[Zaky]

I am looking at battery size, 135kWh vs 180kWh. I read that the best charge rate is 60% of capacity or the time to charge takes a long time. We have a commute of 850 miles from home in FL to NC. What to compare the additional time it will take with each battery size option. Assume I start with 100% charge and enough to get to the other end. I do not see much difference between 135 vs 180 and find the cost similar to my gas car.
Can some review please;

Battery	180​				135​
Best Charge Rate to	60%​				60%​
Useable	108​				81​
Miles/ kWh	2.2​				2.2​
Range to Charge	237.6​				178.2​
Start	237.6​		Min		178.2​		Min
Charge 1	237.6​	475.2​	33.9​		178.2​	356.4​	25.5​
Charge 2	237.6​	712.8​	33.9​		178.2​	534.6​	25.5​
Charge 3	100​	812.8​	14.3​		178.2​	712.8​	25.5​
					100​	812.8​	14.3​
Total kWh Charged	575.2​		82.2​		634.6​		90.7​
Cost per kWh #1	$ 0.31	$ 178			$ 0.31	$ 197
Cost per kWh #2	$ 0.43	$ 247			$ 0.43	$ 273

 

[O. horridus]

I think some of your assumptions are wrong. I suggest you try A Better Route Planner and play around with the numbers there - that should give you a much better idea of what your drive will look like.

If I route that trip in ABRP using a Large Pack R1T as the vehicle, restricting the maximum charge to 60%, it suggests 7 charges for a total charge time of 2 hours and 32 minutes. The total drive is listed as 827 miles in 15 hours 46 minutes total time (includes the charge time). It says the actual cost (not a guess) would be $46.40 if you charged at the recommended stops for the recommended times, which is just a fraction of what you calculated.

If you change the vehicle to a Max Pack R1T, also restricted to 60% charge, then the result is similar: 5 charges for a total charge time of 2 hours and 36 minutes. The total drive is listed as 808 miles in 15 hours 32 minutes total time. It says the actual cost would be $76.40.

I obviously don't have your exact start and end address - I just used the city centers. I also don't know what mileage you get on your ICE vehicle and how much you pay for gas out there these days, but all indications are that to charge the Rivian for this trip, with either batter pack, will cost only about 1/4 to 1/3 as much as you spend on gas for the same trip. And of course your first charge before you leave will be considerably cheaper because you do it at home, and you can start at 100% charge if you want.

The charging curves and kWh/mile figures that ABRP uses for the Rivian are "alpha" numbers - they should get more exact in time. But you can change the numbers and recalculate if you think you have better data.

See

List and Links of Fast Charging Infrastructure Resources...

Here's a shortlist of the most useful links to CCS (Combined Charging System) fast charging resources currently available in the US, ranked in order of usefulness in my experience. Note that, in contrast to Tesla, CCS chargers are provided by a diverse set of actors. It's sorta like Apple...

www.rivianownersforum.com

for information about ABRP and other tools to plan your route/charging.

 

[sciencegeek]

The total amount of time spent charging will likely be the same for both packs, though it's possible that the max pack will accept a greater charging rate than the large pack. It depends on how Rivian will handle it, which we don't yet know. If the charge rate curve in kW is the same for both packs the amount of time spent charging will be the same; if the charge rate curve is the same in terms of C-value the max pack will charge faster in terms of kW.
Cost difference will be negligible.
I agree with O. that it's better to actually plan the trip rather than using theoretical numbers.

 

[Zaky]

I was thinking of changing from the Max to Large pack thinking I get an earlier delivery. But considering the cost, today's preorders have a great cost for the Max Pack R1T I will wait.
Thanks all for your reply.

 

[EaglesPDX]

Experience with Tesla driving from PDX to SLC for skiing which is colder and snow/ice which greatly reduces range, I'd go with 80% top vs. 60%. 310 range on the Tesla is similar to 314 range on what is now the mid-size battery. 10%-80% range is 70%, 210 miles less 20% for Winter so 168 between charges. 800 miles so 5 charge stops of 40 minutes/200 minutes total so 3 hours to a 12 hour trip. A warm weather run like yours would eliminate one charging stop, so would add 2.5 hours to trip.

Young and foolish, I'd make the PDX-SLC run in a long day but I overnight in ID now and leave in daylight coming and going. In Summer, depending on how trip is going, I can still make it in a long day.

BUT...if you can afford it, always go with the biggest battery/range you can afford. EV batteries steadily lose range and charging speed so making the trip in Year 1 is different than Year 5.

 

[Zaky]

I know little about EV's. Getting rid of two gas guzzler Landrover and MB G500 for T & S (his/hers). My only concern is going from a 12.5-hour commute from FL to NC which we do in one day to sleep in our bed on each side to 15 hours 46 minutes (Thanks O. horridus).
Questions;
So if you are plugged in charging for 30 minutes, can you keep the air conditioning running and take a nap?
Does the charge routing in O. horridus calculation take into account running in conserve mode (half the motors, front-wheel drive)?
What does conserve mode have on the range? Half the motors drawing power?
If there are real-life data to refer to?

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

What does conserve mode have on the range? Half the motors drawing power?
If there are real-life data to refer to?

Conserve mode is more efficient, but not twice as efficient. I think some YouTube tests showed it was about 20 miles extra range compared to All Purpose.

 

[sciencegeek]

I know little about EV's. Getting rid of two gas guzzler Landrover and MB G500 for T & S (his/hers). My only concern is going from a 12.5-hour commute from FL to NC which we do in one day to sleep in our bed on each side to 15 hours 46 minutes (Thanks O. horridus).

Ooof that's a long trip to begin with. If you run into any snags with charging it's going to be no fun at all. And remember that there's overhead to a charging stop (when you're not charging), like 5 min to get off the freeway, park, start the charging, stop the charging, pay yadayada. So that adds 30 min at least for a trip with six stops. I've not done a trip with more than five stops partly for that reason.

Questions;
So if you are plugged in charging for 30 minutes, can you keep the air conditioning running and take a nap?

Yes

Does the charge routing in O. horridus calculation take into account running in conserve mode (half the motors, front-wheel drive)?
What does conserve mode have on the range? Half the motors drawing power?

Makes some difference but not much. The fact is that you're still driving the same mass with the same aerodynamic drag.

If there are real-life data to refer to?

Specifically for the Rivian I defer to others here who may have attempted this sort of trip in the Rivian. In general, with other vehicles, refer to my comments above.

 

[Zaky]

I wonder if Rivian has a "sweet spot" like sports cars. Running at certain parameters, speed, RPM or current rate draw? As time and cars get out there we will learn a lot.

 

[O. horridus]

Does the charge routing in O. horridus calculation take into account running in conserve mode (half the motors, front-wheel drive)?

This is all ABRP doing the calculation, and all aspects of the calculation are configurable to some extent. In particular, there is a kWh/mile setting for travel on flat terrain. It automatically adjusts this usage for going up/down hill, so elevation gain/loss is automatically included in the calculation. And you can also change the default kWh/mile number to account for your driving style - if you have a lead foot you might average more usage, if you keep the A/C on while charging you might use slightly more, if you always drive in conserve mode you might use slightly less, etc.

And remember that there's overhead to a charging stop (when you're not charging), like 5 min to get off the freeway, park, start the charging, stop the charging, pay yadayada.

ABRP has this overhead accounted for - by default it automatically adds this 5 minutes of overhead, AND it lets you increase or decrease this default overhead if you find you use more or less than the assumed 5 minutes.

Regardless, the takeaway should be that you can dry run your trip and play with the numbers to give yourself confidence.