Overland Trip to Alaska - Follow For Updates

[TexasRaider]

I’m disappointed to say that we cut our Alaska trip short. Traveling to Alaska in an all-electric vehicle, and especially driving a single Cybertruck in the month of May, was challenging for us. Despite our decision to abort the trip just north of Banff, BC, I think the attempt was valuable for the lessons learned.

To be clear, we could easily have gone on to Prince George, BC making use of Tesla Superchargers present in the southern half of British Columbia, but the discovery that we couldn’t charge our Cybertruck at BC Hydro and Flo DCFC CCS1 charging stations using the Hansshow CCS1/J1772 combo to NACS adapter meant having to replan the trip making use of Level 1 and Level 2 charging methods which was not practical from a time and risk standpoint.

Another factor is our decision to not continue was the weather. It was cold, and only getting colder traveling further north. For someone acclimated to Arizona climate and who is not used to temperatures in the 30s and 40s combined with predominantly cloudy skies and intermittent rain, I struggled to overcome mild hypothermia. I underestimated the effect that cold weather would have on us. We purchased gloves, stocking caps, and some good rainwear which helped marginally. Thermal underwear is definitely on my list of clothing to bring on our next spring or fall camping trip.

It was smart to take along two electric blankets because one failed early on. Sleeping in the rooftop tent worked out well with a functioning electric blanket, but CO2 levels rose to headache levels if the windows were not opened widely for good ventilation. Insects were not a problem at all this time of year, one positive that we much appreciated.

Another factor in our decision to head for home in Illinois was that the battery of our Tesla Model Y which was garaged over the winter in Illinois, was losing charge. The Universal Wall Charger faulted, and for some reason, Sentry Mode kept turning on and draining the battery at a rapid rate. The battery was at 20% SoC when I checked, and I was afraid the battery could be permanently damaged if allowed to fully discharge. Later, I learned why Sentry Mode kept turning on after I’d turn it off with the Tesla app. I had “Exclude Home” checked for Sentry Mode. I later changed home to be my Arizona address, so the Model Y in Illinois thought it was no longer at home so it turned on Sentry Mode.

I want to try again to make the trip to Alaska, maybe late this summer, but only if I can figure out why I couldn’t charge at the BC Hydro and Flo fast chargers. Was my choice of an adapter (Hansshow) the reason I couldn’t connect to these chargers? Would the A2Z adapter have worked? The Flo Combo connector doesn’t fit all the way into the Hansshow adapter which has the same latch opening shape as the A2Z adapter. There are no BC Hydro or Flo chargers within reasonable driving distance from me to test other manufacturers’ adapters.

Alternatively, I could plan around using Level 2 charging available at electrified campgrounds, and allocate more time to cover the long travel distances in northern BC and Yukon. I have to also consider the reduced range of my Cybertruck equipped with the Urander bed rack and Inspired Overland rooftop tent, and weighing 8400 lbs when fully loaded. I was getting 1.5 to 2 miles per kWh depending on road and weather conditions. Reduced range means more hours of charging between stops. I don’t remember having to wait more than 30 minutes between stops at Tesla 250kW Superchargers. Having to take 6 to 12 hours to charge borders on the absurd.

On the positive side, traveling through the mountainous regions of BC was a total delight. FSD handled all the driving beautifully allowing time to take in the majesty of the surrounding wilderness. That is, after all, the reward for the time and expense of taking an overland adventure to Alaska.

I can only imagine how difficult of a decision it was to turn around. It is beyond words the thanks for the effort and detail you shared.
Life is a journey. Stay positive.
Still jealous of the views you got in BC.

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[Outdoors]

Traveling to Alaska is hard. One must have time, and be patient. I did it in my S well before any superchargers. It was campgrounds, and time.

Not sure why you were all buttoned up on the tent. Tents provide marginal heat difference to the outside. It is more removing from the elements of wind and rain. If one zips the tents up tight the moisture given off can be quite large by two humans. About a cup a person per night. A good amount of airflow is necessary for tents.

Didn't you used to sleep in the vault? I would think a rooftop would be a breath of fresh air.

Valiant effort. Hope the gap gets filled in so you charge fast. Try again next year.

 

[BenlovesCT]

Great lessons learned!
I will be shopping for my CCS adapter very carefully. Level 2 in BC would have been a pain. Good smart choices. I am fantasizing about coming along for your next trip.
Greetings from BC.

 

[scottf200]

I’m disappointed to say that we cut our Alaska trip short. Traveling to Alaska in an all-electric vehicle, and especially driving a single Cybertruck in the month of May, was challenging for us. Despite our decision to abort the trip just north of Banff, BC, I think the attempt was valuable for the lessons learned.

Good sound choices. That was certainly still an adventure with interesting experiences. Hope you get your adapter figured out. I suspect there are answers with the current CT experience out there. Best wishes on a future adventures.

I've experence BC on a couple different trips and *really* enjoyed the scenery. It is too bad that you didn't make it up to Jasper area and experience that beauty. And then over to IL.

Part of my Lifetime map (TeslaFI)

 

[CyberGus]

The battery was at 20% SoC when I checked, and I was afraid the battery could be permanently damaged if allowed to fully discharge.

Your battery was in little danger. Power-wasters like Sentry get disabled below 20%, and at around 2% it stops topping-off the LV battery; shortly thereafter it goes into full shutdown.

Going to 0% is not harmful either, that’s still around 3V per cell. Zero volts would be very bad, and the only drain at that point is internal self-discharge, but you don’t want to FAFO that one lol.

 

[Cybergirl]

Your battery was in little danger. Power-wasters like Sentry get disabled below 20%, and at around 2% it stops topping-off the LV battery; shortly thereafter it goes into full shutdown.

Going to 0% is not harmful either, that’s still around 3V per cell. Zero volts would be very bad, and the only drain at that point is internal self-discharge, but you don’t want to FAFO that one lol.

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Cybergirl]

Some travel data for the trip:
Total distance traveled -- 3,741 miles
Total Supercharger fees -- US$833.82
Number of charging sessions -- 37
Avg Supercharger cost in US -- $0.37
Avg Supercharger cost in Canada -- $0.39
Charging cost/mi -- $0.22
Total charging time -- 16 hr 47 min
Average charging session time -- 27.21 min
Average charge per session -- 57.21 kWh
Average distance between stops -- 101 mi
Longest distance between stops -- 129 mi
Overall Efficiency -- 566.7 Wh/mi
Gross vehicle weight -- 8400 lbs
Cold tire pressure set to 60 psi at start and not altered
Drove the speed limit or less (max 75 mph)
Temperature: mostly < 50F in Canada
Longest single day driving distance (with FSD) -- 914 miles
All camping electrical supplied by solar power (not from CT battery)
Aero impacted by: Urander bed rack, Inspired Overland rooftop tent & solar panel
No side mirrors
Cybertruck was trouble free throughout the trip


General route: Lake Havasu City AZ>Las Vegas NV>Beaver UT>Pocatello ID>Boise ID>Kingsgate BC (border crossing)>Banff BC>Calgary AB>SwiftCurrent AB>Whitewood, SK>Morris MB>Grand Forks, ND (border crossing)>Fargo ND>Monticello, MN>Lake Delton, Wi>Beloit WI>Yorkville, IL

We are planning to do the Alaska trip again in early August starting from Illinois. I'll purchase an A2Z Cybertruck CCS1 adapter (no J1772) which is proven to accept Flo and BC Hydro connectors.

 

[BrockN]

We are planning to do the Alaska trip again in early August starting from Illinois. I'll purchase an A2Z Cybertruck CCS1 adapter (no J1772) which is proven to accept Flo and BC Hydro connectors.

You said in a previous post that there were issues getting the CCS plug into the adapter you have. I understand that the A2Z offering originally had issues getting the plug connected. They told me they had changed the design slightly to make it fit.

I apparently have the newer version. However, I've had issues with it too, using BC Hydro and FLO and other company's chargers too. I don't know why for sure - it seems pretty random. There have been a few occasions where I couldn't get a charge to start, so moved to an identical charger next to the first unit... and got a charge successfully. And I spent an hour on the phone with Electrify Canada one day, trying to get a charge from all 4 of the units on the site... no luck and they couldn't tell me why!

When I talked to A2Z about this on the phone, they told me they thought it was the charger, because their adapter is simply a pass-thru. That is, there is no intelligence onboard, no electronics. It simply bridges the gap between CCS plug and NACS socket.

One thing is pretty clear to me though - the CCS latch mechanism does need to engage in the adapter. Pushing it almost together is not good enough. It needs to engage and click, which is sometimes a struggle if there isn't enough wear on the plug to allow the fit. It's a workout getting the two together and apart again. And here I thought my CHAdeMO adapter was a struggle...

I also came to suspect that a stiff CCS cable might be applying too much torque to the connection at the truck. I sometimes got a brief orange flash from the socket on the truck, before eventually having a failed connection reported. I have to wonder if that's causing a bad connection either at the truck or the adapter.

I suppose it's possible that Tesla has an issue with the software that communicates with a CCS station. Maybe the charge station needs to be rebooted, maybe the truck does, maybe there's a firmware bug that causes issues with some station and not others...

I'd love to know what the issue is and how to prevent it, because it definitely changes one's confidence when traveling to some area that only has one CCS unit appearing on Plugshare. If it doesn't work, what then?

 

[Cybergirl]

You said in a previous post that there were issues getting the CCS plug into the adapter you have. I understand that the A2Z offering originally had issues getting the plug connected. They told me they had changed the design slightly to make it fit.

I apparently have the newer version. However, I've had issues with it too, using BC Hydro and FLO and other company's chargers too. I don't know why for sure - it seems pretty random. There have been a few occasions where I couldn't get a charge to start, so moved to an identical charger next to the first unit... and got a charge successfully. And I spent an hour on the phone with Electrify Canada one day, trying to get a charge from all 4 of the units on the site... no luck and they couldn't tell me why!

When I talked to A2Z about this on the phone, they told me they thought it was the charger, because their adapter is simply a pass-thru. That is, there is no intelligence onboard, no electronics. It simply bridges the gap between CCS plug and NACS socket.

One thing is pretty clear to me though - the CCS latch mechanism does need to engage in the adapter. Pushing it almost together is not good enough. It needs to engage and click, which is sometimes a struggle if there isn't enough wear on the plug to allow the fit. It's a workout getting the two together and apart again. And here I thought my CHAdeMO adapter was a struggle...

I also came to suspect that a stiff CCS cable might be applying too much torque to the connection at the truck. I sometimes got a brief orange flash from the socket on the truck, before eventually having a failed connection reported. I have to wonder if that's causing a bad connection either at the truck or the adapter.

I suppose it's possible that Tesla has an issue with the software that communicates with a CCS station. Maybe the charge station needs to be rebooted, maybe the truck does, maybe there's a firmware bug that causes issues with some station and not others...

I'd love to know what the issue is and how to prevent it, because it definitely changes one's confidence when traveling to some area that only has one CCS unit appearing on Plugshare. If it doesn't work, what then?

It's also true that the A2Z is only designed for DC charging. Their adapter will accept a combo connector, but the J1772 terminals are missing. That's why the flap over the DC terminals is not present. My Hansshow Cybertruck adapter wouldn't accept the Flo connector, as I've said, but I don't see why the latch opening on the adapter couldn't be enlarged with a file to remedy the problem. I'd need to find a CCS charging station to test it out. What other CCS chargers use the REMA connector?

 

[BrockN]

It's also true that the A2Z is only designed for DC charging. Their adapter will accept a combo connector, but the J1772 terminals are missing. That's why the flap over the DC terminals is not present. My Hansshow Cybertruck adapter wouldn't accept the Flo connector, as I've said, but I don't see why the latch opening on the adapter couldn't be enlarged with a file to remedy the problem. I'd need to find a CCS charging station to test it out. What other CCS chargers use the REMA connector?

I had some discussion with another Canadian owner. They discovered that some CCS plugs don't properly depress the button seen taped down in the photo. When taped, it works for them at locations that otherwise would not previously.

My adapter does not have the button:

Mine also is missing the power pins for the J1772 portion off the adapter. The taped one has those pins. So I'm guessing that the button somehow switches between Level 2 and DC fast charge.

If you have the button, maybe see if taping it down will let you charge. Just be aware that the button might need to be released to allow Level 2 functionality.

 

[Cybergirl]

I remember reading somewhere that the little button is a UL required safety feature on the combo adapter. When pushed in, it signals that the DC pins are not exposed. If that's the case, taping the button down wouldn't prevent Level 2 charging.

In my opinion, there's nothing to be gained by buying a combo adapter. Tesla provides a J1772 adapter with every car purchase. Tesla's own CCS1 adapter lacks the AC pins. I should have bought a Cybertruck adapter specifically for CCS1 charging like the A2Z ($130 on Amazon). I'm reluctant to do so because I'm not convinced that it will take the REMA connector (e.g., Flo) freely. Buying a S/3/X/Y adapter (e.g., LaTough for $95 with coupon on Amazon), and plugging it into my EVject adapter, is guaranteed to work with REMA connectors due to the larger latch opening on these adapters.

 

[pricedm]

I’m thinking the EVject connector is the best option now for CCS DC charging. 2x cost of A2Z but appears to be less problematic.

 

[Kryptek]

The issue with a2z and bc and ev America is the software, it’s not possible over air update or anything easy too and it only is not compatible with cyber. The owners of the Alaska ones have expressed there plans to rectify the chargers it might happen this fall but most likely they will be replaced next summer. Most of these stations are privately owned up here making it hard to invest more into a fix In Alaska I’ve been told

 

[Cybergirl]

The issue with a2z and bc and ev America is the software, it’s not possible over air update or anything easy too and it only is not compatible with cyber.

I'm not understanding what you've written here. Care to clarify?

 

[Kryptek]

The software inside those chargers in trapper creek and Healy are not compatible with CyberTruck for whatever reason it’s not a hardware issue or adapter problem on our side. And since they are independently owned they don’t plan on reconfiguring the charger stations, it’s not something they can just do remotely to upgrade the software it is more complex than that for whatever reason. So the new stations (non Tesla) being installed are rumored to be compatible we shall see!

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