Toronto to Thunder Bay

[RAM_Eh]

I am wondering if anyone has done this trip and has any details on charging...ie the locations and charge times(specifically). I am looking at doing this in the future and am left wondering if its not better to go through the states around the bottom of the great lakes. This route is 600 KM longer but the time due to charging may be the same?

 

[PoweredByRain]

I am wondering if anyone has done this trip and has any details on charging...ie the locations and charge times(specifically). I am looking at doing this in the future and am left wondering if its not better to go through the states around the bottom of the great lakes. This route is 600 KM longer but the time due to charging may be the same?

Hi. I have done the southern route three times and the northern route once. With the installation of the Duluth supercharger it is no doubt faster now to go through the U.S. The route north of Lake Superior works, but... well, it's pretty simple, you can do the calculation yourself. 69A @ 200V is roughly 14 kW. That will get you about 70 km. So it's about an hour of charging for every 70 km past your initial 400 km range. It's 1300 km from the Barrie supercharger to Thunder Bay, so at least 900 km worth of charging, or about 13 hours. You can do some of it overnight if you're taking two days for the trip, but there is no getting around the fact that you are going to be spending a lot of time not moving.

You're also relying on only one charger at each location, versus Supercharger locations with typically 8 stalls.

I prefer the route through Canada, but it is relatively risky. Be sure to charge enough each time to be able to get to the charger PAST the next charger.

Route through Canada: realistically 15 hours of driving, 14 hours of charging = 29 hours
Route through US: 600 km further, 19 hours of driving (higher speeds, no single-lane-we're-reconstructing-the-bridge sections), 5 hours of charging = 24 hours.

- - - Updated - - -

Check out plugshare.com for details, but I charged in Sudbury at the Nickel City International Truck Centre (a bit out of the way, but the only fast charger in Sudbury), Pier Seventeen in Blind River (looks like a nice place to stay, but I was just there for an hour or so to check it out), the Delta Sault Ste Marie (overnight), the Wawa Motor Inn, the Continental Motel in White River, the Red Dog Inn in Terrace, and the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay (the latter ONLY for guests). There is also a Tesla charger at the Beaver Motel in Nipigon.

If you're going through the U.S.: Duluth to Thunder Bay is 300 km, so... be frugal if it's really cold out!

 

[RAM_Eh]

Wow...what a great reply!

thanks that answered all of my questions. I looked through plugshare yesterday and saw all the Sun Country chargers you noted in Canada. My rough calculations came up about the same as yours.

Thanks again!


BTW what makes you do this route so often?

 

[mknox]

That's a great summary @PoweredByRain I have family in Thunder Bay and have never once been there to visit. Every now and again I'll play around with PlugShare to see what that trip would be like.

 

[PoweredByRain]

Wow...what a great reply!

thanks that answered all of my questions. I looked through plugshare yesterday and saw all the Sun Country chargers you noted in Canada. My rough calculations came up about the same as yours.

Thanks again!


BTW what makes you do this route so often?

You're welcome.

I drove from Victoria to Ottawa to visit my parents last summer, and again this summer. Each time I took a different route, or at least partly different route. I like visiting Supercharger stations.

Last summer the only way to get across the continent was to go as far south as Barstow (nearly Los Angeles), then toward Las Vegas, Denver, then up to I-90 and across. At that point there were no Superchargers in Ontario. That was painful. On the return trip I took 402 instead of 401, just to see new things. I grew up in Ottawa and went to university in Toronto, but know little of southern Ontario west of Toronto.

This year I-90 was done, so I saw Washington state, the small slice of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, then the rest of the route was the same, except for the luxury of Superchargers in Ontario. I managed to skip Toronto, going from Woodstock to Kingston on only 76% of the charge. I think I had a tailwind.

I had dual chargers installed, and tried going back entirely through Canada. One needs to look at it as more of a pioneering adventure than a simple road trip, trying to cross the country on Sun Country Highway 72 A chargers. Thank goodness for Peavey Mart, is all I can say.

The first summer the round trip (including some "local" travel, e.g. to Quebec City) was 17,000 km. This summer it was a mere 10,000 km. The two trips account for more than half of the distance I've put on the car!

I have video. I've only gone through some of the first summer trip. It takes a long time to go through the video...

On the road - victoriasports

 

[mrElbe]

Great videos of your epic trip.

 

[PoweredByRain]

Great videos of your epic trip.

Thank you!

I'll try to remember to post here again once I get to the Toronto to Thunder Bay stretch.

 

[RAM_Eh]

I'm going to be doing the trip in April to pick up my Daughter from university. Thanks for the info.

I will be taking the southern route as waiting for the car to charge will be like watching grass grow, and I would rather be driving.

 

[RAM_Eh]

Finally did the round trip last week from Tuesday to Saturday. Overnighted both ways in the Chicago area. Drive was great except the temperature was 25 degree C on the way back and the A/C broke.....AGAIN!!!! Didn't find more than one Tesla at any of the chargers and other than the ridiculous traffic in the Chicago area it was a good drive.

Trip A is the full stats for the round trip. Can't say I was looking at saving any energy during the drive. Only on one leg from Duluth to Thunder Bay was it close to the range. Left Duluth at dusk and the temperature dropped to -2C from 10C. Still had 40KM left over as a buffer.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Awesome info you guys thank you! Am planning to pick up my new car in Toronto this summer and drive back home with the family on the supercharger run through the states.

 

[rapoport3a]

The km per kW added is closer to 5.2, in my experience, and some chargers do run at 80 amps and voltage higher than 200. Only about 80 kWh of an 85 battery are probably available for propelling the car.

 

[Thalass]

Wow. You guys are adventurous, taking that trip right now. One of my wife's friends lives in Thunder Bay so of course I plotted it out on the map to see how feasible it is coming from North Bay. Fortunately my wife said she'd rather fly hah.

 

[RAM_Eh]

Wow. You guys are adventurous, taking that trip right now. One of my wife's friends lives in Thunder Bay so of course I plotted it out on the map to see how feasible it is coming from North Bay. Fortunately my wife said she'd rather fly hah.

Your 1/2 way there already...no big deal.