Colorado Checking In

[mpw81]

My theory on no R2/3 roadshow in Denver yet is that Rivian's thought process is..... meh, we are going to sell a bajillion of these in CO no matter what so no rush.

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[Sgt Beavis]

Charging in Monument today. Tesla has a charger to the far left. If you pull in about 3/4 of the way in, you can charge and not interfere with any other charger.

One downside is that this set of chargers didn’t appear on the Rivian map. So I couldn’t pre condition the battery.

 

[Aardvark]

Charging in Monument today. Tesla has a charger to the far left. If you pull in about 3/4 of the way in, you can charge and not interfere with any other charger.

One downside is that this set of chargers didn’t appear on the Rivian map. So I couldn’t pre condition the battery.

I was at that station last week charging our Model 3 and met a nice couple with an R1T testing out their brand new A2Z adapter. They were getting some impressive charging rates even with a SOC close to 70%.
But more importantly, Sgt Beavis, I'm only 5 minutes from that SC station, and you didn't even call. ?

 

[Sgt Beavis]

I was at that station last week charging our Model 3 and met a nice couple with an R1T testing out their brand new A2Z adapter. They were getting some impressive charging rates even with a SOC close to 70%.
But more importantly, Sgt Beavis, I'm only 5 minutes from that SC station, and you didn't even call. ?

I’m sorry, my wife had me foraging for shrooms along Mt Herman.. ?

 

[Aardvark]

I’m sorry, my wife had me foraging for shrooms along Mt Herman.. ?

Sending you a PM.

 

[opnwide]

Good day on the Cache La Poudre. (Sometimes I enjoy my wife coming along, sometimes not as much.)

And a quick charge at the Beaver Den.

 

[COdogman]

Good day on the Cache La Poudre. (Sometimes I enjoy my wife coming along, sometimes not as much.)

And a quick charge at the Beaver Den.

Looks like it was a great day on the river!

Next time you are near Loveland/ Longmont you should give me a shout so I can buy you a beer! (or a bag of beaver nuggets if you prefer)

 

[josephponline]

PSA x 2

Colorado Springs SC and Tesla Superchargers at Buc-ees.

PSA 1. Had a windshield crack and needed a replacement. Denver SC was booked out for at least 4 weeks so decided to give the Colorado Springs SC a try as they had an appointment slot within a week.

Have to say, very happy with the experience. The Colorado Springs SC is a little out of the way for me (60 mins south), and not as nicely configured from a service drive in/drive through perspective as Denver, but very workable. The lounge area is small, but the Uber credits were fantastic to take a ride into town for a few hours while they fixed my windshield. The experience was on par with Denver which in my experience has been very good for me since March 2023.

Rivian SC's don't take insurance, so I had to pay upfront and claim from my insurer once I had the invoice in hand. I did have the option of a couple of other accredited windshield installers, but with cameras, alignment and such, I just don't like anyone messing with stuff that they may not understand given the current early lifecycle of Rivian products.

Next day I had a 70% UV heat resistant tint reinstalled by my regular guys at https://extremeaw.com/.

PSA 2. For those traveling I-25 I've had great experiences at the Tesla Superchargers at the new Buc-ees at Johnstown, CO.

Supercharger stall 2C which I've used repeatedly is positioned next to a disabled access stall which has a very wide egress area, I position the right side of my vehicle partly into this area and stay with the vehicle in case I need to move it.

I've used stall 2C about three times now (the first couple of times just to experience the effortless plug-and-charge) and it works a charm. There are a couple of "low impact" stalls I think I could use if I position the right side of the vehicle onto a garden area, or mount a curb etc, but I haven't needed to do that just yet. While I can use any stall, I'd prefer not to inconvenience anyone given I know what it's like to be desperate for a charge (and a former MX owner).

I still get a few weird looks charging at the Tesla Superchargers, but I figure that's going to decreasingly occur as Tesla drivers realize that the Superchargers are now open to almost all EV's.

The effortless plug-and-charge for me is worth the extra cost, although I tend to only top up at Tesla just enough to get me home rather than fill up the battery.

 

[Aardvark]

PSA x 2

Colorado Springs SC and Tesla Superchargers at Buc-ees.

PSA 1. Had a windshield crack and needed a replacement. Denver SC was booked out for at least 4 weeks so decided to give the Colorado Springs SC a try as they had an appointment slot within a week.

Have to say, very happy with the experience. The Colorado Springs SC is a little out of the way for me (60 mins south), and not as nicely configured from a service drive in/drive through perspective as Denver, but very workable. The lounge area is small, but the Uber credits were fantastic to take a ride into town for a few hours while they fixed my windshield. The experience was on par with Denver which in my experience has been very good for me since March 2023.

Rivian SC's don't take insurance, so I had to pay upfront and claim from my insurer once I had the invoice in hand. I did have the option of a couple of other accredited windshield installers, but with cameras, alignment and such, I just don't like anyone messing with stuff that they may not understand given the current early lifecycle of Rivian products.

Next day I had a 70% UV heat resistant tint reinstalled by my regular guys at https://extremeaw.com/.

PSA 2. For those traveling I-25 I've had great experiences at the Tesla Superchargers at the new Buc-ees at Johnstown, CO.

Supercharger stall 2C which I've used repeatedly is positioned next to a disabled access stall which has a very wide egress area, I position the right side of my vehicle partly into this area and stay with the vehicle in case I need to move it.

I've used stall 2C about three times now (the first couple of times just to experience the effortless plug-and-charge) and it works a charm. There are a couple of "low impact" stalls I think I could use if I position the right side of the vehicle onto a garden area, or mount a curb etc, but I haven't needed to do that just yet. While I can use any stall, I'd prefer not to inconvenience anyone given I know what it's like to be desperate for a charge (and a former MX owner).

I still get a few weird looks charging at the Tesla Superchargers, but I figure that's going to decreasingly occur as Tesla drivers realize that the Superchargers are now open to almost all EV's.

The effortless plug-and-charge for me is worth the extra cost, although I tend to only top up at Tesla just enough to get me home rather than fill up the battery.

I've used a MagicDock station once in Indiana but that was before the Supercharger network opened up to Rivians.
Do you still use the Tesla app at the Johnstown SC, or can you also charge through the Rivian app? Or, do the SC and vehicle automatically handshake and start charging?
Thanks for your PSAs! I'm much closer to the Colorado Springs Service Center, but fortunately after 14000 miles haven't had any issues. For my R1S spare tire installation, Service sent out a mobile tech.

 

[TollKeeper]

I've used a MagicDock station once in Indiana but that was before the Supercharger network opened up to Rivians.
Do you still use the Tesla app at the Johnstown SC, or can you also charge through the Rivian app? Or, do the SC and vehicle automatically handshake and start charging?
Thanks for your PSAs! I'm much closer to the Colorado Springs Service Center, but fortunately after 14000 miles haven't had any issues. For my R1S spare tire installation, Service sent out a mobile tech.

The one in Johnstown just was plug and play for me.

 

[josephponline]

Plug and play for me as well.

First time I tried it I was trying to go through the Tesla app and I couldn't make it work ... so I just plugged the cable in, and it started charging.

It could be my imagination, but the first Rivian to Tesla 'handshake' seemed to take a while, almost like the first EvGO handshake, after that when I plug in it starts charging very quickly without any interference on my end.

 

[runningdenver]

I had my second mobile appointment yesterday in Denver. It was the same guy who came last time (Irish accent). This time was to install the spare tire kit, the first was because my driver door handle stopped coming out when unlocked (loose connector). Once again very impressed by the service.

The tech was talking about the coming functionality of using an apple watch to unlock the car. He said it would be bluetooth, and NFC - so would work, even if the apple watch battery had died. We figured this functionality was coming, but interesting to get a bit more detail from a Rivian employee.

 

[Aardvark]

Plug and play for me as well.

First time I tried it I was trying to go through the Tesla app and I couldn't make it work ... so I just plugged the cable in, and it started charging.

It could be my imagination, but the first Rivian to Tesla 'handshake' seemed to take a while, almost like the first EvGO handshake, after that when I plug in it starts charging very quickly without any interference on my end.

I assume the plug and play is billed through the Rivian account, correct? Then it seems the only time one would activate through their Tesla account would be if they've signed up for the premium Supercharger account. I thought I read on this forum that the Tesla premium account discount per kWh is not recognized by Rivian.
I'm sure all of this will become clear when I get my adapter and start using it!

 

[zefram47]

I assume the plug and play is billed through the Rivian account, correct? Then it seems the only time one would activate through their Tesla account would be if they've signed up for the premium Supercharger account. I thought I read on this forum that the Tesla premium account discount per kWh is not recognized by Rivian.
I'm sure all of this will become clear when I get my adapter and start using it!

Affirmative. Plug and Charge is billed through Rivian and the membership won't work. If you want to use the membership you have to initiate a charge from the Tesla app *before* plugging in or else it'll just authenticate through Rivian instead.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Made a couple trips this weekend. Yesterday made our way through Guanella pass. I got a couple great shots of a moose on the Georgetown side. We also made a stop at the Superchargers in Conifer. No issues charging and I got a max charge rate of 215kW.

Today we went 4wheeling at Rollins Pass East. We got all the way up to the entrance for Jenny Creek trail. I think we could have gone further but my front tires aren’t long for this world and we were wheelin’ alone. So I didn’t risk it. Another group of guys came by and said they were able to get another 3/4th of a mile past Jenny Creek.

If you haven’t been to Rollins Pass East, it’s a very easy trail with lots of dispersed campsites. Much of the trail has solid ATT connectivity to the point you could use Facetime in your truck if you like. At the end of the trail is Yankee Doodle Lake, which is just gorgeous. I think the snow will melt enough that the lake becomes accessible in early July.

BTW, I used about 5% of battery traveling from the trailhead to Jenny Creek’s starting point. I figure it would take another 3% to get to Yankee Doodle Lake. Going back down, you won’t use any battery at all. The trail is easy but take it slow if you’re not experienced in 4 wheelin’. There are a few places where a wrong move will give you a VERY bad day….

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