Wiki Canadian Trip Planning

[mrElbe]

Buffalo Supercharger to Home in mild winter

I did a fun run to Buffalo and back home today. Ulterior motive was to get a Powerball ticket. But I also wanted to gather some cold driving statistics in preparation for the Florida trip this coming weekend.
Average outside temperature was -7C and roads were dry and the sky was sunny. Very strong west wind. Interior temp was set at 19.5C and I did not use range mode.
Charged in Buffalo to 90% which was 356 km in my case.
Predicted SOC at home was 23% when I started driving but that went as low as 8% on the QEW westbound towards Hamilton probably due to the strong head wind.
I finally ended up with 12% SOC at home.
So, I drove 228 actual km and used 304 km of rated range.
The EV trip planner predicted that I would use 331 km of rated range.

Conclusion: In my case I am going to charge always in winter with a minimum of predicted 15% or more SOC at the next destination for a safe buffer.

SOC = State of Charge

 

[SmartElectric]

I did a fun run to Buffalo and back home today. I also wanted to gather some cold driving statistics in preparation for the Florida trip this coming weekend.

Enjoy your trip, looking forward to your reports of route choice and charging locations.

 

[Chrisizzle]

I am waiting for a full charge in Syracuse as we speak. I want to skip Kingston and head right to Ottawa on a January night. I am sure it will be tight but I have gotten too (foolishly) comfortable rolling in with 2km of range on a regular basis. (I had to run it past zero by 5km once on a -22C day).

Or, perhaps this is an easy distance to make. Either way, it's what makes driving an electric car exciting, right?

 

[Chrisizzle]

I am waiting for a full charge in Syracuse as we speak. I want to skip Kingston and head right to Ottawa on a January night. I am sure it will be tight but I have gotten too (foolishly) comfortable rolling in with 2km of range on a regular basis. (I had to run it past zero by 5km once on a -22C day).

Or, perhaps this is an easy distance to make. Either way, it's what makes driving an electric car exciting, right?

I will follow up in case this helps someone in the future. I just completed Syracuse direct to downtown Ottawa. Weather was clear but ranged from +3C to -8C. Interior heat was at 22C. I drafted a truck to the Canadian border doing 62mph (speed limit was 65). Drafted another truck on the 401 doing 105kph. I was on my own for the 416 Hwy and gradually went from 100kph to 115kph as I approached the city and knew I wouldn't be stuck. Arrived at the Best Western Victoria Park with 5km left in the tank.

So, I think that beats a detour to charge in Kingston.

 

[Chrisizzle]

I guess I should also say that above trip was in a Model S 85.

 

[decibel]

Ottawa to Drummondville Supercharger: EV trip planner says that an 85D can't make the 300km distance at -5C (75kwh required).

So does it make sense to go a bit out of the way to stop at the Cornwall Supercharger and then take the 30?
Or does the Cornwall to Drummondville route require waiting for a full charge in winter and thus it is worth the hassle of going to the Montreal SC?

 

[FrozenCanuck]

I just finished a big road trip to South Carolina and back. We did about 4,000 km total and the weather ranged from -5C in Syracuse on my way home to +26 near Philadelphia on the way down (March break week was really warm!).

On the warm days no issue. On the colder days the trip was more stressful but still not bad. I quickly learned that the Tesla navigation taking me from supercharger to supercharger is NOT conservative enough in many cases. We learned this on a cold morning in North Carolina on the way home. We trusted the software when it notified my iPhone that it was ready to move onto the next SC station. Speed limit was 70 mph and we drove 70-72. Within 10 minutes it was warning us to stay BELOW 70 or not have enough charge to reach the destination.

From that point on we decided to charge up to the point where the estimated arrival SOC would be closer to 20% and we had no issues no matter what the temp.

 

[mrElbe]

That is exactly what I do. It tells you that you are ready to go with an estimated 11% at the destination. I charge to at least 15% and preferably 20% in cold weather.

 

[green1]

even 20% is pushing it a lot on at least one supercharger run that I know... I usually aim for 30%, because I've done the Coquihalla.

 

[Lon12]

Princeton BC

A couple of months ago I was talking to the owner of the Vermilion Fork restaurant in Princeton. I asked him if he had ever considered installing an EV charger for his patrons. The next day he contacted Tesla about the charger.
I just got an email from him and he is expecting the Tesla charger to be up and running before the end of April.
I know Princeton already has a couple of chargers but it would be great if we could show our appreciation by stopping in and trying it out.
He will update Plugshare once its up and running.

 

[beeeerock]

Echo Valley Ranch and Spa

Lon12's post reminded me to mention another location that has apparently gone live... Echo Valley Ranch and Spa in the wilds NW of Clinton, almost to Jesmond. I've stayed there in the past - a really amazing place that's half Western, half Thai... more of a spa than a guest ranch, with amazing food. I told them about the Tesla Destination Charger program last fall and they've apparently installed a few, even though they don't show up on Plugshare (yet). Anyone looking for a place to spoil their significant other will get plenty of brownie points for booking there...!

 

[Lon12]

Princeton BC

A couple of months ago I was talking to the owner of the Vermilion Fork restaurant in Princeton. I asked him if he had ever considered installing an EV charger for his patrons. The next day he contacted Tesla about the charger.
I just got an email from him and he is expecting the Tesla charger to be up and running before the end of April.
I know Princeton already has a couple of chargers but it would be great if we could show our appreciation by stopping in and trying it out.
He will update Plugshare once its up and running.

Good news. Vermilion Fork restaurant charger is now in service. Check it out on PlugShare now:
Vermilion Fork Restaurant | Princeton, BC | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[Aussie Bob]

I think I am fine but I plan to travel to Toronto on the weekend from Ottawa with my first SC stop at Port Hope. I plan to travel on Hwy 7 to Tweed and then the 401. My trip planner seems to indictate I should be okay. Has anyone travelled from Ottawa to Toronto using Port Hope as their first charge?

In past I gave always travelled to Kingston on Hwy 15 or 10 for my charge.

 

[rainforest]

Hi there. I'm planning to do a trip from Vancouver to Calgary this summer in my X60D, but I'm worried about the Kelowna to Revelstoke supercharger distance (200km). Was anyone able to do that distance between superchargers on one go, and if so, how much energy did you have to spare? I'm concerned because even though my car is rated for 320km, I never seem to be able to achieve this range in the city.

This will be my very first road trip.

 

[TrevTremaine]

I think I am fine but I plan to travel to Toronto on the weekend from Ottawa with my first SC stop at Port Hope. I plan to travel on Hwy 7 to Tweed and then the 401. My trip planner seems to indictate I should be okay. Has anyone travelled from Ottawa to Toronto using Port Hope as their first charge?

In past I gave always travelled to Kingston on Hwy 15 or 10 for my charge.

How did you make out? I'll be looking at a round trip to Ottawa later this spring. Any sign of a SC being put somewhere in Ottawa or is it strictly going to be destination chargers?

 

[wayner]

Even if the Ottawa Superchargers aren't up don't forget that the L3 chargers subsidized by the Ontario government are coming online. According to that page at Electric Vehicles Chargers Ontario there are two L3 chargers at the Ottawa IKEA and one L3 charger at 141 Clarence St. Of course you will likely need a chademo adapter.

 

[TrevTremaine]

Even if the Ottawa Superchargers aren't up don't forget that the L3 chargers subsidized by the Ontario government are coming online. According to that page at Electric Vehicles Chargers Ontario there are two L3 chargers at the Ottawa IKEA and one L3 charger at 141 Clarence St. Of course you will likely need a chademo adapter.

Thanks for the info. I was going to ask about adapters, so will probably buy a chademo right off the bat.

 

[wayner]

Don't wait for the last minute as I saw in another thread that they are backordered.

 

[Ugliest1]

Hi there. I'm planning to do a trip from Vancouver to Calgary this summer in my X60D, but I'm worried about the Kelowna to Revelstoke supercharger distance (200km). Was anyone able to do that distance between superchargers on one go, and if so, how much energy did you have to spare? I'm concerned because even though my car is rated for 320km, I never seem to be able to achieve this range in the city.

This will be my very first road trip.

My advice is based on a RWD S85, so take it for what it's worth w.r.t. a 60. You should get better highway mileage than I do because of dual motor. I just went to Edmonton and back from Victoria last week, and although I didn't record what the car actually did, my evtripplanner.com numbers are: 212 km distance, requiring 276 Rkm at 240 Wh/km and 51.4 kWh. We had lunch in Kamloops and the car was 'ready' before we were, but I can't remember what the Rkm were -- probably 350? But then I didn't use any kind of range-keeping behaviours and we had plenty left when we pulled into Revelstoke. The weather on the whole trip was somewhere between -2C and 8C.

Some random points:
- Keeping speed at 90km/hr will help a lot, in fact I've driven at 100 or slightly above and haven't noticed a lot of difference from 90.
- As you go on the trip every 10 km or so compare the distance left on Nav against your car's Rkm left -- if you started with a 40km buffer and the buffer isn't reducing much, you can be more confident that whatever you're doing will get you to Revelstoke.
- The Sicamous visitor centre has a 90A charger that will give you about 70km in an hour -- that may be the best solution to keep your stress down and give your body a rest as well; take a little longer and feel out how the car performs. You can think of the km's you get there as merely added buffer.
- Check your "avg Wh/km" graph while driving (after 10km or after 50km, your choice), and if it's around 240 then the car should use about 280Rkm (according to evtripplanner.com)
- Another way to look at it if you are really worried is keep the orange line on the top right quarter of your speedometer around 40 or so (what! no 160-320 acceleration lunges!!!!??) That will slow you down a lot up hills, but reduces a LOT of energy.

Since you're going in the summer the weather will be much kinder to you than on our trip. Have fun!

 

[rainforest]

My advice is based on a RWD S85, so take it for what it's worth w.r.t. a 60. You should get better highway mileage than I do because of dual motor. I just went to Edmonton and back from Victoria last week, and although I didn't record what the car actually did, my evtripplanner.com numbers are: 212 km distance, requiring 276 Rkm at 240 Wh/km and 51.4 kWh. We had lunch in Kamloops and the car was 'ready' before we were, but I can't remember what the Rkm were -- probably 350? But then I didn't use any kind of range-keeping behaviours and we had plenty left when we pulled into Revelstoke. The weather on the whole trip was somewhere between -2C and 8C.

Some random points:
- Keeping speed at 90km/hr will help a lot, in fact I've driven at 100 or slightly above and haven't noticed a lot of difference from 90.
- As you go on the trip every 10 km or so compare the distance left on Nav against your car's Rkm left -- if you started with a 40km buffer and the buffer isn't reducing much, you can be more confident that whatever you're doing will get you to Revelstoke.
- The Sicamous visitor centre has a 90A charger that will give you about 70km in an hour -- that may be the best solution to keep your stress down and give your body a rest as well; take a little longer and feel out how the car performs. You can think of the km's you get there as merely added buffer.
- Check your "avg Wh/km" graph while driving (after 10km or after 50km, your choice), and if it's around 240 then the car should use about 280Rkm (according to evtripplanner.com)
- Another way to look at it if you are really worried is keep the orange line on the top right quarter of your speedometer around 40 or so (what! no 160-320 acceleration lunges!!!!??) That will slow you down a lot up hills, but reduces a LOT of energy.

Since you're going in the summer the weather will be much kinder to you than on our trip. Have fun!

Wow - I love this forum!

But if rkm is 276, that only leave me with a buffer of about 40km (100% charge is 320km). Yes, I will be going in summer, but maybe I better charge at the Sicamous visitor centre as you suggest. (I don't have dual chargers though).

In terms of speed, you're telling me that going slightly above 100km/hr doesn't make much difference from 90km/hr? Then I would rather go at the higher speed.