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Wiki Canadian Trip Planning

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Doug_G

Lead Moderator
Global Moderator
Apr 2, 2010
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Ottawa, Canada
NOTE: This first "index" post is now a wiki-post, which means anyone can edit it. Please add threads as required...

I thought I'd put together one "sticky" thread for trip planning around Canada.

If you think there should be a thread for another route - create it! When I see it I will add it to this list.

Threads on Trip Planning for Canadian Destinations

Vancouver to/from Whistler


Vancouver to/from Alberta

Toronto to/from Montreal

Ottawa to/from Toronto

Toronto to/from Windsor

Montreal to/from Quebec City

Driving from Canada into the USA

Charging in Upstate New York (or maybe Vermont)

Toronto to Chicago?

Threads on where to charge when you reach your destination

Places to Charge in Ottawa / Gatineau

Overnight Charging Locations in Vancouver, BC?
 
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When I get back home, I'll add a thread about my experiences and learnings when driving from Calif to Fairbanks through canada. One key point I'd add right now, if you can get it into this thread, is that the Tesla cell broadband continued working as I drove north, including arriving in population centers in the Yukon. I bought a canadian phone and service because I didn't think the Tesla would continue in Canada, but it did fine. I think they must use the Bell Canada service (which I thought provided the best coverage in the northern BC and Yukon areas).
 
When I get back home, I'll add a thread about my experiences and learnings when driving from Calif to Fairbanks through canada. One key point I'd add right now, if you can get it into this thread, is that the Tesla cell broadband continued working as I drove north, including arriving in population centers in the Yukon. I bought a canadian phone and service because I didn't think the Tesla would continue in Canada, but it did fine. I think they must use the Bell Canada service (which I thought provided the best coverage in the northern BC and Yukon areas).
That's actually very interesting. It's relatively well known that Tesla uses AT&T service in the US, and it's been mentioned before that although Canadian cars keep data connections going to the US, most americans have reported that they loose coverage when they enter Canada. (did you talk to Tesla ahead of time to arrange something? or have they changed their policies?)

As for cellular coverage in Canada, AT&T roams to TELUS/Bell (they share the same network) and Rogers has it's own separate network. While in any one spot Rogers or TELUS/Bell could be better or worse, in general the TELUS/Bell network is substantially larger than the Rogers one. (technically in western Canada you were far more likely to be on a TELUS tower than a Bell one, but it really doesn't matter much) In southern Canada there's lots of coverage along major routes (though some notable dead spots through the mountains), however northern Canada is a different matter, cellular service exists in any town/city (not necessarily in smaller villages) but not as much on the roads in between.
 
although Canadian cars keep data connections going to the US, most americans have reported that they loose coverage when they enter Canada
It appears to be older cars from US are unable to roam in Canada but later ones are fine. Took delivery of mine in June 2013, when I drive into Canada I've got no connection. Vehicles delivered in 2014 appear to roam fine.

PS. green1, I think I met you in Golden, BC this past June as I was passing thru, charging.
 
As for cellular coverage in Canada, AT&T roams to TELUS/Bell (they share the same network) and Rogers has it's own separate network.

I have a Telus phone now, and it roams to AT&T in the US (occasionally T-Mobile). Interestingly, however, my former Rogers phone also used to roam to AT&T in the US. AT&T used to own a piece of Rogers a number of years ago and, in fact, the company was called Rogers AT&T for a while.
 
@mknox: with current technology AT&T could theoretically use either network, however in the US things are different because the different providers can't seem to agree on a standard.

@paul7200: I met someone at the charger in Golden on May long weekend. If that was you, thank you for letting me drool over your car! (I was volunteering on an event, so I had a pickup with lights and antennas on the roof, and I was wearing a bright green reflective vest...)
 
Question: I doing a trip later in the week, destination is Hanover Ontario. There's a CS-90 across from the city hall, would like to use it for overnight charging. Anyone familiar with it? Can confirm it is operational? ICEing, etc.?
 
Question: I doing a trip later in the week, destination is Hanover Ontario. There's a CS-90 across from the city hall, would like to use it for overnight charging. Anyone familiar with it? Can confirm it is operational? ICEing, etc.?

I used to work for the electric utility that serves Hanover and am familiar with the location, but that was a number of years ago. Plugshare has a picture of someone actually using the station, so I assume it's operational. I checked out this location on-line myself as I own rental property in the area and was curious about charging infrastructure, although I have not been there in person. My guess is that you would be okay overnight, especially if you leave a contact number on your dash "just in case".
 
Just got back from an overnight trip from Ottawa to North Bay. It's easily reachable in this kind of weather when you don't need heating or much AC.

The trip there was 373km, and we went the speed limit on cruise for most of the trip (100 km/h for the first 70km, then 90 km/h), and then 95 for the last 45 minutes or so, with the AC turned off and range mode on (outside temperature was 21 to 23C). We averaged 161 Wh/km, which is better than "Ideal" range (164 Wh/km), and got there with 88km left. The 373km drive plus the 88km left is 461km; add that to the 17km "below zero" buffer and the real maximum range for the car is almost 480km!

We stayed at the Best Western Hotel in North Bay, which has a Sun Country Highway SCH-60 charging station that worked perfectly at 208V/48A. When I booked, I asked them to hold the spot for us, and when we got there it was marked with an orange cone. Despite there being a big crowd at the hotel for a wedding, it was available for us when we arrived and again later in the evening as we got back to the hotel before and after dinner.

Coming home, we went about 5 km/h faster, still had range mode on, but had the AC on most of the time (it was 26 to 29C out). For the return trip, we averaged 169 Wh/km and got home with 67km on the gauge.

Average consumption for the whole trip (including some driving around in North Bay) was 166 Wh/km.

For a winter trip (or if you have a 60 or really want to drive faster), there's a Sun Country Highway SCH-60 in Pembroke, which is pretty near the halfway point, so if you monitor the consumption, you can work out how long you need to stop for there.

So if you're thinking about doing this trip, go for it!
 
I'll be heading to Chicago the first week of November. This will be my first big trip with my Tesla
I was looking at the HPWC charger map, and noticed that there is a place in Detroit that has an HPWC. It's address is 1000 Brush St Detroit, MI 48226. When I put that in google maps, and have my house as my starting point, it says the distance is 327 km. Do you think it is possible to make it to that HPWC on a range charge with a model S 85?
Or would staying the night in Windsor at a hotel with a charger be the safer/best way to go?
 
I've done 327 km many times. Easy in summer. Have to be careful with your speed in winter. But no biggie.

The more important questions are:


  • Is that HPWC actually available/accessible/working? Call ahead and find out.
  • What power does that HPWC actually deliver? They can be dialed back so don't assume 80A.
  • What is your backup scenario should you fail to access said HPWC?
  • How much range do you need to add at that HPWC? It could easily take 4-5 hours of charging.
  • Do you have a fallback if you are running short for some reason (bad conditions, going too fast)?

You may enjoy your trip better if you plan to charge overnight. Waiting for a charge can get tedious.
 
I'll be heading to Chicago the first week of November. This will be my first big trip with my Tesla
I was looking at the HPWC charger map, and noticed that there is a place in Detroit that has an HPWC. It's address is 1000 Brush St Detroit, MI 48226. When I put that in google maps, and have my house as my starting point, it says the distance is 327 km. Do you think it is possible to make it to that HPWC on a range charge with a model S 85?
Or would staying the night in Windsor at a hotel with a charger be the safer/best way to go?

That's the Atheneum Suite Hotel; I don't know if they reserve their 2 HPWCs for guests or not. The Tesla site indicates it's for customers only. I'll be staying there in about a month. As Doug mentioned, it's worth a call and I agree that it's often better to simply get an overnight charge
 
I'll be heading to Chicago the first week of November. This will be my first big trip with my Tesla
I was looking at the HPWC charger map, and noticed that there is a place in Detroit that has an HPWC. It's address is 1000 Brush St Detroit, MI 48226. When I put that in google maps, and have my house as my starting point, it says the distance is 327 km. Do you think it is possible to make it to that HPWC on a range charge with a model S 85?
Or would staying the night in Windsor at a hotel with a charger be the safer/best way to go?

I've done that trip (my daughter lives an hour n/w of Chicago). I stop and stay at the Comfort Inn in Windsor where they have a 90 amp SCH charger. Even with that, it takes over 4 hours to replenish the charge to enable me to get to the Angola IN Supercharger. I suppose I could hang out for that length of time (either in Windsor or at the HPWC in Detroit), but that would make for an awfully long day of driving. You should be able to reach Windsor/Detroit with little difficulty from your starting point.
 
I've done that trip (my daughter lives an hour n/w of Chicago). I stop and stay at the Comfort Inn in Windsor where they have a 90 amp SCH charger. Even with that, it takes over 4 hours to replenish the charge to enable me to get to the Angola IN Supercharger. I suppose I could hang out for that length of time (either in Windsor or at the HPWC in Detroit), but that would make for an awfully long day of driving. You should be able to reach Windsor/Detroit with little difficulty from your starting point.

Your post had good timing...I was just calculating the charging time required to get to the SC from either Detroit or Windsor.
If it takes over 4 hrs to get the charge required, then I'll charge overnight at the Windsor Comfort Inn since it has a good reputation here.
No need to make it a very long day of driving.
 
Your post had good timing...I was just calculating the charging time required to get to the SC from either Detroit or Windsor.
If it takes over 4 hrs to get the charge required, then I'll charge overnight at the Windsor Comfort Inn since it has a good reputation here.
No need to make it a very long day of driving.

The Maumee OH Supercharger is closer, but since I'm in Windsor overnight, I just head straight to Angola. From there, I can make it to my destination an hour or so n/w of Chicago. The first time I went, I stopped at Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL as well "just to be safe".

The first time I went, the Tesla Nav took me via I-94 to US-12 to I-69. US-12 is nice, but kinda slow going through rural Michigan towns. I now prefer I-94 to SR-60 just past Jackson to I-69. You could take 94 straight to 69, but SR-60 cuts the corner and is a nice road with fewer slow downs than US-12. This is a good site to help with planning.