Driving Across Canada via the New TransCanada Highway!

[bpjod]

I live in the frigid Canadian prairies and drive around BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan all the time in winter in the worst conditions. I'm now in my second winter with my M3 LR RWD and I'd have no worries at all about driving the Trans Canada route in winter once the Superchargers are all up and running reliably. There still seems to be some reports about them not working so I'd give it some time to have all the issues sorted out.

I have many, many years with lots of winter driving (hockey all over the prairies, downhill and cross-country skiing whenever I get the chance, visiting family) under my belt and have been in all sorts of horrid conditions. I learned to drive with a RWD car with bald tires before winter tires, ABS or traction control were even available. I would hesitate to recommend the drive to someone who hasn't much experience with winter driving though. If you do, I have a number of recommendations:

• Get good winter tires. There are roads in BC where they're mandatory and they're also mandatory in Quebec IIRC. I'm happy with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3s on my LR RWD.
• There are many desolate stretches. Make sure you are prepared to survive on your own if you go off the road and there's no help for hours. Good winter clothes from head to toe should be available inside the car. Emergency food and water. Candles and matches can do a great job keeping the inside of a car warm. Snow shovel. Warm blanket.
• If you have someone you can check in with daily so they know you've completed your day's drive safely, that would be good.
• Alberta and BC have websites that are up to date for the road conditions. Check them and the weather forecast often. Better to spend a couple of days in a town waiting for the highways to be cleared (there's a reason they call Revelstoke "Revel-stuck") than stuck in a ditch somewhere waiting for a tow.

Specific to Tesla winter driving:

• Charging a cold battery sucks. I'd only stay in places where I could use an L2 charger overnight so I leave with a full battery. Now with the update that preconditions the battery if your Nav system has a Supercharger stop planned, it's far better than it was last winter (don't get me started...), but don't plan on getting a fast Supercharge on a cold battery with less than 1 hr of Hwy driving first.
• Best to top up at a Supercharger before arriving at your day's destination or stay where there's L2 charging than to hope to charge in the morning.
• If you leave the car outside and unplugged overnight, don't be surprised when in the morning you have 10-15% less battery charge than when you parked the night before. It happens.
• If you do plug into L1 (they're available all over for block heaters in places where it gets really cold) you likely won't get any additional range, or far less than you hoped for, but you'll also not likely lose any range either. Also, I've been fooled by these. Sometimes they're on timers or cycle on/off and that can cause some nasty surprises.
• I've been happy with TACC in winter. Helps me keep my speed down for conserving range, but I do turn it off when the roads are icy.
• Auto-steer does work far better than I'd have guessed. However, I prefer to take control to drive around icy patches, snow drifts, and to keep tires on dry pavement and off ice and rumble strips. Use with caution and due diligence.
• If you didn't already know - press the defrost button once, it turns blue and defrosts with the temperature your climate control system is set at. Press twice and it turns red and will blow hot air on the front windshield.
• The rear end is a magnet for salt/grime/snow. Clean your tail lights every chance you get. While you're at it, clean all the cameras, it keeps your car from nagging you as much.

If you decide to go for it, let us know how it goes. I'd love to do it if I had the time. I've driven all of the TCH between Ottawa and Vancouver in all 4 seasons and most of the rest of it (not the Nfld stretch) in the summer and I never tire of it. It's a great country we live in.

 

[bpjod]

BTW I didn’t mean to imply other provinces don’t have websites with up to date road conditions. It’s just I’ve only used them for AB & BC and they’re a great resource so check them out and look into the other provinces too.

 

[Pilot7478]

I love road trips, but I've heard the part between Calgary and Toronto is really boring with no much landscape goodies and it's more interesting to take the US-side route.
Can anybody who did this trip comment on that?

 

[Hugh Mannity]

I love road trips, but I've heard the part between Calgary and Toronto is really boring with no much landscape goodies and it's more interesting to take the US-side route.
Can anybody who did this trip comment on that?

depends what you define as boring. Calgary to Winnipeg is considered “boring” for many since it’s the “bald ass” prairie.

Winnipeg to Toronto is typically considered gorgeous since it’s the Canadian Shield and is hilly and has lots of lakes. But wow...... it is a LONG drive, it can get brutal pretty quick. Having said that I’ve only ever driven the TCH with an ICEbox. In the Tesla it’s probably far more enjoyable.

 

[bpjod]

Prairies are equally boring on either side of the 49th parallel. South side of Superior has more towns and cities. North side has more ... trees. I like the North shore in summer but can’t remember what it’s like in winter other than snowy and cold. Either way, it’s a long drive.

 

[Ol'Blue]

I stopped reading all the posts, so this may have already been mentioned.

no matter your range reduction, it will likely only be first thing when you start the drive every day. The superchargers will massively heat your batteries up, and it will take a long time for them to cool after each session. So I’m willing to bed your efficiency will be pretty reasonable after the first supercharge.

Get a good air pump and gauge to keep track of your pressures, they may a massive difference on range. And since you’ll be at multiple elevations and temperatures, the pressures will be all over the place.

Also notice a huge difference in range with the air conditioning turned on. I hate using the auto function for this reason. I would recommend not using it unless you see window fogging issues. And don’t be afraid to use the seat heater and driving gloves more instead of high heat.


I’ve done the drive from Ontario to Vancouver 7 times if I remember correctly. All different routes with different cars and times of year (but not an EV yet) I’ve also don’t Ontario to Halifax a few times. No route is easier or harder then the other at this time of year. Plan ahead, pack approximately (extra jacket, blanket, shovel, salt or kitty litter, lots of -50 washer fluid, and as mentioned before a good air pump/gauge and a tire repair kit all can fit in a rubber made tub or something)

I’m excited to see your results should you decide to do the trip!!!

 

[Lon12]

Now that I've been watching my battery temperatures with Scan My Tesla I have a better understand of battery heating with the Model 3 in cold weather. Not sure what car OP is using that is why I asked. With the 3 it actively heats the battery until it is over 50C when supercharging. Then once on the highway it gradually cools by about one degree per minute until I sit below 30C at highway speed and flat terrain. So you want to always have the next supercharger in the Navi to preheat on the way there. It never gets warm enough by the time I arrive at a SC but every little bit helps. Doing four or five launches to 100 kph helps warm up the motors a lot faster than the 3 kW that the motors run at while charging.

 

[DeepFrz]

If you stay at a hotel with destination charging and can leave the car connected all night that is great. Otherwise I've seen the recommendation to visit the SC as soon as you come off the hwy when you reach your destination. That way the batteries are warm and you can take advantage of the SC speed. Some good charging info at ABRP. Faster Tesla Supercharging - How does it actually perform?

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Report on a Cross Canada Trip in a Tesla

Good luck guys. Good PR
Hope you keep track of the amount of (%) battery degradation due to the cold. Would be good to see the real life numbers for cold weather.

 

[MarcoRP]

hi all,

i'm planning a trip across canada in celebration of the new canadian superchargers!
if it all works out, i'll probably be sharing my experience in video form.
it's probably a silly idea, especially during winter, but i've been known to do silly things.
any tips? will i be the first to do this?

Victoria --> Halifax via #1

thanks

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/electric-vehicle-tesla-driving-winnipeg-1.5410625

Someone is actually doing this road trip right now (see article -^)

 

[e-FTW]

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/electric-vehicle-tesla-driving-winnipeg-1.5410625

Someone is actually doing this road trip right now (see article -^)

Wonder how they are doing with the winter storm in Quebec right now.

 

[outdoors]

Report on a Cross Canada Trip in a Tesla

Good luck guys. Good PR
Hope you keep track of the amount of (%) battery degradation due to the cold. Would be good to see the real life numbers for cold weather.

Looks like they packed it in and stopped in Sudbury.

"The plan for Halifax was audacious and required that nothing went wrong along the route. The car has performed flawlessly and with only minor issues (involving snow) for getting access to the charging facilities we needed to keep going,” said Goodeve in a Facebook post. “Loosing significant time to Canadian winter weather did not stop us, but did slow us down enough to put Halifax out of reach in the time available. Someone else is going to set that record and we will be cheering them on as they do.”

Read more at MobileSyrup.com: Dream of two Canadians driving across Canada in a Tesla Model 3 comes up short

I am trying for end of February. Would be solo however.

 

[Vawlkus]

Yeah, my EV group wanted to meet them at Enfield and do a mini parade. Next time.

 

[Evbwcaer]

In the US, a lot of engine block heater outlets are 5-20’s. You might consider a 5-20 UMC adapter if there are 5-20 block heater outlets in Canada.

A 5-20 delivers about twice the charging rate as a 5-15 despite being only about 30% more powerful.

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Anyone in Sask or MB interested in starting this trip within a day or two?
A Better Routeplanner
I have to be back by January 15th at the latest.
I am game but would like to have a C0-Pilot with computer & media skills. This would be a LOT of driving - at least 7 days, so co-pilot would also need to be used to driving long trips. I imagine we would do 4-6 hour stretches of driving.
My non driving wife would be traveling with us.

If there is someone interested, send me a PM and I'll get back to you.

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Almost had a very well qualified co-pilot but he got scared of the weather in the mountains of BC.

I thought of just doing the trip with my wife as co-pilot, staying in a motel after about 12 hours of driving per day. However I would have to break it up due to the Dr's. Appointment (been waiting for a long time to see the specialist).

So, I calculated the time it would take using the above criteria. Quite interesting:

The trip east from Brandon to Halifax and back will require about 48 Super Charger stops and will require 9 nights in motels, 8060 Km. round trip.

The trip west from Brandon to Nanaimo & down to Victoria then back to Brandon will require 24 Super Charger stops and will require 4 nights in motels. That leg is only about 4516 Km. round trip.

As I have not had a response from a willing co-driver, and looking at the trip, it hardly seems worth doing. As it would only be from Ocean to Ocean and not from Mile 0 in Victoria all the way to Mile 1 in Newfoundland/Labrador.
I guess another option would be to do the western leg first, then go all the way to Newfoundland/Labrador.

As I have nothing to gain from this, and no co-driver, other than being able to say we did it, sadly, I'll have to leave the honors to others.

 

[noicepls]

I guess another option would be to do the western leg first, then go all the way to Newfoundland/Labrador.

This is what my wife wants to do - dividing the east and west legs will potentially be more enjoyable, less stressful, and probably leaving more time available to enjoy the locales.

 

[BEPA400]

Wish I had time to do this and could put my 20,000+km of free supercharging to use! Would probably be a first with an Sr+.

 

[outdoors]

The car ferry isn't cheap $244 each way plus $121 per person each way. So my question is it really a record if you don't get to St. John Newfoundland? I saw the other guys just going to Halifax.

So I think I can do it in 3.7 days ish. Solo Vancouver to Halifax. Maybe 3 days depending on weather conditions in late Feb. Would do the St. John, but that would add some serious time off from work. Almost feels like I would be driving home from Iceland.

Edit : I see they were doing a coast to coast. Not a full TCH.

 

[Manitoba Keith]

I figured 7 days round trip, but that was with two drivers, not solo. You must be able to go to sleep really easily to be able to sleep while charging and not stop otherwise but 8 hours of sleep on the 73 hour trip seems dangerous to me. I doubt the car can really self drive while you sleep! One thing about it, if you can start in Vancouver, it won't require getting there in the first place, but I really think you need to start at mile 0, not at Vancouver.
An Ocean to Ocean trip would be a record also, although it would be broken once it was mile 0 to mile 1.
I am looking at doing it from Mile 0 Victoria to mile 1 in Newfoundland. Need to check on L2 chargers there.
Edit:
After looking, as there are no Trans Canada Superchargers until Enfield, NS I would say there is no sense in going to the rock, except to be a tourist and meet the great people. That would eat up a lot of time and as was said, a bit of money too. Yep, have to agree @outdoors Coast to Coast makes more sense.
Although I still think it might be a good idea to leave from Victoria.