[Yossarian]

I know that I'm not alone in finding the Max battery pack essential for the R1S. In my case, it's to allow both allow me to use the car for limited boondocking and to be able bring my teardrop adventure camper along.

When I posed the question about the impact of towing on the R1S to a Rivian rep, I was told that the range would be halfed at the maximum towing capacity of 7,700 lbs. My camper is only about 2,300 lbs when loaded and is relatively aerodynamic, so the range penalty will be less than that, but how much so is hard to say. If it's half of what it is at 7,700 lb - 25% - that means a loss of 100 miles of range. In simple terms, if I assume a 90%SoC at start and no lower than 10% at recharge, that makes the effective range with the Max pack about 240 miles ((400*0.9*0.75)*0.9). Using the same simplified range calculation with the Large (300 mi) battery pack, only gives me about 182 miles. That won't work.

I contacted Rivian via chat on Tues after configuring my R1S and asked about the Max pack. I posted that response on another thread but the rep basically said that we'll be able to add it to the order once Rivian goes into production on the R1. I followed that up with an email to customer service that asked the following:
1. Can you confirm that Max battery will be available to add to an existing R1S order?
2. What will the impact to my delivery date be if I change my configuration to add the Max pack?
3. Will the seating configuration change (7 seat to 5 seat as indicated on the current website) if a Max pack is added?
4. Can you provide an estimated cost for the Max pack - will it be the same as it is for the R1T (i. e., $10,000)?

I will post the response from Rivian when I hear back. I need the added range and am willing to pay for it - within reason anyway - and hope it's in the $10k range. I don't care about loosing the third row, but I'm not willing to wait until 2023 for the car either.

 

[jtshaw]

I'm currently planning on the Launch Edition, but if there is anything that would get me to wait it would be the max pack. Most of the places the R1S would take me in the Seattle area are within 300 miles round trip but the terrain and conditions might make it pretty close.

Another thing that might assuage my concerns is charging infrastructure. If I knew Rivian was going to have a big bank of DC chargers for us in remote places like North Cascades National Park, out route 2 and i90, and in strategic places on the Olympic Peninsula I'd be totally fine with 300 miles.

 

[Heyvernsky]

$10K BUYS ONE KICK BUTT GENERATOR

 

[Yossarian]

$10K BUYS ONE KICK BUTT GENERATOR

I know your tongue is firmly in cheeck but . . .

Something that can do L2 charging, the Honda EU7000 110/240 generator for example, is 250 lbs and not tiny, plus you need to lug a few gallons of gas along (not sure if there is a similar propane unit). At 20 amps and 240 v, charging is something on the order of 4.8kw, so it's gonna be a while before your Rivian gets topped up.

Here's a look at some guys who tried the Honda generator out on a Model X:

 

[Heyvernsky]

I know your tongue is firmly in cheeck but . . .

Something that can do L2 charging, the Honda EU7000 110/240 generator for example, is 250 lbs and not tiny, plus you need to lug a few gallons of gas along (not sure if there is a similar propane unit). At 20 amps and 240 v, charging is something on the order of 4.8kw, so it's gonna be a while before your Rivian gets topped up.

Here's a look at some guys who tried the Honda generator out on a Model X:

No dead serious

I know your tongue is firmly in cheeck but . . .

Something that can do L2 charging, the Honda EU7000 110/240 generator for example, is 250 lbs and not tiny, plus you need to lug a few gallons of gas along (not sure if there is a similar propane unit). At 20 amps and 240 v, charging is something on the order of 4.8kw, so it's gonna be a while before your Rivian gets topped up.

Here's a look at some guys who tried the Honda generator out on a Model X:

I know your tongue is firmly in cheeck but . . .

Something that can do L2 charging, the Honda EU7000 110/240 generator for example, is 250 lbs and not tiny, plus you need to lug a few gallons of gas along (not sure if there is a similar propane unit). At 20 amps and 240 v, charging is something on the order of 4.8kw, so it's gonna be a while before your Rivian gets topped up.

Here's a look at some guys who tried the Honda generator out on a Model X:

No dead serious
You can get a large trailer generator for $7k

 

[Yossarian]

I'm currently planning on the Launch Edition, but if there is anything that would get me to wait it would be the max pack. Most of the places the R1S would take me in the Seattle area are within 300 miles round trip but the terrain and conditions might make it pretty close.

Another thing that might assuage my concerns is charging infrastructure. If I knew Rivian was going to have a big bank of DC chargers for us in remote places like North Cascades National Park, out route 2 and i90, and in strategic places on the Olympic Peninsula I'd be totally fine with 300 miles.

I think that many of us will, like you be OK with 300 mi range most of the time. The issue is those other times.

I hope that the Rivian Adventure Network is exactly what it's name implies. As you indicate, that means chargers placed to allow us to be able to explore parks, national forests and BLM lands across North America. While that's great, I'm in the East, and need to be able to get to a place like Capital Reef, or Glacier - and [hopefully] to places north of the border, like the Maritimes. The drive from Philly to any of those places has long stretches where charging is often problematic - something not likely to change much in the short term.

In 10 years, the charging network will almost certainly have expanded to allow worry-free travel via BEV throughout most of North America, but for now, range is key. As much as I like the the R1S, if I can't get it with the Max pack by 2022, I'll have to find an alternative - my 12 year old Volvo is more than a bit long in the tooth even now.

 

[Yossarian]

Disappointing news regarding the Max battery package. See separate thread on the subject.

 

[Kjvw]

I know that I'm not alone in finding the Max battery pack essential for the R1S. In my case, it's to allow both allow me to use the car for limited boondocking and to be able bring my teardrop adventure camper along.

When I posed the question about the impact of towing on the R1S to a Rivian rep, I was told that the range would be halfed at the maximum towing capacity of 7,700 lbs. My camper is only about 2,300 lbs when loaded and is relatively aerodynamic, so the range penalty will be less than that, but how much so is hard to say. If it's half of what it is at 7,700 lb - 25% - that means a loss of 100 miles of range. In simple terms, if I assume a 90%SoC at start and no lower than 10% at recharge, that makes the effective range with the Max pack about 240 miles ((400*0.9*0.75)*0.9). Using the same simplified range calculation with the Large (300 mi) battery pack, only gives me about 182 miles. That won't work.

I contacted Rivian via chat on Tues after configuring my R1S and asked about the Max pack. I posted that response on another thread but the rep basically said that we'll be able to add it to the order once Rivian goes into production on the R1. I followed that up with an email to customer service that asked the following:
1. Can you confirm that Max battery will be available to add to an existing R1S order?
2. What will the impact to my delivery date be if I change my configuration to add the Max pack?
3. Will the seating configuration change (7 seat to 5 seat as indicated on the current website) if a Max pack is added?
4. Can you provide an estimated cost for the Max pack - will it be the same as it is for the R1T (i. e., $10,000)?

I will post the response from Rivian when I hear back. I need the added range and am willing to pay for it - within reason anyway - and hope it's in the $10k range. I don't care about loosing the third row, but I'm not willing to wait until 2023 for the car either.

Remember highway miles looses lots of distance because there is very little regen being used. Best mileage is in the city where regen is happening at every light and stop and go type of traffic. Even with the 400 mile wack off 15 plus percent for only highway driving.

 

[jtshaw]

Remember highway miles looses lots of distance because there is very little regen being used. Best mileage is in the city where regen is happening at every light and stop and go type of traffic. Even with the 400 mile wack off 15 plus percent for only highway driving.

For what it’s worth, that hasn’t always been my experience. I’ve easily exceeded my range on the highway in my Tesla. Speed is the key though. If you are driving at 75mph+ you’ll almost definitely come up short.

 

[drhnbtx]

For what it’s worth, that hasn’t always been my experience. I’ve easily exceeded my range on the highway in my Tesla. Speed is the key though. If you are driving at 75mph+ you’ll almost definitely come up short.

At what highway speeds do you typically get better range and what model are you driving? R1T will be my first EV and we have varying speed limits on many of the roadways that i travel frequently. My commute is 115 miles round trip with primarily "highway" speeds from 60 to 75.

 

[jtshaw]

At what highway speeds do you typically get better range and what model are you driving? R1T will be my first EV and we have varying speed limits on many of the roadways that i travel frequently. My commute is 115 miles round trip with primarily "highway" speeds from 60 to 75.

Most of my long distance driving is on 60-65 mph highways with some small stretches of 70mph zones. I typically set it to +9 over the limit on the adaptive cruise control. The car I'm currently driving is a 2018 Model 3 LR RWD.