Vancouver to Alberta Trip Planning

[Zapped]

I'm told there is a CS100 charger in Sicamous that is not on Plugshare or sunCountry websites. Email below:

We are located in Downtown Sicamous @ the District Hall Offices @446 Main Street. As well as the District offices, this building also houses, the Okanagan Regional Library, Tourist Information Center and Sicamous Museum. We are located next door to Askew`s groceries and the Credit Union.

The High Power Electric Vehicle charging station is located on the Finlayson Street side of the building, mounted on the NE Library wall. I tried to take a photo for you, but it is too bright at this time. I will try again first thing in the morning.

Below are the coordinates (extracted from Bing Maps). I have also attached a kml file which can be opened with many mapping applications as well as Google Earth.
50.836985°
-118.982533°

We were just at the ASKEW's grocery store. Interestingly someone had parked a EBIKE outside ( never saw on of these before; moped style machine). I'll have a look tomorrow for the CS100

 

[dsm363]

There looks to be a CS-100 listed at the Best Western in Sicamus already.

 

[Zapped]

There looks to be a CS-100 listed at the Best Western in Sicamus already.

We stayed at the Best Western and used their CS-100 but I understand it is restricted for guests.

There is a second SCH CS-100 charger at the District Office / Museum. (as reported by pairtrader in previous post, thx)
It was operating at 7:00 am this morning so I believe it must be available 24 / 7.

I added it to Plugshare this morning with some photos.

 

[dsm363]

Thanks. I've been trying to update Plugshare on my Whistler trip too.

 

[PoweredByRain]

My sense of L2 chargers is that the charging time will be pretty well the same whether you charge to 150 km or try to minimize charging stops by going to 80-90% each time - it's not like supercharger travelling where half the battery is filled and you can make it to the next one before you can finish a leisurely cup of coffee. About the only saving you would get by minimizing stops is the 10-15 minutes of slush time around the transition from "highway driving" to/from "charging". However charging to a full 100%, that last bit will be even longer and you would wipe out any possible time savings.

I think you're spot on. My car doesn't have dual chargers, so maybe it's different when charging at more than 40 A, but I have never seen any significant slowdown. I think you can charge to 90% for sure without any time penalty with an L2 charger (unlike a Supercharger). Personally, I would always charge to 90%.

 

[Cottonwood]

I think you're spot on. My car doesn't have dual chargers, so maybe it's different when charging at more than 40 A, but I have never seen any significant slowdown. I think you can charge to 90% for sure without any time penalty with an L2 charger (unlike a Supercharger). Personally, I would always charge to 90%.

Even with 80 Amps at 240 Volts, a dual charger MS does not start tapering until it has more than 90%.

 

[VCanucks]

Has anyone gone to Kamloops by going through Whistler and Lillooet? Planning on heading that way from Squamish all the way through till Calgary this June and wanted to know if theres anything I haven't accounted for. Going to be the first roadtrip in my MS.

 

[Vger]

Has anyone gone to Kamloops by going through Whistler and Lillooet? Planning on heading that way from Squamish all the way through till Calgary this June and wanted to know if theres anything I haven't accounted for. Going to be the first roadtrip in my MS.

I have done it northbound in my Roadster and southbound in our Model S. It is a fantastic drive and worth it for the scenery and twisties alone. In the Model S, driving reasonably but not hypermiling, I made it from Kamloops to Whistler easily, then topped off at a J1772 there, before heading to Vancouver for an overnight and a service visit. I seem to recall that we had enough charge in Whistler that we could have glided downhill to Squamish fine. Going the other way in the Roadster, I started with almost a full charge from Whistler, and just barely made it to Kamloops. The SCH 70A was not yet installed at the Holiday Inn there (delayed), so I had to plug into a 120V outlet at another hotel overnight. Just another adventure!

Bottom line: I think that you will be fine with a full range charge from Squamish. If you want a little more security, make a 1 hour stop in Whistler and charge at the 14-50's in the convention centre garage.

 

[VCanucks]

Thanks for the info, that's a really nice shot of your Model S there. I just talked to the owner of the place in Lillooet that has whats listed as a CS100 and he said its $5 for non guests so if needed I'll stop there for a charge and a stretch.

 

[Vger]

Thanks for the info, that's a really nice shot of your Model S there. I just talked to the owner of the place in Lillooet that has whats listed as a CS100 and he said its $5 for non guests so if needed I'll stop there for a charge and a stretch.

Wow! Did not know SCH had gotten one into Lillooet. That makes it almost too easy. :smile:

 

[pairtrader]

I remember seeing this article about the new SunCountry CS100 in Lillooet and wanting to check it out. Getting a charge out of the Sun Country Highway - Bridge River Lillooet News

Last summer I drove my ICE car to Pemberton to do a day hike. On the way back there is a long downhill stretch that produces a stench of burning brake pads. I would love to try it out with the Model S regen.

 

[Canuck]

I was ice'd today at the Sun Country charger across from the Blue Moose in Hope. I had to park illegally, and I stuck out into traffic, but at least I was still able to get a charge while we had lunch...

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Sorry that this is a little OT but, wanted some insight about doing the Vancouver - Kamloops - Banff - Calgary trip aboard The Rocky Mountaineer?! Thinking of a trip this summer to Banff and this popped up as an option - albeit expensive - compared to a YVR-YYC flight hop... Thanks in advance!

 

[VCanucks]

I haven't been on it myself but fwiw I've heard great things about it, especially the views.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

I haven't been on it myself but fwiw I've heard great things about it, especially the views.

Thanks! Will followup on that.

 

[VCanucks]

The charger at the Holiday Inn in Kamloops is not available for overnight parking unless you're a guest. The space needs to be kept empty in the event that a guest shows up at 2am with an electric car and nowhere to go, cause we all know that happens daily.

 

[dasRad]

The charger at the Holiday Inn in Kamloops is not available for overnight parking unless you're a guest. The space needs to be kept empty in the event that a guest shows up at 2am with an electric car and nowhere to go, cause we all know that happens daily.

Being one of those guests who has shown up quite late and needed a charge for the next day, I don't find this unreasonable. Hotels install chargers as part of their marketing strategy and if an offered charger is not available, it will mess up ones' itinerary. Having said that, I complete my reservations with a phone call to the front desk to request the use of a charger, and then phone again on the day of my arrival to confirm my requirement of a charger. To date, the hotels have been good about blocking the charging spot with an orange pylon (which is not to say that some ICE driver won't just move it).

I did use this charger a couple of weeks ago for a couple of hours during the day (when I wasn't a guest), but stopped in at the front desk and left them my contact details. If they had needed the vehicle moved, I would have been able to do so within 30 minutes. Of course, after I plugged the Model S in, I enjoyed the next 20 minutes showing off the car!

When I'm a guest at a hotel, I consider use of the charger as something that I have contracted for. When I'm not a guest, I look at the availability of a hotel charger as being a courtesy that the hotel can choose to extend or not - entirely at their discretion. I make sure to thank them!

 

[VCanucks]

I understand the idea that guests get priority and that's how it should be, but refusing an overnight charge even though I promised to come unplug it asap if a guest was to arrive seems silly. For the most part I wish there were standardized rules for the sun country chargers, that way you wouldn't have to call ahead for each charge to see what they want.

 

[VCanucks]

There is a cs100 at the visitor center in Sicamous I'd recommend charging at to reduce the time spent in Golden, the charger in Golden has a max output of 66 km/hr due to lower voltage (195V 69A). The Best Western in Sicamous is strictly guests only, unlike the the Holiday Inn in Kamloops where they are more than to happy to allow a charge during the day. In Calgary, the Ramada by the airport will allow anyone to charge regardless of being a guest or not.

 

[dasRad]

There is a cs100 at the visitor center in Sicamous I'd recommend charging at to reduce the time spent in Golden, the charger in Golden has a max output of 66 km/hr due to lower voltage (195V 69A). The Best Western in Sicamous is strictly guests only, unlike the the Holiday Inn in Kamloops where they are more than to happy to allow a charge during the day. In Calgary, the Ramada by the airport will allow anyone to charge regardless of being a guest or not.

The Sun Country SCH100 charger at the Sicamous District Office / Museum / Library / Visitor Centre is a great L2 charger. By default it runs at 69A. However, if you push the START/STOP button the flashing green light on the charger will go to a solid green and you will see 80A (into a Model S and other vehicles capable of handling 80A). Details are included in a label on the front of the charger. Entrance to parking lot is off Finlayson St.