Detailed efficiency for SoCal to NorCal road trip - 773 miles @ 2.10 wh / mi - Over 80 mph most of trip

[kizamybute']

Finally got around to putting together the details of my last road trip. Conserve mode the entire way. 21" wheels with 5mm spacers and no aero covers.

This truck still blows me away at how well it performs on road trips. Give me the choice between a Tesla and the Rivian, absolutely would take the Rivian with one caveat.....

CHARGER TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS: The ONLY downside is the less than 100% reliable charging network. Fortunately, the only problem I had charging was at my destination. Wasted about 45 minutes before finally figuring out that the truck itself needed a hard reboot. 6 different chargers, nothing happened when plugging in on the truck side. Charger said it was trying to start a session, but the truck showed nothing. Called EA. They gave up after around 45 minutes, which is when I decided to try a reboot. That worked. Had charged 3 hours earlier with no problem, so not sure why it was an issue. Prior issue, the charger had to be rebooted by EA, so that's what I figured the issue was this time around. So, if you ever have issues charging and the truck doesn't show any response to a charger having been plugged in, start with the hard reboot and save yourself some time. If the truck shows some activity and charging session won't start, then EA charger probably needs the reboot. Call them right away to save yourself some time, if there's not another charger available to try

My trip back was from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM, so no traffic. One charging location had 4 chargers (8 plugs). 3 of the chargers were not working. Fortunately, it was around 2:00 in the morning, so nobody was there. Feel bad for the Sunday travelers that choose that stop as it will be a long wait with effectively only one charger working.

I looked over at around 10 Tesla chargers across the parking lot when I was having issues getting my truck to charge and was envious. So, my caveat is, with the public charging network working properly, yes I would absolutely choose the Rivian to road trip in over a Tesla. BUT, with the unreliability of the public network at this time, the Tesla is probably still the better road trip car. At least in terms of charger reliability.

Also, for many questioning whether you should drive slower to charge less to get to your destination faster, my figures below clearly reflect that driving faster and charging more is significantly quicker than going slower with fewer charging stops.

Just did the math, actually, my total time spent at the charger was 60 minutes for each trip. Remembering that the truck chargers quicker at lower percentages. On the way up, I stopped once and charged from 16% to around 90%, which took about 60 minutes.

On the way home, I stopped once for a 40 minute charge, then a second time for a 20 minute top off charge. Two stops, but same total charge time. I guess getting on and off the freeway a second time took an extra 2-3 minutes. But, total drive time, going 13 mph faster on the way home than on the way there, was 54 minutes less. So, got home at least 50 minutes quicker than it took me to get there.

RETURN TRIP...................

BOTTOM OF GRAPEVINE TO TOP - 900 FOOT ELEVATION TO OVER 4,000 FOOT

TOP OF GRAPEVINE (4,000+ ELEVATION DOWN OTHER SIDE TO AROUND 900 FOOT ELEVATION)

TOP OF GRAPEVINE TO HOME - ALSO 4,000+ ELEVATION TO AROUND 900 FOOT ELEVATION

TWO ELECTRIFY AMERICA CHARGERS. ONE SAYS NOT IN SERVICE, THE OTHER POWERED OFF COMPLETELY. ONE OTHER UNIT (OF FOUR TOTAL) WAS ALSO NOT IN SERVICE.

WHEN I WAS HAVING ISSUES GETTING THE TRUCK TO CHARGE, LOOKING OVER AT THIS WAS NOT FUN!!

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[Rtpdeacon]

Maybe I missed it, but what mode were you driving in?

 

[Branch]

Maybe I missed it, but what mode were you driving in?

"Conserve mode the entire way."

 

[Madsen203]

Cruising about 90mph on way home. Definitely made good timing and efficiency. At 90 in model Y, I get about same efficiency.

 

[kizamybute']

Cruising about 90mph on way home. Definitely made good timing and efficiency. At 90 in model Y, I get about same efficiency.

I concur. Makes absolutely no sense that this brick on wheels gets the same efficiency at higher speeds as does one of the most aerodynamically sleek cars on the road with the Tesla Model S. I was lucky to get 250 miles in range with my Tesla at 80-85. More like 220 if I pushed above that.

 

[WylieD]

Thanks for all the details.

One question--What size wheels on your Rivian?

 

[kizamybute']

Thanks for all the details.

One question--What size wheels on your Rivian?

21" wheels with 5mm spacers and no aero covers.

 

[WylieD]

21" wheels with 5mm spacers and no aero covers.

I see now that these details are in the very first sentence of your OP. Ach! My apologies for missing the obvious. Thanks again for your detailed OP. And thanks for not giving me the reaming I deserved.

 

[kizamybute']

I see now that these details are in the very first sentence of your OP. Ach! My apologies for missing the obvious. Thanks again for your detailed OP. And thanks for not giving me the reaming I deserved.

No, no, it wasn't you. Thanks to your note, I realized I should have included those details in the original post, so in addition to my reply to your post, I also edited the original post to add them after seeing your post. You're not losing it!

 

[WylieD]

No, no, it wasn't you. Thanks to your note, I realized I should have included those details in the original post, so in addition to my reply to your post, I also edited the original post to add them after seeing your post. You're not losing it!

Too late! My wife already signed my commitment papers.

I had felt like a wanker for missing the wheel size. Thanks for sparing me further head-scratching.

The R1S I'm waiting on will be my first EV. Likely one-day runs (to national parks) will max-out at around 420 miles. I'm worried about long driving days becoming even longer due to charging stops. So all the data on these forums is of interest to me.

 

[mabowden]

Great post. Damn you were flying up the grapevine.... Generally when I do the grapevine I'm going camping and I'm in my lifted gx470 and let me tell you it hates going up that hill lol. I'm lucky to get to 65-70mph.

 

[kizamybute']

Too late! My wife already signed my commitment papers.

I had felt like a wanker for missing the wheel size. Thanks for sparing me further head-scratching.

The R1S I'm waiting on will be my first EV. Likely one-day runs (to national parks) will max-out at around 420 miles. I'm worried about long driving days becoming even longer due to charging stops. So all the data on these forums is of interest to me.

LOL.
420 miles, assuming that being the round trip mileage? Then, hopefully can find a place to charge at your destination and charge it up while you're enjoying the day. Will have no problem doing 210 miles each way on a single charge.

Otherwise, if it is 420 miles each way, then you'll need a single stop somewhere along the way. Probably 40 minutes would be enough, assuming you start off at 100% and take it down to around 5-10%.

 

[WylieD]

LOL.
420 miles, assuming that being the round trip mileage? Then, hopefully can find a place to charge at your destination and charge it up while you're enjoying the day. Will have no problem doing 210 miles each way on a single charge.

Otherwise, if it is 420 miles each way, then you'll need a single stop somewhere along the way. Probably 40 minutes would be enough, assuming you start off at 100% and take it down to around 5-10%.

420 each way. My hope is a single stop. Working against me will be 20" wheels with AT tires. Working for me, an average top speed of 65 - 70. And aero wheel covers, if evidence supports them. Something I can pop off and on where the pavement ends and the AT tires earn their keep.

 

[kizamybute']

Something's confusing. 20" all-terrains don't have aero-covers. The 21's with standard street tires are the wheels with aero covers. The 20" all-terrains are a bigger tire and range will be impacted by roughly 45 miles (315 down to 270ish). 21's, at 65-70, will likely do well over 300 miles, assuming moderate weather and no extreme elevation changes.

 

[WylieD]

Something's confusing. 20" all-terrains don't have aero-covers.

You're right. I'm hoping aftermarket aero covers for the the 20' wheels will become available. But my crystal ball is pretty worthless--there was a time when I thought I would be able to order an R1S with the Max Pack and no third seat. Silly me.

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