Currently driving from FL to CA

[CharonPDX]

Enjoy the trip! EV road tripping really is great. Don't let the buzzkills detract from your enjoyment.

I used to be one of the "drive my Prius nonstop halfway across the country only stopping for gas" kind of driver. Sure, if that's your bag, you may want something else; but for normal people who don't want to risk leg embolisms from sitting in a car too long, the forced slightly longer breaks of an EV are actually good for you.

And as the YouTube channel Out of Spec proves, you can cannonball run an EV no problem.

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[Jimbydude]

I think to make a road trip like this work you have to plan your drives so you are arriving to a hotel with a charger and almost empty battery and topping off over night. The battery is too big to fill twice during the day. I just got done driving 400 miles and I only had to stop twice for 15 minutes but I left my house with a full battery of 352 and arrived to my destination with about 60.

Relying on being able to acces a hotel charger, and with nearly empty bat is not planning, it's Russian Roulette with your trip

 

[SANZC02]

Enjoy the trip! EV road tripping really is great. Don't let the buzzkills detract from your enjoyment.

I used to be one of the "drive my Prius nonstop halfway across the country only stopping for gas" kind of driver. Sure, if that's your bag, you may want something else; but for normal people who don't want to risk leg embolisms from sitting in a car too long, the forced slightly longer breaks of an EV are actually good for you.

And as the YouTube channel Out of Spec proves, you can cannonball run an EV no problem.

I was one of those A to B bombers on road trips.

I’ve since gone all EV, have done 5500 and 6500 mile trips. I find that if planned right most stops are under 30 minutes, by the time you do a bio break, get a snack or a meal, and check your next leg it is time to go.

 

[CharonPDX]

I was one of those A to B bombers on road trips.

I’ve since gone all EV, have done 5500 and 6500 mile trips. I find that if planned right most stops are under 30 minutes, by the time you do a bio break, get a snack or a meal, and check your next leg it is time to go.

Yep. Even on my towing trip where a few legs did actually require me to charge up to 90+%, the occasional charge stop of 45-60 minutes wasn't a monstrous inconvenience. Heck, I got a haircut during one of the longer stops that I needed to get for a Zoom job interview the next day anyway.

 

[Cycliste]

Thanks for posting about your experience.
I will be heading to Flagstaff tomorrow from Phoenix, and then on to Albuquerque on our way to Dallas in our R1T. While route planning all of the RAV chargers dropped off my planner. I was wondering if it was a glitch where ABRP just could not see charger status. If you happen to charge in Flagstaff at a RAV charger, I would appreciate knowing if (or that one specifically) is online.
Safe travels.

Last check-in 5/25/2024. At this moment, Rivian Mac says 3 are available

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I was one of those A to B bombers on road trips.

I’ve since gone all EV, have done 5500 and 6500 mile trips. I find that if planned right most stops are under 30 minutes, by the time you do a bio break, get a snack or a meal, and check your next leg it is time to go.

We needed more time at our RAN/Tesla stops than the Rivian did. We're pleased.

 

[Rainman]

Question about your 2 dogs: Do they sit in the back seat area? What kind of dogs? I have a 70-lb golden retriever and am trying to figure out the best way for her to feel comfortable on a long trip. Thanks.

We have a 70 pound Boxer and a Frenchie. They both sit on the rear seat that is covered with an Orvis back seat protector. It has mesh on the front side which allows the AC vents to blow through into the back seat.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I haven't had any need or desire to take this kind of "road trip" in over 20 years. But always enjoy reading other's experiences.

Just anecdotally and my 02 cents (from much shorter trips), I do enjoy taking a break and walking the dog around outside. 600+ miles a day sounds grueling! A popular RV channel I follow espouses the "330 rule" (don't drive more than 330 miles a day, arrive at your destination no later than 3:30pm). That's a bit more my speed, haha. Safe travels, everyone!

 

[Rainman]

Yesterday was a tough day - went to charge the R1 and got the dreaded UNPLUG and TRY AGAIN error. Tried again, tried other chargers all to no avail. Called Rivian and they were zero help ... drove to a 50 KW charger and it worked ... connected with Rivian to ask if this means the onboard charger is in working order - they can't say without a trip to a service center - which is fair. Problem - closest service center is 5.5 hours away, without charging. I try an level 2 charger and it works ... Next step we go back to the EA station where it failed - and it worked. We decide to drive 70 miles west and try another EA, because we have enough SOC to get back to the major city. It worked ... we drove another 400 miles and charged along the way with no more issues. The problem is that my confidence is lost. When you Google "Rivian unplug and try again" it erodes my confidence further. Just sharing the experience and now anxiety of the trip

 

[YouKnowWhatsUp]

Relying on being able to acces a hotel charger, and with nearly empty bat is not planning, it's Russian Roulette with your trip

No it just means you have to plan and not be lazy. I’ve had an electric car since 2018. Yes it requires a lot more work when you’re traveling because you can’t just get in your car and blindly drive to your destination. That means calling up every hotel you plan on staying at to make sure they have charging options or looking to see if there are chargers nearby to every hotel. It’s not Russian roulette that’s how driving an electric car is. I arrived in Arizona two weeks ago with 60 miles at my destination. That was not Russian roulette that was smart planning.

 

[Jimbydude]

You cannot rely on getting access to hotel charging, that's ridiculous. Anyone can be parked in those spots when you arrive and so you have no idea until you get there if it avail.

Also, might not work even if the reception seem to think it does, as ha hoppened to me few times.

 

[HaveBlue]

Lots of good thoughts! A 600 mile day is pretty tiring. I've done LA to Moab and LA to Oregon. It's the outer edge of distance I want to be doing and probably what most people might only do once per year.

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