A recent opinion post in the Edmonton sun suggested it was impossible to drive from Grand Prairie AB to Winnipeg MB in January. Setting aside why anyone would choose to drive the 1800km or so between the two when reasonably priced flights are available. I wondered as I read the column if Gunther (the name of the columnist) was right or wrong? Is it possible to drive the 1800 km route from Grand Prarie AB to Winnipeg MB in an EV in January? Looking at routes proposed by “A better route planner” we find that in a long-ish range EV such as the Nissan Leaf plus, you can, albeit with a carefully planned route, a gentle foot, your granny cord and some patience.
A recent Edmonton Sun columnist wrote what appears to be a political post on EV’s. Accusing the Trudeau liberals for wanting to penalize those who choose to buy a large Pickup truck instead of say a small EV (source). I suppose, there is and perhaps there should be a penalty for buying a large, polluting, gas guzzling truck, especially when a smaller EV would have done the job. Me and Gunther will continue to agree to disagree on that one. Yet, Gunther raised an interesting challenge. Is it possible to drive an EV along the 1800 km route from Grand Prairie AB to Winnipeg MB, particularly in cold-weather.
We use the better route planner (https://abetterrouteplanner.com/) to explore this. After some experimentation I discovered that the first leg (370 km from Grand Prairie,AB to Edson AB) is the biggest challenge. Plugshare does not list any EV chargers along Hwy 43 from Grand Prarie AB until just before Edmonton. But there is an RV park about 270 km into the drive which apparently does offer EV drivers charging especially if they call ahead.
I must say I am not the least surprised by this. Whenever I meet people who live in the Prairies I am always surprised by how far they will go to help you. I was traveling through Saskatoon once with my family on a train adventure, which required a short walk to a bus station. I had walked about 10 meters when a complete stranger offered us a lift, not just to the bus station but right to the door of our hotel. Us Canadians are fortunate to have such outstanding people amongst us. We may not agree on everything, but the people who live in the prairies are awesome.
Should you prefer to sleep as your EV charges, why not check yourself into the comfy looking Comfort Suites in Fox creek (which might have some outlets in the parking lot along the building, please call ahead first just in case;), and pick up 20-30 kWh as you snooze. If you planned your departure from Grand Prairie in the evening time, this need not be a major inconvenience.
A better route-planner had a hard time closing the plan with my 2018 Nissan Leaf, although both the 2022 Nissan Leaf+, and the Tesla Model 3 could do it (Albeit an “wall-charge” on that first leg as discussed above). Using my 2018 Nissan Leaf, the 260 km leg between Saskatoon and Regina caused some issues as well. Davidson SK offers some options for a charge: Plugshare does list a SunCountry L2 station, a motel might let you wall-charge (as always do call ahead), and there is a campground with RV outlets (up to 30A), which would get you 3kW of charging speed. Granted it may take a pretty please in January, but then again, the people who live in the prairies are awesome so I would not be surprised if they found a way to charge your EV.
Back to Gunther’s challenge: Can you drive from Grand-Prairie to Winnipeg in January in an EV? Id say yes you can, but it would be an adventure, and you may find yourself getting to know as I did, the awesome people who live in the prairies and are always willing to help. I suppose that description would fit any 1800 km road trip in any vehicle, electric or otherwise.
Electric car adventures 