370 mile sub zero Northern Wisconsin trip

[Dynabro86]

Wife was getting pampered and two brothers set out to find a charging spot….love it.

1.7 sounds about right in those temps the thermal management will be working really hard to keep the battery warm.

My brother is a bit of a math nerd and follows my routes closely to see if the discharge rates matches his predictions. He totally found that fast charger in the middle of nowhere on that plug share site. Gotta give him credit!

I've had the car parked outside for 24hrs, weather warmed up a bit to 30 degrees and I lost 5 miles of range. Still at 80%. I'll run to town to drain the battery a bit but I do want to plug in my car to a 120v here at the inlaws farm to see if I can warm the battery up with it.

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[Bullwinkle]

Thought I’d post my experience driving from Chicago to my In laws house in Northwest Wisconsin. They live in an area with very little charging infrastructure so planning the trip is very key.

We left the suburbs around 5am at 95% battery on the 2024 gen 1 R1T dual motor large pack. Temperatures were 14 degrees in Chicago at the time. Range estimate on the dash said 341 (not correct at all) but I used the the car’s navigation to get me to where I wanted to go. It suggested my first charging stop at the Lake Delton (wi dells) Tesla station.

While we drove, the temp slowly dipped down to -2 degrees and my efficiency hovered around 1.7 -1.8. We arrived at the Tesla station with a preconditioned battery at 7:30am. Battery SOC was about 17%. Total distance 167 miles.

My wife and I had a nice breakfast at McDonald’s while I waited for the vehicle to charge. I believe I went to 74% the charger worked flawlessly and on my way out, saw a beautiful Forrest green r1s pull in and we both did the Rivian wave. (Good luck brother!)

Next stop was Eau Claire WI because my wife is obsessed with Caribou coffee. 120 miles estimated distance. Perfect time to get my last charge before we get to our final destination. This is where it was useful for me to build in extra time in our roadtrip… we stopped at the EA station (4 stalls). First off, these stalls are not set up well for Rivians…. But when we arrived around 10am 2 of the stalls were full and the 3rd was taken up buy an indecisive ionic 5 owner who pulled blocked both stalls. I wasn’t gonna sit around and figure that mess out so we ended going to a Tesla site in Altoona that was BRAND new v4 site (don’t need to take up 2 spots, freaking awesome). We plugged in and went into the grocery store to walk a bit, and noticed on the app after a while that the charger was only outputting 30kw… not good. After 20 mins I went back to the vehicle and the charger itself was limited the charge rate. I moved to a different a stall. I got 210kw for 5 mins and then it tanked down to 30 again. I looked on PlugShare and this was a common issue at this site since it was open 3 weeks ago. So every 5 mins, I just switched to a different charger and kept doing musical chairs for about 30 mins until I got 64% SoC. We were the only ones at the charger so we didn’t bother anyone. But that was the first “bad” Tesla charging experience I had, although I would call it more of a inconvenience then really bad. But that time burned a bit into our schedule a bit.

Last leg of the trip was to Osceola wi, middle of a charging dead zone as far as I was concerned. Total distance from last stop was approx 90 miles. I got to the destination with 35% soc. I dropped my wife off at a hair appointment, so I had a couple hours to kill. My brother found a new 180kw fast charger that was just installed about 8 mins from the hair Salon on plug share. It’s not on our integrated rivian maps but it’s on plug share, and it’s installed next to an electrical contractors shop. I went there to top off while I waited for the Mrs, and this site was clutch. It worked great, had a port o potty, windshield cleaner and doggy poop bags for any k9 companions. It was so cool to see a small tiny middle of no where shop install this fast charger. I went to 95% while watching YouTube over the course of an hr.

Now I’m at my in-laws. I’ll be here till Thursday but I’m chilling at 81% battery (ran an errand and buzzed around a bit). I didn’t plug it in overnight to see what my drain is, and I lost 3 miles of range over the past 24 hours while outside temps sit between 10 and 15 degrees. I turned off gear guard and proximity locking.

Planning on plugging into 120v overnight between Wednesday and Thursday to get the battery warm enough for fast charging, but that’s all we really have available around here. Feeling pretty good about my current situation.

Love these stories. I keep a reeled extension cord in the lower frunk with the charger kit. I find I can add 50ish miles in 24 hours--if you want to top off.

 

[krb1183]

Thanks for the info! My sister's family lives near Osceola and my parents in Rice Lake. I've always been skittish venturing up there with the lack of chargers so great to hear you found one in Osceola. Sometime when i have the time for charging stops i'll have to take the Riv up there on a jaunt from Huntsville.

 

[greyboundary]

WI is definitely sketchy as far as charging infra goes. I do an annual trip with friends to Road America and have found myself in interesting situations.

One being a very slow L2 charger also offered at a contractor office building. Another was that the electrical wiring in the AirBnB garage we rented was poorly done and my travel charger (for Polestar) kept tripping and wouldn’t start. Another was that they put onsite charging at RA, which I thought “Hey that’s convenient, we’re in the middle of nowhere.” Except that they block it during large events because it’s at a very central location at the facility.

It’s like simply getting flowing electricity is an intentionally sabotaged game. I did notice that between the trip 3 years ago and the one this year that there were just a few extra sparse DCFCs, and it made all the difference. Now imagine if we had 1/5th as many as gas stations.

 

[Charged]

I find I can add 50ish miles in 24 hours--if you want to top off.

I also routinely add abut 50 miles every 24 hours on a 120V outlet—even in low winter temperatures. If the battery is very cold the first hour or two of charging may show no gain (or even a slight loss of charge), as power is used to warm the battery. Just be patient.

You might also like to use the app to set up a Climate "schedule" to have the vehicle prepped for the departure time while still connected to shore power.

 

[R1Tims]

Thought I’d post my experience driving from Chicago to my In laws house in Northwest Wisconsin. They live in an area with very little charging infrastructure so planning the trip is very key.

We left the suburbs around 5am at 95% battery on the 2024 gen 1 R1T dual motor large pack. Temperatures were 14 degrees in Chicago at the time. Range estimate on the dash said 341 (not correct at all) but I used the the car’s navigation to get me to where I wanted to go. It suggested my first charging stop at the Lake Delton (wi dells) Tesla station.

While we drove, the temp slowly dipped down to -2 degrees and my efficiency hovered around 1.7 -1.8. We arrived at the Tesla station with a preconditioned battery at 7:30am. Battery SOC was about 17%. Total distance 167 miles.

My wife and I had a nice breakfast at McDonald’s while I waited for the vehicle to charge. I believe I went to 74% the charger worked flawlessly and on my way out, saw a beautiful Forrest green r1s pull in and we both did the Rivian wave. (Good luck brother!)

Next stop was Eau Claire WI because my wife is obsessed with Caribou coffee. 120 miles estimated distance. Perfect time to get my last charge before we get to our final destination. This is where it was useful for me to build in extra time in our roadtrip… we stopped at the EA station (4 stalls). First off, these stalls are not set up well for Rivians…. But when we arrived around 10am 2 of the stalls were full and the 3rd was taken up buy an indecisive ionic 5 owner who pulled blocked both stalls. I wasn’t gonna sit around and figure that mess out so we ended going to a Tesla site in Altoona that was BRAND new v4 site (don’t need to take up 2 spots, freaking awesome). We plugged in and went into the grocery store to walk a bit, and noticed on the app after a while that the charger was only outputting 30kw… not good. After 20 mins I went back to the vehicle and the charger itself was limited the charge rate. I moved to a different a stall. I got 210kw for 5 mins and then it tanked down to 30 again. I looked on PlugShare and this was a common issue at this site since it was open 3 weeks ago. So every 5 mins, I just switched to a different charger and kept doing musical chairs for about 30 mins until I got 64% SoC. We were the only ones at the charger so we didn’t bother anyone. But that was the first “bad” Tesla charging experience I had, although I would call it more of a inconvenience then really bad. But that time burned a bit into our schedule a bit.

Last leg of the trip was to Osceola wi, middle of a charging dead zone as far as I was concerned. Total distance from last stop was approx 90 miles. I got to the destination with 35% soc. I dropped my wife off at a hair appointment, so I had a couple hours to kill. My brother found a new 180kw fast charger that was just installed about 8 mins from the hair Salon on plug share. It’s not on our integrated rivian maps but it’s on plug share, and it’s installed next to an electrical contractors shop. I went there to top off while I waited for the Mrs, and this site was clutch. It worked great, had a port o potty, windshield cleaner and doggy poop bags for any k9 companions. It was so cool to see a small tiny middle of no where shop install this fast charger. I went to 95% while watching YouTube over the course of an hr.

Now I’m at my in-laws. I’ll be here till Thursday but I’m chilling at 81% battery (ran an errand and buzzed around a bit). I didn’t plug it in overnight to see what my drain is, and I lost 3 miles of range over the past 24 hours while outside temps sit between 10 and 15 degrees. I turned off gear guard and proximity locking.

Planning on plugging into 120v overnight between Wednesday and Thursday to get the battery warm enough for fast charging, but that’s all we really have available around here. Feeling pretty good about my current situation.

I had the same type of experience with Tesla V4 chargers in South Beloit, IL. It was in the 20 deg range that night on the way to Madison, Wi. Nice to only take up 1 space. Also found that they all had adapters on each plug. Hooked up on the first plug and got 210kw then dropped down to 30kw. I waited a few minutes to see if it would go back up. It didn't. Then did the shuffle to another plug. Got 210kw, a normal charge and reduction in rate as the % went up.

Surprised you were able to find at least 3 plugs working at an EA station. My experience has been that 1 worked any others were throttled down or not working. I was excited when I found the one that was working typically output at least 150kw. Then on a rare occasion I might see 180kw.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I have a cabin in Hayward, WI. I make the drive frequently form Minneapolis. As bad as the charging infrastructure is it has expanded 3x in just the 2 years I’ve owned a Rivian.

PS. Get familiar with the ZEF network. For better or worse…….

ZEF is almost always slow and sketchy.

 

[Dynabro86]

Thanks for the info! My sister's family lives near Osceola and my parents in Rice Lake. I've always been skittish venturing up there with the lack of chargers so great to hear you found one in Osceola. Sometime when i have the time for charging stops i'll have to take the Riv up there on a jaunt from Huntsville.

The charger I found is across the river in Shafer. It's on the plugshare app. Definitely not a bad solution. I think rice lake is a bit of a charging dead zone but I believe they have plans on adding some to the Kwik trip up there.

 

[Dynabro86]

I also routinely add abut 50 miles every 24 hours on a 120V outlet—even in low winter temperatures. If the battery is very cold the first hour or two of charging may show no gain (or even a slight loss of charge), as power is used to warm the battery. Just be patient.

You might also like to use the app to set up a Climate "schedule" to have the vehicle prepped for the departure time while still connected to shore power.

Good to know. I tried to charge for a few hours on a 120v outlet my inlaws have on a light pole next to the shed. I was happy to see I could turn down the amps a bit as to not tax their circuit too much. I took on about 5 miles in 4 hours, probably because the battery was cold.
I think we're gonna leave early Thursday so I'll try scheduling the climate before we leave and pull it from the charger. See if that helps the efficiency a bit.

 

[HyperionMark]

ZEF is almost always slow and sketchy.

Also have used ZEF some. For those not in the know, at least part of the sketchiness is that they immediately charge your card $50 the minute you "try" to start up a charge. This is just a hold obviously but still...sketchy.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

Thought I’d post my experience driving from Chicago to my In laws house in Northwest Wisconsin. They live in an area with very little charging infrastructure so planning the trip is very key.

We left the suburbs around 5am at 95% battery on the 2024 gen 1 R1T dual motor large pack. Temperatures were 14 degrees in Chicago at the time. Range estimate on the dash said 341 (not correct at all) but I used the the car’s navigation to get me to where I wanted to go. It suggested my first charging stop at the Lake Delton (wi dells) Tesla station.

While we drove, the temp slowly dipped down to -2 degrees and my efficiency hovered around 1.7 -1.8. We arrived at the Tesla station with a preconditioned battery at 7:30am. Battery SOC was about 17%. Total distance 167 miles.

My wife and I had a nice breakfast at McDonald’s while I waited for the vehicle to charge. I believe I went to 74% the charger worked flawlessly and on my way out, saw a beautiful Forrest green r1s pull in and we both did the Rivian wave. (Good luck brother!)

Next stop was Eau Claire WI because my wife is obsessed with Caribou coffee. 120 miles estimated distance. Perfect time to get my last charge before we get to our final destination. This is where it was useful for me to build in extra time in our roadtrip… we stopped at the EA station (4 stalls). First off, these stalls are not set up well for Rivians…. But when we arrived around 10am 2 of the stalls were full and the 3rd was taken up buy an indecisive ionic 5 owner who pulled blocked both stalls. I wasn’t gonna sit around and figure that mess out so we ended going to a Tesla site in Altoona that was BRAND new v4 site (don’t need to take up 2 spots, freaking awesome). We plugged in and went into the grocery store to walk a bit, and noticed on the app after a while that the charger was only outputting 30kw… not good. After 20 mins I went back to the vehicle and the charger itself was limited the charge rate. I moved to a different a stall. I got 210kw for 5 mins and then it tanked down to 30 again. I looked on PlugShare and this was a common issue at this site since it was open 3 weeks ago. So every 5 mins, I just switched to a different charger and kept doing musical chairs for about 30 mins until I got 64% SoC. We were the only ones at the charger so we didn’t bother anyone. But that was the first “bad” Tesla charging experience I had, although I would call it more of a inconvenience then really bad. But that time burned a bit into our schedule a bit.

Last leg of the trip was to Osceola wi, middle of a charging dead zone as far as I was concerned. Total distance from last stop was approx 90 miles. I got to the destination with 35% soc. I dropped my wife off at a hair appointment, so I had a couple hours to kill. My brother found a new 180kw fast charger that was just installed about 8 mins from the hair Salon on plug share. It’s not on our integrated rivian maps but it’s on plug share, and it’s installed next to an electrical contractors shop. I went there to top off while I waited for the Mrs, and this site was clutch. It worked great, had a port o potty, windshield cleaner and doggy poop bags for any k9 companions. It was so cool to see a small tiny middle of no where shop install this fast charger. I went to 95% while watching YouTube over the course of an hr.

Now I’m at my in-laws. I’ll be here till Thursday but I’m chilling at 81% battery (ran an errand and buzzed around a bit). I didn’t plug it in overnight to see what my drain is, and I lost 3 miles of range over the past 24 hours while outside temps sit between 10 and 15 degrees. I turned off gear guard and proximity locking.

Planning on plugging into 120v overnight between Wednesday and Thursday to get the battery warm enough for fast charging, but that’s all we really have available around here. Feeling pretty good about my current situation.

What an enjoyable read! I’m not entirely sure what you mean by “freezing” or “below zero,” but it definitely sounds adventurous—maybe even a little electrifying!

Wishing you a safe and smooth journey home, wherever the road (or trail) takes you!

 

[brperz]

Thanks for sharing. I live in Pewaukee Wisconsin, West of Milwaukee. I'm headed to Bessemer Upper Michigan next weekend to snowboard at Powderhorn. Finally got my Tesla adapter which doubles my charging options on the route up 39/51. Really thankful for that because I can top off in Minocqua before entering no man's land in the UP. Doesn't look like there's much up there but ironically there's a level 2 at Powderhorn which I'm hoping is very convenient. I was averaging 2.5mi/kwh through summer and that has drastically reduced to well below 2 since the single digit temps have arrived.
Cheers!

 

[Dynabro86]

Thanks for sharing. I live in Pewaukee Wisconsin, West of Milwaukee. I'm headed to Bessemer Upper Michigan next weekend to snowboard at Powderhorn. Finally got my Tesla adapter which doubles my charging options on the route up 39/51. Really thankful for that because I can top off in Minocqua before entering no man's land in the UP. Doesn't look like there's much up there but ironically there's a level 2 at Powderhorn which I'm hoping is very convenient. I was averaging 2.5mi/kwh through summer and that has drastically reduced to well below 2 since the single digit temps have arrived.
Cheers!

I've been to that Minoqua charger a couple months ago during Beef o rama. Very good charger, near a shopping center with caribou coffee (I mentioned earlier why that was important). The charger all the way to the right is just about perfect for a rivian. Good luck on your trip! Sounds like fun!

 

[brperz]

I've been to that Minoqua charger a couple months ago during Beef o rama. Very good charger, near a shopping center with caribou coffee (I mentioned earlier why that was important). The charger all the way to the right is just about perfect for a rivian. Good luck on your trip! Sounds like fun!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[TTedP]

It’s always a Chevy Bolt…

I dread seeing those at a charger. It's game over if they ever start showing up on Tesla or RAN once those open up.

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