Sponsored

Charging with a trailer, 101 south of San Jose, CA

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
I'm looking for advice and/or experience. I'm considering a trailer drive from ~San Jose, CA to Paso Robles, CA, hauling a trailer with my R1S Dual Max Gen 1. The trailer would have horses, which makes any trailer disconnects quite difficult/involved. So a number of the fast chargers that say "trailer support" or similar, all make the assumption that you can just drop the trailer and charge, which is disappointing.

The standard trip just goes straight down 101. There are unfortunately no RAN chargers along 101 for that path. While I don't have exact efficiency, based on non-trailer trip of the same I'm quite certain I would need to charge once a long the way.

Has anyone made the trip and know of chargers a long the way that support pull through, or similar way to charge with the trailer remaining attached? (Even future chargers would be useful. ;))
Sponsored

 

DeanB1452

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dean
Joined
Jun 12, 2023
Threads
9
Messages
207
Reaction score
283
Location
Milpitas, CA
Vehicles
'22 R1T LE/LG/BM
Occupation
IT Administrator
Clubs
 
I towed a trailer from Milpitas to Pismo Beach last month. We stopped at the Tesla SC in San Ardo on the way down. Don't pull into the first entrance to get to the SC's. Keep going past it and around to the left to get in and charge in the leftmost stall. Use Google Streetview to see what I'm talking about. On the way back, I stopped at San Ardo and then topped off at the Tesla SC in Greenfield. The charger on each end can accommodate a trailer. Check out the pics on Plugshare or Google maps.
Rivian R1T R1S Charging with a trailer, 101 south of San Jose, CA The Mill @ San Ardo
Rivian R1T R1S Charging with a trailer, 101 south of San Jose, CA IMG_4691
 

Electrified Outdoors

Well-Known Member
Site Sponsor
First Name
Ken
Joined
Jan 30, 2023
Threads
58
Messages
3,387
Reaction score
3,658
Location
Mount Airy, Maryland
Website
www.ElectrifiedOutdoors.com
Vehicles
2024 Rivian R1S Quad, 2024 Silverado EV RST First Edition, R2 Reservation
Occupation
Real Estate
Clubs
 
I haven’t made this trek but on plug share you can filter under parking and look for pull through chargers on your route.

What I typically do is look at pictures and maps on PlugShare. The Rivian with the charging port on the front is fairly easy to pull up charge with a trailer provided. There is enough room on the site for a trailer and that it doesn’t block other traffic.
 

BCondrey

Well-Known Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
Dec 12, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
433
Reaction score
345
Location
Richmond, VA
Vehicles
R1T
Occupation
IT
Recon via google streetview is your friend. I just towed a trailer and had to charge, I was able to figure out how to approach the SC stalls using that. The only real issue will be that you may have to wait in an awkward location for your needed staff to finish.
 

FooF

Well-Known Member
First Name
FooF
Joined
Feb 24, 2023
Threads
7
Messages
771
Reaction score
1,100
Location
Mountain View CA
Website
foof.me
Vehicles
2022 R1S Launch Green
Occupation
DJ
Clubs
 
Travel at night or early morning as well so charging stations are not as full.
 

Sponsored

HaveBlue

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2022
Threads
27
Messages
2,144
Reaction score
1,610
Location
91107
Vehicles
R1S DMP Max, Lifted GX470, APR Audi A7, BMW 325Ci
Clubs
 
I towed a trailer from Milpitas to Pismo Beach last month. We stopped at the Tesla SC in San Ardo on the way down. Don't pull into the first entrance to get to the SC's. Keep going past it and around to the left to get in and charge in the leftmost stall. Use Google Streetview to see what I'm talking about. On the way back, I stopped at San Ardo and then topped off at the Tesla SC in Greenfield. The charger on each end can accommodate a trailer. Check out the pics on Plugshare or Google maps.
The Mill @ San Ardo.jpg
IMG_4691.jpg
Nice trailer!
Rivian R1T R1S Charging with a trailer, 101 south of San Jose, CA 2024-01-04 15.29.48
 
OP
OP

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
I haven’t made this trek but on plug share you can filter under parking and look for pull through chargers on your route.

What I typically do is look at pictures and maps on PlugShare. The Rivian with the charging port on the front is fairly easy to pull up charge with a trailer provided. There is enough room on the site for a trailer and that it doesn’t block other traffic.
I did look on plug share, which basically said there was no possible way for me to get there. ;) That route didn't have any pull through. It did have "trailer" capable chargers, but when I looked at pictures and reviews, it basically meant you are able to drop your trailer somewhere. *sigh*
 
OP
OP

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
Travel at night or early morning as well so charging stations are not as full.
This is not really possible, given I will have horses in the trailer. You can pull them at night if it's an emergency, but it will really screw up everything. :)
 
OP
OP

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
I towed a trailer from Milpitas to Pismo Beach last month. We stopped at the Tesla SC in San Ardo on the way down. Don't pull into the first entrance to get to the SC's. Keep going past it and around to the left to get in and charge in the leftmost stall. Use Google Streetview to see what I'm talking about. On the way back, I stopped at San Ardo and then topped off at the Tesla SC in Greenfield. The charger on each end can accommodate a trailer. Check out the pics on Plugshare or Google maps.
The Mill @ San Ardo.jpg
IMG_4691.jpg
Thanks! This is all really helpful! I'm actually in Milpitas, but would be pulling from a little further north. It looks like those chargers are in the ~150 range, longer than I was initially thinking would be possible, but I'll have to do some real tests to figure out what my range would actually be. :)
 

Mathme

Well-Known Member
First Name
Matt
Joined
Jul 25, 2022
Threads
3
Messages
1,067
Reaction score
1,348
Location
Los Altos, CA
Vehicles
R1T: El Cap, OC, 20AT, Off road package
Occupation
High Tech
I've used a couple of the EA stations on that route and the ones I've stopped at have been buried in the middle of a large grocery or Wal Mart parking lot.

The EA at the Bank of America in Paso has one stall that's off to the side that can be approachable with a trailer. I was there at Memorial Day Weekend last year and stopped about 7am and the station was empty. BY the time I finished charging about 30 minutes later, there was a wait.
 

Sponsored

OP
OP

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
I've used a couple of the EA stations on that route and the ones I've stopped at have been buried in the middle of a large grocery or Wal Mart parking lot.

The EA at the Bank of America in Paso has one stall that's off to the side that can be approachable with a trailer. I was there at Memorial Day Weekend last year and stopped about 7am and the station was empty. BY the time I finished charging about 30 minutes later, there was a wait.
I've noticed the same (buried in large parking lots). A lot of times that means there is no pull through option. And the ones I've looked at didn't have a lot of good options.

I will be fine once I GET to Paso. The Tesla Supercharger works well for after I drop the trailer. And last time I was there, the Best Western had free destination chargers to fill up overnight. :)
 

DeanB1452

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dean
Joined
Jun 12, 2023
Threads
9
Messages
207
Reaction score
283
Location
Milpitas, CA
Vehicles
'22 R1T LE/LG/BM
Occupation
IT Administrator
Clubs
 
Thanks! This is all really helpful! I'm actually in Milpitas, but would be pulling from a little further north. It looks like those chargers are in the ~150 range, longer than I was initially thinking would be possible, but I'll have to do some real tests to figure out what my range would actually be. :)
Here's my stats getting to San Ardo. Quad Motor, 20" AT Tires, Large Battery Pack (131 kWh), towing a trailer fully loaded for camping for 4 nights, 2 bikes on the back, plus a family of 4 in the cab. Used 82.5% getting from Milpitas to San Ardo with 15% remaining when I got there. I've averaged 1.39 mi/kWh towing the trailer, but for that leg I got 1.23 mi/kWh. I didn't really need to stop at Greenfield either way but wanted to stop there on the way back since I've never been there.

Stopping at Greenfield would be more conservative, but you should be able to make it to San Ardo. Backing up a tiny bit when leaving San Ardo will be required. At Greenfield, no backing up is required. Just go around the parking lot and use the exit furthest from Burger King, at the west end, which is easier to get back onto the road.

Rivian R1T R1S Charging with a trailer, 101 south of San Jose, CA San Ardo.JPG
 
OP
OP

geekmeat

Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Dec 9, 2023
Threads
3
Messages
21
Reaction score
15
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
'23 R1S
4k trailer is about right with the horses, but from the picture, it will be a taller trailer, and I'm not sure how much the wind resistance with take away. If I say optimistically, 1.3mi/KwH, I have the max pack so that's ~140, I'm looking at about 160 mi using 85% (some on both ends).

Greenview is 130m, San Ardo is 150 miles. Boy is that cutting it more close than I'd like, especially coming back. :)

So, possible... Lighten the load and go slow! But I really wish they would add more pull through chargers. RAN really needs to put installs down 101 so we can enjoy that nature ride vs I5. ;)
 

HaveBlue

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2022
Threads
27
Messages
2,144
Reaction score
1,610
Location
91107
Vehicles
R1S DMP Max, Lifted GX470, APR Audi A7, BMW 325Ci
Clubs
 
The trailer will get calibrated for range after a bit. Mine is wider but lower. It's pretty accurate on range. 225mi for me with the max pack. I can't imagine going much more than 60mph with horses in the back. That is about my median speed in LA traffic occasionally going 65.
Sponsored

 
 





Top