Crossing Canada can be a beast of a trip at the best of times. Tackling it in an electric-powered pickup adds a few unanticipated unknowns with a plethora of positive outcomes, says one North Saanich couple.
The 2023 60-day trip coast-to-coast and back was a bucket list item borne of Sally Biggar’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2018.
“Once you have a disease like that it makes you think about what you want to do with the rest of your life, and I have a list,” she told the Peninsula News Review.
On the list was driving across the country with husband Kerry D’Argis – specifically in an EV. “We wanted to see all of Canada and we knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge in the truck but also rewarding,” Biggar said.
The pickup was a natural transition from the North Saanich couple’s first electric foray, predictably a Prius – that just didn’t cut it when it came to hauling gyprock, lumber and insulation.
“So then when there was the opportunity to get the F-150 truck that was the natural choice,” Biggar said.
They’d only used it on smaller trips to Pender Island so some research was in order.
D’Argis downloaded apps that showed where chargers are in each community, packed a tent in the back and plotted a course. Accompanied by their dog Lucy, a Maltese mix, the couple covered just shy of 19,000 kilometres in the round-trip to Newfoundland in their F-150 Lightning – making friends with others along the way.
Like many apps, the charger listings lean on user input, so at times they arrived at a listed station and found the charger not working, barely working or it stopped working after a few minutes – throwing a wrench in the plans.
“You would see a charger and head that way and sometimes they weren’t working at all. We had to adapt,” D’Argis said. “You just had to adapt along the way with the challenges you have.”
Northern Ontario is the scariest, both agreed, recalling a barely working charger ahead of the 400-kilometre trek south to Sault Ste. Marie. That night they slept in the cab of the truck.
“We figured if we set the tent up the police would come,” D’Argis said with a chuckle.
The sleepover scored them enough power to go an estimated 535 kilometres.
Other times it just meant a longer stop, getting lunch, walking the dog and taking in the sights of smaller communities.
They learned campgrounds were a wealth of both power and community as the perks of the truck made them popular.
The onboard exportable power charged their phones and tablet (serving as television) as well as powered the coffee maker, portable electric barbecue and the ice cube machine – key for a chill evening drink.
While all of Newfoundland was neat to see, the best bit was coming around the corner and catching that first glimpse of an iceberg – two or three actually – bobbing in the water. The Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec comes in a close second.
“It was neat going across Canada and seeing all the different towns and the way people live in different areas. It was really interesting and educational. Each province is different,” D’Argis said.
The return trip was easier because they had a lay of the land and some chargers that weren’t working on the way out, were working on the way back.
The North Saanich residents who recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary no longer have the tent – instead hauling a teardrop trailer – but continue to adventure and plan future big trips.
“We want to go up to Tuktoyaktuk,” D’Argis said.
Driving the whole way depends heavily on if they get chargers in past Dawson City.
