It’s summer and rubber tire tourists are everywhere it seems, as they tour the valley in cars, vans, motorcycles or motorhomes and with trailers towed behind all manner of vehicles.
Transportation ranges from gas guzzlers to fuel sippers, depending on vehicle choice, but few drivers have hit the road with no plans to refuel at area gas stations.
That’s where Silke Sommerfeld and Rolf Oetter come in. The couple, you see, along with their faithful companion Kye, have embarked on a cross-Canada tour (TeslaXCanada), sans gasoline – by using a Tesla Model X electric SUV to pull an Alto 1723 travel trailer equipped with solar panels.
After leaving Victoria on June 11, the couple stayed in Banff’s Tunnel Mountain campground, Sunday (June 26), recharged, then stopped in Canmore on Monday at Rocky Mountain Inn’s Tesla Supercharger Station to top up their electronic steed’s batteries.
Having become fans of electric vehicles (EV) after purchasing a Model S in 2014, when the couple looked to replace an aging motorhome for their travels, and having attended the launch of Elon Musk’s Model X in California in 2015 (pulling an Airstream trailer onto the stage), they were inspired to go electric again – then decided to go further and become ambassadors for electric vehicles.
“After buying our Tesla S we knew we were going to be an electric car family,” said Oetter, who traded the S for the X now in use. “And we’ve found that after people have one, everybody in the family wants one. It seems a lot of people don’t want a gas engine anymore.”
Sommerfeld said they were inspired at the launch of the Model X; “it’s a change of attitude and philosophy. We didn’t want anything huge again, we wanted lightweight and aerodynamic.”
Having taken delivery of the Model X (410 kilometre range) and learned of its capabilities as far as towing, the Alto trailer was purchased and Oetter, an engineer, equipped it with eight flexible solar panels to supply the unit with power.
“We had always thought of taking our motorhome aross Canada,” said Oetter, “and we got an electric vehicle, we thought that was not an option any more.
“But we’ve found out it’s possible, it’s not easy, but possible.”
After a spring trip to Florida using only Tesla Supercharger stations across the U.S. to test the possibility of long-range electric travel with their S, the couple felt ready to tackle a cross-Canada trek – in 250 km stages.
Pulling their trailer, which they found allows for about 200 km range at 100 km/h, travelling 250 km at a time leaves some wiggle room for charging.
The couple expect to use a range of charging facilities, from serviced campground sites like Tunnel Mountain, to Tesla Supercharger stations at the Rocky Mountain Inn, for example, and Sun Country Highway chargers at 29 Peavey Mart outlets across the prairies.
“Charging infrastructure doesn’t lend itself to this,” said Oetter, “so it does take some planning.”
Planning indeed, as a Tesla Supercharger station charges 50 times better than a 110 volt outlet. Campground chargers need an overnight stay, while Superchargers require plugging in while going for breakfast, for example.
Sommerfeld and Oetter said their trek has nothing officially to do with Tesla, the corporate entity, as they have simply set out to raise awareness of the possibilities of electric vehicles.
“We think more companies should get on board with what a company like Tesla is doing for charging,” said Sommerfeld, “not on developing their own technology. So we’re not with Tesla at all, we’re just very happy customers.
“We’re blogging and taking video and on social media and talking with people along the way to raise awareness and maybe get people thinking electric is a good option. We’re in a Tesla owners club, and an EV club, we go to parades and car shows.
“We’re early adopters and have one of the first Model Xs in Canada, we got it just a week before we left.”
Their less than 1,000-kilogram Alto trailer, fitted with solar panels and lithium batteries for power, includes stove, fridge, sink and bathroom. The lithium batteries, said Oetter, have eight to 10 times the storage of regular batteries and could, in a pinch, charge the X.
Not surprisingly, the couple’s home in Victoria is also home to solar panels, which makes it, said Oetter, “our Saudi Arabia, refinery and gas station.”
More can be found at www.TeslaXCanada.com.
