New RAN location in Nags Head, NC

mkhuffman · Apr 12, 2025

BCondrey said:
I think permitting, zoning, availability of power, physical space and negotiations with the county/town probably drive a lot of these siting decisions. It requires significant infrastructure, they can't just put them anywhere.

RWerksman said:
Yep, I concur. This also might be due to transformer availability as well. (e.g. if there is a very, very large transformer in the area that can service both installs)

I think there was an infrastructure upgrade needed for the new Tesla SC station, and that provided the opportunity for the RAN station.

Last year before the Tesla SC went live, they replaced all of these along the power feed:

Rivian R1T R1S New RAN location in Nags Head, NC 54447803103_714a83ef76_o

I don't know why those needed to be replaced, but they had the right lane shut down while they replaced all of them. And I connected that power line maintenance, with the activation of the Tesla SC. It could not be coincidence.

Rivian R1T R1S New RAN location in Nags Head, NC 54447744929_ce5bb37e1c_o

mkhuffman · Apr 12, 2025

Just as a cool thing, I drove on the beach in Nags Head today. Efficiency? 0.45 mi/kWh. LOL. This is why we need to be able to charge down here. Anyway, so much fun. Just don't get stuck!

Rivian R1T R1S New RAN location in Nags Head, NC 54447563986_011dc49ea0_o

RWerksman · Apr 12, 2025

mkhuffman said:
I think there was an infrastructure upgrade needed for the new Tesla SC station, and that provided the opportunity for the RAN station.

Last year before the Tesla SC went live, they replaced all of these along the power feed:

I don't know why those needed to be replaced, but they had the right lane shut down while they replaced all of them. And I connected that power line maintenance, with the activation of the Tesla SC. It could not be coincidence.

I really glad this service upgrade was done. Being down here and reliant on L2 or L1 charging was quite a pain. The only 'fast' charging prior to this was all the way down in Avon, and it was only 62kw.

Ecupip · Apr 13, 2025

mkhuffman said:
Just as a cool thing, I drove on the beach in Nags Head today. Efficiency? 0.45 mi/kWh. LOL. This is why we need to be able to charge down here. Anyway, so much fun. Just don't get stuck!

Dang that seems low. My G1 Quad only gets down to 1 mkwh when I drive on the beach. Are you aired down?

mkhuffman · Apr 13, 2025

Ecupip said:
Dang that seems low. My G1 Quad only gets down to 1 mkwh when I drive on the beach. Are you aired down?

Yes. I aired down to 32 psi.

The sand is very wet and not packed well, so I was pushing through it. A few years ago I drove on the sand in Carova Beach, and it seemed like the sand on that beach was a lot firmer. Maybe due to all the traffic on the beach there. I didn't see anyone else driving on the beach yesterday, and the tracks that were there were getting covered over so at least a few hours old.

Gen(R3)Xer · Apr 15, 2025

mkhuffman said:
I don't think it was there last summer. It is new also. But not a V4.

Hopefully it’s a pull-through setup. We have a V3 Tesla Supercharger like this in Columbus, Ohio and it works great for all EVs. I think every grocery store should have one.

mkhuffman · Apr 15, 2025

Gen(R3)Xer said:
Hopefully it’s a pull-through setup. We have a V3 Tesla Supercharger like this in Columbus, Ohio and it works great for all EVs. I think every grocery store should have one.

I don't think there is a pull through. But there are 12 pumps, split between a median. So maybe you can pull up to an end unit with a trailer and not block other chargers.

jerseyff · Apr 15, 2025

mkhuffman said:
Just as a cool thing, I drove on the beach in Nags Head today. Efficiency? 0.45 mi/kWh. LOL. This is why we need to be able to charge down here. Anyway, so much fun. Just don't get stuck!

Here was me and my R1T, two weeks after delivery in 2022!

Sand mode came I believe a month or two layer via OTA, rally mode it was!

mkhuffman · Apr 16, 2025

jerseyff said:
Here was me and my R1T, two weeks after delivery in 2022! Sand mode came I believe a month or two layer via OTA, rally mode it was!

That is so awesome. I am embarrassed to report that I used snow mode because I didnt see where to select sand mode. I am sure it is easy to find if I looked harder.

By the way, I am surprised you aired down so low. Per the user guide:

Rivian R1T R1S New RAN location in Nags Head, NC 1000000440

jerseyff · Apr 16, 2025

mkhuffman said:
That is so awesome. I am embarrassed to report that I used snow mode because I didnt see where to select sand mode. I am sure it is easy to find if I looked harder.

By the way, I am surprised you aired down so low. Per the user guide:

Yeah, the air down guidelines were not printed at the time. I feel like they recommended 20 to me on the phone maybe? Couldnt tell ya for sure...

mkhuffman · Apr 16, 2025

jerseyff said:
Yeah, the air down guidelines were not printed at the time. I feel like they recommended 20 to me on the phone maybe? Couldnt tell ya for sure...

They recommend 18 psi, but most trucks don't weigh as much as our R1s. At least that is my theory for why it is so much higher than recommended.

Rivian R1T R1S New RAN location in Nags Head, NC 1000000442

BTW - I did find sand mode. So next time that is what I will use.

BCondrey · Apr 18, 2025

A few things here... DM trucks don't have sand mode. We have to use off-road mode. I'd never go lower than 28 or so. The OBX is a very wild beach. Lots of divets, depressions, holes, etc. Hit one at a really low pressure and you may lose the bead.

This is the best stock truck ever for the beach. My old Tacoma and Cherokee we not nearly as good.

The only issue I have had on the OBX is the ramps to get to the beach. They get chewed up, are deep, and sometimes have inclines to get over. The "end of the road" north of Corolla is very level, but then you have the beach sand highway behind you when you park on the beach. Lots of traffic through there.

Will be there in a week and can't wait to get on the sand.

mkhuffman · Apr 18, 2025

BCondrey said:
The only issue I have had on the OBX is the ramps to get to the beach. They get chewed up, are deep, and sometimes have inclines to get over. The "end of the road" north of Corolla is very level, but then you have the beach sand highway behind you when you park on the beach. Lots of traffic through there.

Will be there in a week and can't wait to get on the sand.

I came down one ramp and planned to go out on the one on the Nags Head side of Jennette's Pier, but it was too steep. I tried twice to get up the slope and gave up. I do wonder if Sand Mode would have helped.

I thought about going under the pier because there is another ramp on the other side, but it didn't look traversable. I did it last year in my wife's Jeep and made it to the other side of the Pier. This time it didn't look good. So I turned around.

I was starting to freak out as I drove back towards the entrance I came in on. What if it was too steep to get out? It wasn't, fortunately. But I had visions of getting towed up off the beach and people laughing at me in my expensive electric truck.