(Pictures by Stephanie Foden)
I’m a industrial photographer based mostly in Disraeli, a small city in Quebec. In 2020, I drove my Ford F150 pick-up from Quebec to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to shoot some resorts for a consumer—a 5,000-kilometre, seven-day drive. My spouse and three youngsters flew down to fulfill me there for trip. When COVID struck and worldwide air journey shut down, we piled everybody into the truck and made the return drive all the way in which from Mexico again to rural Quebec. It wasn’t probably the most enjoyable highway journey. Frightened about border closures, we rushed dwelling, solely stopping to sleep at night time. However as soon as we have been again, I began kicking round a brand new thought: may I recreate that three-country, transcontinental highway journey in an electrical car?
I’ve wished to get an electrical car ever since Tesla launched its first mannequin again in 2008. However I held off: few electrical fashions had sufficient area for a household of 5 and two automotive seats within the again. I made the soar in April of 2022, buying a roomy, five-seater Hyundai Ioniq 5 Lengthy Vary for $52,000. It has a 77-kilowatt battery and may journey as much as 488 kilometres on a single cost.
In these first few months, I drove my EV virtually 20,000 kilometres in Quebec in these first few months. I knew it may make an extended trek—it drove as easily as my pick-up truck and I may sleep comfortably throughout its backseat in a sleeping bag. With an adapter, I may use electrical energy from the car to cost my laptop and edit movies throughout lengthy highway journeys.
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And so I made a decision to drive alone from Quebec to Puerto Vallarta within the fall, tenting out at nationwide parks in Utah and Arizona alongside the way in which to movie VR footage for my enterprise. My spouse and youngsters would fly to and from Puerto Vallarta, whereas I’d take a straight shot again to Quebec.
Driving an EV on such a protracted journey required a number of planning. It takes 9 hours to cost the automotive from 10 to 85 per cent on a Degree 2 charger, which yow will discover at public charging stations, purchasing centres, lodges, airports and eating places. However with a Degree 3 charger—out there at some freeway relaxation stops, public parking tons, metropolis centres and industrial areas—I may cost it the identical quantity in simply 25 minutes. I simply wanted to plan my journey to hit Degree 3 charging stations, which I discovered utilizing a route-planning app known as ABRP that confirmed me the entire charging stations alongside my route. I noticed I may drive as much as 1,100 kilometres a day, gassing up round mid-day after I stopped to stretch my legs or get meals. There could be one near-dead-zone on the 400-kilometre stretch between Zion Nationwide Park and the Grand Canyon, however I used to be capable of finding a Degree 2 charging station about 40 kilometres off the principle route. It could be an inefficient detour, however I had no different selection.
I kicked off my journey in early October of 2022, with an eight-hour drive from Disraeli to the outskirts of Hamilton, Ontario. At night time, I camped alongside the 401. On these sorts of lengthy highway journeys, I do a sort of tenting known as “boondocking,” which includes parking the automotive in an open area and both establishing a tent or sleeping contained in the automotive. I introduced a V2L—or “car to load”—adapter that permit me use the automotive battery’s electrical energy to energy my laptop and electrical range. If it bought too chilly at night time, I put the automotive in utility mode and raised the temperature as much as 20 levels—a pleasant perk of driving a non-ICE. It solely makes use of about 10 per cent of the automotive battery with out turning on the engine.
Over the course of the journey, I set a aim to drive roughly 900 kilometres a day. I often left round 7:30 a.m. and drove till about 4:30 p.m. I ended roughly each 320 kilometres to stroll round, seize some meals or use the restroom, and I needed to cost the EV as much as two to a few instances a day. A mean cost price me between $15 to $20 at Circuit Electrique ports in Quebec and Petro Canada stations in Ontario. Within the U.S., charging price between US$25 to $35 to get to full battery, often at Electrify America and Cost Level charging stations. I usually stopped at Walmart, most of which have super-fast 350 kilowatt chargers that may juice the car up from 15 to 85 per cent in simply 20 minutes. They have been by no means arduous to seek out.
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I spent the 5 days driving via Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska earlier than arriving at Arches Nationwide Park in Moab, Utah. I visited different nationwide parks—Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Grand Canyon—over the following few weeks, stopping to sleep in full-service campgrounds with electrical charging ports. I filmed VR content material throughout the day and edited at a picnic desk at my campsite within the night, drawing energy from an extension wire related to my car. I used to be in a position to plug my tools in at night time to get a little bit of power for the following day. On October 31, after 27 days on the journey, I set out for Puerto Vallarta.
I drove from the Grand Canyon to Nogales, a metropolis close to the Mexico-U.S. border. After crossing into Mexico, I drove south to Hermosillo, then Los Mochis, then Mazatlán. Driving an EV in Mexico is more durable—charging stations are far and few in between, so I may solely journey as much as 450 kilometres a day. I discovered an app known as Plugshare, which confirmed me charging ports at automotive dealerships and lodges just like the Fiesta Inn and Metropolis Categorical the place I stayed. It’s too harmful to boondock in Mexico due to excessive crime charges, so I slept in lodges.
On November 3, after 31 days on the highway, I lastly met my household in Puerto Vallarta. We rented a condominium for a few months, the place I plugged my automotive right into a 110-volt wall outlet. It was greater than sufficient for having fun with the town. The next January, my household flew dwelling and I began the drive again north. I drove from Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara, then Guadalajara to San Potosi, all in two days. That’s after I ran right into a little bit of bother.
Through the 460-kilometre leg from San Luis Potosi to Monterrey, I had mapped out two spots to cost alongside the route. Each have been near El Leon, a small city about an hour’s drive outdoors of San Luis Potosi. The primary was a Tesla Degree 2 charger, which didn’t work with my adapter. I drove a bit additional to a close-by automotive dealership. However it was a Sunday, and the dealership was closed. That’s the hazard of driving an EV: discovering your self in a distant location, with no charging stations in sight.
I nonetheless had 250 kilometres to get to Monterrey, with solely 260 kilometres of vary left on the battery and no L2 or L3 charging factors in-between. In a worst-case situation, I knew I may discover a dwelling and hook as much as their 110 kW charger—a typical outlet present in houses. It could take as much as 4 days to totally cost my automotive utilizing a type of, however just some hours of charging may get me out of a jam.
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I had no selection however to attempt to make it. If I drove too aggressively, or confronted a steep incline on the way in which, I ran the chance of draining my battery in the course of nowhere. So, I bought artistic: I knew I may save on gasoline if I drove behind a giant truck. It’s a trick utilized by bikers within the Tour de France: following one other biker reduces headwind and limits the power wanted to maneuver ahead. I drove my EV proper behind a semi-trailer, making an attempt to do the identical factor. It labored: I made it to Monterrey with about seven per cent of my battery left. After one other cost, I drove to Dallas, then Springfield, Illinois, earlier than crossing the border into London, Ontario, staying in lodges alongside the way in which as a result of it was too chilly to boondock in January. My charging stops have been extra frequent this time round due to the chilly: in heat climate, I used to be utilizing 16 kilowatts per hour, however after I approached Detroit, in January, I used to be averaging round 22 kilowatts per hour. I lastly made it dwelling on January 19, finishing my 15,700-kilometre journey.
There’s a number of misinformation round EVs. Folks suppose they take a number of time to recharge, however you may get a full cost in 20 to 25 minutes with a Degree 3 charger. And taking an EV on a highway journey makes monetary sense too. After I drove my pick-up to and from Mexico in 2020, I spent roughly $2,000 on gasoline. Charging up my EV price $630 each methods. That’s big-time financial savings. Driving an EV additionally limits your ecological footprint, which feels good.
Drivers might need a bit of tension about getting caught in the course of nowhere, however the associated fee and environmental advantages of driving an EV outweigh the dangers. I’m already wanting ahead to my subsequent journey.
—As informed to Mathew Silver
