A quick update on our electric road tripping around North America, 2 months and 6000mi into the journey. We’ve seen some amazing sights, met some amazing people and had an amazing time in our amazing vehicle. Although we were beaten back by the smoke haze, heat and poor air quality in the Yukon (yes climate change is increasingly real the farther north you go) we made it to Alaska, twice, via the Cassair/Glacier and Klondike Highways and are now about to tackle the Great Canadian EVSE Desert, which appears to stretch unbroken for almost 2000mi from Calgary to Sudbury. The route has been modified slightly, the Dalton and Dawson highways, and the Labrador Highway were pure hubris on our part and not really practical in a saloon car, EV or ICE.
So far the S85D has performed exceptionally well, with only a 12v battery replacement, gratis, in Vancouver. Autopilot well exceeded expectations, handling winding roads with only faint centre or edge lines, braking for corners, reading speed signs, including temporary ones such as on a grass cutting vehicle or at roadworks, distinguishing ‘speed limit ahead’ signs from actual ones and converting kph to mph and even on occasion responding to Stop signs. It makes long distance driving much more relaxing. The remaining range indication on the navigation screen has proved remarkably accurate, although on long treks we’ve sometime had to cruise at 50mph to ensure we have sufficient reserve in case the selected destination charge point wasn’t available. whilst it may have inconvenienced a few RV drivers it gave us more opportunity to spot wildlife and enjoy the scenery. So far the only minor problem was a charger in use in Whitehorse Yukon and an enforced late departure whilst we waited for a slow 30amp charge at an RV park. Hopefully the next leg of the journey will be as smooth.
As we head east any advice on whether to use a J1772 or a 14-50 plug, or a Tesla destination charger where available would be appreciated.