Anyone Still Using RAN?

[beatle]

is Breezewood, the new one near Erie?

Not sure how long it's been there, but probably over a year. It's basically at the intersection of I-70 and I-76. Much further east than the roads between Buffalo and Louisville.

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[TomServo2112]

I just finished a nearly 3000 mile round trip from CA to CO and back. I didn’t use a RAN once because of both pricing and practicality. I wouldn’t rule it out 100% though. Sometimes there just may be a need and RAN may be the only place that fits at the time.

 

[CharonPDX]

Yes, I still use RAN. Because I refuse to use Supercharger network. I do use EVgo if there's one near where I want to charge. They tend to be reliable, fast, and reasonably priced.

 

[mizuno]

Yes, I still use RAN. Because I refuse to use Supercharger network.

Can I ask why you refuse? I've kinda gone the other way because on my east coast trips Tesla is much cheaper than RAN even with the monthly subscription.

 

[C12farmer]

Stopped using RAN after they jacked up the prices. All the RAN I typically use are located FEET from Tesla SC. I used to feel good about plugging into a RAN. After they implemented their bonehead price strategy, I can't bring myself to pay almost 40% more for the same electrons that are available a few feet away. Even it was just a little more expensive, I'd steer my money towards Rivian.

I'd rather take my charging savings over a road trip and put the money toward an overpriced Rivian hoodie. Rivian probably gets much higher margin, so it's a win-win.

I will say that in my quest to avoid SC, I did try out a wide variety of networks including EVgo and EA.
There are plenty of crappy, neglected, overpriced DCFC networks in California. EVgo was even more expensive than RAN, with terrible hardware/speed. I felt ripped off paying top dollar for slow charging using beat to hell hardware.
EA was not bad if it was an upgraded station and no line.

 

[doit82]

Yes, because of free charging from referrals. Probably would just use superchargers otherwise.

 

[captainjp]

Yes.

 

[CharonPDX]

Can I ask why you refuse? I've kinda gone the other way because on my east coast trips Tesla is much cheaper than RAN even with the monthly subscription.

You can ask. But if I answer, my comment will get moderated.

I bought an $80,000 truck. I'm not going to nickel-and-dime my road trip costs. Sure, if I have a choice of charging stations that are "acceptable to use", I'll pick the one that's the right combination of convenient+inexpensive. But I'm not going to go significantly out of my way to save $8 on a charge. (At home, I absolutely charge only overnight when power costs 8 cents/kWh instead of 5-9 PM when it costs 41, because the vast majority of my charging is at home, so that 33 cent/kWh savings really adds up.)

 

[LNL_HUTZ]

Yes, because of free charging from referrals. Probably would just use superchargers otherwise.

Same. Charged in Corte Madera yesterday: $0.68/kWh, blew my mind when I saw it would have been over $80 for the session if I had to pay. I mean, it's still at least $40 less than a tank of mid-grade in the truck I had before, but the rate seems too high to be competitive, assuming you're in an area with other options.

 

[amcg3]

We use the RAN if it’s on our route bec there is always a space available not like EA where there are so many cars due to free charging. EVGO is also price but if available I won’t go out of my way to go to a cheaper charger.
Have the NACS adapter but will avoid Tesla SC if there is another place to charge.
I think when there is no more free charging Rivian will lower their RAN pricing. Used to be 0.36 cents/kwh but when they started giving out the free charging, prices went up.

 

[joesimonsen]

Yeah sure do. I use public charging so rarely that I genuinely don't care about the price that much because we are talking a literal handful of times a year. So, I'll go to where is reliable and works well. RAN stations worked great on a roadtrip to Oregon from the Bay area. No complaints honestly.

 

[superfly_snook]

About a week ago I pulled into the Panoche Road RAN and going by the Tesla lot and seeing a few Rivians there (in addition to a few Teslas and many open plugs) I figured the RAN must be full and was surprised to see it empty - so it is clear many are using Tesla plugs due to the rates. I figured why not and did same. There are RANs that are convenient and not adjacent to a Tesla lot so I can still see using RAN and if Tesla opens up to more makes and they get really busy I could see RAN being a blessing on busy holiday weekends etc. I like having both options and use ‘em both to summarize.

 

[Eeyore]

Just like before, if the station has better amenities compared to others or it otherwise lines up as a good location to charge, I'll stop at a RAN station. I use them so infrequently. Breezewood, PA is still a good one for my trips to Western NY, and I stopped at one in Front Royal this past Thanksgiving weekend. They can be better than some busy Tesla stations since you may have to wait for two adjacent spots to open up since the Tesla cord is too short.

Fixed if for you.

 

[tyfly867]

To put it simply, the pricing is not competitive.

 

[DuoRivians]

I prefer RANs. Happy to pay a few more and not support the fascist. And if fewer people around me, then more likely I’ll get full charging speed. Win in my book

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