Toronto to Calgary

daught

daught

Well-known member
Not motorcycle related but it's one hell of a cruise ;)

I am being told that gas can be an issue on the trans canada in the winter. Anyone know for sure if gas can be an issue between Toronto and Calgary? My range is 450-700KM... realistically I don't expect to see much more than 550KM a tank.
 
We took the transcanada all the way to vancouver in 2008 with our big 5th wheel travel trailer in tow.

I carried 4 Jerry cans of diesel in the back for ths very reasons you are concerned about in your post. Towing our 30' trailer with a big 1 ton dually meant our range was about 500K or so as well.

That said, I never needed the jerry cans. I used them in Yellowstone NP on the way home just to avoid the huge $$$$ gas inside the park, but it wasn't out of necessity.

We did travel that stretch during the summer though, not the winter. I do remember LONG stretches with no signs of civilization, no cell service, and no traffic. Every hour or so you'd past what I'd describe as a trappers lodge/store more or less, most without gas. When we SAW gas, we GOT gas, needed it or not. That was the advice we got, and it worked.

It was interesting but it feels like FOREVER getting out of Ontario. Nice scenery though. Then you hit MB, things go suddenly flat (really, it was very sudden)...and the drive gets pretty boring until you see the foothills heading into Calgary.
 
daught said:
Not motorcycle related but it's one hell of a cruise ;)

I am being told that gas can be an issue on the trans canada in the winter. Anyone know for sure if gas can be an issue between Toronto and Calgary? My range is 450-700KM... realistically I don't expect to see much more than 550KM a tank.
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I rode the Trans Canada from Toronto to Calgary on my motorcycle. You won't have problems finding gas. I was able to find stations every 100 kms (as soon as I passed 100kms, I stopped to get gas to force myself to stretch and have something to drink) or so if not less.

The only worrying (if you want to call it that) stretch was between Winnipeg and the near Ontario border, and it was mainly my fault because I could have stopped in between and filled up with regular, but my bike wants premium so I skipped it.
 
Having slept on things I now remember that my concerns with fuel in the Northern Ontario stretch was related to the fact we were burning diesel, not gas – in that area not every station had diesel.


I do remember stretches that seemed more than 100 km in length without gas however, but then again my trip was many years ago.
 
Thanks. I was told some gas stations close during winter, so it might be different than in the summer. I will check where the next gas station is and I will phone to make sure they are open in really remote areas with no cities on the map.

Any recommendations to help with boredom? Maybe ebooks? What's good?
 
daught said:
Thanks. I was told some gas stations close during winter, so it might be different than in the summer. I will check where the next gas station is and I will phone to make sure they are open in really remote areas with no cities on the map.

Any recommendations to help with boredom? Maybe ebooks? What's good?
Click to expand...

With your range or 450-700KM, you'll have no problem. There are gas stations that operate every 200KM (at max) between here and Calgary year around. Alberta to BC is a different story.
 
daught said:
I was told some gas stations close during winter, so it might be different than in the summer. I will check where the next gas station is and I will phone to make sure they are open in really remote areas with no cities on the map.
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I wouldn't bother phoning. The TC is a well-traveled route. Nothing that highway goes through would be considered remote. It's basically the 401 of Canada. Seriously, don't worry about gas on the TC. It's not an issue.
 
With that sort of range I'm sure you will be fine.

Last summer I almost ran out twice. It seems all the private run stations closed up early. I too was coming from Calgary. I actually had to pay a guy $20 to open up his pumps so I could get to Thunderbay.
Also with half a tank in my bike I passed the station in Wawa and rolled into the only gas station going south with my bike's range reading 0.
 
Just did that trip across Canada in July. Drove our 2004 Silverado with my wife, dog, ST1300 and all my tools. We drove from Streetsville On, to Cochrane Ab, overnighted in Sault Ste. Marie, Thunderbay, Winterpeg, Moosejaw, Check out the Grant Hotel in Moosejaw very cool and dog friendly. Their are several trip planning tools, my wife used Furkot, they can set you up for fuel stops and hotels, just input your perimeters such as you cars fuel milage, time you want to drive and sights you want to see. We factored in at least 2, 30min walks for the dog per day. We wanted to get here quickly for my work but my wife did find a You Gotta Eat Here, or a Diners Drive ins and Dives at each stop to make it more fun. I never had trouble with gas we got around 600km out of a tank and plenty of places to stop, the total mileage was 3500km door to door. If we ever do it again it will be at a more relaxed pace, the roads where terrible north of Sudbury for several hundred km, and we could see Winnipeg for an hour and a half before we got there the prairies are so flat.
 
Just got to marathon, on. 17 is really nice. Great motorcycle road. Could be lots of fun at 2xPSL. Whoever set the limit to 90 should be forced to cross Canada on a horse drawn carriage.


Sent from my clear iPhone 31SS
 
daught said:
Just got to marathon, on. 17 is really nice. Great motorcycle road. Could be lots of fun at 2xPSL. Whoever set the limit to 90 should be forced to cross Canada on a horse drawn carriage.


Sent from my clear iPhone 31SS
Click to expand...

Lots of OPP on 17 as well.
 
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