Pixelshot
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Scott
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2020
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- 46
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- 287
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- 932
- Location
- Denver, CO
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- VW eGolf
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- Filmmaker
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- #1
So, I may be a little Rivian obsessed...
After the announcement of the RAN plan, I wanted to take a deep dive into the region where I live and play. I'm based in Denver, but have family in Arizona and Utah. Some common routes for me are: Denver to Phx (via Albequerque); Denver to Salt Lake City (via I-80); Denver to southern Utah (via I-70).
To be sure, these are all planned sites and as far as I know, Salida, CO is the only fast charger site already in the works.
To create the below map I was very careful to overlay the Rivian map with the Google map of the region. This is not a perfect alignment but I believe it's pretty close. I went through diamond-by-diamond and named each stop. In a few cases it was unclear - marked with a "?" - but for the most part I think it's pretty accurate.
PLEASE NOTE, these are my guesses and in no way official.
Analysis:
Generally speaking, this is an EXCELLENT plan for the region. It's clear that the people who drafted this plan knew the routes of the area and have planned charging stations roughly every 100 miles or less. (Although - and I hope you're listening Rivian - I'd recommend a few minor changes - see below.) The green diamonds are almost entirely placed on common driving routes, as opposed to distinct destinations.
There are exceptions to this "through route" tendency. Take for example the trio of Montrose, Ouray, and Placerville (?) in western Colorado. The Placerville stop is a little odd, as it is not on a common "through" route. However, if you were headed to Telluride for a film festival or a ski session, you'd go through Placerville, not Ouray. If, you were headed south from Grand Junction to Durango, you would miss Placerville. This tells me that they are not just thinking about "through routes," but also as adventure destinations, as Rivian has said. Win for skiiers and film festival lovers.
Also, in SW Utah, Springdale/Colorado City (unclear which) is an interesting choice unless you know that the entrance to Zion canyon is basically in Springdale. Another win for adventurers! (Although - note to Rivian - Hurricane may be a more logical charging location for Zion visitors coming from LA/Vegas.)
What about Denver to Bryce Canyon WITH A TRAILER?
This would be a common route for my family. I would probably pull a trailer so I am worried about those long stretches without towns. However, looks like Rivian planned for that. During this below stretch, the longest "runout" is 107 mi. Assuming a 300 mi range cut in half to 150mi while pulling an Airstream, etc, looks like it's doable, if a bit of a nail biter. Overall - Bravo Rivian!
On the other hand, driving from Denver to Phoenix poses one problem (#firstworldproblem). We normally go through Payson as it is shorter and a nice smooth, flat drive between Holbrook and Phoenix. But, no RAN chargers are planned there. (Note that Tesla DOES have a supercharger there.) So, given that it's 186 miles, we may have to go through Flagstaff instead, adding not just 47 miles but a mountain pass as well. Rivian - please consider adding a stop in Payson! (Call me Rivian - I can help!)
So, after thinking about this for way to long... here are Some locations I would add:
Payson, AZ (see above)
Laramie, WY (to avoid having to go through Cheyenne when driving from Denver to SLC)
Dinosaur, CO, Craig, CO, or Vernal, UT to accommodate a very beautiful route across NW Colorado to Dinosaur National Monument
Pueblo, CO or La Junta, CO for east/west route 50 in SE Colorado and north/south on I-25
Overall, I would give this announcement a huge thumbs up. It's well planned and thorough. Let's hope Rivian can pull it off!
Whew. Thoughts??
After the announcement of the RAN plan, I wanted to take a deep dive into the region where I live and play. I'm based in Denver, but have family in Arizona and Utah. Some common routes for me are: Denver to Phx (via Albequerque); Denver to Salt Lake City (via I-80); Denver to southern Utah (via I-70).
To be sure, these are all planned sites and as far as I know, Salida, CO is the only fast charger site already in the works.
To create the below map I was very careful to overlay the Rivian map with the Google map of the region. This is not a perfect alignment but I believe it's pretty close. I went through diamond-by-diamond and named each stop. In a few cases it was unclear - marked with a "?" - but for the most part I think it's pretty accurate.
PLEASE NOTE, these are my guesses and in no way official.
Analysis:
Generally speaking, this is an EXCELLENT plan for the region. It's clear that the people who drafted this plan knew the routes of the area and have planned charging stations roughly every 100 miles or less. (Although - and I hope you're listening Rivian - I'd recommend a few minor changes - see below.) The green diamonds are almost entirely placed on common driving routes, as opposed to distinct destinations.
There are exceptions to this "through route" tendency. Take for example the trio of Montrose, Ouray, and Placerville (?) in western Colorado. The Placerville stop is a little odd, as it is not on a common "through" route. However, if you were headed to Telluride for a film festival or a ski session, you'd go through Placerville, not Ouray. If, you were headed south from Grand Junction to Durango, you would miss Placerville. This tells me that they are not just thinking about "through routes," but also as adventure destinations, as Rivian has said. Win for skiiers and film festival lovers.
Also, in SW Utah, Springdale/Colorado City (unclear which) is an interesting choice unless you know that the entrance to Zion canyon is basically in Springdale. Another win for adventurers! (Although - note to Rivian - Hurricane may be a more logical charging location for Zion visitors coming from LA/Vegas.)
What about Denver to Bryce Canyon WITH A TRAILER?
This would be a common route for my family. I would probably pull a trailer so I am worried about those long stretches without towns. However, looks like Rivian planned for that. During this below stretch, the longest "runout" is 107 mi. Assuming a 300 mi range cut in half to 150mi while pulling an Airstream, etc, looks like it's doable, if a bit of a nail biter. Overall - Bravo Rivian!
On the other hand, driving from Denver to Phoenix poses one problem (#firstworldproblem). We normally go through Payson as it is shorter and a nice smooth, flat drive between Holbrook and Phoenix. But, no RAN chargers are planned there. (Note that Tesla DOES have a supercharger there.) So, given that it's 186 miles, we may have to go through Flagstaff instead, adding not just 47 miles but a mountain pass as well. Rivian - please consider adding a stop in Payson! (Call me Rivian - I can help!)
So, after thinking about this for way to long... here are Some locations I would add:
Payson, AZ (see above)
Laramie, WY (to avoid having to go through Cheyenne when driving from Denver to SLC)
Dinosaur, CO, Craig, CO, or Vernal, UT to accommodate a very beautiful route across NW Colorado to Dinosaur National Monument
Pueblo, CO or La Junta, CO for east/west route 50 in SE Colorado and north/south on I-25
Overall, I would give this announcement a huge thumbs up. It's well planned and thorough. Let's hope Rivian can pull it off!
Whew. Thoughts??
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