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What Power Source is needed to Re-charge battery?

Horse Hauler

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I need a Rivian to haul horses to Mammoth Lakes from the greater LA area. Where can I recharge?
Thanks everyone!
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VinsRiv

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Hello Horse Hauler, I think we are all waiting to hear how charging will be done. Rivian may hook up with Charge Point, Electrify, or maybe have their own set up like Tesla but who knows how this will play out, I hope they can get the vehicles produced cause once I see how R1S is @ car show I should be putting my preorder in
 

Alan Burns

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US Dept of Energy has a website for Alternative Energy Station Locator you can search but it is far from complete. Electrify America shows what they have in service now mostly following Interstate highways. If you search EV Charging and list specific towns you can find locations not listed elsewhere. Plugshare.com has lots of information but it is hard to navigate by smartphone.

I have started to layout trips I am likely to take upon delivery especially the trip home from Chicago to Duluth thence Hwy 2 across North Dakota and Montana which at this time would require lots of towing. Perhaps I could hire a farmer's tractor to pull me down the road in regeneration long enough to get to the next charge. 《G》

Alan
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Hmp10

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I think Electrify America will soon be the horse to bet on for open platform cross-country charging. I have a Tesla, and even today with its expansive supercharger network there are certain trips I would not attempt in it. Elon Musk offered to make it an open platform for future EV entrants, but all have declined so far. So I think there will ultimately be limits on how far Tesla will go with a charging infrastructure for one brand.

Even Phase I of Electrify America's network will get you most places plus provide urban charging to a lot of people who wouldn't have it otherwise. Phase II is going to focus more on urban charging but will still expand the highway network. Upon complete of Phase IV, I believe true nation-wide charging will be a reality. At full build-out, Electrify America is promising ultra-fast charging stations no more than 120 miles apart from each other in any direction of travel. I'm worried, though, that at that point the issue will not become not finding a charging station, but standing in line to use it. I've already encountered that a couple of times at Tesla superchargers. However, since Electrify America will be a profit center for VW, they'll have reason to expand the capacity at each station as demand grows.

Lucid Motors made a very smart choice in signing up for Electrify America. I'm hoping that Rivian will do the same.
 

Alan Burns

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Electrify America has left huge gaps in service in western states with no indication phase 2 is going to fill any of it in. There is no way EA will get you across Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, most of Idaho main roads and none of the secondary highways in these states as well as Washington and Washington.
 

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Hmp10

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Agreed. I don't think we'll see true nationwide coverage until Phases III or IV, which haven't yet been fully spec'd out. But I do think that when we finally get there, it will most likely be Electrify America that does it.

These things take a while. Tesla has been building superchargers fairly aggressively for over six years, and I still can't get from south Florida to Charlotte, NC without some very-time consuming meandering and slow driving. (The newest Teslas with the larger battery packs can take the more direct route -- if you watch your driving speed -- but my 90 kW pack won't do it.)

To be frank, I think you'll be safer getting your Rivian trucked to you for delivery.
 

Alan Burns

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The drive across North Dakota is direct and scenic in it's own sort of way. I get to visit a long time friend and spend time in the Duluth neighborhoods. I could make the visit then drop south to head for Denver and Salt Lake where I have friends in both cities to visit. EA has me covered already on I-15 all the way from SLC to Missoula so I doubt Chicago-Denver-SLC will be a problem now or in a couple of years. It's all of us flyover people who are getting left out as usual.
 

Hmp10

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Which battery pack are you going to get? I also wonder how much range degradation Rivian will see in cold-weather driving. I don't have to deal with it in south Florida, but I've heard Tesla range can drop by 30% in really cold weather.
 

Alan Burns

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I will go with the 185 w battery. I would go with fewer 'deluxe' options like power tonneau covers, power frunk lids and whatever but if that's what it takes for another 100 miles of range that is part of the price of no oil changes. Perhaps users in northern states can get engine block heaters like ICE vehicles to use wall plugs to keep their crankcase and block warm overnight.
 

Hmp10

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If I go with Rivian that's the same battery pack I'm going to get. If you keep your EV plugged in, the battery is kept to optimal temperature in cold weather from the power line. It is only when you drive the car or park it without plugging in that the range drops so precipitously. Driving in really cold weather, part of the battery output is used to keep the battery warm, and that's a real drain on it.
 

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@Alan Burns if you’re talking about keeping the Rivian battery warm, RJ mentioned that when plugged in the liquid cooling system/ heating plates will keep the battery at optimal temperature at all times so that when you leave home you don’t waste the energy to heat up or cool down the battery.
 

Hmp10

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Tesla does the same thing, and I assume other EV's do, too (except possibly the Nissan Leaf, which doesn't have much of a temperature maintenance system). But the batteries still produce reduced range once driving in cold weather. I don't know if that's due to having to use power to keep the batteries up to optimal temperature or some other reason. I have read on Tesla forums that the real problem is parking the car in cold weather for many hours someplace where you can't plug it in. People have reported very significant battery drains as the batteries have to produce power to keep up minimum temperature.
 

Alan Burns

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This sounds like those of us living in the north country can live with. Once the battery hits 85% or full charge the electricity charge to keep the batteries warm while the drifting snow keeps the streets and roads closed should be affordable.
 

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Well, as a percentage of cars on the road, Norway has been Tesla's biggest market, and the rest of Scandinavia and the Netherlands are rapidly-growing EV markets. (Amsterdam's airport put a fleet of 97 Tesla taxis on the road soon after they hit the market.) It's one of the reasons Volvo is entering the EV market fairly quickly. So winter driving in cold climes doesn't seem to be too much of a challenge.
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