Vegas to Bishop, CA. Has anyone done it? Can it even be done?

[Shack]

Hey all, new poster here. Have had an R1S for about 3 months now.

Heading up from Vegas to Tahoe next week and would really prefer to take the R1S and give the Rivian Adventure Network a try instead of taking the LR Disco.

But...really not sure if I can make it from Vegas to Bishop, which is basically the only reliable L3 charger in the vicinity of my route.

Has anyone done it? Shows ~265 miles, and even in Conserve mode, well, call me skeptical.

Any advice/experience/knowledge would be much appreciated.

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[azbill]

I am going Phoenix to Tahoe in August, but I decided to go through CA and up US 395. I do not want to have to charge to 100% in Vegas. I think you can make it with 100% starting charge, just keep your speed reasonable. The issue wil be the return, you will need a full charge coming back. If I remember right there are a couple of 50kw chargers near Tonopah, but I forget if that is before Bishop.

 

[Shack]

I am going Phoenix to Tahoe in August, but I decided to go through CA and up US 395. I do not want to have to charge to 100% in Vegas. I think you can make it with 100% starting charge, just keep your speed reasonable. The issue wil be the return, you will need a full charge coming back. If I remember right there are a couple of 50kw chargers near Tonopah, but I forget if that is before Bishop.

Yeah, I was honestly thinking of charging up at the Rivian chargers in Truckee and then heading back down to Bishop and then to Vegas.

 

[docwhiz]

Go through Death Valley. There are L2 chargers in Furnace Creek. You should be able to get a top up in a few hours. You might want to stay overnight. It's a beautiful place.

 

[mkg3]

EVs are very sensitive to topological variances. A quick look at the road that takes you between Vegas and Bishop, even charged to 100%, you probably won't make it comfortably. As someone noted, if you do L2 charge in between for 10~15% charge, and drive slow, probably.

That said, you probably can make it back from Bishop to Vegas.

https://www.flattestroute.com/Bishop-CA-to-Las-Vegas

 

[docwhiz]

The first trip I took in my 2015 Tesla (275 mile rated) was from Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas. At the time, the only Supercharger was in Lone Pine. We barely made it downhill from Tahoe to Lone Pine and then just made it to Las Vegas driving through Death Valley.
On the way back we stayed overnight in Furnace Creek and charged from the 240 v cottage AC outlet to make it uphill to Lone Pine then stopped again in Garnerville at a L2 charger during dinner and made it home with all of 7 miles of range to spare (during a snow storm). Great fun!

 

[nothinglimited]

As of today, it looks like US-95 route would require a 5 hour long stopover somewhere on a slow charger, because the fast chargers in Beatty are out of order: https://www.plugshare.com/location/378412

The most trustworthy route at this time would be from Vegas to the Rivian Adventure Network site in Barstow, from there to the RAN site in Inyokern, then to RAN in Bishop. It's about 100 miles longer, but the charging is free on RAN at the moment, and there are other fast chargers in the vicinity of Barstow and Inyokern/Mojave in case one of the RAN sites gives you problems. I make it from Bishop to Tahoe without stopping to charge at Bridgeport, with a charge to 85% at Bishop. YMMV. BTW I haven't had any issues yet on this route or at RAN chargers with my R1S.

 

[Shack]

As of today, it looks like US-95 route would require a 5 hour long stopover somewhere on a slow charger, because the fast chargers in Beatty are out of order: https://www.plugshare.com/location/378412

The most trustworthy route at this time would be from Vegas to the Rivian Adventure Network site in Barstow, from there to the RAN site in Inyokern, then to RAN in Bishop. It's about 100 miles longer, but the charging is free on RAN at the moment, and there are other fast chargers in the vicinity of Barstow and Inyokern/Mojave in case one of the RAN sites gives you problems. I make it from Bishop to Tahoe without stopping to charge at Bridgeport, with a charge to 85% at Bishop. YMMV. BTW I haven't had any issues yet on this route or at RAN chargers with my R1S.

Appreciate your help!

Is the Barstow site a L3? Looks like I could get from Barstow up to Bishop without much trouble.

 

[nothinglimited]

Yes, the Rivian Adventure Network chargers at Barstow, Inyokern and Bishop are L3. My R1S has achieved up to 215 kW. If you use the Rivian nav, the vehicle recognizes that it's en route to a fast charger and it prepares the battery for arrival to optimize throughput. You can see the chargers and their current status in the mobile app on the charging tab.

 

[Shack]

Yes, the Rivian Adventure Network chargers at Barstow, Inyokern and Bishop are L3. My R1S has achieved up to 215 kW. If you use the Rivian nav, the vehicle recognizes that it's en route to a fast charger and it prepares the battery for arrival to optimize throughput. You can see the chargers and their current status in the mobile app on the charging tab.

Ahh cool. I plugged in my home charger today and it's projecting 321 miles in Conserve mode. It appears there is a charger on my way to Bishop at Goldfield Dog Park in the event it's not looking like I can make it. Tempting...

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

Ahh cool. I plugged in my home charger today and it's projecting 321 miles in Conserve mode. It appears there is a charger on my way to Bishop at Goldfield Dog Park in the event it's not looking like I can make it. Tempting...

At freeway speeds figure 255-270 miles MAX range depending upon terrain, speed, weather, wheel size, but no where near 321 with a lot of freeway driving.

 

[Shack]

At freeway speeds figure 255-270 miles MAX range depending upon terrain, speed, weather, wheel size, but no where near 321 with a lot of freeway driving.

Thanks Mark, appreciate your experienced estimates.

Definitely can get to Goldfield (190 miles) and cut over to Bishop (110 miles), but it may just be less stressful to take the full RAN loop around Death Valley. If for some reason that Goldfield charger is down or occupied, it could ruin the entire trip.

 

[Shack]

As of today, it looks like US-95 route would require a 5 hour long stopover somewhere on a slow charger, because the fast chargers in Beatty are out of order: https://www.plugshare.com/location/378412

The most trustworthy route at this time would be from Vegas to the Rivian Adventure Network site in Barstow, from there to the RAN site in Inyokern, then to RAN in Bishop. It's about 100 miles longer, but the charging is free on RAN at the moment, and there are other fast chargers in the vicinity of Barstow and Inyokern/Mojave in case one of the RAN sites gives you problems. I make it from Bishop to Tahoe without stopping to charge at Bridgeport, with a charge to 85% at Bishop. YMMV. BTW I haven't had any issues yet on this route or at RAN chargers with my R1S.

Ended up taking this route on the way up and it was definitely the most stress-free option. All three RAN charging sites were easy to find and worked flawlessly and quickly. Trip was a bit lengthy but not having to worry about range was worth it. Can't believe how well the R1S drives through these rural areas in pitch black. Just an absolute pleasure.

Will be in Tahoe for several days before heading back, likely to take the same route.

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