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Cross-Canada Trip in the 451

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Hey folks,I'm planning to do a cross-country trip in my smart later this summer. It'll will be from Toronto to Vancouver including a passenger and luggage (I'm aware of the 50kg weight limit).My luggage fits so size isn't the issue. Weight is and one barrier called the Rocky Mountains. Has anyone taken across the Rockies before? How's the climbing ability? It's pretty much flat here so I haven't had a chance to do any hilly driving.My planned route is via Hwy 1 via Calgary, Banff, Sicamous, down to Kelowna then across to Meritt before heading down past Hope/Abbotsford to Vancouver.Familiar territory ends around Kelowna and somewhat familiar around Revelstoke (but it's been too many years for me to even remember how the road looks like between Kelowna and Revelstoke). Everything else from Calgary to Revelstoke is off limits and completely new to me.Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

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You will thoroughly enjoy this trip! Your first drive through the mountains will astound you with its breathtaking beauty. In your 2008 gasser, I don't expect you will have any issues at all!

Let us know when you're going to set off - I live in Kelowna, as do several other CsC members (need anything from smartieparts? he's based here too) - and depending on the date of your tour, it would be great to meet up with you!

Enjoy, cousin!

Bil :sun:

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No need to worry! Many 450's have made that trip and the 451 has way more power. Would love to join you!

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We have done all the routes into Alberta short of the Peace River - no issue - we have a remap but your HP should be the same - make sure you get the right gear and a roll at the hills. Watch the corners if you are not used to them and watch for rocks, animals and other crap on the road - especially on the section from Field to Golden - it happens.Enjoy your (technically ;) ) half way across Canada trip!Cheers,Cameron

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You will thoroughly enjoy this trip! Your first drive through the mountains will astound you with its breathtaking beauty. In your 2008 gasser, I don't expect you will have any issues at all!

Let us know when you're going to set off - I live in Kelowna, as do several other CsC members (need anything from smartieparts? he's based here too) - and depending on the date of your tour, it would be great to meet up with you!

Enjoy, cousin!

Bil :sun:

Yeah I'm looking forward to Banff and Lake Louise! I'll be travelling with my mum. We have more stops in B.C. (can we say biased? :P).

I hope so! I'll be lugging luggage (lol try saying that 10x faster) around. I'll see if I can get heavy stuff out of the way so that I only carry the light stuff by car. That'll help FE and give me more power for the mountains.

Will do. I'll try and remember to update this page as we get closer to the date.

If you stop in Thunder Bay, give me a call. I'll PM you with my phone #.

Tom

Thanks Tom!

I do hills every day and no problems at all! :D

Yeah well I don't expect Vancouver hills to be a problem! It's my hometown!

No need to worry! Many 450's have made that trip and the 451 has way more power. Would love to join you!

So no worries on the Coquihalla? I remember our family trip in the 1997 Corolla in 1999. We were going eastbound and hit that hill after that quasi-tunnel as the side of the mountain and our speedo dropped 20km/h. My dad freaked out lol. It had 100hp and a 3-spd auto. LOL.

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I would recommend the Crowsnest Pass (Hwy 3), which is a lot safer driving than the awful Trans-Canada Highway in BC. But the TCH is definitely more scenic. Rev the car to 4000+ RPM when going up steep hills, don't be bashful.

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We have done all the routes into Alberta short of the Peace River - no issue - we have a remap but your HP should be the same - make sure you get the right gear and a roll at the hills. Watch the corners if you are not used to them and watch for rocks, animals and other crap on the road - especially on the section from Field to Golden - it happens.Enjoy your (technically ;) ) half way across Canada trip!Cheers,Cameron

Field to Golden.. will take note. Haven't heard of Field so I'll have to search that up.

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I would recommend the Crowsnest Pass (Hwy 3), which is a lot safer driving than the awful Trans-Canada Highway in BC. But the TCH is definitely more scenic. Rev the car to 4000+ RPM when going up steep hills, don't be bashful.

Hmm.... yeah I saw the route around Golden and Revelstoke. It looks very windy and carves right through the mountain.Well we wanted to see Banff and Lake Louise hence that central route (Rogers Pass?)

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Roger's Pass is not bad in summer aside from Traffic - the section from the BC border to Golden is the main bad spot now - two lanes, rock on road, bad mix of traffic, curves and downhills. Limited passing lanes tends to bring out the hop heads as well. Coq. Highway is do-able in the smart - get a run - use the gears - watch the engine temp. - keep the rpms up you will be fine.Cheers,Cameronp.s. Banff and Lake Louise can be done - then cut south back to Castle Junction (only have to double back 25 km so a 50km detour) - you can cut through to Radium Hot Springs and catch up with the Crowsnest route - one big hill at Salmo - it is a nice route too - takes a bit longer but not much.

Edited by Speedie

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I just drove from Edmonton to Revelstoke 2 weeks ago (I have a 451 as well) and took HWY 1. I really didn't have any problems at all. The car handled the hills like a champ, but I also wasn't trying to break any speed records. I could still easily keep it at the speed limit or 10/15 over... depending on the terrain. There were some hills where I had to drop from 5th to 4th, but I wasn't complaining. It was more fun watching people in my mirror move to the left passing lane thinking they were going to blow right by me on a hill only to have to move back behind me once we crested the hill. :D It didn't happen on all the hills, but definitely on some of them.I got pretty decent mileage on the highway as well (5.42L/100km) from the Petro-Canada station just west of Calgary (at the Cochrane turnoff) all the way to Revelstoke (with some driving around Revelstoke for 2 days as well). I was quite impressed considering we were travelling through the Rockies for the first time in the smart. I also had two adults and the cargo area full to the roof, so I wasn't travelling light. Maybe similar to your situation.I found road conditions to be good as well. There weren't any rocks on the road that I saw, and areas where avalanches and rock falls occur had rock/hill barriers, or "chain-link" fences draped across the side of the mountain.The scenery was top notch as well, no complaints there. I have been to the rockies many many times in my life, but the section from Lake Louise to Revelstoke was new to me.Anyways, have a great trip. Keep us all posted on the route and the results.Craig

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Roger's Pass is not bad in summer aside from Traffic - the section from the BC border to Golden is the main bad spot now - two lanes, rock on road, bad mix of traffic, curves and downhills. Limited passing lanes tends to bring out the hop heads as well. Coq. Highway is do-able in the smart - get a run - use the gears - watch the engine temp. - keep the rpms up you will be fine.Cheers,Cameronp.s. Banff and Lake Louise can be done - then cut south back to Castle Junction (only have to double back 25 km so a 50km detour) - you can cut through to Radium Hot Springs and catch up with the Crowsnest route - one big hill at Salmo - it is a nice route too - takes a bit longer but not much.

hmmm.... interesting. Yeah it seemed narrow and windy on Google Maps. Well I'll just remember to ignore FE for that section and get my *** out of there alive hehe.Don't have a scangauge... should I watch my A/C usage?

I just drove from Edmonton to Revelstoke 2 weeks ago (I have a 451 as well) and took HWY 1. I really didn't have any problems at all. The car handled the hills like a champ, but I also wasn't trying to break any speed records. I could still easily keep it at the speed limit or 10/15 over... depending on the terrain. There were some hills where I had to drop from 5th to 4th, but I wasn't complaining. It was more fun watching people in my mirror move to the left passing lane thinking they were going to blow right by me on a hill only to have to move back behind me once we crested the hill. :D It didn't happen on all the hills, but definitely on some of them.I got pretty decent mileage on the highway as well (5.42L/100km) from the Petro-Canada station just west of Calgary (at the Cochrane turnoff) all the way to Revelstoke (with some driving around Revelstoke for 2 days as well). I was quite impressed considering we were travelling through the Rockies for the first time in the smart. I also had two adults and the cargo area full to the roof, so I wasn't travelling light. Maybe similar to your situation.I found road conditions to be good as well. There weren't any rocks on the road that I saw, and areas where avalanches and rock falls occur had rock/hill barriers, or "chain-link" fences draped across the side of the mountain.The scenery was top notch as well, no complaints there. I have been to the rockies many many times in my life, but the section from Lake Louise to Revelstoke was new to me.Anyways, have a great trip. Keep us all posted on the route and the results.Craig

That's good to know. What are the limits there... 90? 100?5.42 ain't bad. My last 60/40 city/hwy netted me 6L/100km here and the 50/50 city/hwy which incl'd a trip to Niagara Falls was 5.74L/100km. Both were within the break-in period. Mine might be to the roof or not depending my situation and whether I can get the big stuff shipped, then I can carry the smaller items (e.g. the carry-on-sized luggage) in the car.oh yeah? ok good. So the last winter didn't crater the road with potholes and stuff?You guys are making me more excited about the trip. Although there's still the prairies to cover first. Hopefully the prairies folks can chip in about the wonderful heartland otherwise my plan is to just zip by and get to AB/BC asap!!I'll update this thread.Thanks again to all for your advice!

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here's a link to some pictures when i did the toronto to victoria and back in two weeks last year in my diesel smart.

somethings that could have worked better for me. a gps would have helped me not take the perimeter ring road north (i should have went south) around winnipeg, and then mistake the express to 'flin flon' for the brandon turn off. calgary sucks, get a really good map of calgary and know where your hotel is (took me three hours and crossing calgary three times to find a hotel (oh, and if it is sunday past 10 pm when you check finally check in after crossing the city three times for three hours, don't walking around the chinook mall area looking for a restaurant, pub or bar for something to eat, nothing is open (yup, it was a swanson tv dinner from the 24 hour shoppers drug mart for me that night))).

some driving advice. when driving down thru and down mountains, follow behind a local driver driving a mid 80's bronco (they know the road, and know when to slow down (and they'll break traction way before you do)). don't follow any european sports cars (they aren't local, and drive too fast everywhere). i have a diesel smart, when i'm going up the mountain, i'm in the transport lane.

and don't forget to visit fasteddy and see some of his toys in vancouver. i'm still searching for great 'fish and chips' in victoria (i usually post a meet (i think mike t and sandy find me amusing)). i'm going to try sidney next time i'm out in that direction.

oh, and getting a physical exam from your doctor giving you the go ahead that you are good to travel is probably a good idea. turns out i did the whole trip feeling pretty sickly (the emerg in kamloops is excellent by the way). i blamed my smart for me being so ill. in the end it turned out it was my unreliable body that a bit of day surgury fixed up after i returned to get me feeling well again.

:D:D:D

Edited by sponge

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Are you taking the Lakehead route through Ontario, or dipping into the US between Toronto and Calgary? I guess if you haven't done the loop over the Great Lakes, you may want to experience it but believe it or not, the loop over lake Superior is the most interminable - even more than the Prairies!

Oh, and I suggest you do the mosquito screen mod before you get to the Prairies - the amount of grasshoppers and other bugs is disgustipating!

B :sun:

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Are you taking the Lakehead route through Ontario, or dipping into the US between Toronto and Calgary? I guess if you haven't done the loop over the Great Lakes, you may want to experience it but believe it or not, the loop over lake Superior is the most interminable - even more than the Prairies!

If interminable means monotonous, I have to disagree. The north shore of Lake Superior has spectacular scenery, especially from Marathon to Thunder Bay. If you get a clear day, you will see what I mean but that route is prone to fog especially in the morning.As for the BC mountains... it's not the HP for the hills; it's the torque. Our 451's peak torque is at 4,500 rpm, so that is where you want to be when climbing steep hills.Tom

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here's a link to some pictures when i did the toronto to victoria and back in two weeks last year in my diesel smart.

somethings that could have worked better for me. a gps would have helped me not take the perimeter ring road north (i should have went south) around winnipeg, and then mistake the express to 'flin flon' for the brandon turn off. calgary sucks, get a really good map of calgary and know where your hotel is (took me three hours and crossing calgary three times to find a hotel (oh, and if it is sunday past 10 pm when you check finally check in after crossing the city three times for three hours, don't walking around the chinook mall area looking for a restaurant, pub or bar for something to eat, nothing is open (yup, it was a swanson tv dinner from the 24 hour shoppers drug mart for me that night))).

some driving advice. when driving down thru and down mountains, follow behind a local driver driving a mid 80's bronco (they know the road, and know when to slow down (and they'll break traction way before you do)). don't follow any european sports cars (they aren't local, and drive too fast everywhere). i have a diesel smart, when i'm going up the mountain, i'm in the transport lane.

and don't forget to visit fasteddy and see some of his toys in vancouver. i'm still searching for great 'fish and chips' in victoria (i usually post a meet (i think mike t and sandy find me amusing)). i'm going to try sidney next time i'm out in that direction.

oh, and getting a physical exam from your doctor giving you the go ahead that you are good to travel is probably a good idea. turns out i did the whole trip feeling pretty sickly (the emerg in kamloops is excellent by the way). i blamed my smart for me being so ill. in the end it turned out it was my unreliable body that a bit of day surgury fixed up after i returned to get me feeling well again.

:D:D:D

Awesome pics!! Lake Louise looks fantastic!! I do have a GPS (TomTom) which has guided me in my vacay down to CA and NV last fall. Never had to use the backup Google map printouts. I'll take note of the ring road. That was one of the weird things that I saw went browsing Google Maps over Winnipeg. Map of Calgary? Noted. I'll grab one just in case. Not sure when I'll be in Calgary but I know my trip does cover the B.C. Day long weekend. I might be in Calgary by the 31st or the 1st?

lol... you sound like there's a good chance I'll meet the Bronco. Given that I'm in a new car in a new area, I'll probably take it slow.

I've seen his pics. His cars are fabulous. Vancouver's home for me so I'll have plenty of time to drop by. If you're ever in North Van, try C-Lover's Fish 'n Chips. Their halibut is fantastic. Go early too as it does get very busy at regular lunch/dinner hours.

Good point. Haven't thought of that. I kept thinking about what emergency stuff I need to carry with me in the vehicle (esp. looking at your first pic). Do I need anything special for the Rockies or am I ok in that regard (fuel, ropes, flares etc etc).

Are you taking the Lakehead route through Ontario, or dipping into the US between Toronto and Calgary? I guess if you haven't done the loop over the Great Lakes, you may want to experience it but believe it or not, the loop over lake Superior is the most interminable - even more than the Prairies!

Oh, and I suggest you do the mosquito screen mod before you get to the Prairies - the amount of grasshoppers and other bugs is disgustipating!

B :sun:

I'm staying north of the border. It's shorter by distance but longer by time but I don't really wanna be doing 70mph through the US when I can enjoy the Canadian side.

If interminable means monotonous, I have to disagree. The north shore of Lake Superior has spectacular scenery, especially from Marathon to Thunder Bay. If you get a clear day, you will see what I mean but that route is prone to fog especially in the morning.

As for the BC mountains... it's not the HP for the hills; it's the torque. Our 451's peak torque is at 4,500 rpm, so that is where you want to be when climbing steep hills.

Tom

True. I'll probably have to slip it into manual mode to get more control over the gearbox. It doesn't work to well in automatic (that and everyone here in S. ON expects you to race to the next light even though it's clearly visible that it's red).

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When exactly are you going? My son and I will be heading out to Calgary/Edmonton around the 1st week in August. We're stopping in Chicago for 2 days on the way out then camping the remainder of the trip. Perhaps we could run into each other somewhere (metaphorically of course).

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The speed limits through the parks (Banff and Glacier) are both 90 I believe. Most people are still driving in the 100 to 110 range. I usually kept it around 100. Good for fuel economy and also for avoiding the cops. :DCraig

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You don't want to hit an Elk in the Parks so I would recommend driving at 90......

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When exactly are you going? My son and I will be heading out to Calgary/Edmonton around the 1st week in August. We're stopping in Chicago for 2 days on the way out then camping the remainder of the trip. Perhaps we could run into each other somewhere (metaphorically of course).

Date hasn't been finalized but if you're leaving in the first week of Aug, that wouldn't work since I'll be home by then.

The speed limits through the parks (Banff and Glacier) are both 90 I believe. Most people are still driving in the 100 to 110 range. I usually kept it around 100. Good for fuel economy and also for avoiding the cops. :DCraig

ahh ok. As much as I'd like to go home, I'll take in the scenery.

You don't want to hit an Elk in the Parks so I would recommend driving at 90......

haha alright. I still haven't seen a wild Elk or moose

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Hey neato, we're going to be going a similar route 17-27th of july. We're going south to spokane via crowsnest pass, then across to seattle, ferry to victoria, up to tofino by coast highway, then nanaimo to ferry to north van, boot around north van while camping at golden ears park, and then I would love to use the old #1 highway to get back instead of the coquihalla. I've driven both and while the coq is easy and fast and spectacular in views, the old highway has nifty corners and secret hideaway views that I miss and think a smart would really excell on.We're driving with 2 grups and a small dog, our tent camping gear, clothes, electronics toys, cooler with food, and some tools for "just in case." So I expect we'll be putting Iris to the test. However I've coddled some really beat up cars long distance and learned that no matter what's wrong, if you're slow enough, rest enough, and have tools for emergency fixes, you can almost always get where you need to be. I have TALES of road trips. Like the time it took 24 hours to coddle a valiant 400km one summer day because it had no coolant circulating, or the old maverick with 4 bald tires and shot shocks that went from Jasper to Kelowna with frequent rainy stops to refill the tires with a compressor. Oh, and that old van with the sloppy steering, that was the last car I rode the #1 through the mountains, LOL.I figure after the wrecks I've successfully piloted in my life, a smart car ought to do the route with extreme class!I'll be bringing the laptop and stopping at free wifi when I can find it, so I'll try and stay in touch. I hope to connect with as many online friends as I can!

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I forgot, about the prairies, they're wonderful to drive across. Very few cops (except maybe on the #1) and very straight divided highways make driving fast an easy proposition. Don't look at the scenery too much, it's not what's on view. Nope, you gotta appreciate the Sky out here. Ok, it might be completely grey and overcast or boring full blue, but most of the time its a wonderful combination of clouds and clear. Clouds that move across at a stately pace from one horizon to another. You can view whole thunderstorms at a distance from stratospheric crown to torrential black skirts, lighting up like christmas with internal lightning. It's pretty cool. Sunsets too, the whole world painted rainbow.Also, if you're looking for excuses to pull over, there's all these goofy "point of interest" plaques that detail the history of the early 20th century in the prairies when the settlers first started breaking sod and wagon trains and the wild west. Also to be seen while cruising along are amazing old dwellings rotting gently into the earth surrounded by little copses of trees and ravines that break the expanse of land with surprising drops and scenery stretching left and right in folding forested hills and rivers. Many wild animals too, so watch out for them, there's a lot of accidents caused by hitting deer, elk, or moose. Most of the wildlife you see is dead on the road though.

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ahh thanks Yolanda. haha it seems like you do have quite a few tales up the noggin to pass on. Hmmm... I will be taken Hwy 1 through the prairies though so I guess I Should watch the limit.Oh and about the black flies... lol. Just remember one of the tourist info guides telling me about it and I think someone here mentioned about mesh. Is it gonna be that bad in late Jul? Are there any other smaller animals/insects to be aware of? I'll try not to drive at night to minimise a deer collision.

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I love driving at night. Just be extra-cautious. The Prairies get dull about halfway across though. The Cypress Hills are a nice diversion, if you have the time.

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