[Trevor]

Hi all,

Had my Truck for about 3 weeks now and have slowly been increasing how far we are driving each time. Tomorrow we leave for a 800 mile (2 day) round trip and wanted to see if anyone noticed any issues or things I should be aware of before we take off. I will be fully charging to 315 and along the road at least 4 hours into each day.

appreciate any comments.

 

[sciencegeek]

Having done a number of road trips with a non-Tesla EV of medium range, I recommend planning each charging stop such that you have a reachable alternative charger if your preferred one is out of order (even if that one would be out of the way). Also check PlugShare, in addition to the provider's site.

 

[eHauler]

Hi all,

Had my Truck for about 3 weeks now and have slowly been increasing how far we are driving each time. Tomorrow we leave for a 800 mile (2 day) round trip and wanted to see if anyone noticed any issues or things I should be aware of before we take off. I will be fully charging to 315 and along the road at least 4 hours into each day.

appreciate any comments.

Hey @Trevor, it would be great if you could document your trip, would love to read and see (via photos, videos, etc.) what a road trip with a Rivian is like. Where about will you be heading to?

 

[Trevor]

Hey @Trevor, it would be great if you could document your trip, would love to read and see (via photos, videos, etc.) what a road trip with a Rivian is like. Where about will you be heading to?

Heading from Denver to Santa Fe for a long weekend. I will document everything. We are using it to drive to Morrow Bay, CA in Sept for a wedding. A much longer trip.

 

[sciencegeek]

It's good that you'll be able to "practice" before your long trip in Sept, which will test your patience. Not sure I would recommend trying to go almost 1200 miles in two days ... you might need three to keep the stress level down.

The Rivian, due to its large battery, presents additional challenges for overnight charging. Most hotel-based L2 chargers will only support 7.2kW charging, meaning that if you expect to leave with 100% battery in the morning you should 'top off' to ca 50% at an L3 charger before you head to the hotel, because a 10-hour overnight charge will only get you about 50% battery capacity.

 

[JimmyEV]

Heading from Denver to Santa Fe for a long weekend. I will document everything. We are using it to drive to Morrow Bay, CA in Sept for a wedding. A much longer trip.

Sounds like a great trip. like @sciencegeek mentioned some extra planning would be recommended for chargers in case things change as you're on your trip.

On your previous drives have you been using conserve mode to test the range?

 

[Riviano]

If you want to minimize the time spent charging during a long trip you should avoid charging above 80% or so at a DC fast charger unless it is required to reach the next DC fast charger. The reason is that charging from 80% to 100% takes as much time as charging from near 0% to 80%. Another reason to avoid charging to 100% is that it degrades the battery more rapidly, but that is a real concern only if you intend to keep the vehicle for a very long time.

 

[rhumbliner]

I recommend planning each charging stop such that you have a reachable alternative charger…

+1

I’ve been making long trips in my Tesla since 2016 and while I’m anxious to see more charging stations, Tesla or otherwise, my experience is that the non-Tesla charging networks (EA, ChargePoint, etc) are just not as reliable. I’ve read reports that EA is getting better but that has not been my experience.