SuperChargers along the Alaskan Highway

Cybertruckee

Banned
Well-known member
Banned
First Name
Yosemite Sam
Joined
Apr 21, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
553
Reaction score
579
Location
Mostly under the pines
Vehicles
Red Rider
Occupation
Finance Manager
Country flag
..Tesla has been saying for years they are adding a super charger in Anchorage, but they keep pushing it back. That said, I believe they did get a cross country Supercharger route set up in China, so who knows? Maybe they will FINALLY get the Alaska highway connected in the next few years. Alaska isn't exactly a huge market for Tesla, but it's a little embarrassing they haven't yet connected the wildest, coolest drive in North America. C'mon Tesla.
I wish so too. Every RV'er out there and his brothers want to visit, explore and do camping in Alaska.
Sponsored

 

MEDICALJMP

Well-known member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Apr 28, 2020
Threads
248
Messages
1,238
Reaction score
2,479
Location
Omaha, NE
Vehicles
Toyota Avalon, Rav4, Tri-motor Cybertruck
Occupation
Nurse
Country flag
It is quite possible to drive an EV from the lower 48 to Alaska. Many people have done this drive in the model 3, S, and now Mach-E. It gets a little easier every year as more and more chargers are being added. For now, you'll have to charge at a few RV parks which can add 2 or 3 extra days to the trip. But it's a chance to stop and enjoy these remote areas.

Government Yukon and Gov BC are adding new 50KW chargers each year....it won't be long before they are available the entire way. Really, they only need to add 2 more (Fort Nelson and Watson Lake).

Now, TOWING is a whole 'nother story. I wouldn't recommend towing a trailer up here with an EV until there are super chargers en route. Tesla has been saying for years they are adding a super charger in Anchorage, but they keep pushing it back. That said, I believe they did get a cross country Supercharger route set up in China, so who knows? Maybe they will FINALLY get the Alaska highway connected in the next few years. Alaska isn't exactly a huge market for Tesla, but it's a little embarrassing they haven't yet connected the wildest, coolest drive in North America. C'mon Tesla.

One of my dreams is to drive the Al-Can Highway.
 

electricAK

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
230
Reaction score
547
Location
Haines, Alaska
Vehicles
Cybertruck dual-motor
Country flag
I want to update this thread with a new post from the Alaska Tesla Owners Facebook group.
This guy just drove from Washington state to Homer, AK in mid October. Note that this is a tough time of year to do the trip, as most services are shut down for the winter already, and the road conditions are already snowy. Doing the drive in Summer would be significantly easier I believe.
His post is below:

Here is a long recap of lessons learned, charging equipment required, and a feasible itinerary:
Bellingham, Washington to the end of the road in Homer, Alaska 6-15 October 2021 in a Refreshed Tesla Model S Long Range

This ten-day trip from Washington to Alaska via the Cassiar Highway was over a distance of 2407 miles and used approximately 633 kWh of battery energy for an overall trip efficiency of around 263 Wh/mi. Google Maps reports a drive time of 45 hours. Charging at 7.68 kW, which is the Level 2 charging rate at 32 amps and 240 volts, equals 82 hours of charging time. Therefore, approximately two days of driving and 3.5 days of level 2 charging may be required. If more supercharger stations open up, and/or you have a reliable Chademo or CCS adapter, and you never need 115v wall-charging, you can shave a day or two off the trip, especially if you don’t mind driving at night. Especially since, by the time someone does this trip again, there will be more of these chargers operating in BC and the Yukon.

We took this trip for a few reasons: number one, it just seemed like an appropriate adventure! Number two was to recon its feasibility, as we will likely repeat it. Number three: everyone wants to be a pioneer!

We wanted to stop only at publicly available charging opportunities. It is fine to request a favor and plug in somewhere, like a shop with a 50-amp receptacle, but it is another thing to do the trip in a repeatable way. A favor is granted once or twice, but if every EV starts asking the same shop to plug in, the welcome may become worn out.

I kept to the speed limit almost exclusively, except for periods along the Cassiar and between Watson Lake and Whitehorse when I went slower to preserve battery capacity. At slow charging rates, much more time is saved by driving slow so charging requires less time. I also went faster sometimes, or slower due to road conditions. Climate was kept at defog, seat heaters (generally set on two), steering yoke heater, and set at 64 degrees F. Temperatures were largely around freezing, often a bit above. Roads were snow-covered or slushy about half of the distance between Watson Lake and Whitehorse, and between Kluane Lake and Tok. Tire pressure was whatever they put in at the factory, I found about 40 or 41 psi when I checked while warm. The tires were the Continental Pro Contact all-season radials that came with the long-range Model S.
We learned a few things so that the trip could be a couple of days shorter the next time. Below is a plausible itinerary which does not rely on DC fast-charging, but it does rely on having a reliable winter range of around 280 miles. If you don’t have this range, you’ll probably need at least two more days.

Slush on the road reduces range dramatically! We ran into a fair amount of slush, but it could be worse. Whoever repeats this trip during the off-season will likely do something different, including us! The Alcan is probably easier, but not as scenic. Hopefully, this 7-day itinerary will be helpful.

Charging Equipment list:
• Tesla Mobile Connector (comes with the car)
• Nema 5-15 adapter (the one that comes with the mobile connector)
• Nema 14-50 adapter (the one that used to come with the connector, or that can now be purchased through Tesla)
• Nema TT-30 adapter, just in case. From EVSE adapters.com
• Nema 6-30 adapter for the mobile connector from EVSEadapters.com
• TT-30 – Nema 14-50 Y-splitter, from an RV supplier
• TT-30 extension cord. 30 feet minimum, 40’ probably better. From an RV supplier
• J1772 adapter, the one that comes with the car
• Digital voltmeter

Notes: If you take another route, probably a Tesla extension cord and a few other adapters will help. I have used the nema 6-20 adapter (at a friend’s carpentry shop, my Mom’s house, and my house; 20 amps at 240v) the nema 14-30 adapter (dryers- 30 amps at 240v), and I found a nema 10-50 receptacle that will help me in the future. I also carry the nema 5-20 adapter, so I can get 16 amps at a regular wall plug if it happens to be on a 20-amp circuit. The Tesla extension cord (from EVSEadapters.com) allows you to reach any style receptacle without having to carry specific adapters or extra extension cords, like a separate nema 14-50 extension cord, which would be useful to reach dryer outlets.

Day 1: Sumas - Prince George, 471 miles. Use the superchargers at Cache Creek and Quesnel. Probably the supercharger at Prince George will be operational by the time you get there. Or charge overnight at the Courthouse, stay in a hotel. Maybe the destination charger at the Coast Inn will be repaired, or the Hyatt chargers will become operational, but make sure!

Day 2: Prince George – Boulder Creek Rest Area, 305 miles. Camp and charge overnight. Gain more along the way at DCFC or J1772 at Savory West Rest Area (111 miles from Prince George).

Day 3: Boulder Creek Rest Area – Bell 2 Lodge, 161 miles. Make prior arrangements to charge overnight at NEMA 6-30 receptacle in the Bell 2 shop. Carry the adapter from EVSEadapters.com, Tesla doesn’t make one.

Day 4: Bell 2 – Nugget City or Watson Lake, (295 miles / 308 miles). Stop at Northway Motor Inn and charge at 12 amps / 118v if extra is needed. If using Nugget City, you will need to carry a TT-30 splitter, which has two TT-30 plugs combined to one NEMA 14-50 receptacle, a TT-30 extension cord, and a voltmeter. There are three TT-30 receptacles on the west side of their main building. Probably two of these are on different legs. Plug in the TT-30 plugs of the splitter, one of which will require the extension cord to reach a second receptacle, then insert leads of voltmeter into the two side slots of the NEMA 14-50 receptacle on your splitter. When you see 220 or so volts, you are golden!

If you go to Watson Lake, which is 14.5 miles out of your way, charge at one of the NEMA 14-50 receptacles in the Downtown RV park for $48. It could be wise to reserve one of these is advance, otherwise you’ll be using the TT-30 splitter and extension cord at two 30-amp sites.

Day 5: Nugget City / Watson Lake to Whitehorse, 258 / 272 miles. Marsh Lake, 27 miles east of Whitehorse, has a DC fast-charger for those unable to make the distance on one charge. Otherwise, you’ll need to find something in Teslin, which could be difficult. If you have a working DCFC adapter, top-off and continue to Haines Junction (which also has a DCFC, and a RV park with TT-30 receptacles at the Fas Gas station) and/or Talbot Arm motel in Destruction Bay, which has outdoor 15-amp plug-ins (162 miles past Whitehorse).

Day 6: Whitehorse (Haines Jct? Talbot Arm?) to 1202 Motor Inn, Beaver Creek, 278 miles. Stop and get a little extra at either the DCFC or the TT-30 receptacles in the RV park adjacent to the Fas Gas station in Haines Junction. Use the Y-splitter to charge overnight at sites 88 & 89 at 1202 Motor Inn.

Day 7: 1202 Motor Inn to Turkey Red in Palmer, via the Caribou Hotel in Glennallen, 247 + 137 miles. Pay $25 at the Caribou Hotel to gain sufficient charge to make it to Palmer. Walk across the street from the adjacent fuel station, up Co-op Ave to the Glennallen community trails and take a nice hike! If you can’t make the 247 miles to Glennallen, you’ll need to try to find something in Tok. When I called, they were not optimistic, but Tok does have an electric school bus that charges on CCS. Otherwise use a 15-amp outdoor plug-in.

Day 8: Turkey Red to Homer, (263 miles to AJ’s Steakhouse and DCFC) Use the supercharger, or destination chargers, at Whistle Hill, or the J1772 at River City Books in Soldotna, if needed.
Total cost of charging and accommodations: $1241.65.

Notes: We camped one night in the car at Boulder Creek Rest Area, otherwise we stayed in motels, inns, or lodges every night. One-way airfare to Seattle used mileage, so was only $11.20. We stayed with family down there. I also didn’t include food or sundries, because we eat and needed the extra stuff anyway!

Charging adapters and cords might be considered an extra expense of around $350 if you include the Tesla extension cord. If you add in DCFC adapters, then there’s another $1000 or more, if you get both the Chademo ($400) and the CCS (who knows? $700?). If you include an extra adapter, the price of driving compared to average shipping options, around $2000, is about the same. However, the adapters will remain useful.

We have 168 remaining miles of our 1000 free supercharger miles, because we spent about 10 days driving around Washington and Oregon visiting family before crossing the border. I hope that the Soldotna supercharger opens up before March 28th, when my supercharger miles expire!
Sponsored

 
 




Top