What an amazing trip. After spending almost 8 months living in the Cybertruck and visiting most of the continental United States and Canada’s provinces, we headed out from Washington State towards The Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, North West Territories (TUK). I knew it would be an epic trip, but it exceeded all my expectations.
In this short post, I want to give you a compressed breakdown of the trip route, and the charging challenges we encountered along the way to Tuk. It is worth noting that after we drove from Washington state into Canada, the last Tesla Supercharger we were able to use going north, was at the city Prince George in British Columbia.
From there, we had to use Canada’s unreliable (at the moment) EV charging infrastructure to make it over 1,790 miles to what we designated as the starting point of the expedition to The Arctic Circle. Whitehorse, Yukon.
From Port Angeles, Washington, where we were camping to Whitehorse, Yukon is the first challenge via the BC-97 and The Alaska Highway, with BC Hydro and Flo chargers along the way. We struggled at several chargers to initiate charging, but that was 2024. By the time you read this it may be better.
This is still in somewhat populated areas compared to what goes next after Dawson City with very limited options. You have another option a bit closer to the west coast from Prince George (1,004 miles), but with a bit less charging infrastructure availability.
The drive to Eagle Plains from Dawson City is about 254 miles from the town, but now there should be a charger by the entrance of the Dempster Highway that saves a good 25 miles from the town (if it is working), leaving you with no less than 229 miles with no charging available going through constant elevation changes of 4k feet (1.2k meters) up and down up and down many times so the energy usage is a lot.
We drove it at 35-45 Mph in order to make it. Then Eagle Plains is where you would hopefully charge next at one of the wall connectors we donated. It was down for a bit but should now be working. Level 2 slow charging, should still be at 50 amps.
From there to Inuvik is about 227 miles and although there could be more, we donated 3 wall connectors (1 at Polar Bear Tires and 2 at Arctic Char) If you would want a clean place to rest while you charge, Arctic Char is the best option. Ask for Merle.
Then it’s only 94.5 miles to Tuktoyaktuk. There are two more wall connectors we donated there and you have to coordinate with the town hall team to use them. To charge your vehicle from Prince George one-way, I would make sure to have at least at $500 budget. Not because you would 100% need it, but just in case. If you already have all the equipment you need for living in the vehicle and covering all basic and emergency needs, then add the budget for food and preparing it.
Easy another $500 one way for two and add more if you plan to stay at all at any paid location. Whether it’s a campground, hotel, or boon-docking be ready for the unexpected. So I would make sure to add another $1k to the one-way budget.
It would be difficult for many EVs at once, as there isn’t enough infrastructure to charge multiple vehicles at the same time in many of the charging locations. So if you do the trip with a second vehicle, consider leap frogging like we did more than once when it was possible. Definitely easier for one or two only.
The extra headaches of having two vehicles may prove worth it if one gets in trouble and the other one can help. Whether with rescue or repairs, the buddy system is best. We actually proved it on the way back especially. I think there is a very high chance that you can make the trip with a single vehicle with zero complications and only have joyful frustration-free experiences, but be ready just in case.
Getting to The Arctic Ocean after so many surprises, was something I will never forget. If you haven’t seen the highlights reel of the trip, make sure you watch it at my YouTube channel here.
As time allows I will add more information here. We are already planning an epic trip to cover the Pan-American Highway all the way to the end of South America and another epic adventure in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, but between those, we are also adventuring within United States while we search for sponsors.
Have fun, wherever you are.
Ciao!