MellowJohnny
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- First Name
- Christian
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- Nov 16, 2021
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- 2022 Mach-E Premium AWD
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- #1
Admittedly there is nothing particularly remarkable about this feat, other than I've been curious to attempt it since I got the NACS adapter.
I've driven this route a lot since I got the car in 2022, and most of the time it's been a bit unnerving with the lack of reliability with the Ivy DCFC chargers I tended to favour at the provincial (ONroute) rest stops. Convenient yes, reliable no.
Interestingly my decision to only charge at Tesla coincides with the replacement of most of the original highly unreliable Ivy units with some nice new Kempower dispensers. Full disclosure: I tried them last week and they were perfect.
But this was the Tesla Trip. And I had a simple requirement - I wanted to plan my trip as easily as a Tesla driver would. Could I do it?
Pretty much yes. Almost. Kinda.
TLDR; ABRP was the closest I came to have "the Tesla experience", as soon as I figured out how to hide the CCS "noise" - just make sure you only have NACS checked under "Chargers & Networks", that pretty much did the trick.
It's disappointing that nothing from Ford will currently help you plan a trip exclusively with Tesla Superchargers, AFAIK. They still don't appear in the onboard Navigation, so....not helpful. And I never found a way to get Apple Maps to do it, and trying to configure Plug Share was an exercise in frustration. As I backup I also used the Tesla App to find all the compatible chargers between Toronto and Montreal, and put their addresses in Notes in case I needed them.
The trip itself is pretty simple to do as compatible Tesla Superchargers are plentiful along the route.
First stop: Napanee. 8 Superchargers, including one right on the end which was the obvious choice. Good selection of fast food, so overall a good place to stop. Pro Tip: Ordering Swiss Chalet from Harvey's is NOT the same as ordering from a proper Swiss Chalet restaurant. And that's a very very Canadian comment
Second stop: Morrisburg. Sleepy little spot with 8 dispensers and a McDonald's. A bit off the highway, but it was nice and quiet. Since it was empty I angled in to the first spot far more than I would have normally, but it meant not blocking a 2nd spot.
Return trip: First stop in Kingston, which on a cold rainy day was a bit of a stretch to make with my standard range pack. I stopped at on ONroute for a break and a coffee, charged for ten minutes, and without that quick stop I'm not sure I would have made it. But I had an alternative closer Tesla spot in Gananoque if I had to. The Kingston location had 12 stalls, and more than half were busy. And the curb is at least a foot and a half high, so getting close without angling in was impossible. Other than that also a decent spot with a Panera and Pita Pit if that's your deal.
Final top-up was Coburg, also 8 dispensers, and managed to angle in to the very first spot. By the time I was done all other spots were busy, including a Cybertruck who had unhitched a trailer to charge. Tim Hortons is the only real option. This spot is now super useful, as my old options for one last stop was either a slow Shell ReCharge or a usually broken Petro-Canada DCFC in Bowmanville. So this will be my go-to in the future.
Final observations:
1) The tradeoff with using the Tesla locations vs ONroute was always a bit of an extra drive to find them (but no more than 2km from the highway), but to be honest I kinda liked the relative quiet vs. the ONroute rest stops which are always busy & noisy.
B) Charging vs the Kempower units I used last week was a bit faster, measured by dividing the amount of energy delivered divided by the amount of time it took. Seems like car had a flatter curve on the Tesla chargers? Just a guess, but I spent less time at Tesla.
3) Tesla was also a bit cheaper (rack rate, no monthly pass) than Ivy, paying Elon anywhere from $0.46 to $0.64 per kWh at Tesla vs. $0.70 at Ivy.
iiii) Getting close enough the plug was always a delicate dance. After repositioning three or four times i just pulled in on an angle. In Kingston I had no choice. So +1 to the new Kempower units at Ivy with their generous cable lengths.
E) Not all Ivy DCFC units have been replaced, so there are still some old unreliable pieces of garbage out there, but once they all get replaced there will be slightly less reason to use Tesla.
6) Last advantage to Tesla vs Ivy - you can easily get to them from either direction. ONroute stops are between highway exits, and essentially available from only one direction.
So overall a fun experiment, and I like expanding my knowledge of all available, reliable charging locations. I think in the future I'll probably mix both the new Ivy stations as well as Tesla when it makes sense or I just feel like getting off the beaten path.
Here's a few pics:
I've driven this route a lot since I got the car in 2022, and most of the time it's been a bit unnerving with the lack of reliability with the Ivy DCFC chargers I tended to favour at the provincial (ONroute) rest stops. Convenient yes, reliable no.
Interestingly my decision to only charge at Tesla coincides with the replacement of most of the original highly unreliable Ivy units with some nice new Kempower dispensers. Full disclosure: I tried them last week and they were perfect.
But this was the Tesla Trip. And I had a simple requirement - I wanted to plan my trip as easily as a Tesla driver would. Could I do it?
Pretty much yes. Almost. Kinda.
TLDR; ABRP was the closest I came to have "the Tesla experience", as soon as I figured out how to hide the CCS "noise" - just make sure you only have NACS checked under "Chargers & Networks", that pretty much did the trick.
It's disappointing that nothing from Ford will currently help you plan a trip exclusively with Tesla Superchargers, AFAIK. They still don't appear in the onboard Navigation, so....not helpful. And I never found a way to get Apple Maps to do it, and trying to configure Plug Share was an exercise in frustration. As I backup I also used the Tesla App to find all the compatible chargers between Toronto and Montreal, and put their addresses in Notes in case I needed them.
The trip itself is pretty simple to do as compatible Tesla Superchargers are plentiful along the route.
First stop: Napanee. 8 Superchargers, including one right on the end which was the obvious choice. Good selection of fast food, so overall a good place to stop. Pro Tip: Ordering Swiss Chalet from Harvey's is NOT the same as ordering from a proper Swiss Chalet restaurant. And that's a very very Canadian comment
Second stop: Morrisburg. Sleepy little spot with 8 dispensers and a McDonald's. A bit off the highway, but it was nice and quiet. Since it was empty I angled in to the first spot far more than I would have normally, but it meant not blocking a 2nd spot.
Return trip: First stop in Kingston, which on a cold rainy day was a bit of a stretch to make with my standard range pack. I stopped at on ONroute for a break and a coffee, charged for ten minutes, and without that quick stop I'm not sure I would have made it. But I had an alternative closer Tesla spot in Gananoque if I had to. The Kingston location had 12 stalls, and more than half were busy. And the curb is at least a foot and a half high, so getting close without angling in was impossible. Other than that also a decent spot with a Panera and Pita Pit if that's your deal.
Final top-up was Coburg, also 8 dispensers, and managed to angle in to the very first spot. By the time I was done all other spots were busy, including a Cybertruck who had unhitched a trailer to charge. Tim Hortons is the only real option. This spot is now super useful, as my old options for one last stop was either a slow Shell ReCharge or a usually broken Petro-Canada DCFC in Bowmanville. So this will be my go-to in the future.
Final observations:
1) The tradeoff with using the Tesla locations vs ONroute was always a bit of an extra drive to find them (but no more than 2km from the highway), but to be honest I kinda liked the relative quiet vs. the ONroute rest stops which are always busy & noisy.
B) Charging vs the Kempower units I used last week was a bit faster, measured by dividing the amount of energy delivered divided by the amount of time it took. Seems like car had a flatter curve on the Tesla chargers? Just a guess, but I spent less time at Tesla.
3) Tesla was also a bit cheaper (rack rate, no monthly pass) than Ivy, paying Elon anywhere from $0.46 to $0.64 per kWh at Tesla vs. $0.70 at Ivy.
iiii) Getting close enough the plug was always a delicate dance. After repositioning three or four times i just pulled in on an angle. In Kingston I had no choice. So +1 to the new Kempower units at Ivy with their generous cable lengths.
E) Not all Ivy DCFC units have been replaced, so there are still some old unreliable pieces of garbage out there, but once they all get replaced there will be slightly less reason to use Tesla.
6) Last advantage to Tesla vs Ivy - you can easily get to them from either direction. ONroute stops are between highway exits, and essentially available from only one direction.
So overall a fun experiment, and I like expanding my knowledge of all available, reliable charging locations. I think in the future I'll probably mix both the new Ivy stations as well as Tesla when it makes sense or I just feel like getting off the beaten path.
Here's a few pics:
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