New to Rivian. Coming from Tesla world. Scared.

[sub]

Hello,

I am picking up an R1S this week after a few years with Tesla. I had my first Tesla in 2018 and would plan trips meticulously knowing exactly when and where to stop to charge. We've since had 5 Teslas and currently only have Teslas. Over the last few years my wife and I have felt like road-tripping a Tesla is just as easy as an ICE vehicle. But with a growing family and a dislike of the MX we are selling our MS and picking up an R1s.

I do the vast majority of my charging at home. However, we do travel between CT and VT on the weekends and the charging appears desolate for CCS vehicles.

Any advice for a NAC to CCS transition?

I went on a road trip last week. I left the Rivian at home and drove my Tesla. Halfway through the drive, I knew I made the right decision even though seating and trunk space was tight.

One of the charging stops has both a Supercharger and EA charger in the same parking lot. There was a long line of vehicles (including three Rivian's) waiting to use the one non-broken EA stall, while more than half of the supercharger stalls were unoccupied and all were working.

Road tripping in the Rivian is going to have to wait until Tesla opens up their superchargers to everyone.

Sponsored

 

[RivAW]

Hello,

I am picking up an R1S this week after a few years with Tesla. I had my first Tesla in 2018 and would plan trips meticulously knowing exactly when and where to stop to charge. We've since had 5 Teslas and currently only have Teslas. Over the last few years my wife and I have felt like road-tripping a Tesla is just as easy as an ICE vehicle. But with a growing family and a dislike of the MX we are selling our MS and picking up an R1s.

I do the vast majority of my charging at home. However, we do travel between CT and VT on the weekends and the charging appears desolate for CCS vehicles.

Any advice for a NAC to CCS transition?

You’re supposed to have access to the Tesla Supercharger network in your Rivian very soon (early 2024) so this thread is mostly obsolete already.
That said, having traveled in my R1T from the Boston area to NJ, NY, NH and ME I haven’t had any issues with EA, ChargePoint or EVGO. Just plan your route, check with PlugShare and don’t push the limits if your range (which is reflected significantly more accurately in your Rivian than in a Tesla).

 

[Epicloop]

My experience, picked up in Normal, drove 5100 miles home, used ABRP for routing, mostly used EA stations and had no issues on my trip. You will hear completely opposite from others but I would have no concerns taking another extended trip in the R1S.

5100 miles wow, do you live in Alaska or South America?

 

[Cycliste]

5100 miles wow, do you live in Alaska or South America?

Maybe on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, if you don’t count ferries??

 

[darren1f]

Hello,

I am picking up an R1S this week after a few years with Tesla. I had my first Tesla in 2018 and would plan trips meticulously knowing exactly when and where to stop to charge. We've since had 5 Teslas and currently only have Teslas. Over the last few years my wife and I have felt like road-tripping a Tesla is just as easy as an ICE vehicle. But with a growing family and a dislike of the MX we are selling our MS and picking up an R1s.

I do the vast majority of my charging at home. However, we do travel between CT and VT on the weekends and the charging appears desolate for CCS vehicles.

Any advice for a NAC to CCS transition?

My advice, use your Tesla for road trips. We have a '22 Model X and a '23 R1S. I recently did NY to DC in the Rivian... never again. At least not until more Superchargers are available to use with CSS. EA and EVgo are worthless and will take you miles out of your way, only to discover they're broken or deliver a fraction of their rated speed. Though even after the NACS changeover next year, only about 25% of Tesla's superchargers are slated to work with CSS adapters. The R1 is great in almost every way, but the unreliable charging network and charger mapping is a real problem that's not an issue in a Tesla.

 

[Supratachophobia]

You’re supposed to have access to the Tesla Supercharger network in your Rivian very soon (early 2024) so this thread is mostly obsolete already.
That said, having traveled in my R1T from the Boston area to NJ, NY, NH and ME I haven’t had any issues with EA, ChargePoint or EVGO. Just plan your route, check with PlugShare and don’t push the limits if your range (which is reflected significantly more accurately in your Rivian than in a Tesla).

There is a physical aspect to the charging Network. It's not like all of the sudden in 2024 something magic happens and you automatically have access to the supercharger network. Either Rivian has to bring out an adapter or Tesla has to retrofit the magic dock.

 

[SANZC02]

5100 miles wow, do you live in Alaska or South America?

Ha ha, no just decided to drive back to CA through New England and Florida. Thought it was a good time to get acquainted with the new ride while I visited some old friends and family.

 

[NC-Rivian]

You’re supposed to have access to the Tesla Supercharger network in your Rivian very soon (early 2024) so this thread is mostly obsolete already.
That said, having traveled in my R1T from the Boston area to NJ, NY, NH and ME I haven’t had any issues with EA, ChargePoint or EVGO. Just plan your route, check with PlugShare and don’t push the limits if your range (which is reflected significantly more accurately in your Rivian than in a Tesla).

Maybe my Tesla adapter and replacement power tonneau will arrive in the same box.

 

[Joey]

Hello,

I am picking up an R1S this week after a few years with Tesla. I had my first Tesla in 2018 and would plan trips meticulously knowing exactly when and where to stop to charge. We've since had 5 Teslas and currently only have Teslas. Over the last few years my wife and I have felt like road-tripping a Tesla is just as easy as an ICE vehicle. But with a growing family and a dislike of the MX we are selling our MS and picking up an R1s.

I do the vast majority of my charging at home. However, we do travel between CT and VT on the weekends and the charging appears desolate for CCS vehicles.

Any advice for a NAC to CCS transition?

We have just completed our second trip from Fort Collins to some remote areas of Utah with our R1S and have nothing but praise for the vehicle. The charge planning tool in the navigation system worked well for us. Even in the more sparsely populated areas of western CO and northern Utah we managed to find charging stations. The Tesla Magic Dock system proved to be a godsend.

 

[R.I.P.]

This type of thread brings out the fan bois in both camps. I am open to conversations as to who may have more side by side experience than I do, but I am betting not many people on this forum can come close.

Hundreds of thousands of miles over the last year and a half, side by side with Rivians and Teslas and I can tell you this:

• The Rivian is not a Tesla.
• The Teslas have become damn near bulletproof, I literally run Baja in one of two I own almost monthly.
• The Rivians are the opposite, something seems to always be going wrong with them. Now before you blow a gasket fanboy, I will qualify this by saying it usually is not critical things, and in my experience the vehicles keep going. Sometimes it's inconvenient, such as when the cheap plastic tailgate latches fail and you have to lash the tailgate up for a thousand miles of Mexican road.
• Nothing need be said about the charging infrastructure differences, since a cure for that is coming.
• I love my Rivian. You won't find me bitching a lot on this forum (with the exception of the QM debacle), because I truly love the vehicle and I prefer a truck driving experience, especially with what I do.

Expect More problems, niggles, and growing pains then you experienced with your Tesla's, and I'm betting you will love this vehicle.

 

[AllInev]

Any advice for a NAC to CCS transition?

Brace yourself. It's ugly out there right now in certain parts of the country.

 

[moosetags]

Welcome to our Forums. We are glad to have you with us. As an experienced EVer, you can be very helpful to our membership.

Brian

 

[PeterSK]

Tesla owner since 2013 - S, then X, also 3, then Y. Got the R1S 3 months ago. My R1S is a bit of a time machine in that it brings me back 8 or so years in many respects - software and some bugs being worked out, new features rapidly being deployed through updates (last month's suspension tuning was awesome!), weak charging network coverage, a feeling that you're part of a smaller club of owners/fans, and an enjoyable forum environment.

But in other respects it's so much better. My car - purchased privately a few weeks after the pre-price hike reservation holder took delivery - had zero fit and finish issues when I picked it up, and I went over it meticulously. It has since had two electrical problems - 12V draining and bricking the car due to a loose ground wire, and inability to level 1/2 charge due to an improperly applied software update - that were frustrating to deal with but now are far in the rear view mirror. I've only taken it on two Boston-NYC trips, that I could have made without stopping except I didn't have charger access at my destination. So I did a little planning via the Rivian app and checking station reliability on Plugshare, and made sure to stop only at pre-vetted EA and EVgo stations that worked fine, though one had a 10 minute wait on a Friday afternoon. At this stage in the charging network development, pre-planning and having a plan B are key.

Certain things are a big improvement over my X - rear cargo room and 3rd row seating, powered frunk hood, stalk-based switches to control headlight and wiper settings, different ride modes, and the interior feel overall. Others will be a wait - text/voice integration, Apple Music, navigation waypoints - but some of those only came to Tesla in the last few years.

In summary, no reason to be scared - you'll love it.

 

[Ralph]

You’re supposed to have access to the Tesla Supercharger network in your Rivian very soon (early 2024) so this thread is mostly obsolete already.
That said, having traveled in my R1T from the Boston area to NJ, NY, NH and ME I haven’t had any issues with EA, ChargePoint or EVGO. Just plan your route, check with PlugShare and don’t push the limits if your range (which is reflected significantly more accurately in your Rivian than in a Tesla).

One comment.....

At the risk of coming off negative, I think a *little* caution is in order with respect to access to the Supercharger network. Rivian has stated we could have access, "as early as 1st quarter of 2024"). A very carefully worded statement, likely due to all the things out of Rivian's control to make it happen.

 

[Chewy734]

I would think it’d be scarier to come from an ICE vehicle to Rivian, given that you can find a gas station at nearly every corner. I took that plunge and never looked back.

Sponsored