Ingo B
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
We just returned from a 4-night haul up the NorCal coast to Redwood National Parks via Mendocino. I am first to admit that this 460-ish mile trip is tame (or lame, depending on your outlook) by comparison, but we had fun, and more importantly, hit the goal of learning about EV trips in general. Reading about it only gets me so far. At some point, I have to just do it.
In retrospect, I overkilled the planning but with all the horror stories floating around about dead charge stations and such, I was compelled to have Plan B's, C's, and even D's in place. All said and done, turns out even my Plan A was overkill. All the RAN's worked perfectly (no surprise), and i never had to touch up at any of the Level 2's on my list. Few observations:
Bay Area > Mendocino:
1. I charged to 100% at home and made it to the Ukiah RAN with plenty left. Plugged in and let the magic happen. The route through Ukiah added about 20 minutes to the commute. While there were some EAs and EVGo's along the more direct route (HWY 1), the RAN reliability (and free) factor justified the detour. The area itself is... interesting. There's a McD's next to the charger area, a new-ish Chipote's across the street, with a strip mall next door. Aside from Lucky's, the businesses were all of the local variety (no big box stores). Some homeless presence but they left us alone. Was only planning to charge to 80% but we got caught up grocery shopping at the nearby Lucky's. Left there at 91%.
2. Ukiah to Mendocino was uneventful. Saw a few Rivians on the road, including a very friendly yellow R1T who excitedly waved as we passed each other on the freeway. If that was you, hi again! Our hotel had a porch with great views, good restaurant, and most importantly, multiple EV chargers (L2), two of which are Tesla Destinations. This is probably preaching to the choir, but if you don't already have one of those Lectron adapters, order one stat! Tesla chargers are everywhere, and given the basic nature of EV charging infrastructure, it behooves us to have as many options as possible. That thing is so worth the investment.
3. We visited a variety of beaches and parks in the area. Impressively, all of the beaches and parks we went to (Van Damme - not a typo, McKerricher, Point Cabrillo Lighthouse) had EV chargers in their parking lots. I forgot to take pics or note the make/model (didn't have to use them), but they appear free. My tax dollars at work! Thanks to the Rivian nav, we even stumbled onto a Rivian Waypoint charger by some admin buildings across the highway from Russian Gulch. The garage on which it's installed held maintenance gear. Seemed an odd place to stick it, but good to know it's there. I guess this was their only option since Russian Gulch already has a charging station.
4.. We planned a hike within McKerricher Park since it has two Rivian Waypoint chargers by the front gate. I probably didn't need it, but I wanted the photo op for you good people (and a bit more juice couldn't hurt), so plugged in anyway. Got about 24 miles/hr during our hikes. Note the red ICE in the neighboring Waypoint spot. She moved it when she saw me pull in, though. I think she works at the park. Props to her for being aware enough to do that.
Mendocino > Redwood National Parks
5. After two nights, we headed further north to Redwood National Parks, stopping at the Fortuna RAN. Again, flawless. Like Ukiah, the chargers are in a strip mall, but here, its anchor store is a Safeway. There was a Dollar Tree as well, but the remaining stores are local. We picked a few (ok, a lot of) things up at Safeway which again, allowed me to overshoot my SOC goal of 80 to about 92%. There's a strong business model here - EV charging requires more time, so businesses will have a captive audience. Am very interested to see how EV stations evolve. We were joking that if Rivian charge stations had the Japanese train station model (whole malls of shops and restaurants sharing the building with the station), they'd rake in billions. There's money to be made here, capitalists!
6. After a stop at the Sequoia Park Zoo (Redwood Sky Walk feature is a must-see), we made it to our hotel in Orick. No EV chargers on site, but the park Operations Center next door (in its parking lot, of all places) has a Shell Recharge - two fast, one L2. It was here that I broke my streak and had to spend actual money to charge, $9.75 to be exact. With absolutely nothing going on over there (more on that below), it was easier to monitor and hit my goal of 80%.
7. Orick is pretty dead. It almost felt abandoned. Here's a shot of where we stayed. Pretty sure that asphalt is original circa 1950. The combination of all this really made it feel like I was in a Tarantino movie. Inside is totally remodeled from 2022, though. Once I got past the creepy factor, I actually dug the spot, although part of me was bracing for a visit from a guy in a ponytail paired with a dude boasting Jheri Curl, a commanding voice, and a penchant for quoting Old Testament verses.
8. The next day, we drove into Redwood National Parks to visit the Fern Canyon. On top of an online reservation, the Canyon requires a $12 fee and features a 45 minute dirt road drive to the trailhead. Said road also has two stream crossings. With all the rain and snow CA got this past winter, I was expecting an obstacle-ridden dirt path leading to a rushing body of water howling with violent treachery, full of bone trophies and tears from past, failed crossings. My R1T and I were ready to flip death off in its face while laughing maniacally, all the while nodding to the rhythm guitar of "The Immigrant Song" cranked to 11.
Instead, we got about 4" of gently flowing water that the 2010 Honda Civic behind us cleared with ease. But me being me, I still put her in Off Road, cranked the bass, and rolled through as-if. Be adventurous, my friends.
RW Parks > Home
9. Over the next two days, we visited a variety of other trails and beaches, then returned home in the opposite order, leading off with another $9-ish at the Shell Recharge, followed by Fortuna, then Ukiah RANs. All said and done, I spent just under $20 in transport costs.
Random thoughts:
- Still can't figure out how the Reduced Regen thing works. It sometimes kicks on at higher SOC (like 80+, which I understand), but it also does so at lower amounts, like 59%. That was weird.
- Although I saw a few on the freeways, I did not see any Rivians at any of the parks or beaches. That struck me as odd.
- Along those lines, I fielded a few questions/comments about the truck. Lots of folks like the color, and one guy was enamoured with the gear tunnel door-as-a-seat. If I think about it, it really is the feature you never knew you needed until you actually have it.
- I love knowing that I have the capability to torch 95% of the other vehicles on the road. Its torque is really handy for on ramps and passing lines. That said, I chose to be greatly responsible with my great power, and hovered between 55-80mph depending on where I was.
- While still tiring, I was not nearly as worn out from the drive as I used to be in my old Ridgeline. This speaks volumes to the Rivian build since I usually really hate driving.
- We detoured into the Avenue Of The Giants scenic drive (Hwy 254) which is a lot of fun if you like driving among really tall redwoods. Since traffic was light, we were able to cruise at 25-30 mph in some areas and roll down the windows. Since there's no engine noise, it was a neat experience to hear sounds of nature from a moving vehicle.
- I realize this is long, but I'm hoping this helps anyone new to EV road trips. This forum was extremely helpful to me when I was still shopping/waiting, so its my wayof paying forward.
In retrospect, I overkilled the planning but with all the horror stories floating around about dead charge stations and such, I was compelled to have Plan B's, C's, and even D's in place. All said and done, turns out even my Plan A was overkill. All the RAN's worked perfectly (no surprise), and i never had to touch up at any of the Level 2's on my list. Few observations:
Bay Area > Mendocino:
1. I charged to 100% at home and made it to the Ukiah RAN with plenty left. Plugged in and let the magic happen. The route through Ukiah added about 20 minutes to the commute. While there were some EAs and EVGo's along the more direct route (HWY 1), the RAN reliability (and free) factor justified the detour. The area itself is... interesting. There's a McD's next to the charger area, a new-ish Chipote's across the street, with a strip mall next door. Aside from Lucky's, the businesses were all of the local variety (no big box stores). Some homeless presence but they left us alone. Was only planning to charge to 80% but we got caught up grocery shopping at the nearby Lucky's. Left there at 91%.
2. Ukiah to Mendocino was uneventful. Saw a few Rivians on the road, including a very friendly yellow R1T who excitedly waved as we passed each other on the freeway. If that was you, hi again! Our hotel had a porch with great views, good restaurant, and most importantly, multiple EV chargers (L2), two of which are Tesla Destinations. This is probably preaching to the choir, but if you don't already have one of those Lectron adapters, order one stat! Tesla chargers are everywhere, and given the basic nature of EV charging infrastructure, it behooves us to have as many options as possible. That thing is so worth the investment.
3. We visited a variety of beaches and parks in the area. Impressively, all of the beaches and parks we went to (Van Damme - not a typo, McKerricher, Point Cabrillo Lighthouse) had EV chargers in their parking lots. I forgot to take pics or note the make/model (didn't have to use them), but they appear free. My tax dollars at work! Thanks to the Rivian nav, we even stumbled onto a Rivian Waypoint charger by some admin buildings across the highway from Russian Gulch. The garage on which it's installed held maintenance gear. Seemed an odd place to stick it, but good to know it's there. I guess this was their only option since Russian Gulch already has a charging station.
4.. We planned a hike within McKerricher Park since it has two Rivian Waypoint chargers by the front gate. I probably didn't need it, but I wanted the photo op for you good people (and a bit more juice couldn't hurt), so plugged in anyway. Got about 24 miles/hr during our hikes. Note the red ICE in the neighboring Waypoint spot. She moved it when she saw me pull in, though. I think she works at the park. Props to her for being aware enough to do that.
Mendocino > Redwood National Parks
5. After two nights, we headed further north to Redwood National Parks, stopping at the Fortuna RAN. Again, flawless. Like Ukiah, the chargers are in a strip mall, but here, its anchor store is a Safeway. There was a Dollar Tree as well, but the remaining stores are local. We picked a few (ok, a lot of) things up at Safeway which again, allowed me to overshoot my SOC goal of 80 to about 92%. There's a strong business model here - EV charging requires more time, so businesses will have a captive audience. Am very interested to see how EV stations evolve. We were joking that if Rivian charge stations had the Japanese train station model (whole malls of shops and restaurants sharing the building with the station), they'd rake in billions. There's money to be made here, capitalists!
6. After a stop at the Sequoia Park Zoo (Redwood Sky Walk feature is a must-see), we made it to our hotel in Orick. No EV chargers on site, but the park Operations Center next door (in its parking lot, of all places) has a Shell Recharge - two fast, one L2. It was here that I broke my streak and had to spend actual money to charge, $9.75 to be exact. With absolutely nothing going on over there (more on that below), it was easier to monitor and hit my goal of 80%.
7. Orick is pretty dead. It almost felt abandoned. Here's a shot of where we stayed. Pretty sure that asphalt is original circa 1950. The combination of all this really made it feel like I was in a Tarantino movie. Inside is totally remodeled from 2022, though. Once I got past the creepy factor, I actually dug the spot, although part of me was bracing for a visit from a guy in a ponytail paired with a dude boasting Jheri Curl, a commanding voice, and a penchant for quoting Old Testament verses.
8. The next day, we drove into Redwood National Parks to visit the Fern Canyon. On top of an online reservation, the Canyon requires a $12 fee and features a 45 minute dirt road drive to the trailhead. Said road also has two stream crossings. With all the rain and snow CA got this past winter, I was expecting an obstacle-ridden dirt path leading to a rushing body of water howling with violent treachery, full of bone trophies and tears from past, failed crossings. My R1T and I were ready to flip death off in its face while laughing maniacally, all the while nodding to the rhythm guitar of "The Immigrant Song" cranked to 11.
Instead, we got about 4" of gently flowing water that the 2010 Honda Civic behind us cleared with ease. But me being me, I still put her in Off Road, cranked the bass, and rolled through as-if. Be adventurous, my friends.
RW Parks > Home
9. Over the next two days, we visited a variety of other trails and beaches, then returned home in the opposite order, leading off with another $9-ish at the Shell Recharge, followed by Fortuna, then Ukiah RANs. All said and done, I spent just under $20 in transport costs.
Random thoughts:
- Still can't figure out how the Reduced Regen thing works. It sometimes kicks on at higher SOC (like 80+, which I understand), but it also does so at lower amounts, like 59%. That was weird.
- Although I saw a few on the freeways, I did not see any Rivians at any of the parks or beaches. That struck me as odd.
- Along those lines, I fielded a few questions/comments about the truck. Lots of folks like the color, and one guy was enamoured with the gear tunnel door-as-a-seat. If I think about it, it really is the feature you never knew you needed until you actually have it.
- I love knowing that I have the capability to torch 95% of the other vehicles on the road. Its torque is really handy for on ramps and passing lines. That said, I chose to be greatly responsible with my great power, and hovered between 55-80mph depending on where I was.
- While still tiring, I was not nearly as worn out from the drive as I used to be in my old Ridgeline. This speaks volumes to the Rivian build since I usually really hate driving.
- We detoured into the Avenue Of The Giants scenic drive (Hwy 254) which is a lot of fun if you like driving among really tall redwoods. Since traffic was light, we were able to cruise at 25-30 mph in some areas and roll down the windows. Since there's no engine noise, it was a neat experience to hear sounds of nature from a moving vehicle.
- I realize this is long, but I'm hoping this helps anyone new to EV road trips. This forum was extremely helpful to me when I was still shopping/waiting, so its my wayof paying forward.
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