Agreed. I just re-read my original post, and see how this statement taken on it's own sounds like I dismissed the SC need on the island. I did say that such a SC would definitely have more use than Cranbrook (or others in the inland empire), so probably a higher priority. I'm not familiar with traffic volumes in BC, the island, or Canada in general, so my comments should not be relied on. My experience was just that, an experience of vacation travel for which destination chargers work nicely (even though I could only L1 at my Naniamo B&B).
However, I have a hard time imagine doing such a Victoria trip, certainly not me, and I feel sorry for anyone else who does it. Google says 4.5 hrs one way to Tofino and 3 hr one way to Campbell River. Thus, RT is either 6 or 9 hrs of driving. Stop for food/break and stretch that to 7 or 10 hrs and for what? Let's see, I have just enough time to drop off a package, snap a quick picture, drop a fishing line in the water, and return.
Are there really people who drive 10+ hours as such? Well, yes apparently there are. When we test drove the Tesla, we drove 700 km RT in one day, left at 5am for a 10 am appointment and returned the same day. Yes, stupid is what it was, but there were no showrooms anywhere closer, I wanted to keep the purchase/test drive a secret from family/friends, and I certainly won't be doing it again.
When I did Naniamo to Tofino, in the rain, it was a tough drive with tailgaters the whole way, thinking that doing 20 km over was safe (hmmm, maybe some of those were the daily Victoria to Tofino commuters that we're discussing). If I had to do a similar drive with a return in the same day, I'd certainly quit whatever job was causing this, and if it were for pleasure, I'd reevaluate my philosophy on pleasure.
I just finished a trip down to southern CA (LAX). I wanted to drive through eastern OR because it's shorter, more scenic and with less traffic. I drove down I-5 instead, but added a few extra sites/visits. I was still a great trip, but different.
I would like to drive up to Revelstoke and Banff. Unfortunately, it's 650 km one way from Ellensburg to Revelstoke through the Okanagan. Maybe next year Kelowna will have a SC, maybe not. It will be a long slog using L2 J1772 or HPWCs with my single charger, or I can go through Seattle/Vancouver and have a longer, more stressful and traffic-filled experience. Maybe not as relaxing, but it will be a good trip nonetheless.
Unfortunately, there will always be areas that are not covered by SCs. We just need to adjust to the charging that is available and change our driving patterns. We can submit locations to Tesla and hope for the best, but in the end, we are still beholden to electricity supply, just as gas drivers are beholden to gas stations.
Additional discussion of locations here: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/18809-Canadian-Trip-Planning/page25
Last edited by a moderator:
