Toronto to Blue Mountain and Back on Sunday

[Birdman325]

Planning on quick round trip ski day up to Blue Mountain on Sunday.

Abetterrouteplanner says I will get to Blue Mountain with 60% charge left in my LR Model 3 with 18" Aero covers and can make it back home with 20%.

That seems mildly optimistic to me, but even a quick charge in Barrie on the way home should make this a non-event even without plugging in for the day that I am parked up at Blue and letting the car sit out in the cold. (Supposed to be about -6 on Sunday.) I see the Westin has 4 destination chargers, but the website says it is for patrons / guests of the hotels only.

Question: I note there are now 2 SC spots in Barrie (I have not been to either) - 1 looks to be an older 8 stall and the other a newer 20 stall location. The obvious answer seems to be to stop at the newer one on the way home for a quick top-up but any thoughts on the 2 locations?

TIA

 

[rypalmer]

So Blue has a dual-head Chargepoint station now... just saw it on their Instagram story yesterday.

 

[Whisky]

No real difference between the two superchargers, but if you're going to Blue Mountain, the Bayfield one will be right on your way so probably your best stop. I've been to both a few times. Bayfield has plenty of terrible fast-food options nearby. The other one is bigger, but it's a long walk in all directions if you want to get yourself food.

Getting into a car with a cold battery on your ride home is going to suck. You're better off charging on the way up when your battery is nice and warm, and drive straight back the next day without charging. Otherwise, you'll see slow supercharging speed at those low temperatures when only driving for 30 minutes before hitting that first supercharger (like 1/3rd the speed, if not slower). For that reason it's a good idea to top-up just-in-case on your way up when your battery is warmer. Either way, plan for high consumption the next day for the first 30 minutes to an hour of your trip while the battery warms up.

My recommendation: Head up, stop at Bayfield, and grab a quick bite of food to top the car up, and then do the drive back the next day without charging. In the summertime this wouldn't even be a discussion, but with these cold temperatures, you're better to play it safe (and I say this, because my first winter I didn't play it safe, and there were times I was inconvenienced with longer stops to make it home).

 

[Birdman325]

Thx. Just saw it on plugshare - not exactly clear which parking lot it is in. Doesn't look like it is in the "main" parking lot - perhaps the lot at the south end? I will look around on Sunday for it. May provide sufficient cushion to avoid even a quick stop in Barrie.

 

[Birdman325]

Thx. We are doing this all in one day. I was thinking of topping up on the way up - but given that we are going there and back in one day, and likely want to be on the slopes by 9:30 at the latest (meaning an early departure from home), I doubt anyone will have any real appetite to stop on the way up but will just want to get there as quickly as we can.
I still need to do some driving from Blue Mountain before I get to either Barrie supercharger so hopefully the battery will have had a chance to warm up somewhat so that by the time I pull in to Barrie, the speeds won't be too bad and I will only need a small amount to give me a comfortable cushion to get him.
It would be nice if the 3 had a trunk pass through, rather than having to fold down one of the back seats to get the skis through.
I have this problem everytime I take my kids to hockey. Plenty of room for hockey bags in the trunk, but the stick requires a fold a down of the rear seat in order to fit.

 

[Whisky]

Thx. We are doing this all in one day.

Sorry my fault, I misread. You should be fine doing that entire trip, you won't lose that much charge with the same-dray return and it'll be real obvious if you do need a charge at Barrie within the first part of your trip, but you probably won't.

 

[rypalmer]

Thx. Just saw it on plugshare - not exactly clear which parking lot it is in. Doesn't look like it is in the "main" parking lot - perhaps the lot at the south end? I will look around on Sunday for it. May provide sufficient cushion to avoid even a quick stop in Barrie.

One word of caution.. these stupid Chargepoint stations share one rather undersized 40A service. Expect to be sharing the available current, to a max of 16A @ 200V. 30A if you're lucky to have the station to yourself. Really pathetic in 2019, but marginally better than nothing.

 

[Cycle11111]

Stop at one of the Barrie SCs for 15-30 minutes heading home. Just the drive from Blue will have warmed up the battery somewhat - plus pre-condition by turning on climate from the app when you are done for the day and before getting into the car and you battery will be ready to pull in SC juice and the car will be nice and warm. I live in Tahoe CA and do that all the time when at the ski resorts before hitting the road and Truckee SCs.

 

[MarcoRP]

Orangeville! Orangeville! Oops doesn’t exist yet.

 

[Duckjybe]

No way you should risk planning going up and back in one charge. The Blue Mountain Intrawest charger is only for Intrawest guests. I believe if you have lunch at the Westin you can charge. I have stayed and charged there before but it is often partially ICEd. The 4 new J1772 plugs in the Blue parking lot is a welcome addition. Best bet is to grab one of those if they aren't taken and maybe use Westin or Barrie Superchargers as a backup plan. Too bad there is no Chademo for the 3 yet as the Tim's has one.

 

[MarcoRP]

Too bad there is no Chademo for the 3 yet as the Tim's has one.

17$/hour

 

[Duckjybe]

17$/hour

Thats why I never see anybody charging at Tim's! But if you need a charge that badly...

 

[Birdman325]

The 4 new J1772 plugs in the Blue parking lot is a welcome addition. Best bet is to grab one of those if they aren't taken...

Do you know which parking lot they are in? From the pictures it doesn’t look like they are in the main village / grand Georgian parking lot. Are they at South Base? (The lot across from South Base?). Those are the only 2 lots I am familiar with up there.

 

[MarcoRP]

Do you know which parking lot they are in? From the pictures it doesn’t look like they are in the main village / grand Georgian parking lot. Are they at South Base? (The lot across from South Base?). Those are the only 2 lots I am familiar with up there.

 

[Duckjybe]

Do you know which parking lot they are in? From the pictures it doesn’t look like they are in the main village / grand Georgian parking lot. Are they at South Base? (The lot across from South Base?). Those are the only 2 lots I am familiar with up there.

Just based on plugshare, the map shows it in the overflow parking lot across the street from the main village parking lot. I have parked there when the other lot was full. This is a good location as it will not get ICEd unless the place is jammed, which it often is on weekends - don't get there late!

 

[Duckjybe]

I presume you have your Chargepoint app downloaded and account set up with funds.

 

[Birdman325]

Yup. I even have a card. I used it for the first time the other evening when I went up to have my DUAL MOTOR badge installed. The IKEA right near the Dave and Busters has a chargepoint in their parking lot.

Plugged in, used my card to tap, charged for 2 minutes and then unplugged.

 

[Switzch]

I have driven to Collingwood and back without stopping to charge 2x over the holiday. Left from Toronto (Bayview/Eg) to Collingwood at 91% and got back home in Toronto at about 10%. Temp was about 0 degrees. On the 400 I was going 120+ so definitely not trying to drive efficnient. I would say no issues and you can easily charge for 10min at the Dunlop/Bayfield/Vaughn superchargers if you need to drive around in town while in Cwood.

Oh, I have a LR RWD M3.

Cheers!

 

[Birdman325]

Thx. Temps are predicted to be about -6 on Sunday, we will be 4 in the car and I have AWD. Will see how it goes.

 

[Switzch]

Thx. Temps are predicted to be about -6 on Sunday, we will be 4 in the car and I have AWD. Will see how it goes.

My last two trips were with 2 adults and my 25 pounder kid so you will be over my weight. No Aero wheels (caps removed), but I dont think that will make the difference between the RWD and AWD range. Snow tires too. Don't take my word for it, but I would assume that even in -4 to -6 temp range you could do easily do Toronto to Cwood (park for 8 hours) then to Barrie Bayfield St. Charger with no issue assuming a full charge when you leave. Once it gets into -10 or more I would stop for juice on the way up.

I have only supercharged once, it was at Bayfield. I was also on my way back from Cwood (not a round tripper) and was amazed at the speed. I was getting 750km/hour at rougly 107kw/hr.. Charged for 12 min and got over 200km of range. Cost $4.50.