Wiki Canadian Trip Planning

[Phillip L]

Piece of cake! I regularly do Toronto to Charlottetown and it's a breeze now. Gets better every few months. Bring your CHAdeMO adaptor.

I second that. Every year our trips back home to NS get easier. First it was the Rivière du Loup SC, then the NB Chademos. Can't wait for the Chademos coming for NS; not to speak of the mythical Maritime SC's that have been prophesied by the mysterious Tesla Oracle.

 

[Jim R]

Piece of cake! I regularly do Toronto to Charlottetown and it's a breeze now. Gets better every few months. Bring your CHAdeMO adaptor.

I don't have the Model 3 yet, so no charger to bring with me. Still wondering how you would do it - where to charge, at what rate, how long does it take. I guess this becomes obvious after getting the car and learning more. Right now I'm wondering IF I should get the car, given the lack of TESLA superchargers in the Maritimes or places to get service. Bringing a car to Montreal on a flatbed for service when it fails, doesn't sound good.

 

[Gwgan]

Chargers are sparse on Newfoundland. How do people manage to cross from ferry to city, Port aux Basques to St John”s?

 

[Jaff]

Chargers are sparse on Newfoundland. How do people manage to cross from ferry to city, Port aux Basques to St John”s?

There is the Level II Sun Country network which can get you coast to cost on the island, now that the Grand Falls-Windsor charging station is installed.

When we drove across in 2015, we used a friend's NEMA 14-50 up in Twillingate, and a NEMA 6-50 welding jack in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Newfoundlanders are great hosts, and will not hesitate to call ahead to a friend to help you out with a non-conventional charge at a friend's place or business!

 

[Gwgan]

Charging 4-6 hours at each avaialbe stop and still not able to go between Clarenville and St John’s in my P90D (according to EVTO, not based on actual miles) means the trip would take far to long.
How is the ferry experience to Argentia?

 

[Jaff]

Charging 4-6 hours at each avaialbe stop and still not able to go between Clarenville and St John’s in my P90D (according to EVTO, not based on actual miles) means the trip would take far to long.
How is the ferry experience to Argentia?

We travelled in July, not this time of year, so winter results obviously will differ.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn, in St. John's...in our P90D, we left with a full range charge, and were able to make Hickman's in Clarenville (approx. 200km). (You're right, the stops are long as you only have Level 2 charging...the Hickman people were great as well).

We were on vacation...had a schedule, but built in the longer charge times when we planned things out.

We fully range charged at North Sydney at a Nema 14-50 at a campground called "The Arm of Gold"...great, brand new service, and friendly owner!

We took the ferry the long way over to Argentia (about a 16 hour trip)...we were able to travel non stop to the Hampton Inn in St. John's upon landing.

Once you park your car on the ferry, you won't get access to it until you reach your destination...we stayed overnight in Port aux Basques at St. Christopher's Hotel and left Port with a with a full range charge...It is a stratch to get all the way from North Sydney to Truro (where the DCFC was at the time), the Claymore Inn in Antigonish had a nice restaurant and a Sun Country SC 90 charger.

It was a great trip, and we hope to do it again soon.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gwgan]

We travelled in July, not this time of year, so winter results obviously will differ.

Planning a trip in June, but only have a few days to get to St John’s but with more time after the weekend for sightseeing. The long ferry first could make this work. Thanks for the idea.

International Symposium on Singing and Song II

 

[Nappe]

We drove across Newfoundland last summer, overnight ferry to Port aux Basques, overnight in Deer Lake to see Gros Morne, overnight in Grand Falls-Windsor, and then spent a few nights on the Bonavista peninsula to see the icebergs and puffins. After a few days visiting friends in St John's, we took the Argentia ferry back to Sydney, NS. Even with the overnight stays, we still needed a few daytime charging sessions.

If we do it again, we will likely not drive across the island. It is far and empty and we didn't think the time investment was worth it. I would like to visit the west end of the island again, spending more time in Corner Brook and Gros Morne. If we go to the east end, St John's is super cool and we would definitely go back to Bonavista. We stayed in a house on Newman's Cove that had the salt-box charm dialed up to eleven. We were just down the (rather steep road from a great farm-to-table café called the Bonavista Social Club.

The Argentia ferry was nice. 14-16 hours is just enough time to enjoy a nice dinner and get a good night's sleep. The rooms were very comfortable and the price for the room was reasonable. We had a smaller bunk-bed room on the overnight ferry ride to Port aux Basques, and we had quite a good sleep despite the short trip.

We are keen to repeat our road trip across Canada in summer of 2019 when there are Superchargers across the prairies. With the luxury of fast charging, we will be able to do some funky things like take the route down across Manitoulin Island through the Bruce Peninsula.

 

[Peter_M]

We drove across Newfoundland last summer, overnight ferry to Port aux Basques, overnight in Deer Lake to see Gros Morne, overnight in Grand Falls-Windsor, and then spent a few nights on the Bonavista peninsula to see the icebergs and puffins. After a few days visiting friends in St John's, we took the Argentia ferry back to Sydney, NS. Even with the overnight stays, we still needed a few daytime charging sessions.

If we do it again, we will likely not drive across the island. It is far and empty and we didn't think the time investment was worth it. I would like to visit the west end of the island again, spending more time in Corner Brook and Gros Morne. If we go to the east end, St John's is super cool and we would definitely go back to Bonavista. We stayed in a house on Newman's Cove that had the salt-box charm dialed up to eleven. We were just down the (rather steep road from a great farm-to-table café called the Bonavista Social Club.

The Argentia ferry was nice. 14-16 hours is just enough time to enjoy a nice dinner and get a good night's sleep. The rooms were very comfortable and the price for the room was reasonable. We had a smaller bunk-bed room on the overnight ferry ride to Port aux Basques, and we had quite a good sleep despite the short trip.

We are keen to repeat our road trip across Canada in summer of 2019 when there are Superchargers across the prairies. With the luxury of fast charging, we will be able to do some funky things like take the route down across Manitoulin Island through the Bruce Peninsula.

Sounds like a great trip. We had a 3-week holiday in Newfoundland in 2016 and it was fabulous, although we flew to St John's and rented a car, so no charging issues. The drive across the island is long, but you need to head up into some of the smaller towns like Trinity, Twillingate and Salvage to get the full experience. The climb to the top of Gros Morne was long but very satisfying - amazing views from the top. This summer we're driving to NB & NS, making use of superchargers, ChaDeMos and campgrounds plus a few hotels with charging. Should be fun too, although the driving will be easier once the superchargers go out there. The new TT-30 adaptor I just ordered will make campground charging faster.

Good luck on having the TCH covered with superchargers by 2019

 

[Nappe]

Good luck on having the TCH covered with superchargers by 2019

Well, there is always the fall of 2020.

 

[WhimsySurprise]

Wondering if anyone has done a drive from Toronto, ON to Halifax, NS?

Just ordered my Model 3! 500km range...planning on doing the drive in late August.

 

[Vawlkus]

I’m gonna do Halifax to Montreal next month. I’ll try to chronical it as best I can.

 

[WhimsySurprise]

Wondering if anyone has done a drive from Toronto, ON to Halifax, NS?

Just ordered my Model 3! 500km range...planning on doing the drive in late August.

Seems like there aren't any chargers in NB or NS, so that means I'd fill up at Rivière-du-Loup, then drive for a bit, then get stuck!

SO, seems like only option is through Maine? Am I correct?

 

[rypalmer]

Wondering if anyone has done a drive from Toronto, ON to Halifax, NS?

Just ordered my Model 3! 500km range...planning on doing the drive in late August.

I've done it 7 times since July 2016. It is possible to drive through NB and NS by using Level 2 destination chargers, if you drive slowly and are patience. Otherwise you must buy a CHAdeMO adaptor. There's plenty of public fast charging in NB, and more coming online in NS soon.

 

[WhimsySurprise]

I've done it 7 times since July 2016. It is possible to drive through NB and NS by using Level 2 destination chargers, if you drive slowly and are patience. Otherwise you must buy a CHAdeMO adaptor. There's plenty of public fast charging in NB, and more coming online in NS soon.

I don't mind buying a CHAdeMO adaptor, but was wondering if there was a way I could plan my trip given that I can use Tesla's chargers + CHAdeMO chargers?

 

[Phillip L]

I've done it 7 times since July 2016. It is possible to drive through NB and NS by using Level 2 destination chargers, if you drive slowly and are patience. Otherwise you must buy a CHAdeMO adaptor. There's plenty of public fast charging in NB, and more coming online in NS soon.

I second rypalmer. I have done the trip many time to Nova Scotia. With a Chademo adaptor it is very easy, going through NB. NS is covered with level 2 chargers but they are in the process of building a network of Level 3’s. There has been one in downtown Halifax for a few years.
Before the NB Chademo network was built would just stop at a hotel in NB with a charger and overnight charge (done it in Edmunston, Grand Falls, Fredericton).
When you get your Chademo adaptor don’t forget to sign up for the Flo Network account, their card or app will work at the NB and NS Chademo chargers.

 

[Peter_M]

I don't mind buying a CHAdeMO adaptor, but was wondering if there was a way I could plan my trip given that I can use Tesla's chargers + CHAdeMO chargers?

Try A Better Route Planner and make sure to check the ChaDeMo option in the settings. It sometimes has trouble finding a route through ChaDeMo chargers. If that happens, add a waypoint somewhere along the way to simplify the route calculations. I'm doing the trip from Ottawa to NB & NS this summer and ABRP has been very valuable for planning. I also got a TT-30 adaptor so we can charge at reasonable speeds at campgrounds.

 

[WhimsySurprise]

Try A Better Route Planner and make sure to check the ChaDeMo option in the settings. It sometimes has trouble finding a route through ChaDeMo chargers. If that happens, add a waypoint somewhere along the way to simplify the route calculations. I'm doing the trip from Ottawa to NB & NS this summer and ABRP has been very valuable for planning. I also got a TT-30 adaptor so we can charge at reasonable speeds at campgrounds.

Hmm..it's telling me to cut through Maine

 

[rypalmer]

Hmm..it's telling me to cut through Maine

Honestly it's a wash. Take it from someone who has driven the route many, many times. You should definitely try a bunch of different routes regardless. You may need to take one way or another depending on weather, desire to cross the border or not, other logistics.

Since you're still searching for answers, I'd recommend not overthinking it. Optimize your journey by being strategic about where you stop for the night. Given that Supercharging to 100% is really time consuming, an ideal stopping point might be 300-350km AFTER the last Supercharger on your journey (depending on your car, and your range at the time - highly weather dependent!). In this case, I usually shoot for Fredericton, since the destination charging situation there is great, and I may only need a small top-off at a public fast charger to get me there. Leaving Fredericton the next morning fully charged gives me lots of options.

 

[WhimsySurprise]

Honestly it's a wash. Take it from someone who has driven the route many, many times. You should definitely try a bunch of different routes regardless. You may need to take one way or another depending on weather, desire to cross the border or not, other logistics.

Since you're still searching for answers, I'd recommend not overthinking it. Optimize your journey by being strategic about where you stop for the night. Given that Supercharging to 100% is really time consuming, an ideal stopping point might be 300-350km AFTER the last Supercharger on your journey (depending on your car, and your range at the time - highly weather dependent!). In this case, I usually shoot for Fredericton, since the destination charging situation there is great, and I may only need a small top-off at a public fast charger to get me there. Leaving Fredericton the next morning fully charged gives me lots of options.

Is there a trip planner that lets me factor in the public chargers (with the J-1772 ports) + destination charging?