My first mini-trip......It's not a Tesla!! LOL

[kizamybute']

I think most light-duty trucks will cap out at around 24MPG, but the average is going to be closer to 20-22.

If you're comparing trucks with (near but oh-so-far away) equal performance, that number will lean MUCH farther into your favor.

I agree. However, was basing it on today's pricing at near $7.00 per gallon for gas. Assuming pricing will go down at some point, so the gap will close. For those that use it regularly and pay the $4 monthly membership fees, then $0.31 per kwh will help increase the gap between the cost of gas and electric. Tesla originally started out charging around $0.15 per kwh, but they've all jacked up the pricing since. Considering the inconvenience of charging versus filling up, they need to keep it significantly cheaper to have appeal as an alternative. "Takes you longer, but costs you less" motto. If the pricing gets close to the same, or only minimally different, many will simply choose ICE vehicles instead. At least for as long as they have a choice too.

Still waiting to see what Dodge comes up with. Apparently will be a plug-in hybrid. If the battery only range is 100-150 miles, then it could be a homerun for them. 100-150 miles satisfies most people's daily driving needs, yet removes the inconvenience of long charging times for road trips. Also, would allow the same vehicle to tow long distances. Putting in half the batteries will save weight, about what the ICE engine would add, so weight penalty for carrying the small ICE generator would be minimal. Certainly looking forward to seeing that package and getting the details. If it's another typical plug in that only gets 20-30 miles of electric only range, it will be pointless for most. In my case, at 100-150 miles, I would use gas maybe only 2 times a year and save a ton of time charging on those two trips. Best of both worlds. They have a golden opportunity, lets see if they seize that opportunity.

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[CyberKentuckian]

Considering the inconvenience of charging versus filling up, they need to keep it significantly cheaper to have appeal as an alternative. "Takes you longer, but costs you less" motto. If the pricing gets close to the same, or only minimally different, many will simply choose ICE vehicles instead. At least for as long as they have a choice too.

So, I disagree a bit. I don't think that DCFC should be anything but competitively priced against gas. Not to the degree that it's the financial tipping point because most of those savings will come from L2 (home / work) charging, not from DCFC.

If you're only comparing gas prices to DCFC, the financial incentive will always be light. But that only tells a fraction of the story for the majority of drivers.

 

[MoreTrout]

I would love to see one of the Tesla owners join a group outing like the recent post with the 5 R1T's that did the offroad trail in CO the other day. They could title their thread "My first Tesla off road...it's not a Rivian LOL" as they get towed after the first bump. Can't argue with the wisdom of their charging network, but their failure to make a vehicle I am even remotely interested in owning for my needs pretty much eliminates any charging advantage. Especially when I'll charge at home 98% of the time. And any gap in charging network advantage will most likely be next to zero in the next 5 years, or s00ner. And no, I'm not a Tesla hater. My only gripe with them is like I said, the failure to make a vehicle with the looks and capabilities that I want.
I suspect your real world range you get out of the R1T might a little better than your first trip. My most frequent trip will the 200 miles between home and camp I do up to a few times a month. I'll be interested to compare what kind of efficiency I can get on that trip compared to your experience.

 

[kizamybute']

I would love to see one of the Tesla owners join a group outing like the recent post with the 5 R1T's that did the offroad trail in CO the other day. They could title their thread "My first Tesla off road...it's not a Rivian LOL" as they get towed after the first bump. Can't argue with the wisdom of their charging network, but their failure to make a vehicle I am even remotely interested in owning for my needs pretty much eliminates any charging advantage. Especially when I'll charge at home 98% of the time. And any gap in charging network advantage will most likely be next to zero in the next 5 years, or s00ner. And no, I'm not a Tesla hater. My only gripe with them is like I said, the failure to make a vehicle with the looks and capabilities that I want.
I suspect your real world range you get out of the R1T might a little better than your first trip. My most frequent trip will the 200 miles between home and camp I do up to a few times a month. I'll be interested to compare what kind of efficiency I can get on that trip compared to your experience.

By 2025 (elon says 2023, so that means 2025), they'll have the Cybertruck and Tesla's charging network.

 

[kizamybute']

So, I disagree a bit. I don't think that DCFC should be anything but competitively priced against gas. Not to the degree that it's the financial tipping point because most of those savings will come from L2 (home / work) charging, not from DCFC.

If you're only comparing gas prices to DCFC, the financial incentive will always be light. But that only tells a fraction of the story for the majority of drivers.

I don't know, when I bought my first Tesla, at a time when I did do more travelling, free supercharging was a pretty attractive perk. Yes, it's cheaper to charge at home. But for those that regularly need public chargers, the cost factor likely is more of a priority to them. For me, not a big deal and wouldn't change anything. But for someone that uses them on a weekly basis, that extra hour to charge vs 3-5 minutes at a gas station can get old. In my Tesla, even with it being free supercharging, I wouldn't do trips that required more than two stops tops. Usually, just one. Was willing to sacrifice one hour, but when you start talking about 2 hours added to a 5 hour trip, two times for round trip, that 10 hour round trip is now 14 hours. If you need three stops, that time really starts to add up. Time is money as they say. Even with it being free to me in the Tesla, I still rented an ICE car on trips that would require more than 2 stops, sometimes on trips that required two stops as well, depending on how much of a rush I was in.

Naturally, this will be based on each individual's personal needs and preferences. For some, it being cheaper is enough to entice them to sacrifice the time for that savings. Other's don't care about cost and want to get there in the shortest time possible. While others still, aren't ever in a rush and will be glad to stop and charge each time just to be nice to the planet. But, I do think cost will factor into at least a significant percentage of buyer's thinking.

 

[MoreTrout]

By 2025 (elon says 2023, so that means 2025), they'll have the Cybertruck and Tesla's charging network.

Except even looking at the cybertruck makes me want to run to the bathroom and vomit. Looks like they asked a 1st grader to come up with what they think a truck will look like in the future. Kind of like those old "futuristic" vehicle drawings from the 1950s. I'm sure it will be plenty capable, but no way would I own that. And I 100% realize that's a matter of personal taste, and a million or so preorder holders disagree with me. After all, my wife's assessment of my fashion sense is the same as the VIN status on my Rivian account. Null.

 

[kizamybute']

Except even looking at the cybertruck makes me want to run to the bathroom and vomit. Looks like they asked a 1st grader to come up with what they think a truck will look like in the future. Kind of like those old "futuristic" vehicle drawings from the 1950s. I'm sure it will be plenty capable, but no way would I own that. And I 100% realize that's a matter of personal taste, and a million or so preorder holders disagree with me. After all, my wife's assessment of my fashion sense is the same as the VIN status on my Rivian account. Null.

I agree with you. I could never buy one. But, there will be A LOT of people that do. It will do very well for Tesla. And, it will be a pretty capable truck. Them taking their time as allowed them to benefit from seeing what others are offering and take the best features and incorporate them into the Cybertruck. I know rear steering is one that was added. Which for that huge beast of a truck, will be a nice feature to have. I won't be a customer, but certainly based on capability, it should be a pretty cool truck.....if you can handle the looks of the thing!. Some of course will love it.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Silverado EV. That thing looks nice and aimed to beat Ford on its capabilities. It could do very well. Along with the potential of the aforementioned Dodge offering. Exciting times for EV trucks here over the next 2-3 years.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Thanks for the report!

Why can't the EV charging networks realize that they need to perform equal to or above the up time/reliability of a gas pump? How often do you see a gas station that 25% of their pumps do not work?

Certain stations? Pretty often. They ended up going out of business when COVID hit.

 

[CyberKentuckian]

I don't know, when I bought my first Tesla, at a time when I did do more travelling, free supercharging was a pretty attractive perk. Yes, it's cheaper to charge at home. But for those that regularly need public chargers, the cost factor likely is more of a priority to them. For me, not a big deal and wouldn't change anything. But for someone that uses them on a weekly basis, that extra hour to charge vs 3-5 minutes at a gas station can get old. In my Tesla, even with it being free supercharging, I wouldn't do trips that required more than two stops tops. Usually, just one. Was willing to sacrifice one hour, but when you start talking about 2 hours added to a 5 hour trip, two times for round trip, that 10 hour round trip is now 14 hours. If you need three stops, that time really starts to add up. Time is money as they say. Even with it being free to me in the Tesla, I still rented an ICE car on trips that would require more than 2 stops, sometimes on trips that required two stops as well, depending on how much of a rush I was in.

Naturally, this will be based on each individual's personal needs and preferences. For some, it being cheaper is enough to entice them to sacrifice the time for that savings. Other's don't care about cost and want to get there in the shortest time possible. While others still, aren't ever in a rush and will be glad to stop and charge each time just to be nice to the planet. But, I do think cost will factor into at least a significant percentage of buyer's thinking.

I'm talking about daily driving, not road trips. If financials are a major factor in the decision to go electric (they aren't in mine), then some home/work charging for just daily driving is the biggest savings impact.

No way would I want to use - or recommend - L2 charging for a roadtrip outside of an extended stop or overnight!

 

[kizamybute']

I'm talking about daily driving, not road trips. If financials are a major factor in the decision to go electric (they aren't in mine), then some home/work charging for just daily driving is the biggest savings impact.

No way would I want to use - or recommend - L2 charging for a roadtrip outside of an extended stop or overnight!

I agree. I'm in the same boat. Home charging is MUCH CHEAPER than gas. Plus just the convenience of never having to go to a gas station. So nice to wake up to a full tank every morning. Unfortunately, I'm in L.A. where DWP has jacked up our pricing, but still much, much cheaper than gas. Only for those that do a lot of road tripping will the public charging network inconveniences and costs potentially become a factor.

 

[CyberKentuckian]

I agree. I'm in the same boat. Home charging is MUCH CHEAPER than gas. Plus just the convenience of never having to go to a gas station. So nice to wake up to a full tank every morning. Unfortunately, I'm in L.A. where DWP has jacked up our pricing, but still much, much cheaper than gas. Only for those that do a lot of road tripping will the public charging network inconveniences and costs potentially become a factor.

Owning a Tesla, we really don't worry about it. Just got back from an 1800-mi road trip and loved the charging experience. But seeing the exceptionally mixed experiences with EA, EVgo, etc. is what I see as the biggest risk in buying a Rivian. It's a shame that the biggest concern I have isn't even something that's in Rivian's control (until they actually start building out their network instead of token publicity-centric chargers).

 

[RivChris]

Unfortunately, after multiple tries, plugging in, unplugging, resetting, etc, etc, called customer service. They had to reboot the charger. After about 30 minutes, was finally able to plug in.

This mirrors my charging experience. The first time I tried to charge my truck away from home I went to 4 different charging stations trying to get a charge. At each one I'd get the red ring around the charge point and would drive off to another charging station. Finally I got to a station where someone else was currently charging and they let me use the same charger and again my truck wouldn't charge. Finally I called Rivian roadside and they had me reboot. It's apparently a known issue but it's good for everyone to know that if your truck isn't connecting to the charger you should try and reboot it. It still happens to me a lot but at least I know what to do now.

 

[kizamybute']

Owning a Tesla, we really don't worry about it. Just got back from an 1800-mi road trip and loved the charging experience. But seeing the exceptionally mixed experiences with EA, EVgo, etc. is what I see as the biggest risk in buying a Rivian. It's a shame that the biggest concern I have isn't even something that's in Rivian's control (until they actually start building out their network instead of token publicity-centric chargers).

There are certainly sacrifices to be made in road tripping an EV, even a Tesla. If you mentally prepare yourself and accept those sacrifices, understanding that the befits far outweigh the few sacrifices on road trips, then you'll adapt well. Tesla does the best job with it right now. The public charging network will improve and get better. Over time, probably will become just as reliable as Tesla's network.

For those like me that only road trip a couple of times a year, that means about 355 days of the year, I suffer from no sacrifices having an EV. Charge at home, full tank every day. No gas stations. Twice a year, I have to spend a little extra time at chargers (that was with the my Tesla's). Now, just have to learn the quirks of the public charging network, learn the solutions to make it easier next time around. I had one day where it cost me an extra half hour to sort it out. Sure, there will probably be other issues, but I now know how to resolve them quicker than the first time. So either way, short of the charger not working at all, the next time will be better than my first time.

Happy to see that the network is now getting large enough to make long distance travel even an option. Two years ago when I considered the Jaguar and Audi, there were many blank spots on the map. Now, if you have something with 200 miles in range, should be able to pretty much make it to most places.

No complaints on my end. I could never go back to an ICE vehicle. Happy to make the small sacrifice of time a couple times per year. For those that need them weekly or monthly and that do longer distances that require multiple stops, then you'll have to decide for yourselves as the time sacrifices will certainly be larger. I'd be ok with maybe one such trip, but certainly wouldn't want to travel over 1,000 miles on a weekly or even monthly basis in an EV. But that's just me. Just like I wouldn't buy an EV right now as a tow vehicle if my trips were more than 100 miles. They'll get better over time, but are not practical in all situations for everyone at the moment. But, probably practical and beneficial for most people in their daily driving needs.

 

[mike813]

I would love to see one of the Tesla owners join a group outing like the recent post with the 5 R1T's that did the offroad trail in CO the other day. They could title their thread "My first Tesla off road...it's not a Rivian LOL" as they get towed after the first bump. Can't argue with the wisdom of their charging network, but their failure to make a vehicle I am even remotely interested in owning for my needs pretty much eliminates any charging advantage. Especially when I'll charge at home 98% of the time. And any gap in charging network advantage will most likely be next to zero in the next 5 years, or s00ner. And no, I'm not a Tesla hater. My only gripe with them is like I said, the failure to make a vehicle with the looks and capabilities that I want.
I suspect your real world range you get out of the R1T might a little better than your first trip. My most frequent trip will the 200 miles between home and camp I do up to a few times a month. I'll be interested to compare what kind of efficiency I can get on that trip compared to your experience.

I agree with you about the charging advantage approaching zero in the next few years - great point. I'm sure we'll see more and more Rivian charging stations coming over the next year (including one just south of me in Daytona Beach) and before long between Rivian and these other providers charging will be as easy for our Rivians as it is now for Teslas.

As a Tesla owner I'd be happy to join any Rivian group outings, but if those outings are on offroad trails I'll be bringing the Jeep rather than the Tesla until my R1S gets here.

I think the reason so many of us Rivian fans/pre-order holders/owners are Tesla or former Tesla people is the fact that Tesla taught us what an EV could be and could do. I would imagine that many of you, like me, first saw the Rivian news or photos back in 2018 and said "damn, all the benefits of my tesla and the capabilities of my truck/suv - sign me up!" I didn't get permission from my wife to place the deposit for another year+, but that's another story.

The comments about charging are all spot on. To share my perspective, we charge the Model Y at home all the time, which is overnight a couple of times a week with normal driving. We use superchargers maybe 25 times a year concentrated around road trips. We're driving from north florida to the keys in a couple of weeks and I have probably 20 superchargers along the way - I have literally zero range anxiety. I'll plug in the night before, but if I forget I have plenty of options for supercharging on my route, including within 10 miles of my house. We'll stop for 15-30 minutes two or three times to charge, which gives the kids and dog a chance to stretch legs and then watch netflix while the charge finishes up. If I was taking this trip in the R1S (which up until I few months ago I had still hoped to do) I would be concerned after reading all the stories about the varied chargers. I would still take the R1S if I had it, I would just plan extra time for charging inconvenience, which I don't have to do with the Tesla. As an early adopter I'm comfortable taking that risk, and I appreciate all of you who have early adopted before me and are providing that feedback to Rivian and the various charging providers.

To the OP, thanks for sharing - those of us who haven't received our trucks yet appreciate learning from the experiences of those who have.

 

[momo3605]

Turns out, total trip took 119 kwh, apparently it has 125 kwh usable, so if that was the case, would have just made it with 6 kwh to spare.

This is one of things I actually really appreciate about the Rivian compared to my Model 3. Sure...the EA experience is not great compared to Superchargers. But the range estimate is so much more forgiving and accurate in my experience.

Had a similar experience going to Lake Tahoe from SF Bay Area. Both ABRP and the on-screen range estimator told me i would need to charge to make it there (and it was my first time, so i did stop to charge a bit) but i would have reached with 15% remaining had I not. Tesla's range estimate is so ridiculously off, i always expect to get 10-15% less than what it says. It's refreshing to drive an EV where you actually get the range it says you will get.

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