Mobile Charger for the R2 for trips with a NEMA 1450 available

[ClayyW]

I'm about to get my R2 within the next month. Since the Mobile Charger no longer comes with the vehicle, why should I buy the Rivian branded R2 NACS adapter at $400 instead of a Tesla one at $300?

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[HAL9000]

I'm about to get my R2 within the next month. Since the Mobile Charger no longer comes with the vehicle, why should I buy the Rivian branded R2 NACS adapter at $400 instead of a Tesla one at $300?

They told me they would ship both charging equipment later after I took delivery. It did showup a month'ish later.

 

[DeafPug]

The charging adapters are only bundled with vehicles in some states. For others, you need to purchase them outright. For the OP, yeah, you can use the current Tesla Mobile Connector. The Tesla one is also nice because it supports adapters for many different types of standard outlets that you may encounter. They sell extra adapters as one-off options or in a complete bundle https://shop.tesla.com/product/nema-adapter-bundle.

Note that both the Rivian and Tesla mobile charging connectors are limited to 32 amps. Only a handful of adapters on the market let you charge at the 40 amp maximum that you can use for EV charging on a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Over time, some manufacturers have switched to 32 amps to reduce the chance of melting the outlet.

 

[Jeremy3292]

There is no reason to buy the Rivian one other than personal preference.

 

[VSG]

Note that both the Rivian and Tesla mobile charging connectors are limited to 32 amps. Only a handful of adapters on the market let you charge at the 40 amp maximum that you can use for EV charging on a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Over time, some manufacturers have switched to 32 amps to reduce the chance of melting the outlet.

The 32 amp limit is to comply with electrical code.

The NEC allows NEMA 14-50 outlets to be used on 40 amp circuits as well as 50 amp circuits. Because you can't tell just by looking at the outlet, you have to assume that it can only supply 40 amps, which means that continuous-use applications like EV charging must draw no more than 0.8 * 40 = 32 amps.

I wouldn't recommend trying to charge at more than 32 amps on a NEMA 14-50 unless you know exactly what size wiring and breaker is used inside the wall, even if your portable charger allows it.

 

[Thebandit]

The Tesla one has adapters available for virtually every plug you will ever encounter. The Rivian is 5-15 or 14-50 and that's it. And it's more expensive.

Get the Tesla.

 

[Doogl]

"Chargers" you can buy for home are basically just adapter cables with a safety switch.

They don't do much other than a few safety functions and communicating to the car how much wall power is available. The car has an onboard charger that does all the charging/conversion. All of them work pretty much the same.

Choose something well made (UL Listed) and affordable.

 

[a9967]

I preordered one of the A2Z Nebula Mini chargers. Very full featured and local access, for not that much more than other mobile chargers, unless you are buying off the used market.

 

[Thebandit]

I preordered one of the A2Z Nebula Mini chargers. Very full featured and local access, for not that much more than other mobile chargers, unless you are buying off the used market.

Seems like a solid Tesla Mobile Connector alternative if they release a few more adapters for it. 5-20, 10-30, and 14-30 are big ones. Maybe 6-20 as well.

 

[SwampNut]

You should buy whatever is cheap on Amazon or eBay. I have had four portables, there's no practical or useful distinction between them outside of the little pigtail thing on the Tesla. But you can overcome that with adapters, which cost less than the pigtails.

Ironically, my cheapest one ($110) has the most features, though for the Rivian it doesn't really matter. I'm able to set max charge on that one, and the display shows charge data. It was useful ONE time charging my motorcycle from a random 120v 15a receptacle.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/198271724743

 

[Thebandit]

You should buy whatever is cheap on Amazon or eBay. I have had four portables, there's no practical or useful distinction between them outside of the little pigtail thing on the Tesla. But you can overcome that with adapters, which cost less than the pigtails.

Ironically, my cheapest one ($110) has the most features, though for the Rivian it doesn't really matter. I'm able to set max charge on that one, and the display shows charge data. It was useful ONE time charging my motorcycle from a random 120v 15a receptacle.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/198271724743

I ended up buying the Tesla one so that I could have a lot of adapters. I was in between doing that and getting a portable charger with selectable amperage and a handful of NEMA adapters (10-30 to 14-50 etc), but decided the Tesla way with proper plugs and no adapters, which automatically sets max amps, was safer and cleaner.

 

[mkg3]

I'm about to get my R2 within the next month. Since the Mobile Charger no longer comes with the vehicle, why should I buy the Rivian branded R2 NACS adapter at $400 instead of a Tesla one at $300?

If this is for having CCS1 to NACS while on the road, why bother? There are far more Tesla Superchargers than anything else. Even most of the Rivian RAN chargers are now with NACS interface. Between the Tesla SC and Rivian RAN, I have not used anything else in the last 2 yrs of road trips covering over 5,000 miles.

If it's for L2 charger, J1772 interface, those are roughly $50 on Amazon. You might find those more useful if you stay in hotels that provide destination chargers.

 

[smashweights]

If mine didn't already have the Rivian mobile charger, I would get the Tesla just for the added variety of connections available. Rivian only supports standard 110v and 14-50. Tesla's does virtually every socket you can think of, namely some of the sockets for RVs at campgrounds.

 

[Thebandit]

If this is for having CCS1 to NACS while on the road, why bother? There are far more Tesla Superchargers than anything else. Even most of the Rivian RAN chargers are now with NACS interface. Between the Tesla SC and Rivian RAN, I have not used anything else in the last 2 yrs of road trips covering over 5,000 miles.

If it's for L2 charger, J1772 interface, those are roughly $50 on Amazon. You might find those more useful if you stay in hotels that provide destination chargers.

There are a ton of CCS chargers out there. I wouldn't want to be limited to NACS. I'd be upset if I was on a road trip, pulled up to an RAN bank, and all the NACS ones were in use but some CCS were available.

See the screenshots for NACS only vs NACS+CCS around Freeport.

 

[mkg3]

There are a ton of CCS chargers out there....

Of course there are. Aside from Rivian RAN, I find most of the CCS1 charging locations to be less than ideal.

I always prefer Tesla SC over all the others as there are more stations, and more charging terminal per station than anyone else. AND the reliability of the charging terminal is exceptional. I know it happens but I have never experienced any charging terminal being down at Tesla SC. In the past, before Rivian became NACS partner, I used to use EA and it was $hit show to say the least.

If I was in OPs shoes, I would not bother with CCS1 to NACS adapter. The J1772 to NACS is much more useful for destination charger which by definition is L2.

I am certain that 99.9% of Tesla owners, including myself, do not travel with CCS1 to NACS adapter. I do have NACS to CCS1 adapter for my R1S and use it at the Tesla SC 99% of the time. The other 1% at RAN.

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