New to Rivian. Coming from Tesla world. Scared.

[Deacon]

Road trips definitely won't be as care free as they were in your Tesla - at least not yet. I do believe that will change rather quickly. Most truck stop' gas station chains have EV charging deals in place and installs are happening. Many fast food chains are doing the same. Rivian's network is slowly growing but it's very good where you can find them.

That being said, if you don't mind putting in some extra planning you should still be just fine. Tons of people here taking cross country road trips and going places off road a Tesla could never reach. At this point, best practice is still to plan your overall route, then check your charging stops on Plugshare to be sure they are working, and then use the Rivian navigation to only route yourself to the next charger. Unfortunately you still need to have a plan B in mind just in case Plugshare was wrong and you need to find an alternative nearby.

The secret to life is Plan "B".

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[prestapost]

CT to VT counts as sparse??

 

[nrcooled]

I'm exactly in the same boat as the OP. I'm picking up my R1T Monday (fingers crossed) and I've owned my 2012 Model S since brand new. I finally convinced my wife 5 years ago to make the switch and we also have her 2018 Model 3 LR which we bought new.

I absolutely remember the old days where charging was scarce and sketchy. I've had some pretty close calls on road trips years ago and I really enjoy today's reality with the supercharger network.

Switching to the R1T was based on the the need for a good vehicle to get us to our favorite ski/snowboard destinations. Both our current Teslas are RWD and AWD will be nice to have. They being said, I'm hoping that my switch doesn't bite me in the end. I guess I need to go back to the old days of charging where you opportunity charged anywhere you could.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

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.

I guess you and I have very different definitions of a lot.

 

[The_Frog]

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.

I was about to write post and realized I didn't have to because it would have duplicated the above.

As others have stated, the only "negative" is that I would definitely roadtrip with the Tesla for the time being due to the superior charging network.

Other than that, you'll love it!.

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