful trip to High River... arriving with 7 or 8 km remaining. I would steer clear of the Ramada unless you have approval in advance and someone's name to use when you arrive and they argue. I was not impressed and made a mental note not to stay at a Ramada in the future if at all possible.

The Peavey Mart in Medicine Hat has a 68 amp unit (CS-90). I don't see anyone checking in since August, but assume it's still in operation. Peavey Mart is a reliable sponsor. But be warned, the stalls that were within reach of the unit were ICE'd by staff - right in front of the store!!! And the staff inside weren't overly helpful about moving someone out of the way. The owner of the plug-in Prius (connected and fully charged) finally arrived after I'd wasted about an hour waiting and finally talking to staff. After an hour, I figured it wasn't customers parked in the way and I was right!

I have no experience further east.

 

[InternetDude]

TEUNTSLA, you cannot charge at the Best Western in Regina unless you are paying for a room. Also, read the notes/comments on all chargers in PlugShare because you have a number of details wrong. For starters the CS90's are 70A. I went to Edmonton in the summer and I stopped at every city for a short charge to personally test them. On the way back I knew which ones were fast and what amenities were nearby.

 

[wayner]

@TEUNTTESLA - Beware of very cold weather or freezing rain/snow. Last year I had a trip where I had to run the front window defrosters almost 100% of the time to be able to see. This severely cut my range to around 250km.

 

[Zapped]

When I was low on charge heading from Medicine Hat west to High River, I called the Ramada Inn and very politely explained that I was running low on charge and wondered if I could have an hour or so to tide me over on my trip. I got a snotty response that the charger was for overnight paying customers only. I said 'Thank you very little' and made a very careful trip to High River... arriving with 7 or 8 km remaining. ......

Ramada Inn... that's terrible. At least one would think they could have accepted some payment to use the charger specifically for someone passing through town.
The managers of these hotels would be much smarter to at least offer a user pay option. Better for marketing and next time someone WILL stay overnight instead of avoiding them.
Here's an opportunity for EV associations to educate the hospitality industry.

 

[TEUNTSLA]

Given what some of you have posted and confirmation of my concerns we have decided to fly. i need atleast 2 superchargers or level 2/3 suncountry chargers to make this happen so i will try this another day.

 

[InternetDude]

I would strongly encourage you to email Tesla to tell them about your decision and concern. They seem to think that Superchargers are not needed between Calgary and Winnipeg. The more people that give them feedback the better the chance that they'll do it some day.

 

[green1]

Given what some of you have posted and confirmation of my concerns we have decided to fly. i need atleast 2 superchargers or level 2/3 suncountry chargers to make this happen so i will try this another day.

I was looking at a trip to Saskatoon recently. I very quickly determined that the only practical way was to take the wife's ICE. I love the Tesla, but with the current charging infrastructure there are still a lot of places that are impossible to get to, and a lot more that are impractical to get to.

 

[InternetDude]

I went Regina to Edmonton and back, no problem. But no thanks to Tesla, all thanks to Sun Country.

 

[green1]

And now I have a weekend trip to an adventure camp near Nordegg planned for mid-January... 180km west of red-deer, not a comfortable round trip with winter and cold-soaking in the middle, I'm going to contact the camp and ask about charging options, but I have a feeling it's another ICE trip.

 

[S'toon]

I was looking at a trip to Saskatoon recently. I very quickly determined that the only practical way was to take the wife's ICE. I love the Tesla, but with the current charging infrastructure there are still a lot of places that are impossible to get to, and a lot more that are impractical to get to.

By my back of the envelope calculations, that trip could only be easily done with a Model S 105D, in the summer.

 

[TEUNTSLA]

InternetDude, care to share some details as to your chosen route and where you charged?

 

[InternetDude]

InternetDude, care to share some details as to your chosen route and where you charged?

Best chargers YQR --> YEG route is Vermillion 80A & North Battleford 80A, both are at malls. Also worth mentioning is Langham charger, it's 70A but 240V (single phase). I left notes in both the Sun Country Highway app and PlugShare so check them out for specific comments/reviews and other people's comments also. I will more than likely be doing the trip to Calgary in 2016 so I will try out the chargers on that route.

- - - Updated - - -

Calgary (Airdrie actually) to Winnipeg...
Airdrie to Brooks - 208km's
I plan to use the Ramada Charger and top up the charge, its supposedly a 70 amp charger so i'll be there fore just under 3 hr
Has anyone charged here? i/e will the let non patrons use the charger?
Brooks to Medicine Hat - 107kms
Med Hat only has a 25 amp charger which i will be passing on, but can have as a backup
Medicine Hat to Swift Current - 225 kms
Leg traveled since last charge 332 km's
The Kal Tire in Swift has a 90 amp charger and i hope to use it over night if possible, there are store hours listed and i am not sure if that causes a hindrance. from what i read its behind a gate?
I am worried about this distance since i am unsure on the impact of inclement weather on the charge/range, thoughts?
Swift Current to Moose Jaw - 175km's
Moose Jaw has a 70 amp charger which i will be passing on, but can have as a backup
Moose Jaw to Regina - 72km's
Leg traveled since last charge 247km's
Regina has 70 Amp at the best western which i plan to charge at for 3.5hrs to get me enough juice to get to Brandon.
Regina to Whitewood - 175km's
Whitewood library has a 70Amp plug supposedly, will not be using it. backup however if the weather is causing significant range reduction...

I know you're flying now but I wanted to point out a few things. I did not want to say whether you could make the trip given your schedule, weather, etc as I have not done any real winter road trips yet.

Brooks Ramada - the comments seem to say that only paying customers can charge there. If I was in a pinch, I'd just charge anyway just long enough to move on to M.H. and deal with the consequences by management, especially in winter. My $.02. Fortunately Strathmore has a charger now thanks to gpetti so you could charge there instead and not stop in Brooks I would say.

Medicine Hat Peavey Mart has a 70A charger, not sure why you think there is only one 25A charger in the city.

Swift Current is a 70A charger, not 90. Read all the comments for all charging locations carefully. I personally phoned Kal Tire and questioned them about the charger. It is not behind a gate and is available 24/7. I put that in a comment in PlugShare for that location. It's in a fairly industrial area though so there's not a lot to do there while charging from what I can tell (I haven't charged there but I even used Google Street View to figure out what's nearby).

Moose Jaw charger is 70A and within walking distance to Boston Pizza and a few other restaurants, not a bad location.

Regina Best Western - not allowed to charge there unless you've paid for a room (even though they have a 80A Tesla HPWC AND 2 70A units!!). The Peavey Mart charger is 70A but there really aren't any close restaurants. It's on the edge of the city right on the highway so easy access though.

I can't comment east of YQR as I haven't done any real planning in that direction. As I said I've gone north/west to Edmonton and know I will go to Calgary so I've spent time figuring those routes.

As I said before and I think you should heed the advice is to stop at every city and charge on the way there (for even 20-30 mins per city) to confirm which ones work, which ones are fastest, what amenities are nearby, etc. (take notes). Then when you come back you can pick and choose which chargers you want to stop at. Oh, and tell Tesla why you are taking a flight instead of your wonderful car. They don't seem interested in Supercharging Calgary to Winnipeg, you're supposed to go through the US.

 

[hingisfan]

Will be great for me as I go to events in downtown Toronto often (coming from Kingston). I'll be able to charge in PH, and then top up again on the way home at PH, skipping the stop at Lawrence. And in winter, it lets me make the trip at all in my 60, without the need for L2 charging.

Has anyone ever used the parking garage on the Queens Quay that is supposed to have 14 L2 spots? It's on plugshare. Should also be a good option for a destination charge while taking in an event.

 

[RAM_Eh]

Has anyone ever used the parking garage on the Queens Quay that is supposed to have 14 L2 spots? It's on plugshare. Should also be a good option for a destination charge while taking in an event.

Yes I have. Waterpark Place - 88 Queens Quay west. 30 amp chargers, turn right at the bottom of the ramp towards the Valet...drive right by them. The entrance to the parking is actually off Harbour going east from York, first entrance.

 

[mknox]

Has anyone ever used the parking garage on the Queens Quay that is supposed to have 14 L2 spots? It's on plugshare. Should also be a good option for a destination charge while taking in an event.

I usually hit BCE Place (on Front just west of Yonge). They also have a bunch of spots, but they are shared 2 spots per charging station.

 

[CadillacJack]

I've parked at both often - Waterpark place will literally close the parking garage and you'll need to page them at entry that you have an EV. There's always been 6+ charging spots open so they'll let you in and you'll have a charge. At Brookfield Place (previously BCE) the chargers are shared and if you show up later in the day you will get good parking, but often no charger available. I go out of my way for Waterpark and walk up to the Bay street core.