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How to visit Death Valley?

Chewy734

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Hey all,

We're hoping on coming down from Lake Tahoe to visit Death Valley next month. We were planning on staying near Inyokern, given the closest RAN charger is located there. But, it doesn't seem like we'll have enough range to make it through Death Valley to another fast charger. Any suggestions how how to plan for the trip?

The places we want to see are: Artists's Drive, Badwater basin, Zabriskie Point, and Dante's View. That's coming out to be ~360 miles roundtrip from the RAN charger in Inyokern. I suppose we could go to Baker, CA instead of returning to Inyokern, where there's an EA fast charger, but that's still 320 miles and cutting it too close for comfort in Conserve mode. We certainly don't want to be stranded in Death Valley!

Any suggestions? Thanks!
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We went to Death Valley last February and we only made it to Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. We also charged up in Inyokern and back and probably got about 20% battery left when we got back.
I found out later that there is an EA chargers at Coso junction which might be a little closer than Inyokern depending on where you will be going back.
Maybe if you can inquire at the Stovepipe Wells village near Mesquite if they have 30amp chargers for RV’s since they have a camp and hotel then you can stay their overnight and use your portable charger.
In our case, it was winter and windy so we used a lot of energy and thought I would have about near 80~90 miles of range remaining when I was planning the trip.
Always have some cushion and coming from Tahoe should give you an idea when you get to Inyokern.
I have 21’s and no racks during this trip and was coming from the Bay Area going through Bakersfield.
Here is the link of my trip report:
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...-valley-and-back-to-bay-area-in-my-r1t.13360/
 

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Hey Chewy,

A few things to help out. I'm out there all the time...

If you are coming from Inyokern back up to DVNP and want to hit those sights you listed, I would recommend staying in the park at either Stovepipe or Furnace Creek to get a L2 charge over night, and exit south to Baker for a fast charge to get you to the Barstow RAN. There is another charger in Searles Valley but that would be double backing and require two mountain passes. It's about the same distance from Furnace as Baker but from what you listed you want to see, its questionable if you could make it and you would rely on that post heavily. A couple other key notes:

1) DVNP has enormous mountain ranges that will hurt range. Dantes will take 2x what it says. Bring a sat communicator like Inreach or Garmin or something if you are out there.... there's zero cell and the car won't be able to contact Rivian if you need help.
2) The park is enormous. Give yourself some time at Artists to get out of the truck and walk around. Your list is probably 3/4 of a day long. You will want to stop at some other places too. The park is amazing.
3) Personally here but you are pushing it in June. Even early June is a hard time to be there. It would amplify my anxiety on range impact, but you should be good as long as you get one of the chargers in furnace creek or Searles. I love the place and surrounding valleys.

I'll be out in the Owens are at the end of the month so hope to see you ya!

Rivian R1T R1S How to visit Death Valley? IMG_0626
Rivian R1T R1S How to visit Death Valley? IMG_0617
 

Singletracker

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This is an issue for me, as well. Every year or so I like to head down to Death Valley from the Tahoe area. I spend several days down there exploring, 4-wheeling and remote camping with my FJ. With an R1T, I can’t see how this can be done. Traveling down Hwy 395, Bishop is about the last realistic charging location before DV, and it is 160 miles from Bishop to DV. That math does not work. Inyokern is a long way out of the way, in the wrong direction. Coso Junction is a little closer than Bishop, about 125 miles to DV, but is way out of the way coming from the north. And, again, the math does not work. A fast charger in Lone Pine would be nice. Ultimately, we need more and better charging options in DV to make this trip possible, for me.

If one heads north along Hwy 395, from the Carson Valley/Tahoe area, into northeastern CA and eastern Oregon, another region I like to explore, it’s pretty much a charging desert. Don’t know how I will be able to do that with a Rivian.
 
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In the past I've stayed overnight at Panamint Springs and charged on a 14-50 outlet. It's a diesel generator and the car erred out a couple times, not liking the quality of the electricity. Stovepipe Wells has 50 amp electric service at some campsites, reservations are gone quickly. The Ranch at Death Valley now has charging stations, be prepared to wait in line. More locations and reviews on PlugShare.com, which also shows Electrify America charging stations coming soon in Lone Pine.
 

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Chewy734

Chewy734

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Thank you all for your inputs, it’s been quite helpful!

We decided it’s probably safest to stay at the Ranch at Death Valley where they have several chargers, albeit slow. So, we’re staying two night there. I figured if we can get even a single charge to full there, then we’re all set and I won’t have to worry.
 

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Thank you all for your inputs, it’s been quite helpful!

We decided it’s probably safest to stay at the Ranch at Death Valley where they have several chargers, albeit slow. So, we’re staying two night there. I figured if we can get even a single charge to full there, then we’re all set and I won’t have to worry.
Good luck! Sounds like a fun trip. Hope to see some pictures soon. Stay safe and take lots of water!
 

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Hey all,

We're hoping on coming down from Lake Tahoe to visit Death Valley next month. We were planning on staying near Inyokern, given the closest RAN charger is located there. But, it doesn't seem like we'll have enough range to make it through Death Valley to another fast charger. Any suggestions how how to plan for the trip?

The places we want to see are: Artists's Drive, Badwater basin, Zabriskie Point, and Dante's View. That's coming out to be ~360 miles roundtrip from the RAN charger in Inyokern. I suppose we could go to Baker, CA instead of returning to Inyokern, where there's an EA fast charger, but that's still 320 miles and cutting it too close for comfort in Conserve mode. We certainly don't want to be stranded in Death Valley!

Any suggestions? Thanks!
Getting there is easy... getting back... well...
 

SteveInBend

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Rasputin

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Thank you all for your inputs, it’s been quite helpful!

We decided it’s probably safest to stay at the Ranch at Death Valley where they have several chargers, albeit slow. So, we’re staying two night there. I figured if we can get even a single charge to full there, then we’re all set and I won’t have to worry.
You will be dialed! There are two stations there and a couple more down in the "town". Enjoy!!
 

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Rasputin

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In the past I've stayed overnight at Panamint Springs and charged on a 14-50 outlet. It's a diesel generator and the car erred out a couple times, not liking the quality of the electricity. Stovepipe Wells has 50 amp electric service at some campsites, reservations are gone quickly. The Ranch at Death Valley now has charging stations, be prepared to wait in line. More locations and reviews on PlugShare.com, which also shows Electrify America charging stations coming soon in Lone Pine.
The Dow Villa in Lone Pine is installing some DCFC's. Should be running by October from what they said.
 

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Reviving this thread since I'm also planning a trip to Death Valley — @Rasputin do you know if the RV park at Stovepipe Wells is still active? The website listed on PlugShare is down, and I can't seem to find any other official website/place to book.

Do you know if that park has NEMA 14-50 outlets (i.e. the one that comes with the Rivian mobile charger)?
 
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SpaceEVDriver

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I was just there with our Mustang Mach-E last week. Three of four Blink L2 chargers at the Ranch at Furnace Creek were online (and free since their network connection is poor). We spent several days there exploring Ubehebe Crater, Mesquite Dunes, Badwater Basin, Dante's View, etc., etc., etc. I believe there are another set of Blink L2 chargers at the other resort.

The Furnace Creek campground explicitly states it doesn't support EVs, which was annoying since the 50A service there seemed ideal for a longer stay. We didn't investigate Stovepipe Wells.
 

hayduke

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Reviving this thread since I'm also planning a trip to Death Valley — @Rasputin do you know if the RV park at Stovepipe Wells is still active? The website listed on PlugShare is down, and I can't seem to find any other official website/place to book.
It looks like they have a new website (but terrible at search optimization as it doesn't come up very easily doing a web search).

https://www.stovepipedeathvalley.com/

I stayed there last April and was able to get 30+ hours of charging over a 2 night stay. They have a pool, and if you don't mind camping in a dirt lot with a bunch of class A and B motorhomes running AC all night it's kinda nice.

The real crux is getting a reservation as it's always booked (though when I stayed maybe half the bays were empty, maybe folks canceled because of a heat wave in my case, not sure).

Do you know if that park has NEMA 14-50 outlets (i.e. the one that comes with the Rivian mobile charger)?
Yes, mobile charger worked fine, but I never got more than 5-6kW out of it... I got the impression maybe the power quality might not be super high? I wonder if it might not be from a diesel generator.

On somewhat related note, really bummed to see that the Beatty, NV supercharger apparently won't be an option even when we get our adapters. I hadn't realized not all chargers will be supported. Death Valley continues to be a [charging] desert, which given Rivian's brand seems like a real miss and no real improvements that I have heard about coming in the pipeline.
Rivian R1T R1S How to visit Death Valley? Screen Shot 2024-03-03 at 11.03.46 AM
 

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I made it through Death Valley!

1. I came from Vegas, where I filled up at the RAN to 97%.
2. I topped up in Pahrump, from 79% to 97%.
3. I drove around Death Valley, making it to a couple of sites (Dante's View, Zabriskie Point, halfway down Badwater Basin to the natural bridge, Artist's Palette), and had 60% by the time the sun went down.
4. I didn't have time to check whether the Level 2 chargers at Furnace Creek are working (they were reported as broken on Plugshare).
5. I booked an overnight stay at an RV park in Beatty. It's a big elevation gain from Badwater to Beatty; I got there with 37% left. Unfortunately found out that they only had 30-amp plugs, and my 30-amp adapter doesn't work with the Rivian mobile charger. I ended up spending a while at the Level 2 Chargepoint while I got dinner (and breakfast the next morning) at Denny's, and trickle-charged a bit on the 110v overnight.
6. The next day, I mostly just drive across the park. I was nervous about range, and my trip schedule meant I had to get to my next stop by that night. Aside from visiting Rhyolite, I stayed on highway 374/190 the whole day. The hard part for range was that there's two mountain passes west of Stovepipe Wells, both nearly 5000ft in elevation, and 190 in the Owens Lake area from 136 to Olancha was closed, so I had to go around the lake, adding 24 miles on flat ground.
7. I charged for an hour at the 50 amp plugs at the RV park in Stovepipe Wells to be safe, although it ended up being unnecessary — I made it to the Olancha RAN with 17%.

I'll definitely be back to explore the less-traveled roads. Getting an overnight charge at an RV park with a 50 amp outlet would alleviate all my range anxiety.

Rivian R1T R1S How to visit Death Valley? DSC05924

(View from Father Crowley Overlook, looking towards Telescope Peak)
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