Western Canada Superchargers

[Paul Carter]

Fortunately I decided to keep my winter tires on until I returned. I had them switched a couple of days later. I've been using Grandview Tire on Commercial and 12th since I have aftermarket wheels. TST Tesla Aftermarket Wheel 19x8.5 I'm still hoping Tesla changes that policy someday.

Phew, well decided I'd say, but I guess there was a good chance you would of hit decent weather in both legs! Thanks for the info on Grandview Tire. I've tried Call Tire and Fountain Tire and they seemed slightly unconformable for my tire rotations so I went with Tesla Service instead. Don't understand why they would care about after market stuff, its good service and money for them.

 

[Morristhecat]

If you have a little space for storage, just get a 3ton jack and a 1/2" electric impact wrench and do it yourself. I am not all that mechanically inclined and even I started doing it this year myself. It's not hard at all. CT has them in sale periodically.

 

[Canuck]

Great pictures pairtrader. Your bed looks comfy. I need to visit the Foam Shop and make one.

Total time was 22h 40min, but that includes an extra five hours in Golden after I was fully charged...

Did you actually charge it full and then let it sit for 5 hours? If so, it might be better for the battery charge to the daily driving limit, then look at the time remaining and charge it again timed to end just before you leave. Although I doubt 5 hours does much harm.

I ran into one slow Supercharger in Hope. I was only getting 140km/hr charge rate. It was the same one that I used 10 days earlier with success. I moved to another and got the usual 500km+ rate. Apparently Hope has been having a few issues, so be sure to check your charge rate before heading to Blue Moose Coffee House.

I charged Friday and today from the second one over from the wooden housing. Both days, it took about three tries to get the green ring going but it was giving 477 km/hr, 264A, 372v with about 170 km on my battery. Good advice to always check the charging rate before leaving. Boy that Blue Moose has good food and great coffee. It was like a summer day in Hope today. 26 degrees according to the car's outside temperature reading.

 

[pairtrader]

Did you actually charge it full and then let it sit for 5 hours? If so, it might be better for the battery charge to the daily driving limit, then look at the time remaining and charge it again timed to end just before you leave. Although I doubt 5 hours does much harm.

Yes, I didn't even think about reducing it to the regular charge limit, I probably should have. In one year and 20,000km my car has only been charged to the max ten times at the most, so I'm not terribly concerned. It's hard to know for sure with the software updates, but I seem to have lost about 10km of range in one year, which I'm satisfied with.

 

[KenN]

Charging in Hope right now after working Merritt all week. Left Merritt with 168 rated, arrived Hope with 34.

Initial charging rate was a blistering 617 km/hr.

 

[pairtrader]

Tesla is having a test drive event in Kelowna this month. Since the Superchargers will surely be part of the sales pitch, hopefully it translates into the Kelowna Supercharger being prioritized.

Experience Model S in Kelowna | Events | Tesla Motors

 

[beeeerock]

Also interesting is that it's at Predator Ridge, much closer to Vernon than Kelowna. Perhaps they want the country roads for test drives and the distance from Kelowna to discourage test pilots...

 

[dasRad]

Also interesting is that it's at Predator Ridge, much closer to Vernon than Kelowna. Perhaps they want the country roads for test drives and the distance from Kelowna to discourage test pilots...

Predator Ridge has 2 HPWCs and the Commonage is a wonderful bit of road to drive. Not to mention that taking your SO for a weekend at Sparkling Hills will win you major brownie points. And, you don't have to deal with the awful traffic layout of Kelowna.

 

[beeeerock]

Predator Ridge has 2 HPWCs and the Commonage is a wonderful bit of road to drive. Not to mention that taking your SO for a weekend at Sparkling Hills will win you major brownie points. And, you don't have to deal with the awful traffic layout of Kelowna.

LOL, yeah, we spent a weekend at Sparkling Hills last spring. It wasn't exactly what we expected. Seemed like it catered to guys from the oil fields showing their girlfriends how much money they could spend. Jacked up trucks at the valet parking, and loud talking and goofing around in the steam rooms, in spite of all the signs indicating it was supposed to be quiet and relaxing in there. We expected a more mature or at least - sophisticated - cross-section of guests.

We enjoyed a few hikes around the area with some deer and a porcupine... and the food was pretty good. However, the idea of the place was much better than the reality of it... :redface:

 

[decibel]

I am not sure how much this has already been discussed, but I find the Tesla Motors plan for expanding the supercharger network to connect Calgary with northern Montana to be sub-optimal (installing four superchargers along I15, and Hwy 4 / Hwy 2). I would argue that most tourists (and this regional route will primarily be about tourist travel) would find that route mind-numbingly boring.

In contrast, two of the highest profile national parks in the world (Yellowstone and Banff) could be connected with a single supercharger in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
· A supercharger in Cranbrook would be 250km from both the existing Coeurd'Alene Supercharger and the Golden Supercharger.
· A supercharger in Cranbrook would also be 300km from the Cranmore Supercharger, providing a more direct connection to Calgary.
· With the addition of HPWCs or an additional supercharger in Kalispell, the 410km trip between the Missoula Supercharger and a new supercharger in Cranbrook would become practical for those driving from the East.

 

[beeeerock]

Highway 2 is the traditional migration route for the rare avian species ArrVeeUs-SnowBirdus, correct?

Yeah, boring to the extreme. I agree that Cranbrook would be a great place for a supercharger - there is plenty of interesting country to see in all directions from that city.

 

[Edm P85D]

I am taking delivery of my P85D in a few weeks and I am contemplating taking a road trip from Edmonton to Spokane this summer or early fall. Everything looks easy up to Banff then it starts to get a bit fuzzy. I think I can make it from Banff to Cranbrook. (278km) If I overnight in Cranbrook I can use the plugshare but from my understanding that will take 5+ hours to charge and the plug isn't near a hotel so that is a bit of a drag but manageable. From Cranbrook I think I can make it to Spokane (297 Km). I haven't done this before (haven't even got the car yet!) but I want to know if my assumptions are correct or should I be considering going through Golden or stopping somewhere else?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[KenN]

If you have dual chargers, maybe plan a lunch stop at Invermere - there are two 70 amp Sun Country chargers there. Get topped up when you're stopping anyway, shorten the stop at a slower charger down the road.

 

[Edm P85D]

I do have dual chargers but if I stopped in Invemere it only shortens the time in Cranbrook which I was thinking I would have to spend the night in anyway for a full charge? It doesn't allow me to by pass Cranbrook I would still have to stop there. I am just trying to see if this works with an EV or I am better off taking my wife's ICE.

 

[gpetti]

I am not sure how much this has already been discussed, but I find the Tesla Motors plan for expanding the supercharger network to connect Calgary with northern Montana to be sub-optimal (installing four superchargers along I15, and Hwy 4 / Hwy 2). I would argue that most tourists (and this regional route will primarily be about tourist travel) would find that route mind-numbingly boring.

In contrast, two of the highest profile national parks in the world (Yellowstone and Banff) could be connected with a single supercharger in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
· A supercharger in Cranbrook would be 250km from both the existing Coeurd'Alene Supercharger and the Golden Supercharger.
· A supercharger in Cranbrook would also be 300km from the Cranmore Supercharger, providing a more direct connection to Calgary.
· With the addition of HPWCs or an additional supercharger in Kalispell, the 410km trip between the Missoula Supercharger and a new supercharger in Cranbrook would become practical for those driving from the East.

Sounds very sensible. Worth at least submitting that idea to the superchargers team. The email address is [email protected]

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I do have dual chargers but if I stopped in Invemere it only shortens the time in Cranbrook which I was thinking I would have to spend the night in anyway for a full charge? It doesn't allow me to by pass Cranbrook I would still have to stop there. I am just trying to see if this works with an EV or I am better off taking my wife's ICE.

Definitely sounds achievable but I don't have any direct experience of that route. I'm not near my car right now but one of us could plug that route into the trip planner and let you know what it recommends. I guess it will probably recommend golden because of the supercharger, so maybe EV Trip planner would help.

 

[jake-]

I saw that someone made the comment about not having a supercharger in metro areas like Calgary yet, and I've thought the same thing about Vancouver. This has probably been pointed out, but it seems like they are planning for a Supercharger in the Vancouver region. I don't think it's likely that they would put it at the current Robson or Powell St. locations. Possible that Tesla opens a standalone supercharger station? Or do they open a new store like Montreal's big showroom?

My apologies if this has been mentioned. Did a search of the thread and didn't see anything, but I could've missed it.

 

[gpetti]

I saw that someone made the comment about not having a supercharger in metro areas like Calgary yet, and I've thought the same thing about Vancouver. This has probably been pointed out, but it seems like they are planning for a Supercharger in the Vancouver region. I don't think it's likely that they would put it at the current Robson or Powell St. locations. Possible that Tesla opens a standalone supercharger station? Or do they open a new store like Montreal's big showroom?

My apologies if this has been mentioned. Did a search of the thread and didn't see anything, but I could've missed it.
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I think there have been some musings about this but nothing concrete. I have a vague idea that they will be moving to a new service center as the current one is very space limited and in a not-so-good area of town (lots of unpleasant smells too).
Presumably they might collocate superchargers in this new location.

 

[nleggatt]

How can we put pressure on tesla to get these SC's up and running. I just drove from abby to kelowna and a) the mapping projection software is horrifically off and I would have been stranded if I even remotely followed its guidance for battery range and b) they neeeeeeeeed a sc in merrit.

 

[jake-]

I think there have been some musings about this but nothing concrete. I have a vague idea that they will be moving to a new service center as the current one is very space limited and in a not-so-good area of town (lots of unpleasant smells too).
Presumably they might collocate superchargers in this new location.

Would make sense. Passed by the Powell Service Centre the other day. That lot can't hold much more than they already have. I have heard that they bought parking space in the complex that the Robson St. store is in as well - mainly for CPOs, is what I heard.

Anyway, an SC at a new store or service centre would make sense. They need space to show off the X and S (and 3, eventually) simultaneously soon, and the Tesla Store on Robson won't cut it.

 

[pairtrader]

Would make sense. Passed by the Powell Service Centre the other day. That lot can't hold much more than they already have. I have heard that they bought parking space in the complex that the Robson St. store is in as well - mainly for CPOs, is what I heard.

Anyway, an SC at a new store or service center would make sense. They need space to show off the X and S (and 3, eventually) simultaneously soon, and the Tesla Store on Robson won't cut it.

I heard that the Superchargers will be at the new service center, because the HPWCs are not adequate for charging all of the deliveries and cars being serviced. I just had my car serviced and it was not fully charged when I picked it up. It didn't bother me, but it makes sense that they would strive to return fully charged cars. Superchargers at the service center would be as much about meeting the service center's needs as it would be about adding to the network. Seems logical to me.