Road Trip: Chicago to Toronto/Montreal - Advice?

[SleepingAtLast]

i just picked up my new (refreshed) model s 70d today and am beyond thrilled.

i wanted to ask you experienced tesla road-trippers if there's anything specific i should know about taking this beauty beyond the border? my family and i plan on driving from chicago to toronto and then eventually montreal and back. would love any general advice you guys can send my way! anyone make this trip in their tesla? also specifically: does LTE service work in canada?

thanks so much in advance for any advice!

 

[Biker]

The trip is easy. You have Superchargers all the way. I have gone from Toronto through Chicago and back. Just plug in you destination in Toronto and the nav will route you through all of the SC stops.

A recommendation I have is to not get too cute about skipping some of the SCs. You don't save much time that way as you need to more fully charge in advance and the battery charges faster for the first half.

Have a great trip - and don't worry about the charging. There really is no planning needed. Just use your nav.

 

[TaoJones]

Bring money for tolls if you opt to not go through Canada on the way back. Lots and lots of tolls. Tolls in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and of course Illinois. New York remains cash only. Indiana takes plastic.

Happy to report that last year's bug that routed me from Ohio to Ontario in a horseshoe route right past the Buffalo SC is apparently gone this year.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

i just picked up my new (refreshed) model s 70d today and am beyond thrilled.

i wanted to ask you experienced tesla road-trippers if there's anything specific i should know about taking this beauty beyond the border? my family and i plan on driving from chicago to toronto and then eventually montreal and back. would love any general advice you guys can send my way! anyone make this trip in their tesla? also specifically: does LTE service work in canada?

thanks so much in advance for any advice!

The LTE service works in Canada. It may have a few small pockets, along the 401 (it will drop to 3G), but almost the entire route will be LTE. There may be a minute or 2 of handshaking just after the border, as it changes carriers. I've experienced this when I cross into New York, from Ontario, and back.

 

[SleepingAtLast]

you guys are awesome. thanks for responses!

 

[Ciaopec]

Bring money for tolls if you opt to not go through Canada on the way back. Lots and lots of tolls. Tolls in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and of course Illinois. New York remains cash only. Indiana takes plastic.

Or bring your I-Pass if you have one (and if you are from Chicago I don't know how you would get around without one). If you don't have one, get one. It's good on all the tollways; saves time; saves money. (Big discount in IL, lesser amounts elswhere). Take the tunnel from Detroit to Windsor and the 401 (QEW) from there. No trucks, no wait: a much more pleasant border crossing experience.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

Take the tunnel from Detroit to Windsor and the 401 (QEW) from there. No trucks, no wait: a much more pleasant border crossing experience.

Generally the tunnel is faster than the bridge.......A bit of a correction: the 401 isn't the QEW. The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) runs from Niagara to Toronto around Lake Ontario. The 401 is simply the 401.

 

[Ciaopec]

Generally the tunnel is faster than the bridge.......A bit of a correction: the 401 isn't the QEW. The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) runs from Niagara to Toronto around Lake Ontario. The 401 is simply the 401.

I stand corrected. The 401 is actually listed as "Macdonald-Cartier Frwy" from Windsor, through the balance of Ontario, until it morphs at the Quebec border to "Autoroute Souvenir" (Je me souviens that much). According to Google Maps, there is that stretch of the QEW that looks, at one point up around Pearson Airport, to share space with "Macdonald-Cartier". Maybe that was the source of my confusion as I spent a lot of time flying into YYZ as an airline crew member .

In the future, I'll stick to what I know: like the number of Canadian provinces that border Lake Erie (1) or the number of US states that do the same (8).

Which one has more torque: Tesla or Deere? ;-)

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

According to Google Maps, there is that stretch of the QEW that looks, at one point up around Pearson Airport, to share space with "Macdonald-Cartier".

There is a road sign on the 427, outside YYZ (Pearson Airport), that says "To QEW", but the roads never meet. I forgot about the M-C Freeway moniker. It's also known as The Highway of Heroes to honour our Veterans between 404 and Trenton Ontario. But if you ask anyone who travels it, it's called the four-oh-one.

We Ontarians REALLY screwed up our divided highways. Unlike the USA Interstate system, where "0" numbers go east/west, and "5" numbers go North/south, we picked "4 series" divided highways. Some times we used a number of a highway that it replaced (27=427, 10=410, 17=417), and sometimes it's just a new highway (400,401, 402 etc). Hard to understand, and it confuses non-residents.

In the future, I'll stick to what I know: like the number of Canadian provinces that border Lake Erie (1) or the number of US states that do the same (8).

And another one (a good bar bet): What country do you "hit" first if you go south from Detroit? It's Canada, but people don't believe it until you show them a map.

Which one has more torque: Tesla or Deere? ;-)

The Deere gets you out of a hole a lot better. Has better clearance too


Oh...and for the OP...IF you are going through Toronto in rush hour, the 401 will be a mess. There is a toll road option, but it's not cheap. The 407 Express Toll Route connects with the 401 just east of Milton ON, and parallels the 401, but without the traffic. You can reconnect at the 404, or at the east end of the highway, at Brock Road.

 

[RiverBrick]

If you are alone in the car, be careful about going in any HOV lanes that are open to single -occupancy vehicles with green Ontario plates for EVs. Out-of-province EVs are not welcome.

 

[SSD420]

If you are alone in the car, be careful about going in any HOV lanes that are open to single -occupancy vehicles with green Ontario plates for EVs. Out-of-province EVs are not welcome.

Are you sure? On the 404, it nearly states green plates. It doesn't say Ontario only.

 

[RiverBrick]

Are you sure? On the 404, it nearly states green plates. It doesn't say Ontario only.

On the government site it says Ontario issued green plates only. I asked if I could take my EV with special green Quebec plates in those HOV lanes and they the response from the ministry was no (unless actual high occupancy).

 

[tfinan]

I was just in Montreal this past weekend with my Tesla. For access to the public charging stations there, open an account with Home | FLO and/or Welcome | Circuit électrique. I believe these networks may now work with either type of card.