New Jersey Rivian Owners

Hello folks! A new owner and a newbie to EVs. I just got my R1S last night and now looking for charger and an installer. Based on prelim research it appears that a universal charger may be better than Rivian Wall charger. Any opinions you can share and also any recommendations for installers in Central NJ? Thanks in advance.

I personally wouldn't buy the Rivian charger unless you could snag it for a good price, literally any charger will work. You just need to pay attention to the different charging speeds, as that's really all the separates chargers, aside from any app functionality. I snagged an Autel during Black Friday last year for $229, and at that price, it was totally worth it. Only thing worth thinking about would be the Tesla Universal Charger, since it has a built in adapter, you can charge on the CCS ports we currently have, or the NACS Tesla port, since that appears to the future of charging here. Then again, adapters are also cheap.

Can't help on recommendations, as I installed mine myself. But get a few estimates, I see a huge variety in prices for installation. And do a little research to make sure they know what they're doing. You will likely want a 50 or 60 amp breaker, but it will depend on what charger you end up with, and what it can handle.

Thanks a bunch. That's very helpful.
I think the universal charger is the way to go as well as we may be getting a diff/smaller EV over the next year or two. I was leaning toward Tesla universal charger as well to future-proof charging needs, but still need to research a bit more. I had reached out to couple of installers but will obtain a few more estimates. Thanks again!

I used Corbin electric, they did a great job. The Tesla charger is fine, I have had a great experience with my JuiceBox. If I had to do it right now might grab a Grizzl-E Duo. You can have one J1772 and 1 NACS, 2 cables.

We went with Princeton Electrical, and they were very reasonable. We did not change our panel (100A), but they added a load management system. No issues in the last ~5 months since the install. The overall process was very quick, professional and cost ~$2,300 IIRC (including the load management system, which alone was $799). I got the Tesla Gen3 Universal Wall Charger as well.

For whatever reason, the Rivian Wall Charger has had many problems from many different threads both here and on FB, so if you haven't already, I'd say get anything else.

Another option, if you don't want to go Tesla route, is to get Grizzly - which are made in Canada.

Lastly, yes, please just hard wire the whole install. I was actually debating to do two installations - one hardwire to the Tesla UWC and another Nema 14-50, but decided that was overkill. Not to mention that would add more install costs, but if you have the space and money to do it, you should consider it.

Funny I would not hardware it unless I was getting 80-100A. The power delta from 50 to 60a is really not a big deal. However, I have had to play with chargers to prove a point to both Rivian and BMW, so being able to quickly change the charger to another one was very helpful.

Welcome to the club. I also used Princeton Electrical Makeover and would recommend.

What's your utility? If PSE&G, they'll pay for your install (up to $1500) and offer off-peak charging credits of roughly $0.10/kWh. https://nj.myaccount.pseg.com/myservicepublic/electricvehicles-residential-program

Also, there's a NJ rebate of $250 for purchasing eligible chargers.
https://chargeup.njcleanenergy.com/home-ev-charger-incentive

I have a JuiceBox, purchased in 2021, and ChargePoint purchased this year. Stay away from JuiceBox but I've been happy with the CP.

Glad to answer any questions.

New Jersey Rivian Owners

New Jersey Rivian Owners

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