Sometimes slower is faster, what I learned on our 2,600 mile trip

[Curtis Novak]

Sorry this is so long....

We just got back from our most recent road trip to see our daughter in Denver. When we travel, we always meander and sight see.

We did this in our 2023 R1T Dual Max.

Our trip started at home in Joshua Tree, CA to Gallup NM , Durango CO, Buena Vista Co, Denver, Laramie WY, Layton UT, Golden Spike National Historic park UT, Great Basin National Park in Baker UT, Bishop CA, Joshua Tree.

I want to start off by saying I love this car, so much more than our 2019 Model Y we traded in for the R1T 6mo ago. The R1T was a way more comfortable trip and enjoyable. On this trip the added range was the best part. One part in particular was going from Great Basin NP in NV to Bishop CA. The Nevada desert was pretty desolate. First off one big shout out to Rivian for having a Waypoint charger 48kw charger in Baker right at our hotel at the Whispering Elm. That was a complete surprise. We charged to 100% while we slept for FREE!! Woke up and did a 7.5 mile hike up Wheeler Peak to see an actual Glacier then on to Bishop CA. Note I planned the route ahead of time on ABRP and it did not have any issues getting from Baker to to Bishop via route 6 through Tonopah NV. When I was setting the route in the car, it kept telling me I could not do this route and kept routeing me up to I70 which would take my 4.5 hour trip to 10.6 hours! We had a VERY long hike and were already scheduled to arrive in Bishop late. There was no way the car was letting me map that route it kept saying we would not make it. Side note the speed limit on the interstate in NV is 75 and 80, and the routes are 70. While charging to 100% in Ely NV, I decided to map just to Tonopah where they had a 50kw ChargePoint I figured we could eat some dinner and get enough of a charge to make it to Bishop. Leaving Ely there were signs warning drivers NO gas for 170 miles. The map said I would get to Tonopah with 140mile range. This is where my subject "Sometimes slower is faster..." comes in. Instead of driving my usual +8 over the speed limit of 70, I set the cruze to 62mph. We crossed 5+ mountain passes then low deserts we saw 1 other car the whole trip. Coming into Tonopah, I gained an extra an extra 80 miles pf range by driving 62mph instead of the posted speed. I put in Bishop and it said we would get to Bishop with no need to charge!!! So I to Bishop 20min later by driving under the speed limit, but I got there 5 hours sooner by not speeding needing to be rerouted to chargers, and added charging time. When I got to Bishop I was shocked at the stats, I attached them below. I drove 282 highway miles on a single charge and still had 20% to spare, I think I could have easily made 300 miles. I could not do that with old Sebring, or Dakota pickup! This was the first time I felt my EV got better range than my ICE.
Best of all, by going through Tonopah, it checked the bucket list. Since we previously passed through Tuscan, Tucumcari, and Tehachapi

Sorry it was so long. Was a fun trip.

Curtis

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[OldGoat]

Were weed, whites and wine involved in this trip?

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Our trip started at home in Joshua Tree, CA to Gallup NM , Durango CO, Buena Vista Co, Denver, Laramie WY, Layton UT, Golden Spike National Historic park UT, Great Basin National Park in Baker UT, Bishop CA, Joshua Tree.

Pics or it didn't happen.

j/k, sounds like a great time! Am super envious any time someone posts trip experiences. My Rivian mostly just drives to different offices & jobsites. It's a sad life.

 

[Curtis Novak]

Pics or it didn't happen.

j/k, sounds like a great time! Am super envious any time someone posts trip experiences. My Rivian mostly just drives to different offices & jobsites. It's a sad life.

We work from home so most daily trips are to drop off FedEx, grocery, and Dr appts. Other than that we try to get out once a month and longer trips like this once a quarter to see something besides my shop

 

[Erik+]

Nice trip, need some more pictures though! Your dual max has plenty of range to spare. You could probably easily push 400+ miles depending on conditions. I've driven my quad with AT tires and a large battery well over 300 without stopping or using conserve mode.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Sounds like an awesome trip! It is crazy how much more range you can get by going the speed limit or slightly under. If only I had more patience!

 

[Curtis Novak]

Nice trip, need some more pictures though! Your dual max has plenty of range to spare. You could probably easily push 400+ miles depending on conditions. I've driven my quad with AT tires and a large battery well over 300 without stopping or using conserve mode.

My total range at 100% is 411 miles, the desert was hot so we used AC, and we had some head winds, oh and out plug in cooler. As I said I think we could easily could have done 300, not sure 400. I dont think I have a conserve mode on my model

 

[tbinmd]

My total range at 100% is 411 miles, the desert was hot so we used AC, and we had some head winds, oh and out plug in cooler. As I said I think we could easily could have done 300, not sure 400. I dont think I have a conserve mode on my model

With the dual, when in all purpose mode you are basically in conserve mode already. The truck will be front wheel drive and will engage the rear motor when needed.

sounds like you had a great trip.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I drove 282 highway miles on a single charge and still had 20% to spare, I think I could have easily made 300 miles. I could not do that with old Sebring, or Dakota pickup! This was the first time I felt my EV got better range than my ICE.

But have you tried going 300 miles in your Sebring or Dakota going 62 in a 70?

 

[Anna Kelly]

Going less than the speed limit is not so much about MY patience, as the patience of the guy riding my bumper!...even in the far right lane

 

[COdogman]

All those beautiful places and not a single pic to share

 

[Mathme]

Nice write up! I've been across those roads out by Tonopoh and Ely and there's a whole lotta nothing out there. It is fun driving across Nevada east to west as it's a whole lot of squiggly roads up and down over a mountain range and then a long straight stretch through a valley floor to the next mountains.

Glad to know the Rivian can easily do that. I think I'd likely do the same and slow down as well....just to improve efficiency.

Now where's the pics of this grand adventure?

 

[Effopec]

On trips I've extrapolated total range from 100 to 0% of as much as 330 miles in my dual large pack (generally 280-320), and that's around 80 mph. Road tripping in our model 3 I got used to stopping every 1.5-2 hours. Now 3 hour legs seems like torture. I can't imagine a road trip in an ICE anymore when we'd drive 4 hours then splash and dash for another 4 hours. My back would stage a revolution.

 

[mmbmca]

Thank you for sharing! Great trip. Hoping to do something like this in the future. I have a Dual Large with ~360 Mile Range tempts me to get the Max.

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