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Home charger location: what would you do?

sevengroove

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As excited as I am to take delivery of my R1S sometime this year, I am facing a conundrum with getting my home EV ready. When I bought my home I had some electrical work done and pre-empted that I would want an EV, so got my garage pre-wired for a charger. Unfortunately the garage is gonna be a reallly tight fit for an R1S, and given that Driver+ doesn't currently include any form of remote parking assistance, I'm left exploring other options.

I listed my options on the table below, and would be really curious to hear from y'all on what you would do in my shoes. Which of these Cons are cheapest to turn into neutral or Pros? Am I missing something else?

ProsCons
Location 1: Detached Garage
Width at door 7’11”
Width inside 9’8”
Length usable 17’7”
  • The only covered, protected space option
  • Wired with 60A circuit, ready for charger installation
  • Detached, therefore cannot get from garage to home without having to step back out on the street.
  • Garage door is not automatic and will cost to upgrade.
  • Garage is just wide and long enough for an R1S, but probably not wide enough for a door to open comfortably to get in and out of vehicle.
Location 2: Driveway (not near garage)
  • Semi-protected since it would be in my fenced property
  • Lots of space so easy to load and unload passengers / cargo
  • Closest location to actual house / back door.
  • Not wired for charging, so would need to run a line from existing garage circuit over a decent distance
  • Driveway gates are not automatic and are kind of a pain to keep open while driving in and out. Will cost to upgrade.
Location 3: Curb (right outside garage)
  • Most convenient in terms of not having to futz with any gates - just roll up and park
  • Street parking is always available by my house
  • Not as expensive to run an extension from garage to curb?
  • Brand new, unique $80k vehicle would be sitting outside all the time
  • Not sure how to actually lay a charging cable over the sidewalk and to the curb - maybe in a planter of some sort?
  • In theory anyone could park in front of where my cable is on the curb and block off access.
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As excited as I am to take delivery of my R1S sometime this year, I am facing a conundrum with getting my home EV ready. When I bought my home I had some electrical work done and pre-empted that I would want an EV, so got my garage pre-wired for a charger. Unfortunately the garage is gonna be a reallly tight fit for an R1S, and given that Driver+ doesn't currently include any form of remote parking assistance, I'm left exploring other options.

I listed my options on the table below, and would be really curious to hear from y'all on what you would do in my shoes. Which of these Cons are cheapest to turn into neutral or Pros? Am I missing something else?

ProsCons
Location 1: Detached Garage
Width at door 7’11”
Width inside 9’8”
Length usable 17’7”
  • The only covered, protected space option
  • Wired with 60A circuit, ready for charger installation
  • Detached, therefore cannot get from garage to home without having to step back out on the street.
  • Garage door is not automatic and will cost to upgrade.
  • Garage is just wide and long enough for an R1S, but probably not wide enough for a door to open comfortably to get in and out of vehicle.
Location 2: Driveway (not near garage)
  • Semi-protected since it would be in my fenced property
  • Lots of space so easy to load and unload passengers / cargo
  • Closest location to actual house / back door.
  • Not wired for charging, so would need to run a line from existing garage circuit over a decent distance
  • Driveway gates are not automatic and are kind of a pain to keep open while driving in and out. Will cost to upgrade.
Location 3: Curb (right outside garage)
  • Most convenient in terms of not having to futz with any gates - just roll up and park
  • Street parking is always available by my house
  • Not as expensive to run an extension from garage to curb?
  • Brand new, unique $80k vehicle would be sitting outside all the time
  • Not sure how to actually lay a charging cable over the sidewalk and to the curb - maybe in a planter of some sort?
  • In theory anyone could park in front of where my cable is on the curb and block off access.
Seems like you live in the North East somewhere, where the garages are super small. My advice would be for you to move West somewhere or Florida where the garages are bigger and the houses newer. LOL!
 
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sevengroove

sevengroove

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Seems like you live in the North East somewhere, where the garages are super small. My advice would be for you to move West somewhere or Florida where the garages are bigger and the houses newer. LOL!
Hah, I'm in Seattle where the whole detached narrow garage thing is way more common than I thought it would be. If I move across the country for my Rivian, they better do a Story on me and award me the title of Riviot in Chief ? .
 

CommodoreAmiga

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Location 2 seems like the winner, to me. Not sure what your gate situation is, but there are lots of options to motorize gates... Maybe an upgrade is in your future?
 

SANZC02

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As excited as I am to take delivery of my R1S sometime this year, I am facing a conundrum with getting my home EV ready. When I bought my home I had some electrical work done and pre-empted that I would want an EV, so got my garage pre-wired for a charger. Unfortunately the garage is gonna be a reallly tight fit for an R1S, and given that Driver+ doesn't currently include any form of remote parking assistance, I'm left exploring other options.

I listed my options on the table below, and would be really curious to hear from y'all on what you would do in my shoes. Which of these Cons are cheapest to turn into neutral or Pros? Am I missing something else?

ProsCons
Location 1: Detached Garage
Width at door 7’11”
Width inside 9’8”
Length usable 17’7”
  • The only covered, protected space option
  • Wired with 60A circuit, ready for charger installation
  • Detached, therefore cannot get from garage to home without having to step back out on the street.
  • Garage door is not automatic and will cost to upgrade.
  • Garage is just wide and long enough for an R1S, but probably not wide enough for a door to open comfortably to get in and out of vehicle.
Location 2: Driveway (not near garage)
  • Semi-protected since it would be in my fenced property
  • Lots of space so easy to load and unload passengers / cargo
  • Closest location to actual house / back door.
  • Not wired for charging, so would need to run a line from existing garage circuit over a decent distance
  • Driveway gates are not automatic and are kind of a pain to keep open while driving in and out. Will cost to upgrade.
Location 3: Curb (right outside garage)
  • Most convenient in terms of not having to futz with any gates - just roll up and park
  • Street parking is always available by my house
  • Not as expensive to run an extension from garage to curb?
  • Brand new, unique $80k vehicle would be sitting outside all the time
  • Not sure how to actually lay a charging cable over the sidewalk and to the curb - maybe in a planter of some sort?
  • In theory anyone could park in front of where my cable is on the curb and block off access.
I would go with option 1. I had a condo with a very tight detached garage that is similar to what you have here. I used to just let my passengers out first and backed in so the passenger side was tight to the wall, left me plenty of space to get in and out. Did that dance for several years with a full size Chevy SUV with no issues. I would not count the detached portion of this in the cons as all of the options you will be out in the elements to get into your house. Plus the benefit of no charge cable or charger outside to be worried about with option 1.

** Note - I always prefer garage parking when available so my response has a bias.
 

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sevengroove

sevengroove

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I would go with option 1. I had a condo with a very tight detached garage that is similar to what you have here. I used to just let my passengers out first and backed in so the passenger side was tight to the wall, left me plenty of space to get in and out. Did that dance for several years with a full size Chevy SUV with no issues. I would not count the detached portion of this in the cons as all of the options you will be out in the elements to get into your house. Plus the benefit of no charge cable or charger outside to be worried about with option 1.

** Note - I always prefer garage parking when available so my response has a bias.
I hear you on that - the problem is that I don't have very much length to work with either. I've got 211 inches in length, and the R1S is 202". So there isn't enough leeway to back in at a slight angle to get the passenger side flush with the wall, and then straighten out to create the room for myself on the driver side. Maybe I should get a similarly sized rental for a day and see how it might work ...

Good point on the elements being present on all options. I only listed it as a con because it would in theory be the longest walk to the house vs. the other two options.

Location 2 seems like the winner, to me. Not sure what your gate situation is, but there are lots of options to motorize gates... Maybe an upgrade is in your future?
I'm leaning this way too for the moment, even if it makes me feel silly for having already spent upfront to get my garage EV ready (and having upgraded my fencing/driveway gate, but leaving it manual). If I'm going to have to lay down some electrical anyway, I suppose it can service both a charger and a motorized gate.
 

Riviot

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Hah, I'm in Seattle where the whole detached narrow garage thing is way more common than I thought it would be. If I move across the country for my Rivian, they better do a Story on me and award me the title of Riviot in Chief ? .
Well there's your problem.

Option 4: move over to the Kitsap peninsula, brother! We've got plenty of fast ferries into Seattle now and acres of land for half the Seattle price. Super easy commute for me by bus and ferry, I'm doorstep to downtown in 40 minutes.

Buuuut if you must stay, I concur with SANZC02, option 1. Sounds like no matter what you'll be spending money somewhere for an upgrade. Might as well protect your 80k (-instant $10k depreciation) purchase.

In the end, it's whatever makes you happy and you're willing to spend...Unless you're married. Then your partner gets to decide. Don't argue, say Yes Boss and move on.
 

SANZC02

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I hear you on that - the problem is that I don't have very much length to work with either. I've got 211 inches in length, and the R1S is 202". So there isn't enough leeway to back in at a slight angle to get the passenger side flush with the wall, and then straighten out to create the room for myself on the driver side. Maybe I should get a similarly sized rental for a day and see how it might work ...

Good point on the elements being present on all options. I only listed it as a con because it would in theory be the longest walk to the house vs. the other two options.


I'm leaning this way too for the moment, even if it makes me feel silly for having already spent upfront to get my garage EV ready (and having upgraded my fencing/driveway gate, but leaving it manual). If I'm going to have to lay down some electrical anyway, I suppose it can service both a charger and a motorized gate.
Yes the angle thing could be a slight issue but I think you will be surprised what you can do with that 8 inches of extra length. That rental (or find a buddy with a full size SUV) sounds like a good plan before making a decision.

It was probably easier for my scenario as my garage door was not centered with the interior walls and was shifted nearly a foot to one side. Made it much easier to stay tight to the wall when backing in. It was a condo with carriage houses above a bank of garages, I think the interior walls were an after thought and originally they were just all open to each other on the inside.
 

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Option 1.
Albeit less convenient, you don't need to charge everyday anyway. It will also allow you to precondition your battery more easily prior to a longer trip (covered).

Is level 1 available at option 2? If yes, you could charge in both locations.
 
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sevengroove

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Option 4: move over to the Kitsap peninsula, brother! We've got plenty of fast ferries into Seattle now and acres of land for half the Seattle price. Super easy commute for me by bus and ferry, I'm doorstep to downtown in 40 minutes.

Buuuut if you must stay, I concur with SANZC02, option 1. Sounds like no matter what you'll be spending money somewhere for an upgrade. Might as well protect your 80k (-instant $10k depreciation) purchase.
I know, especially with the pandemic I've been second-guessing our decision to buy a home in the city. I have been known to make irrational decisions based on my vehicles (e.g. switching from Android to iOS solely because my previous car only had CarPlay) so who knows ... might move houses for the Rivian! (jk :D)
Option 1.
Albeit less convenient, you don't need to charge everyday anyway. It will also allow you to precondition your battery more easily prior to a longer trip (covered).
I hadn't thought of the preconditioning bit, that's good to keep in mind as a Pro for the garage. And you're right that I wouldn't need to charge every day, but that would lead me to one of the curbside Cons, which is leaving my precious new ride on the street instead for the non-charging days.

Decisions, decisions ...

Edit: Yes I can run a level one extension for Option 2 pretty easily I think.
 
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kylealden

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Honestly, I'd wait to decide until you get the vehicle. Buy it, drive it for a bit, try parking it in the garage and see if it's too crowded, etc. You can charge at Chargepoints for a few weeks while you feel it out. Then pull the trigger.

I'm really glad I didn't put in an EVSE before I got my Tesla. In addition to learning a bunch after I got the vehicle (pros of back in vs. nose in, garage door clearance with the hatch up, etc.), I quickly realized I'd be fine on 110V and just wound up skipping the whole thing.

(That said, especially if you have any trees nearby, I think you'll regret a choice besides the garage unless it truly doesn't fit. Keeping a car looking nice while parked outdoors is very difficult in Seattle - pollen, sap, birds, leaves, seed pods, etc. ? from Beacon Hill, where I'll be parking my R1T in a cramped carport!)
 
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sevengroove

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@kylealden That's good perspective for sure, there's always going to be things I didn't think of which will crop up only after the vehicle is in hand. I just know I'm not going to enjoy spending minutes getting in and out of that garage every time I want to use my R1S ? . Regardless, it still makes sense to try what's closest to complete - which in my case would be the garage - before jumping the gun on more upgrades elsewhere.
 

Lucanjo

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I'm struggling with this as well. My "two car" garage only fits one car (barely) and would leave my R1T with just 3-6 inches total space (front and back from the drywall to the brackets on the garage door). Also concerned about the kids grabbing something from the garage and hitting the car. We have a large driveway and currently park both cars outside. I have a place to mount an EVSE on the exterior wall by the driveway but there is about 4 feet of grass there between the driveway and house. I can just see that getting annoying trying to plug/unplug every day (especially when it's raining/muddy or snow on the ground). Also if I drive forward in the charge port is on the right and the EVSE would be on the left. I would need to back in if I didn't want to run the cable around the truck...

I may need to move to a different house...
 
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sevengroove

sevengroove

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I'm struggling with this as well. My "two car" garage only fits one car (barely) and would leave my R1T with just 3-6 inches total space (front and back from the drywall to the brackets on the garage door). Also concerned about the kids grabbing something from the garage and hitting the car. We have a large driveway and currently park both cars outside. I have a place to mount an EVSE on the exterior wall by the driveway but there is about 4 feet of grass there between the driveway and house. I can just see that getting annoying trying to plug/unplug every day (especially when it's raining/muddy or snow on the ground). Also if I drive forward in the charge port is on the right and the EVSE would be on the left. I would need to back in if I didn't want to run the cable around the truck...

I may need to move to a different house...
Maybe some pavers on the grass right by wherever you mount EVSE near the driveway would help. I don't know what you're use case is looking like, but you might not need to plug in every day.

These old homes and their crappy garages - apparently the Kitsap Peninsula is where we need to be!
 

Lucanjo

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Maybe some pavers on the grass right by wherever you mount EVSE near the driveway would help. I don't know what you're use case is looking like, but you might not need to plug in every day.
I'm thinking about doing Pavers. My current commute is 80 miles roundtrip so I am expecting to charge nightly.
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