4 new Rivian Waypoint Chargers installed in Naperville IL @ Tru by Hilton

[bobaurora]

Noticed today that there are four newly installed at a new Tru by Hilton hotel at I-88 and RT59 in Naperville, IL.

Cool to see Rivian getting their brand name out at hotels like this. First I have seen. I didn't charge for very long since it is 1 mile from my house, but it did work.

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[Dark-Fx]

I'm disappointed they are still only running 32A. Rivian really ought to stipulate that people installing them should be required to do 48A installs. It'll be impossible to get a full charge overnight once max packs start shipping

 

[bobaurora]

I'm disappointed they are still only running 32A. Rivian really ought to stipulate that people installing them should be required to do 48A installs. It'll be impossible to get a full charge overnight once max packs start shipping

Agree. Everything in this install is new. Even the hotel. Silly to not just put a bit extra into it.
Seems like the charging units are capable of 48A. Wonder who pays the electrical bill here, Rivian or Hilton and perhaps does one of them stipulate the lower amperage to reduce cost?

Assuming that this simply wasn't just that i didn't leave it plugged in long enough to ramp up to 11kw. I was plugged in for about 5 min.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Assuming that this simply wasn't just that i didn't leave it plugged in long enough to ramp up to 11kw. I was plugged in for about 5 min.

Also assuming you didn't manually limit to 32A.

Wonder who pays the electrical bill here, Rivian or Hilton and perhaps does one of them stipulate the lower amperage to reduce cost?

That's a good question. At least according to Rivian, they are offsetting the energy dispensed at waypoint chargers with renewables that Rivian is purchasing.
https://rivian.com/support/article/...s-charging-networks-with-100-renewable-energy

 

[bobaurora]

Yea, I didn't manually limit. Reality is for this particular location there is an EA DCFC just 2 miles south anyway so for those who need a big charge they can go to EA. But sure would be nice to use the full capability of the equipment especially since everything here was new and there should have been no restrictions due to legacy wiring.

 

[JACE]

This is AWESOME to see …. Long way to go to catch up with all the Tesla destination chargers, but it’s a good start to see. I’m in the city, might have to make a run out to check them out.

 

[SASSquatch]

Great to see Rivian expanding out the network.

Glad to also see an R1T charging on that waypoint charger. Wonder what it would be like to show up to that hotel and all of those chargers are taken up by Teslas.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Great to see Rivian expanding out the network.

Glad to also see an R1T charging on that waypoint charger. Wonder what it would be like to show up to that hotel and all of those chargers are taken up by Teslas.

Unplug them and put epoxy in their charge ports. If you only do the AC ports they should be able to charge on DC still. Oh wait, Tesla.

 

[SASSquatch]

Unplug them and put epoxy in their charge ports. If you only do the AC ports they should be able to charge on DC still. Oh wait, Tesla.

Did you see the twitter poll regarding whether the Rivian Adventure Network (CCS) should be open to the public?

I am deeply divided on this. In principle, having as many people who have EVs be able to access EV charging seems like the right thing to do, but the moment I roll up to a Rivian waypoint or Adventure charger and a Tesla or Chevy Bolt is blocking me, I'm probably going to feel very different about it.

The only solution I can think of as an alternative to locking down the network is to charge non-Rivian owners a much higher rate - orders of magnitude - like 3 times or more. That way, non-Rivian EV owners can still charge if they are desperate, but they are disincentivized from charging out of convenience - which a lot of people will do just to top off - or to simply hang out there too long because they are going to have to pay an arm and a leg.

There should also be a cutoff at 80 percent for non-Rivian vehicles - and severe penalties for charging past that - like $5.00 a minute loitering fee.

Rivian can use the extra income to recoup the cost of building out the charging network.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Did you see the twitter poll regarding whether the Rivian Adventure Network (CCS) should be open to the public?

I am deeply divided on this. In principle, having as many people who have EVs be able to access EV charging seems like the right thing to do, but the moment I roll up to a Rivian waypoint or Adventure charger and a Tesla or Chevy Bolt is blocking me, I'm probably going to feel very different about it.

The only solution I can think of as an alternative to locking down the network is to charge non-Rivian owners a much higher rate - orders of magnitude - like 3 times or more. That way, non-Rivian EV owners can still charge if they are desperate, but they are disincentivized from charging out of convenience - which a lot of people will do just to top off - or to simply hang out there too long because they are going to have to pay an arm and a leg.

There should also be a cutoff at 80 percent for non-Rivian vehicles - and severe penalties for charging past that - like $5.00 a minute loitering fee.

Rivian can use the extra income to recoup the cost of building out the charging network.

I'd like to see Rivian require a subscription to their membership program to be able to use the chargers. It would be nice to be able to use them with my non-Rivian vehicle if I just happened to be driving through with it. Of course that also requires Rivian be invested in actually turning up the chargers in my area.

 

[ads75]

Did you see the twitter poll regarding whether the Rivian Adventure Network (CCS) should be open to the public?

I am deeply divided on this. In principle, having as many people who have EVs be able to access EV charging seems like the right thing to do, but the moment I roll up to a Rivian waypoint or Adventure charger and a Tesla or Chevy Bolt is blocking me, I'm probably going to feel very different about it.

The only solution I can think of as an alternative to locking down the network is to charge non-Rivian owners a much higher rate - orders of magnitude - like 3 times or more. That way, non-Rivian EV owners can still charge if they are desperate, but they are disincentivized from charging out of convenience - which a lot of people will do just to top off - or to simply hang out there too long because they are going to have to pay an arm and a leg.

There should also be a cutoff at 80 percent for non-Rivian vehicles - and severe penalties for charging past that - like $5.00 a minute loitering fee.

Rivian can use the extra income to recoup the cost of building out the charging network.

While I definitely understand how someone would feel about a non-Rivian charging at a Rivian branded charger, and high monetary charges to discourage it, also consider it from the non-Rivian owner or Rivians point of view. Rivian wants to appeal to new and more customers. For now, they don't want to be observed as the company that gives excessive monetary charges to potential new customers. A potential customer desperate for a charge, if they feel they are charges extremely high rates for a charge, may view Rivian as money hungry and wonder just what else they fleece their customers for. Stories would be all over social media, or click bait articles. Look how many articles are out there about auto manufacturers and subscription services, are any of them positive? And (at least for now), imagine having a Rivian pre-order for over a year (R1S or max pack especially), and getting fleeced on a Rivian charger because you still drive a Tesla or a Bolt because Rivian hasn't delivered to you yet. I won't argue against charging people extra for charging above 80%, especially since some people plug in and forget about it at destination/hotel chargers.

But trust me, now that I have my R1T, I will probably be disappointed if I want/need a charge and something else is using the Rivian charger I need/want.

 

[SASSquatch]

While I definitely understand how someone would feel about a non-Rivian charging at a Rivian branded charger, and high monetary charges to discourage it, also consider it from the non-Rivian owner or Rivians point of view. Rivian wants to appeal to new and more customers. For now, they don't want to be observed as the company that gives excessive monetary charges to potential new customers. A potential customer desperate for a charge, if they feel they are charges extremely high rates for a charge, may view Rivian as money hungry and wonder just what else they fleece their customers for. Stories would be all over social media, or click bait articles. Look how many articles are out there about auto manufacturers and subscription services, are any of them positive? And (at least for now), imagine having a Rivian pre-order for over a year (R1S or max pack especially), and getting fleeced on a Rivian charger because you still drive a Tesla or a Bolt because Rivian hasn't delivered to you yet. I won't argue against charging people extra for charging above 80%, especially since some people plug in and forget about it at destination/hotel chargers.

But trust me, now that I have my R1T, I will probably be disappointed if I want/need a charge and something else is using the Rivian charger I need/want.

I hear you, but Rivian also needs to make sure that they are providing adequate charging capacity to the growing number of Rivian R1 vehicles they are putting on the road. Rivian introduced the adventure network as being exclusive to Rivian vehicles. If they make the decision to open it to the entire EV community, they will be taking a way a key value proposition for Rivian owners - their own network that isn't competing with the growing number of EVs on the road.

Tesla is considering opening their network to non Teslas and also planning to charge higher rates. Tesla also has thousands of fast chargers on the road whereas Rivian has just a hand full.

If Rivian had a robust and ubiquitous charing network with significant extra capacity - I would say, yes - open up a part of that capacity (maybe a few chargers at locations with 6 or more) but Rivian isn't anywhere near that level of capacity yet.

The last thing Rivian wants to do in my mind is open up their network and then have Rivian owners unable to find Rivian fast chargers to charge their very expensive Rivian R1 vehicles because everybody and their uncle is charging at those Rivian chargers.

Also remember that the fastest charging speeds that Rivian advertises are only advertised to be possible at Rivian Adventure Network chargers. So you'd also be potentially depriving Rivian owners of the fastest charge speed.

I think, to the contrary, someone paying extra to use a Rivian Charging network would be incentivized to buy a Rivian - especially if they are hanging out at Rivian chargers and seeing lots of awesome R1 vehicles and owners who are happy to talk about them.

 

[SASSquatch]

I'd like to see Rivian require a subscription to their membership program to be able to use the chargers. It would be nice to be able to use them with my non-Rivian vehicle if I just happened to be driving through with it. Of course that also requires Rivian be invested in actually turning up the chargers in my area.

That's a very sharp looking Polestar. How do you like it?

 

[Rivdog]

The supercharger network is a major reason to buy a Tesla. Road tripping in an EV that only has about 200-220 miles of real-world range (which is most of the ones available for under 60k right now) really isn’t possible in the winter months out west. Summer months it’s possible but still risky considering how sparse chargers can be and how often they’re down. If I was a single-car family, I’d likely have to go with a Tesla because of that network. Tesla knows this and it’s widely considered the biggest reason Tesla has been so successful. The chargers are well maintained and you know they’ll work. They’re getting busy, but it’s allowed Tesla to combat the biggest drawback to EV ownership - range anxiety.

Rivian can basically do the same thing with anyone who wants to go to more remote locations if they keep the Adventure Network exclusive. Rivians will be able to go places no other EVs can go, and that’s a big selling point. Rivian is going to be producing vehicles at full capacity for the foreseeable future so there’s little realistic chance it will hurt sales anytime soon. Maybe in 7-10 years it will be a different story, but right now I think exclusivity is the best financial strategy for Rivian.

 

[SASSquatch]

The supercharger network is a major reason to buy a Tesla. Road tripping in an EV that only has about 200-220 miles of real-world range (which is most of the ones available for under 60k right now) really isn’t possible in the winter months out west. Summer months it’s possible but still risky considering how sparse chargers can be and how often they’re down. If I was a single-car family, I’d likely have to go with a Tesla because of that network. Tesla knows this and it’s widely considered the biggest reason Tesla has been so successful. The chargers are well maintained and you know they’ll work. They’re getting busy, but it’s allowed Tesla to combat the biggest drawback to EV ownership - range anxiety.

Rivian can basically do the same thing with anyone who wants to go to more remote locations if they keep the Adventure Network exclusive. Rivians will be able to go places no other EVs can go, and that’s a big selling point. Rivian is going to be producing vehicles at full capacity for the foreseeable future so there’s little realistic chance it will hurt sales anytime soon. Maybe in 7-10 years it will be a different story, but right now I think exclusivity is the best financial strategy for Rivian.

Couldn't agree more. The exclusivity, much like what the Tesla network offers Tesla, is a big reason ppl will consider a Rivian.

As a non-Tesla EV owner for the past 6 years, I have looked at the Tesla network longingly. I don't do road trips in my EV because I have had such bad experiences relying on the unreliable 3rd party network for non-Tesla EVs.

People talk about the R1S, R1T and the Amazon vans - but the buildout of the RIvian network is equally as important an activity for the future of RIvian and one of the costliest.

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