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Do I really need the Max Pack?

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SeaGeo

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I agree. Is the Max pack worth $100 per mile? Everyone will have to decide for themselves based on their own situation and planned use. I appreciate reading how folks here have justified and made their choices. It’s given me things to consider.
Eh, it's probably more like... Is the $10,000 worth saving... 20ish minutes of charging over a full day of highway driving on a road trip. Unless you road trip *a lot*, those are some really expensive minutes saved over the life of a vehicle.
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Ray R

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The $10,000 max pack at $100 per mile would mean you only plan to go 100 miles TOTAL in your R1... At $20,000 (including loss of theoretical $10,000 tax credit) at $100 per mile you
could only go 200 miles TOTAL in your R1.

I don't know about you, but I plan to go much further than that over the course of my ownership.

100k miles $10k battery = 10 cents per mile
100k miles $20k battery = 20 cents per mile

150k miles $10k battery = 6.67 cents per mile
150k miles $20k battery = 13.33 cents per mile

175k miles $10k battery = 5.71 cents per mile (Rivian powertrain warranty max mileage)
175k miles $20k battery = 11.43 cents per mile (Rivian powertrain warranty max mileage)

200k miles $10k battery = 5 cents per mile
200k miles $20k battery = 10 cents per mile

250k miles $10k battery = 4 cents per mile
250k miles $20k battery = 8 cents per mile
Ok, ok. I should have said $100 per mile in additional range.
Too much maths. ;-)
 

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Our frequent Mountain trip: I’m looking at it like this. As of now if we pull our camper to the mountains, it’s a 6.5 hr trip with ICE. R1T with Max pulling camper will be just under 8 hrs with 2 stops. R1T Large will be almost 9 hrs with 3 stops.
 

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Ok, ok. I should have said $100 per mile in additional range.
Too much maths. ;-)
But by that logic, the base 300 mile pack with no options is $225 per mile of range.

so the max pack upgrade is a good value :)
 

SeaGeo

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Our frequent Mountain trip: I’m looking at it like this. As of now if we pull our camper to the mountains, it’s a 6.5 hr trip with ICE. R1T with Max pulling camper will be just under 8 hrs with 2 stops. R1T Large will be almost 9 hrs with 3 stops.
Curious what assumptions you're using to get there. If I'm road tripping, I'm only going to ~80% or less per charge if I can. Assuming a 50% hit to range, I'd guess there's about an effective 40 miles difference between them. If charging infrastructure is spaced out such that you can't get from charger to charger with 80% charge when towing with the large pack, but you can with the max pack and you make the trip frequently that definitely makes sense to me. Ie, if you have DCFC every 100 to 120 miles then the large probably doesn't have THAT much of an actual hit in time. But if they're every 160 miles, then... Yeah.

If you don't have access to DCFC along the route and have to charge, I wouldn't even do it with an EV personally. Lol.
 

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BigE

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Curious what assumptions you're using to get there. If I'm road tripping, I'm only going to ~80% or less per charge if I can. Assuming a 50% hit to range, I'd guess there's about an effective 40 miles difference between them. If charging infrastructure is spaced out such that you can't get from charger to charger with 80% charge when towing with the large pack, but you can with the max pack and you make the trip frequently that definitely makes sense to me. Ie, if you have DCFC every 100 to 120 miles then the large probably doesn't have THAT much of an actual hit in time. But if they're every 160 miles, then... Yeah.

If you don't have access to DCFC along the route and have to charge, I wouldn't even do it with an EV personally. Lol.
I used ABR Planner. I plugged in 1.11 miles/kWh, so 50% range reduction for both packs, leaving home with 90% SOC, arriving at charges with 15% or more, arriving at a destination with 25% SOC. Things may improve as I live in NC and Rivian has a lot of their RAN charges on our path and in NC mountains. Also, I'm in the mindset of I tend to keep vehicles for 8-10 years so this will be a long-term purchase.
 

SeaGeo

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I used ABR Planner. I plugged in 1.11 miles/kWh, so 50% range reduction for both packs, leaving home with 90% SOC, arriving at charges with 15% or more, arriving at a destination with 25% SOC. Things may improve as I live in NC and Rivian has a lot of their RAN charges on our path and in NC mountains. Also, I'm in the mindset of I tend to keep vehicles for 8-10 years so this will be a long-term purchase.
fair. That's generally what I would have done. Try it with arriving with 2 to 5 percent at chargers.

Can you plug in at your destination? If so, why not arrive with less %?

Tbf, your use case is one where I personally think it's definitely borderline to worth it. But just getting it for road tripping without a trailer doesn't make sense to me.
 

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Hmm - I read most of these replies - a bit surprised that nobody mentioned the bed-mounted battery pack. Sure, it's not on the market (yet) but I'd think that would solve a number of range anxiety cases.
 

SeaGeo

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Hmm - I read most of these replies - a bit surprised that nobody mentioned the bed-mounted battery pack. Sure, it's not on the market (yet) but I'd think that would solve a number of range anxiety cases.
I think the consensus is that won't be an accessory anytime soon for an R1T, and 20 kWh would only be a ~15% increase in range.
 

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fair. That's generally what I would have done. Try it with arriving with 2 to 5 percent at chargers.

Can you plug in at your destination? If so, why not arrive with less %?

Tbf, your use case is one where I personally think it's definitely borderline to worth it. But just getting it for road tripping without a trailer doesn't make sense to me.
Thanks for the suggestion...I worked the numbers at a destination slightly closer where it looks like there will be a RAN charger in the future near the destination so I set SOC to 5%. I used the same, 1.11 miles/kWh and 1,000 lbs added weight. Max pack comes in at 7 hr 18 min with 2 stops, Large at 8 hr 19 min 2 stops. Not a huge difference in charging time (19 min longer) so it must be ABRP is calculating a slower rate of charge for the Large pack and faster for the Max. I also ran the same trip at 1.94 mi/kWh with 400 lbs and got 6 hr 10 min w/1stop vs 6 hr 48 min w/2 stops.
 

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SeaGeo

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Thanks for the suggestion...I worked the numbers at a destination slightly closer where it looks like there will be a RAN charger in the future near the destination so I set SOC to 5%. I used the same, 1.11 miles/kWh and 1,000 lbs added weight. Max pack comes in at 7 hr 18 min with 2 stops, Large at 8 hr 19 min 2 stops. Not a huge difference in charging time (19 min longer) so it must be ABRP is calculating a slower rate of charge for the Large pack and faster for the Max. I also ran the same trip at 1.94 mi/kWh with 400 lbs and got 6 hr 10 min w/1stop vs 6 hr 48 min w/2 stops.
That makes sense. I've found ABRP can be a little sensitive to some of your default assumptions, and *sometimes* allowing a charge up to 90% gets calculated as a faster trip.

One thing though by charging at your destination is if you have access to a L2 plug overnight (assuming you head up and stay the night).

Either way, hopefully you can get some more concrete numbers on efficiency before making your decision. That's the good thing about not being the first to get a truck.
 

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That makes sense. I've found ABRP can be a little sensitive to some of your default assumptions, and *sometimes* allowing a charge up to 90% gets calculated as a faster trip.

One thing though by charging at your destination is if you have access to a L2 plug overnight (assuming you head up and stay the night).

Either way, hopefully you can get some more concrete numbers on efficiency before making your decision. That's the good thing about not being the first to get a truck.
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I could have gotten a LE, but had always thought I was getting the 180 kWh pack until at the last min. that was then put off until January when the configurator opened. So I went with Max. pack but I've waffled back and forth lately. Depending on where we go, in some places, we will have access to a 30 or 50 amp plug at the destination. Time will tell...I can't wait to hear from LE holders and their experiences.
 
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Ray R

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I have a question for those claiming range is king. If true, why did you choose the Rivian over the 500+ mile range of the Cybertruck?
 

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I have a question for those claiming range is king. If true, why did you choose the Rivian over the 500+ mile range of the Cybertruck?
Still don't know when the Cybertruck will be produced, and being "butt ugly" trumps the extra range in my book. A re-design might change things for me. But anything over 300 miles range works fine for me. More is always better, but not worth the $10k for an extra 100 miles with the way I will use the R1T. A lot depends on how it will be used, for me, mostly general use around town and occasional long trip. For those that plan a lot of towing, camping, and off-road trips, greater range is a lot more important than styling. In 2-3 years, with a lot more private sector direct current fast chargers and the RAN, range anxiety will be mitigated. And if Tesla would allow us to use their superchargers, that would be a game changer for everyone besides Tesla.
 

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I have a question for those claiming range is king. If true, why did you choose the Rivian over the 500+ mile range of the Cybertruck?
Because there was no 500+ mile CT. At the time the Rivians were announced 400 miles was way out there. I was driving a Tesla X with 294 mi rating, The very thought of 400 mi was really exciting. Now, of course, 400 miles isn't that exciting. There are several vehicles offering 400 and even 500 mile range. This is why we were so disappointed when Rivian decided to release the 300 mile version first. I'm now driving a 351 EPA mile X. Why would I take a step back? As a driver I recognize the value of the extra range. Perhaps there is a message there for people who have not driven BEV who are trying to make the 300 or 400 mile version decision. When you drive the truck you will be glad you went for 400. I will note that I have seen one gent here who lists himself as a BEV owner who has rationalized his 300 mile choice.

So we'll have to change your question a bit to "If you claim range is king why do you keep your Rivian reservation given the 500+ range of the CT?" The obvious answer is that while I'll have to wait til next year for my Rivian I'll have to wait even longer for my CT. But I've come to love the Rivian, stadium lights and all, over the last two years and so intend to keep the order. If I find myself dependent on the longer range of the CT when it arrives (assuming I last that long) I'll sell the Rivian. That probably won't happen because I think 400 miles is sufficient. 350 miles is sufficient in the Tesla SC environment. The sufficient range depends in large measure on the charging infra structure. I would not be comfortable with 300 miles in the present CCS fast charging network. I am only marginally comfortable with 400. We hope this will improve but it is always listed as one of the major reason that people give for not wanting BEV.

When people who have expressed an interest in BEV are polled 24% say they are considering Tesla, 25% say they are considering Ford but only 14% list Rivian. We wonder if range/charging has something to do with this. Could be just that Tesla and Ford are household names but Rivian isn't.
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