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ipadl

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Last friday I made the trip from Kalispell, MT to Spokane, WA (242 mi) to get my seat belt recall looked at while a mobile tech was in that area. The trip goes over two mountain passes in each direction. The summary is:

Temps: 10-30F
Wheels/Tires: 20" w/ Pirelli Scorpion ATs
Avg speed: 54mph
Total mileage: 479.4
Total Energy: 255.4 kWh
Elevation climbed: ~8000'
Avg efficiency: 1.88 mi/kWh
HVAC: set to 68-69F (mostly set on recirculate) using seat and steering wheel heat

I kept mental track of percentage of usage to get an idea of what my total 100% range and kWh usage would be and came up with the following:
Miles at 100% usage: ~250.1
kWh at 100% usage: ~130.5

The roads were dry for the first hour, but I quickly hit snowfall and snowy conditions near a small town called "Nirada" in Montana. Once on the freeway at St. Regis the roads got a lot worse and there were many trucks in the right hand lane stopped and unable to proceed without chaining up or waiting for conditions to improve. The R1T generally did great and was pretty confidence inspiring. I drove most of it in Conserve - including climbing the passes. I switched to Snow mode (maybe 5% of the time total) whenever I was descending in icy conditions or if the roads had a significant amount of snow on them where 4wd would be helpful. I only remember experiencing "sporty" (i.e. sketchy) feeling once on the drive - on a corner in soft snow on the freeway.

The Pirelli ATs did well for what they are - I would say a combination of good AT tires and an excellent 4wd system. They are not snow tires and I would likely pick up a pair of dedicated studded snows for the future.

I ended up charging three times, but really could have done it once:
1. Once in Smelterville 350kW EA charger (max of 171kW)
2. Once in Spokane (while the recall was taking place) on a 150kW EA charger (max of 155kW)
3. Again in Smelterville on a 350kW charger (max of 174kW)

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip 20230310_110541


Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip 20230310_131922


Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip 20230311_081931
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Seem to handle it with ease, driving and range.

As someone else posted about the St. Regis location, hopefully the St. Regis RAN will be up and running by end of Q2. Tesla also has new SC going in and states open by Q2. Be nice if they have the magic dock on those too!
 
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ipadl

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Seem to handle it with ease, driving and range.

As someone else posted about the St. Regis location, hopefully the St. Regis RAN will be up and running by end of Q2. Tesla also has new SC going in and states open by Q2. Be nice if they have the magic dock on those too!
I was not aware that there would be a RAN charger in St Regis! As I was driving through I thought: "This would be a perfect spot for a charger." Either/both of those would be great.
 

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Great write-up. Thank you.
 

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FWIW, I've been driving on Blizzak LTs all winter, including several extremely hairy mountain pass crossings in full-on blizzard conditions. The R1T is absolutely on rails with those shoes and I don't think there's any reason to put studs on unless you're taking it to a skating rink. I carry a set of autosocks under the frunk for a true emergency but it's hard to imagine the real world conditions where I'd need them.
 

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1.88 mi/kwh is pretty good for temps under 30 degrees.

You say you could have stopped only once, but doing it the way you did it removed any stress as you likely would have had some if trying to stretch it the entire distance as you would have been tight making it. At 54 MPH, that's nearly 5 hours each way. My bladder usually won't go that long. Better to stop and charge, even if just for a little bit to give yourself both, a physical and mental break.

Glad it went well
 
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Really appreciate the writeup. The drive to Kalispell has been something I've been looking at since before getting my truck.
 

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Awesome write up, good on ya. The range calculation in all conditions I've driven in seem to be very accurate which is really comforting. Im in a very cold climate with lots of hills like OP. I'd rather see a realistic range than what other cars I've had do and show wildly unrealistic ranges cuz I was driving downhill with the hvac off for a couple miles.
 

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I just returned from a portion of this same trip: Pdx to Whitefish and back. Thanks to @Riviot for making the trek from Seattle a few weeks ago, I had the confidence to do it with wife and kids (two year old and three month old). Unlike Riviot and OP, I had mostly clear roads and just a bit of rain on the return trip to Spokane; ran conserve the entire trip besides town. However, we were loaded to the max with ski gear, pack n play, diapers, and seemingly the entire house (kids require a lot of crap). The truck can take an amazing amount of cargo. I averaged 1.85kW/mi outbound and 1.94 on the return. Temperatures were low to mid 30s for most of the trip

This was my first real long EV road trip and it, as well as the truck, exceeded my expectations. EA charge stations worked great with no issues. The only negative was the need to charge up to nearly 100% in Smelterville due to the lacking of charging until Kalispell. As mentioned, a St. Regis RAN would really make the journey easier and more enjoyable. Also as Riviot reported, the TownPump in Whitefish worked decently and I routinely saw 85kw/hr charge rate in the few times I used it.

My wife and I both agreed the trip was far more comfortable than her Grand Cherokee we’ve taken in the past and the charging was not an inconvenience at all. Unfortunately I only saw one other R1T the entire trip, right as we were driving through Kalispell. I’m pretty sure it was Limestone or silver, @ipadl maybe it was you?

Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip 8FDB573A-2FE2-4556-BFC8-A7BFD0F71A33


Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip F51BED84-6D7C-48C8-B250-4F5249527833

Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip 518E5338-4AE6-4DD3-B2BC-AF0126EBFE94
 

ciderarchitect

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I'm curious if you chatted up the mobile tech and learned what territory they cover. It would be a relief to know that Eastern WA, North Idaho, and Western MT could get some regular Rivian service.
 

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ipadl

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Unfortunately I only saw one other R1T the entire trip, right as we were driving through Kalispell. I’m pretty sure it was Limestone or silver, @ipadl maybe it was you?
That could have been me (Silver). There's a limestone R1S in Whitefish - randomly parked next to them up at the resort - and a few other R1Ts rolling stone. Not recent, but here's a picture of mine.

Rivian R1T R1S 500 mile winter road trip Screenshot_20221021_121622


If you were here over the past two weeks you got some of the best skiing of the season!

Seth
 
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ipadl

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I'm curious if you chatted up the mobile tech and learned what territory they cover. It would be a relief to know that Eastern WA, North Idaho, and Western MT could get some regular Rivian service.
I did not ask about his territory but his cell number is from California. Other helpful info:

One mobile tech I have met is based out of SLC but covers parts of Montana on occasion.

Another was based out of Ellensberg, WA and worked for Tesla as a mobile tech prior to signing on with Rivian.

Lastly, my truck needs a ride height adjustment and in talking with Customer Service over the last few days it seems as though they ate scheduling mobile techs for this area primarily from Bellevue or Portland (recently opened I've been made aware). SLC has come up also but not as often when this discussion comes up.

I have to make a trip to Cutbank and back on Friday. Planning on hitting the RAN L2 charger in Browning on the way home. I'll post back.
 

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As someone else posted about the St. Regis location, hopefully the St. Regis RAN will be up and running by end of Q2. Tesla also has new SC going in and states open by Q2. Be nice if they have the magic dock on those too!
That's me 🙋🏼‍♂️ Probably Q3 for Rivian.
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