Overland Trip to Alaska - Follow For Updates

[Cybergirl]

We set out on our 2nd attempt to overland to Alaska on August 1, making our way north from Illinois through poor air quality from the wildfires in Canada. After camping two nights in St. Malo, Manitoba, we headed west on the Trans Canada highway to Calgary, Banff, and are now camping in Jasper Nat'l Park.

My CT lost suspension adjustability en route. The exhaust function faulted. Tips to power cycle the truck and hard boot the computer didn't clear the problem. Anyone have this problem?

I still haven't been able to charge the truck from a Flo CCS1 charging station. I tried doing so in Regina, SK, and again in Jasper, AB. Multiple attempts finally got the truck and charger connected for a short time, but not long enough to gain charge. My next attempt to charge using my A2Z adapter will happen in Prince George, BC at a BC Hydro charger. I have a BC Hydro account and RFID card. Fingers crossed.

Here are some photos taken at Whistlers Campground in Jasper Nat'l Park. The wildfires in the park last year really destroyed the beauty of the park as you can see in these photos at our campsite.

Sponsored

 

[65SoYoLO]

Good luck with the charging! That location and distance would give me range anxiety, for sure!

 

[REM]

Best of luck on attempt number 2!

 

[BrockN]

I asked A2Z about the video you posted, which showed the adapter slipping on the CCS head easily. They said I must have an old one if it's tight and sent me a new one of the latest design. It arrived the other day.

I haven't had a chance to try charging with it yet, but I did take a moment to try it on a CCS head at a Canadian Tire location (Electrify Canada). The adapter snapped on with zero effort.

I will try a few charges as soon as I can, but I'm wondering if the overly tight fit might have prevented a pin from sitting where it needed to. That's the only theory I can come up with as to why the adapter works in some places but not others. .. maybe some pins are worn or misaligned. I guess testing this new one might provide a few more data points...

 

[Cybergirl]

I haven’t had a chance to post any updates to this site since we left Jasper Nat’l Park.

We left Jasper early morning on the 7th. We broke camp and loaded up the truck the evening before, so all we had to do was close up the rooftop tent and head out to Tim Horton’s in downtown Jasper. We each had a “Loaded Box” breakfast. They put a sauce over the eggs, bacon, and potatoes that was not to our liking.

We charged at the Supercharger in McBride, BC, and headed for Prince George where we tried charging at both Flo and BC Hydro fast chargers with no luck after multiple tries. That got us very worried whether we could continue the trip, but were determined to go on. We charged the Cybertruck at the Prince George Supercharger to 100% before heading north on the Yellowhead highway (Hwy 16). We were willing to drive as far as we could and still return to Prince George without fully depleting the battery. Being stranded on the road with a depleted battery was not an option. The weather conditions were favorable and our efficiency was pretty good (under 300 Wh/km).

We drove to Vanderhoof where there are Flo and BC Hydro fast chargers. There’s also a J1772 9 kW Level 2 charger at the Visitor’s Center which worked using the ChargePoint app. I couldn’t get the Flo to charge the truck, but the BC Hydro off Burrard Ave worked on the first attempt. I noticed, however, that this BC Hydro charger was 180 kW charger, larger than the usual 50 kW. Having, at last, successfully fast charged, our spirits were boosted and we were encouraged to continue on after another 100% charge.

When we arrived at Houston, BC, the truck battery was at 49% SoC, with enough charge to return to Vanderhoof if necessary. Our strategy was to always have enough charge to return to a working charger so as not to get stranded. In Houston, the BC Hydro chargers (3487 9 Street) and Flo DCFC charger (Sullivan Motors) would not connect to the Cybertruck, again, after multiple attempts using both the A2Z and the Hansshow adapters. With discouragement gaining ground, we drove to a public dog park where we found a ChargePoint 7kW charger. We plugged in and charged overnight sleeping in the truck. A policeman drove through the parking lot after midnight. A “No Overnight Parking” sign gave us pause, but the officer didn’t tell us to leave.

The next morning, August 8th, we continued west on the Yellowhead. We stopped at Frontier Dodge in Smithers where a Flo DCFC is located along with a ChargePoint 10 kW charger. Again, we could not get the Flo to connect to the Cybertruck, but the ChargePoint Level 2 charger worked fine. We began to think the Cybertruck was at fault. But, further on, still in Smithers, we found two BC Hydro chargers. We were able to charge from #269, but not the other (#253). Mind boggling!

Continuing on our way north, we found another BC Hydro DCFC in New Hazelton that worked for us. When we arrived in Meziadin Junction our battery was at 80%. There’s a Freewire charger there with a monstrosity of a cable, it weighed so much I was afraid would break my adapter. I couldn’t get it to connect to the truck, so we gave up and drove to Steward, BC, on Hwy 37A, arriving with 20% SoC.

There’s a new BC Hydro 100 kW CCS1/Chademo charger at the Stewart Visitor Center and a 7 kW ChargePoint L2 charger. The card reader is not functioning yet on the BC Hydro charging station, so one has to use the app to initiate a charging session. Again, I had trouble connecting, so I called the BC Hydro support number for assistance and I was able to charge to 80%.

The next morning, in a steady but light rain, we drove to Hyder, Alaska to visit the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site, had breakfast at Hank’s Hideaway Eatery in town, and returned to add charge to the truck at that same BC Hydro charger that worked for us the day before. It would get all the way to starting to charge (green flashing), then immediately stop (red). After several attempts, I called BC Hydro Support. The woman rebooted the charger, but it did not resolve the problem. She wrote a trouble ticket to have it looked at. I connected up to the ChargePoint Level 2 (7 kW) charger. I’ll fetch the truck tonight at 8 pm with 90% charge, and top off to 100% in the morning before heading to Dease Lake with an intermediate stop at the BC Hydro charger at the Bell II Lodge at Bell II Crossing, and a FreeWire charger in Iskut in case I can connect and gain some charge there.

Why I’m having so much trouble charging at these CCS1 chargers is a mystery. I know that if the blue LED on the charging port does not light up, there’s no chance of connecting to the charger and receiving power. In some cases, the blue light never comes on, in others, the blue light comes on but no handshake (blinking blue) occurs, and in other situations, like today, it proceeds all the way to a green light, but immediately is followed by red (charge stopped). When everything works, it’s a delightful experience. Plug in, blue light comes on, authenticate with card or app, blue light starts blinking, and in a seconds the charge starts with the LED flashing green.

One will never take the simplicity and reliability of the Tesla SuperCharger network for granted after experiencing these other flawed charging networks.

 

[shopaholic]

I haven’t had a chance to post any updates to this site since we left Jasper Nat’l Park.

We left Jasper early morning on the 7th. We broke camp and loaded up the truck the evening before, so all we had to do was close up the rooftop tent and head out to Tim Horton’s in downtown Jasper. We each had a “Loaded Box” breakfast. They put a sauce over the eggs, bacon, and potatoes that was not to our liking.

We charged at the Supercharger in McBride, BC, and headed for Prince George where we tried charging at both Flo and BC Hydro fast chargers with no luck after multiple tries. That got us very worried whether we could continue the trip, but were determined to go on. We charged the Cybertruck at the Prince George Supercharger to 100% before heading north on the Yellowhead highway (Hwy 16). We were willing to drive as far as we could and still return to Prince George without fully depleting the battery. Being stranded on the road with a depleted battery was not an option. The weather conditions were favorable and our efficiency was pretty good (under 300 Wh/km).

We drove to Vanderhoof where there are Flo and BC Hydro fast chargers. There’s also a J1772 9 kW Level 2 charger at the Visitor’s Center which worked using the ChargePoint app. I couldn’t get the Flo to charge the truck, but the BC Hydro off Burrard Ave worked on the first attempt. I noticed, however, that this BC Hydro charger was 180 kW charger, larger than the usual 50 kW. Having, at last, successfully fast charged, our spirits were boosted and we were encouraged to continue on after another 100% charge.

When we arrived at Houston, BC, the truck battery was at 49% SoC, with enough charge to return to Vanderhoof if necessary. Our strategy was to always have enough charge to return to a working charger so as not to get stranded. In Houston, the BC Hydro chargers (3487 9 Street) and Flo DCFC charger (Sullivan Motors) would not connect to the Cybertruck, again, after multiple attempts using both the A2Z and the Hansshow adapters. With discouragement gaining ground, we drove to a public dog park where we found a ChargePoint 7kW charger. We plugged in and charged overnight sleeping in the truck. A policeman drove through the parking lot after midnight. A “No Overnight Parking” sign gave us pause, but the officer didn’t tell us to leave.

The next morning, August 8th, we continued west on the Yellowhead. We stopped at Frontier Dodge in Smithers where a Flo DCFC is located along with a ChargePoint 10 kW charger. Again, we could not get the Flo to connect to the Cybertruck, but the ChargePoint Level 2 charger worked fine. We began to think the Cybertruck was at fault. But, further on, still in Smithers, we found two BC Hydro chargers. We were able to charge from #269, but not the other (#253). Mind boggling!

Continuing on our way north, we found another BC Hydro DCFC in New Hazelton that worked for us. When we arrived in Meziadin Junction our battery was at 80%. There’s a Freewire charger there with a monstrosity of a cable, it weighed so much I was afraid would break my adapter. I couldn’t get it to connect to the truck, so we gave up and drove to Steward, BC, on Hwy 37A, arriving with 20% SoC.

There’s a new BC Hydro 100 kW CCS1/Chademo charger at the Stewart Visitor Center and a 7 kW ChargePoint L2 charger. The card reader is not functioning yet on the BC Hydro charging station, so one has to use the app to initiate a charging session. Again, I had trouble connecting, so I called the BC Hydro support number for assistance and I was able to charge to 80%.

The next morning, in a steady but light rain, we drove to Hyder, Alaska to visit the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site, had breakfast at Hank’s Hideaway Eatery in town, and returned to add charge to the truck at that same BC Hydro charger that worked for us the day before. It would get all the way to starting to charge (green flashing), then immediately stop (red). After several attempts, I called BC Hydro Support. The woman rebooted the charger, but it did not resolve the problem. She wrote a trouble ticket to have it looked at. I connected up to the ChargePoint Level 2 (7 kW) charger. I’ll fetch the truck tonight at 8 pm with 90% charge, and top off to 100% in the morning before heading to Dease Lake with an intermediate stop at the BC Hydro charger at the Bell II Lodge at Bell II Crossing, and a FreeWire charger in Iskut in case I can connect and gain some charge there.

Why I’m having so much trouble charging at these CCS1 chargers is a mystery. I know that if the blue LED on the charging port does not light up, there’s no chance of connecting to the charger and receiving power. In some cases, the blue light never comes on, in others, the blue light comes on but no handshake (blinking blue) occurs, and in other situations, like today, it proceeds all the way to a green light, but immediately is followed by red (charge stopped). When everything works, it’s a delightful experience. Plug in, blue light comes on, authenticate with card or app, blue light starts blinking, and in a seconds the charge starts with the LED flashing green.

One will never take the simplicity and reliability of the Tesla SuperCharger network for granted after experiencing these other flawed charging networks.

Reading your adventures, making me jealous . Anyone interested for next year

 

[Speedr]

Inspiring @Cybergirl!

 

[Friday]

The Pioneers get the arrows.
or
Fortune favors the brave
or
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

 

[Cybergirl]

August 12, 2025

We drove from the Bear Valley Guesthouse in Stewart, BC, early in the morning of August 10, and drove to the 7 kW ChargePoint J-1772 charger at the Visitor Center. I had charged the truck to 90% the evening before at this same Level 2 charger, and wanted to top up the battery to 100% before heading out. The 100 kW BC Hydro DCFC charge station there was still unavailable. We continued on our journey at 10:14 am with a full charge to maximize how far we could drive and still have enough charge to return to Stewart in case we were unable to add charge at Meziadin Junction, Bell 2 Crossing, or Iskut, BC. Our confidence in these DCFC chargers was still weak. Our objective was the Tanzilla Campground near Dease Lake.

At Meziadin Junction, I tried again to fast charge from the EV Connect Freewire charger and again failed. The charger would connect and begin charging (blinking green LED), but immediately disconnected (red LED). There was an 11 kW EVConnect J1772 charger there as well which we were able to use to add charge.

We arrived at Bell 2 Crossing at 2:40pm. There are two BC Hydro charging stations at the Bell 2 Lodge that are powered from a huge diesel generator. There’s a 25kW and a 50kW CCS1 and ChaDeMo charging station. Even after calling BC Hydro for help, we could not get these chargers to connect to and charge the truck. We had 63% battery left so we decided to continue on to Iskut where there is another EVConnnect Freewire DCFC charger and two J-1772 11 kW chargers.

At 4:35 pm, we arrived at the Iskut gas station and convenience store and found that the Freewire DC fast charger (102711) was not in service. I plugged into one of the two 10 kW J-1772 chargers, and we prepared to spend the night in the truck after having a meat loaf, baked potato, mixed vegetable, and coffee dinner at the Klauchon cafe attached to the convenience store. We took advantage of the restroom before they closed at 8pm, and went to sleep in the truck with Camp Mode turned on and the truck feeding on the J-1772 charge connector.

We left Iskut at 3:48 am with a full charge. The temperature was 58 deg F and the weather still heavily clouded with intermittent rain, something we had been experiencing since leaving Houston the morning of the 8th. We arrived at the BC Hydro DCFC chargers in Dease Lake at 5:42 am. I plugged the charging connector into the A2Z Thunder Storm the EVJect adapter, and plugged the combination into truck making sure to press the locking button on the EVJect. If you don’t lock the EVJect to CT’s charging port, you won’t get the blue LED on the charging port. I used my BC Hydro card to authenticate and within seconds the charging began.

After charging to 100%, we took off north on our way to Watson Lake. We stopped in Good Hope Lake at 8:50 am to check on charging availability. The 8 kW Level 2 charger was working, but the BC Hydro DCFC station there was not yet in service.

We arrived at the Northern Lights Centre in Watson Lake where there’s a 50 kW fast charger. For the first time ever, we connected and charged the truck on a Flo DCFC charger! The connection was flawless. Just plug in, authenticate with my BC Hydro RFID card and the charging began without even pressing the Start button. I charged to 80% and headed to the Watson Lake Campground to spend the night. We picked a site near the restroom and shelter, lit a fire in the stove and warmed up some leftover hobo dinners. It was still raining, but I opened the rooftop tent and plugged the electric blanket into one of the truck’s 15A 120V outlets. With the Starlink antenna facing south, we sat in the truck while it continued to rain and watched a movie before turning in. While in Watson Lake we made a visit to the Sign Forest which is a famous attraction.

The truck’s battery was down to 60% by 5:00 am. I stowed the tent and headed back to the the Flo DCFC at Northern Lights Centre to charge up to 98% before heading on to Whitehorse. I couldn’t get to Whitehorse without charging on the way. I stopped at Swift River and added some charge at the Flo Level 2 charger along side the Alaska Highway, then proceeded to Teslin where I charged to 80% at a Flo DCFC charger. Again, no problem connecting and charging. Easy-peasy.

We arrived at the Airport Chalet motel at 3:01 pm with the battery at 17% SoC. After checking into the motel and getting settled, we ate at the motel diner and then drove to the Yukon Transportation Museum just 600m away to charge the truck. The Flo DCFC was “Out of Order”, and the 11 kW Level 2 J-1776 charger was in use. I got access to it at about 7 pm, connected the truck and walked back to the motel. I set the charge limit to 80%. In the morning we set forth on the next leg of our trip, 386 miles to Tok, AK.

August 13, 2025

We drove to the Tundra RV campground in Tok, Alaska where I had reserved a 50 amp electric service site to charge up the truck. There are no public EV chargers in Tok, as I understand it. It took 12 hours to complete the 386 miles from Whitehorse to Haines Junction, to Burwash Landing, to Beaver Creek, crossing into Alaska, to arrive at our campsite.

When I got to the 50 kW Flo DCFC station at the Yukon Visitor Centre in Beaver Creek, a Model Y was plugged. The owner and I talked for awhile, and to pass the time we checked out the Visitor Centre while the Model Y charged from 70 to 95%. I needed a healthy charge to make it to Tok, AK.

All the charging in Yukon was free. I had no trouble initiating charging at the Flo stations along the way. The key is to make sure the charging connector is electrically connected to the Cybertruck which is indicated by the appearance of the blue LED on the Tesla charge port. I think some of the problems that I experienced earlier with the Hansshow adapter was because the adapter did not lock to the charging port. That should happen automatically when the adapter is plugged in, but it doesn’t always happen. If the adapter-Tesla connection doesn’t lock, the blue LED doesn’t light up and no handshake with the charger takes place.

The Alaska Highway from Burwash Landing to Beaver Creek is unpaved in major stretches of roadway. The paved sections are pretty rough, too, with many heaves, dips, and rough patches where potholes developed. A 16-mile section between Burwash Landing and Beaver Creek was under construction leaving only one lane to service traffic in both directions causing long delays for travelers.

After thirteen days of travel from Illinois we passed through customs into Alaska.

I drove on to the Tundra RV Park & Bar in Tok where we had a 50A 14-50 outlet to charge the truck. We slept in the rooftop tent, and left for Fairbanks early the next morning.

My truck’s suspension adjustment is still disabled, so I’ll try to get an appointment at the Tesla Service Center in Anchorage. Until it’s fixed, I don’t think it wise to take the truck on any off road trails where high ground clearance is needed.

On the way to Fairbanks I got a warning alert that FSD was no longer available and the cameras need to be realigned. I made an appointment at the Anchorage Tesla Service Center to have my suspension problem looked at. They said that the likely cause was a failure of the air valve assembly, and it would have to be replaced. The soonest they could get the part was September 4th. They suggested that the loss of FSD was related to the suspension issue because the front suspension was raised higher than the rear.

August 16, 2025

We are camped in the Teklanika Campground in Denali Nat’l Park. We arrived yesterday from Fairbanks where we camped at the Rivers’s Edge campground. I reserved an electrical site in order the charge the truck, but their 50A 14-50 outlets only produced 32A (8 kW) to the battery. It would have taken over 24 hours to recharge the battery at that Level 2 rate. I found a 50 kW Flo DCFC station at the Golden Valley Electric Association office in town. I charged to 70% and returned to the campground intending to top off to 100% before heading south toward Denali.

We left River’s Edge at 2 am knowing that we’d need extra time to charge up the battery before camping at Denali. Driving south from Fairbanks on the George Parks highway, we ran into heavy fog all the way to Healy where we intended to charge at the Three Bears Grocery from an EVGateway J-1772 Level 2 charger (7 kW) to 90%. The plan was to have 80% SoC when we arrived at Teklanika campground for 3 nights. The weather forecast predicted days and days of clouds, rain, and temperatures in the low 40s overnight, so we’d be relying on the truck battery for power while in camp. At 10 am, while still charging at Healy, AK, I found on Plugshare, a Tesla wall charger at the Tesoro gas station near Denali. Charging at 11 kW sounded better than 7 kW, so I took a chance the NACS charger wouldn’t be ICE’d and drove off. The owner wanted $6/hour to charge there. There was a box to put the money in on the honor system. After 2 hours and a breakfast at the Grab and Go, I had 93% SoC, and we set out for Denali to register for our campground stay.

The weather continues to be chilly with a light, but persistent rain. We plan to tough it out here in Denali until Monday the 18th, when we will continue on to Anchorage. We decided to stay in the Anchorage area until our September 4th Tesla service appointment. The thought of driving 4,000 miles back to Illinois without FSD and with the front suspension raised higher than the rear and uneven left and right doesn’t appeal to me. I can only hope that the part arrives earlier or Tesla can find the part at another service center. Otherwise, we are going to get a good look at what Anchorage has to offer.

 

[BrockN]

Crazy that Tesla wouldn't at least give you the option to air freight the necessary part in - at your cost. Waiting until into September is absurd... is it coming by donkey?

 

[65SoYoLO]

August 12, 2025
... Otherwise, we are going to get a good look at what Anchorage has to offer.

WOW heck of a trip!!! I'm loving it!

 

[REM]

August 12, 2025

We drove from the Bear Valley Guesthouse in Stewart, BC, early in the morning of August 10, and drove to the 7 kW ChargePoint J-1772 charger at the Visitor Center. I had charged the truck to 90% the evening before at this same Level 2 charger, and wanted to top up the battery to 100% before heading out. The 100 kW BC Hydro DCFC charge station there was still unavailable. We continued on our journey at 10:14 am with a full charge to maximize how far we could drive and still have enough charge to return to Stewart in case we were unable to add charge at Meziadin Junction, Bell 2 Crossing, or Iskut, BC. Our confidence in these DCFC chargers was still weak. Our objective was the Tanzilla Campground near Dease Lake.

At Meziadin Junction, I tried again to fast charge from the EV Connect Freewire charger and again failed. The charger would connect and begin charging (blinking green LED), but immediately disconnected (red LED). There was an 11 kW EVConnect J1772 charger there as well which we were able to use to add charge.

We arrived at Bell 2 Crossing at 2:40pm. There are two BC Hydro charging stations at the Bell 2 Lodge that are powered from a huge diesel generator. There’s a 25kW and a 50kW CCS1 and ChaDeMo charging station. Even after calling BC Hydro for help, we could not get these chargers to connect to and charge the truck. We had 63% battery left so we decided to continue on to Iskut where there is another EVConnnect Freewire DCFC charger and two J-1772 11 kW chargers.

At 4:35 pm, we arrived at the Iskut gas station and convenience store and found that the Freewire DC fast charger (102711) was not in service. I plugged into one of the two 10 kW J-1772 chargers, and we prepared to spend the night in the truck after having a meat loaf, baked potato, mixed vegetable, and coffee dinner at the Klauchon cafe attached to the convenience store. We took advantage of the restroom before they closed at 8pm, and went to sleep in the truck with Camp Mode turned on and the truck feeding on the J-1772 charge connector.

We left Iskut at 3:48 am with a full charge. The temperature was 58 deg F and the weather still heavily clouded with intermittent rain, something we had been experiencing since leaving Houston the morning of the 8th. We arrived at the BC Hydro DCFC chargers in Dease Lake at 5:42 am. I plugged the charging connector into the A2Z Thunder Storm the EVJect adapter, and plugged the combination into truck making sure to press the locking button on the EVJect. If you don’t lock the EVJect to CT’s charging port, you won’t get the blue LED on the charging port. I used my BC Hydro card to authenticate and within seconds the charging began.

After charging to 100%, we took off north on our way to Watson Lake. We stopped in Good Hope Lake at 8:50 am to check on charging availability. The 8 kW Level 2 charger was working, but the BC Hydro DCFC station there was not yet in service.

We arrived at the Northern Lights Centre in Watson Lake where there’s a 50 kW fast charger. For the first time ever, we connected and charged the truck on a Flo DCFC charger! The connection was flawless. Just plug in, authenticate with my BC Hydro RFID card and the charging began without even pressing the Start button. I charged to 80% and headed to the Watson Lake Campground to spend the night. We picked a site near the restroom and shelter, lit a fire in the stove and warmed up some leftover hobo dinners. It was still raining, but I opened the rooftop tent and plugged the electric blanket into one of the truck’s 15A 120V outlets. With the Starlink antenna facing south, we sat in the truck while it continued to rain and watched a movie before turning in. While in Watson Lake we made a visit to the Sign Forest which is a famous attraction.

The truck’s battery was down to 60% by 5:00 am. I stowed the tent and headed back to the the Flo DCFC at Northern Lights Centre to charge up to 98% before heading on to Whitehorse. I couldn’t get to Whitehorse without charging on the way. I stopped at Swift River and added some charge at the Flo Level 2 charger along side the Alaska Highway, then proceeded to Teslin where I charged to 80% at a Flo DCFC charger. Again, no problem connecting and charging. Easy-peasy.

We arrived at the Airport Chalet motel at 3:01 pm with the battery at 17% SoC. After checking into the motel and getting settled, we ate at the motel diner and then drove to the Yukon Transportation Museum just 600m away to charge the truck. The Flo DCFC was “Out of Order”, and the 11 kW Level 2 J-1776 charger was in use. I got access to it at about 7 pm, connected the truck and walked back to the motel. I set the charge limit to 80%. In the morning we set forth on the next leg of our trip, 386 miles to Tok, AK.

August 13, 2025

We drove to the Tundra RV campground in Tok, Alaska where I had reserved a 50 amp electric service site to charge up the truck. There are no public EV chargers in Tok, as I understand it. It took 12 hours to complete the 386 miles from Whitehorse to Haines Junction, to Burwash Landing, to Beaver Creek, crossing into Alaska, to arrive at our campsite.

When I got to the 50 kW Flo DCFC station at the Yukon Visitor Centre in Beaver Creek, a Model Y was plugged. The owner and I talked for awhile, and to pass the time we checked out the Visitor Centre while the Model Y charged from 70 to 95%. I needed a healthy charge to make it to Tok, AK.

All the charging in Yukon was free. I had no trouble initiating charging at the Flo stations along the way. The key is to make sure the charging connector is electrically connected to the Cybertruck which is indicated by the appearance of the blue LED on the Tesla charge port. I think some of the problems that I experienced earlier with the Hansshow adapter was because the adapter did not lock to the charging port. That should happen automatically when the adapter is plugged in, but it doesn’t always happen. If the adapter-Tesla connection doesn’t lock, the blue LED doesn’t light up and no handshake with the charger takes place.

The Alaska Highway from Burwash Landing to Beaver Creek is unpaved in major stretches of roadway. The paved sections are pretty rough, too, with many heaves, dips, and rough patches where potholes developed. A 16-mile section between Burwash Landing and Beaver Creek was under construction leaving only one lane to service traffic in both directions causing long delays for travelers.

After thirteen days of travel from Illinois we passed through customs into Alaska.

I drove on to the Tundra RV Park & Bar in Tok where we had a 50A 14-50 outlet to charge the truck. We slept in the rooftop tent, and left for Fairbanks early the next morning.

My truck’s suspension adjustment is still disabled, so I’ll try to get an appointment at the Tesla Service Center in Anchorage. Until it’s fixed, I don’t think it wise to take the truck on any off road trails where high ground clearance is needed.

On the way to Fairbanks I got a warning alert that FSD was no longer available and the cameras need to be realigned. I made an appointment at the Anchorage Tesla Service Center to have my suspension problem looked at. They said that the likely cause was a failure of the air valve assembly, and it would have to be replaced. The soonest they could get the part was September 4th. They suggested that the loss of FSD was related to the suspension issue because the front suspension was raised higher than the rear.

August 16, 2025

We are camped in the Teklanika Campground in Denali Nat’l Park. We arrived yesterday from Fairbanks where we camped at the Rivers’s Edge campground. I reserved an electrical site in order the charge the truck, but their 50A 14-50 outlets only produced 32A (8 kW) to the battery. It would have taken over 24 hours to recharge the battery at that Level 2 rate. I found a 50 kW Flo DCFC station at the Golden Valley Electric Association office in town. I charged to 70% and returned to the campground intending to top off to 100% before heading south toward Denali.

We left River’s Edge at 2 am knowing that we’d need extra time to charge up the battery before camping at Denali. Driving south from Fairbanks on the George Parks highway, we ran into heavy fog all the way to Healy where we intended to charge at the Three Bears Grocery from an EVGateway J-1772 Level 2 charger (7 kW) to 90%. The plan was to have 80% SoC when we arrived at Teklanika campground for 3 nights. The weather forecast predicted days and days of clouds, rain, and temperatures in the low 40s overnight, so we’d be relying on the truck battery for power while in camp. At 10 am, while still charging at Healy, AK, I found on Plugshare, a Tesla wall charger at the Tesoro gas station near Denali. Charging at 11 kW sounded better than 7 kW, so I took a chance the NACS charger wouldn’t be ICE’d and drove off. The owner wanted $6/hour to charge there. There was a box to put the money in on the honor system. After 2 hours and a breakfast at the Grab and Go, I had 93% SoC, and we set out for Denali to register for our campground stay.

The weather continues to be chilly with a light, but persistent rain. We plan to tough it out here in Denali until Monday the 18th, when we will continue on to Anchorage. We decided to stay in the Anchorage area until our September 4th Tesla service appointment. The thought of driving 4,000 miles back to Illinois without FSD and with the front suspension raised higher than the rear and uneven left and right doesn’t appeal to me. I can only hope that the part arrives earlier or Tesla can find the part at another service center. Otherwise, we are going to get a good look at what Anchorage has to offer.

What a grand adventure! Thank you for keeping us updated!

 

[hemiarch]

This is my favorite thread to read. Honestly.
Your entries are so “Shakleton”. I love them.
Perhaps you should consider renaming your truck “HMS Endurance”.
Sending good vibes and wishing you luck.
God speed.

 

[Cybergirl]

August 19, 2025

We made it to Anchorage today, leaving Denali (Teklanika Campground) at 6am yesterday. Yesterday was at long last a mostly sunny day which allowed me to take this photo of Mt. McKinley (Mt. Denali).

We also took the park bus from our campground to East Fork. That’s as far as one can go since the road was closed in 2021 at mile 46 due to the landslide at Pretty Rocks. (Not my photo)

We saw dall sheep, a grizzly bear, and a cow moose along the way, all munching on whatever was edible.

The Teklanika (braided) River.

From Denali, we drove south on the Parks Hwy to Jam Jam Spot, just north of Jacks River, where there’s a 50 kW Flo DCFC charging station and a 7 kW J-1772. I connected to the Flo DCFC on the second try and charged for 2 hours for the 188 mile drive to the Chugiak 250 kW Tesla Supercharger. What a pleasure to plug a small, light connector into the truck and instantly begin charging at 254 kW.

After a 40 minutes charge (85% SoC) we drove to the Eklutna campground ($20) 4 miles back on the Parks Hwy and 9 miles east toward Eklutna Lake to spend a quiet night. We slept in the roof top tent without setting up camp, and headed out at 8 am the next morning for a quick stop at the Supercharger, a MacDonald’s breakfast, and on to Anchorage. The forecast for Anchorage was for rain in the afternoon, but then five days of sun and clouds with no significant rain for the next 10 days. That’s good news since we need to hang around Anchorage to have the Cybertruck suspension problem corrected. The front suspension is raised way up while the rear suspension is at entry level.

FSD has been disabled, forward vision is degraded, and getting into and out of the truck is a minor struggle. Earliest date for repairs is currently September 4th.

We booked a room for two nights in Anchorage to rest up, shower, and launder clothes today (19th). Holy Jesus, lodging prices are high in Anchorage, double to triple what we are used to paying for a nice hotel in the lower 48. We found a tiny but clean room with a shared bathroom not far from the airport for $345 (two nights). Sleeping in a real bed will be quite a luxurious experience since our previous hotel stay in Stewart, BC, a week ago.

I’ll drop by the Tesla Service Center later today to talk to the people about my suspension problem. The SC doesn’t identify itself on the outside as Tesla, so I assume it’s a garage certified by Tesla to do service and repairs.

After that we will pay a visit to my niece who has lived in Anchorage for years. Then we need to plan for our extended stay in the Anchorage area.

 

[hemiarch]

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