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Peter_M
Member
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
Kira
Member
As promised, here's how our recent road trip from Victoria, BC to Drumheller, AB (with a stop in Radium Hot Springs) went, including Supercharging costs. A reminder that there were some unnecessary stops and lengthier-than-required charging due to co-pilot's range anxiety.
Charged at home in Victoria (not to 100% - just whatever that pre-set max line for "day" use is), ferried to Vancouver, stayed the night in Richmond, then SuperCharged in:
Arrived in Radium Hot Springs and stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin at Crescent Motel, which has a Level 2 charger for guests. We were the only EV staying there that week, and the owner told us that the charging spot would be our dedicated parking spot for our 3 night stay. Highly recommend this place - super clean and comfortable for a family of four and was only $183 per night including the taxes!
After a few nights in Radium, we set out for Drumheller, stopping for Supercharging in Canmore (9 minutes / $1.62).
In Drumheller, we stayed at the Super 8 for one night, as the manager had told me they had a "plug" for charging the car and I figured it'd be reassuring for certain co-pilots to at least trickle charge overnight. Was pleasantly surprised to find not one, but essentially every parking spot in the large lot (shared with the Ramada) had a plug, so didn't need to worry about one specific spot.
It'd be nice if the museum put in a couple Level 2 chargers at some point, as I imagine it'd be very convenient for folks to charge there whilst viewing the exhibits. We did find the two Level 2 chargers in town, and used the one near the banks for a bit while visiting the world's largest dinosaur and having lunch at Sublime (very tasty). Speaking of tasty, Maddy's Chicken in Drumheller is the best Korean fried chicken we've ever eaten and easily the best meal out we had on the whole trip. My husband is still raving about it....
On the route home, we SuperCharged in:
Stopped for one night in Vernon to visit a family member's grave. Stayed at the Best Western, which had a Tesla Destination charger and a Level 2 charger, so we charged up there.
From Vernon, we drove straight to Hope without stopping. It was extremely windy that day and I watched our estimated remaining battery on arrival drop from around 22% down to 14% as I was battling the wind and driving higher and higher. Finally felt a little twinge of range anxiety, so decided to slow down a bit and follow a semi for a while. That brought the remaining range back up to 19% fairly quickly, so after that I stopped worrying and just enjoyed the rest of the drive to Hope. We SuperCharged there while enjoying a much-needed snack at that Blue Moose Café (32 minutes / $12.00).
Then back to Vancouver, stayed two nights in Richmond, drove to North Van and charged for an hour at the Level 2 charger in Capilano Mall, then made it back to Vancouver Island on the ferry and drove home to Victoria, arriving with 68 km worth of remaining battery (the lowest we've ever had).
Charged at home in Victoria (not to 100% - just whatever that pre-set max line for "day" use is), ferried to Vancouver, stayed the night in Richmond, then SuperCharged in:
Hope (50 minutes / $10.40) -- took the kids to eat at Blue Moose Coffee House, a couple blocks away
Merritt (13 minutes / $5.40)
Kamloops (2 minutes / $0.80)
Revelstoke (19 minutes / $7.60)
Golden (10 minutes / $4.00)
Merritt (13 minutes / $5.40)
Kamloops (2 minutes / $0.80)
Revelstoke (19 minutes / $7.60)
Golden (10 minutes / $4.00)
Arrived in Radium Hot Springs and stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin at Crescent Motel, which has a Level 2 charger for guests. We were the only EV staying there that week, and the owner told us that the charging spot would be our dedicated parking spot for our 3 night stay. Highly recommend this place - super clean and comfortable for a family of four and was only $183 per night including the taxes!
After a few nights in Radium, we set out for Drumheller, stopping for Supercharging in Canmore (9 minutes / $1.62).
In Drumheller, we stayed at the Super 8 for one night, as the manager had told me they had a "plug" for charging the car and I figured it'd be reassuring for certain co-pilots to at least trickle charge overnight. Was pleasantly surprised to find not one, but essentially every parking spot in the large lot (shared with the Ramada) had a plug, so didn't need to worry about one specific spot.
It'd be nice if the museum put in a couple Level 2 chargers at some point, as I imagine it'd be very convenient for folks to charge there whilst viewing the exhibits. We did find the two Level 2 chargers in town, and used the one near the banks for a bit while visiting the world's largest dinosaur and having lunch at Sublime (very tasty). Speaking of tasty, Maddy's Chicken in Drumheller is the best Korean fried chicken we've ever eaten and easily the best meal out we had on the whole trip. My husband is still raving about it....
On the route home, we SuperCharged in:
Rocky View (32 minutes / $10.26) -- took the kids to the mall for Jugo Juice & bio breaks
Canmore (10 minutes / $3.60)
Revelstoke (19 minutes / $7.60)
Canmore (10 minutes / $3.60)
Revelstoke (19 minutes / $7.60)
Stopped for one night in Vernon to visit a family member's grave. Stayed at the Best Western, which had a Tesla Destination charger and a Level 2 charger, so we charged up there.
From Vernon, we drove straight to Hope without stopping. It was extremely windy that day and I watched our estimated remaining battery on arrival drop from around 22% down to 14% as I was battling the wind and driving higher and higher. Finally felt a little twinge of range anxiety, so decided to slow down a bit and follow a semi for a while. That brought the remaining range back up to 19% fairly quickly, so after that I stopped worrying and just enjoyed the rest of the drive to Hope. We SuperCharged there while enjoying a much-needed snack at that Blue Moose Café (32 minutes / $12.00).
Then back to Vancouver, stayed two nights in Richmond, drove to North Van and charged for an hour at the Level 2 charger in Capilano Mall, then made it back to Vancouver Island on the ferry and drove home to Victoria, arriving with 68 km worth of remaining battery (the lowest we've ever had).
Trip = approximately 2,523 km
Cost of gas if we'd have driven our minivan = Approximately $510
Total cost of Supercharging (excessive as many of our stops and times were) = $63 and change
Cost of gas if we'd have driven our minivan = Approximately $510
Total cost of Supercharging (excessive as many of our stops and times were) = $63 and change
Last edited:
frankholdem
Member
Thanks Kira for this very detailed trip report. My family and I are travelling from Vernon to Drumheller next month so this is a very timely post. We're staying at the Ramada so I'm happy to hear that they have some plugs we can use to trickle charge overnight.
Kira
Member
My pleasure! Just a little note about those plugs in the Ramada / Super 8 lot in Drumheller:
I initially parked around the back of the Super 8, where the parking spots were edged by grass. When I checked the charging rate later that night around 10pm, I was surprised to see it had dropped from 7km / hr to 4km / hr. Went out to investigate and found that automatic sprinklers had popped up from the grass and were spraying water all over the plug-in box, the mobile connector cord, and the back of the car.
Had a refreshing shower while unplugging everything, dried off the mobile connector, then tried to find a different parking spot. By this time of night, the lot was essentially full and the open parking spots (e.g. those to the right side of the Super 8 entrance) had plugs that weren't working. Finally managed to barely squeeze into a tiny space in the middle of the lot between an SUV and a massive truck, and thankfully the plug worked. Obviously, I didn't really need to charge, but at that point, it had become a personal challenge
I hope you all have a wonderful trip - and definitely stop by Maddy's for some chicken!
frankholdem
Member
My pleasure! Just a little note about those plugs in the Ramada / Super 8 lot in Drumheller:
I initially parked around the back of the Super 8, where the parking spots were edged by grass. When I checked the charging rate later that night around 10pm, I was surprised to see it had dropped from 7km / hr to 4km / hr. Went out to investigate and found that automatic sprinklers had popped up from the grass and were spraying water all over the plug-in box, the mobile connector cord, and the back of the car.
Had a refreshing shower while unplugging everything, dried off the mobile connector, then tried to find a different parking spot. By this time of night, the lot was essentially full and the open parking spots (e.g. those to the right side of the Super 8 entrance) had plugs that weren't working. Finally managed to barely squeeze into a tiny space in the middle of the lot between an SUV and a massive truck, and thankfully the plug worked. Obviously, I didn't really need to charge, but at that point, it had become a personal challenge
I hope you all have a wonderful trip - and definitely stop by Maddy's for some chicken!
thanks for the additional info and the head's up about the sprinklers.
Did the outlet that you used at the super 8 look like the attached photo? That's a photo that the Ramada folks sent me a while back when I inquired about chargers. At first I thought it was a regular 120 V outlet but I just noticed now that it says 50 A and 250 V on it. After doing some googling it looks like this might be a Nema 6-50 outlet. Tesla sells an adapter for this type of outlet for $44 and when used it can support charging at 32A (or 48 km/hr) so I might get one of those adapters and see how that goes.
Attachments
Kira
Member
Hmmmm, the spots I parked at & checked all looked the same, like regular 120V outlets. Unfortunately, I didn't go through the entire lot on foot to peek under the covers of each one, and I'm wishing that I had now. It makes sense that there's one that's different, that must have been what the Super 8 Manager was mentioning to me. If it is a Nema 6-50 outlet, it would be great if they'd put a little sign at that spot for EV drivers to see, so it'd be easier to find. Perhaps if you find it when you're there, you can share a rough idea of where it is in the lot? Maybe it can even be listed on PlugShare, if they have a category to show that type of outlet.
3s-a-charm
Active Member
I'm reaching out to Tesla owners in the Winnipeg, Manitoba region who are passionate about their vehicles and helping other new owners. If you live in the Winnipeg area and own a Tesla please reach out to me via direct message on TMC or via email: [email protected] - thank you.
Yes, not only does the Canadian Model 3 have full maps and nav functionality in the US (based on my recent 1,500 km trip through Michigan), but the traffic routing works like a charm to help avoid traffic jams. Everything that works on the US model works on the CA model. And, it's really easy to change from our metric system to the US system using the touchscreen.
Kira
Member
Nope, unfortunately had to decide between the LR battery or SR battery + EAP, so went for the range.
The moment my new P3D arrives I plan to travel the entire length of the Trans-Canada (probably excluding the NL part- I spent too long at gander to want to go back anytime soon). It seems that absent CHAdeMO being enabled before I go part of it might be a bit fo a slog. Does anybody have specific advice? Frankly is seems as though the toughest part might well be western Ontario, so i might well cheat a little by going south through the US to avoid that gap.
if i get delivery by the middle of August, which seems probable, I'll do it right away. If it is very much later I'll probably wait until next year. I'm guessing September might make the Rockies a trifle difficult since it's not a ski trip and I'd prefer to avoid snow tires or chains.
I've been dreaming of this trip in a Tesla hoping to replicate my youthful adventure a few decades ago.
if i get delivery by the middle of August, which seems probable, I'll do it right away. If it is very much later I'll probably wait until next year. I'm guessing September might make the Rockies a trifle difficult since it's not a ski trip and I'd prefer to avoid snow tires or chains.
I've been dreaming of this trip in a Tesla hoping to replicate my youthful adventure a few decades ago.
Well, my son took a drive from Victoria to Nanaimo a couple weeks ago just to try out EAP and the Nanaimo supercharger, and he said he was very impressed ... like, VERY. Held the highway at speed, and wonderful in bumper traffic. I wasn't along for the ride so those are the only details I know.
Drone Flyer
Active Member
Going to St.John NB Friday. Anyone else done this from Toronto? I have no Chademo. Nav screen says to charge at Magog, Augusta and Bangor Maine! Then on to St. John, with my 75D.
DMC-Orangeville
Audi eTron & John Deere 5100E
Members of the Tesla Owners Club of Ontario (and I know you are one of them) can borrow a CHAdeMO adapter for up to 2 weeks, free of charge (pun?). It's a new program, and will be discussed at our next meeting. The notice is on the web page (Tesla Owners Club – Ontario Tesla Owners Club), but the reservation section isn't live, yet. In the mean time, contact our fearless leader, John, and he can loan it to you
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