Observations after 3000 mile road trip over 14 days in my R1T

[1T2022]

EVgo is too expensive. Best deal is to find ElectrifyA 350kw chargers at MA, PA etc. $0.29/min.

Sponsored

 

[Mickey]

I may post a separate trip report of my journey, but for now I'll limit this mostly to observations from along the way.

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Trip:

Drove from Bend, OR to San Diego (~1000 miles) over two days, then up to Temecula, CA where we stayed for about 10 days. While there we had a daily commute of 40-50 miles round trip, and often did that jaunt more than once a day. We also had a couple side trips to Newport and Irvine, down to San Diego again, and around the area we were staying. In all, I amassed about 1000 miles while in SoCal. I then did the ~1000 mile / 2-day trip back to Bend from Temecula.

I used Conserve mode whenever I was on the highway, whether a 10 mile run to town or long stretches of Interstate, and All Purpose mode otherwise. When in Conserve mode, I had ride height set to Low and in All Purpose set to Standard ... and regen was always set to High.


SitRep:

I was dependent on public charging 99% of the time, both on the road and while we were at our Airbnb. The rental property was located in a DCFC desert; Temecula / Murietta / Menifee have just three 350kW charge points (literally, and one didn't have a cable) with only a handful of 50kW stations spread about. I was always waiting for a charger, having to settle for slow "fast" chargers, settling for a 6kW L2 charger or having to be strategic about what time I tried to get on the 350s (which more than once I visited between midnight and 5am). Our rental didn't have EV charging capability, but I was able to sneak in a few 120V / 15A overnight charges in the garage for a few extra miles of range (couldn't reach the 14-30 or 14-50 plugs in the house).

It's also worth noting the R1T replaced my Raptor, which has been my road warrior and adventure vehicle since 2018. I logged about 20k miles a year on road trips in that thing, and it was a mile-eating beast. Loved that truck for long-distance driving ... and so many of my observations below will be relative to the Raptor experience (covering this same route a couple times a year, in particular).

Observations ... covering the R1T specifically, DCFC and public charging, EV road tripping in general, etc:

1) R1T adaptive cruise is waaaaay too slow to accelerate back up to set speed when passing a vehicle that's triggered the system to slow down. If I came up on a vehicle going slower than my set speed, and ACC started to slow the R1T correspondingly, as I changed lanes to pass it took *forever* to build up momentum again. This is both dangerous -- trying to get over into the flow of traffic, only to be slowing anyone else coming up behind me as the R1T lags -- and annoying, as it kills travel momentum every time. In the Raptor, it would start to slow as it approached a slower vehicle, but as soon as I changed lanes (system detects clear path), it was on the throttle back to set speed. The Rivian is just too slow and required me to apply the throttle manually in those situations.

2) There's no "Resume" function for ACC. I played with all the ACC/Driver+ controls (stalk and steering wheel buttons) while on the trip and couldn't find anything that resumed a set speed. When I arrived to my hotel on the first day, I sifted through the owner's manual (pages 121-140) and don't see anything specifically noting "Resume". So after disengaging ACC for any reason, I'd need to return to my previous speed and set (engage) ACC again through the stalk. That seems silly.

3) ACC still gets "spooked", even after recent OTAs aimed at improving it. I had the system hard brake on me a few times, and it seemed to happen most when strong shadows crossed the road perpendicularly. Unsettling on the open road at speed ... and super dangerous on freeways in California, where traffic is often coming up on you at ridiculous speed (which could result in a rear-end collision).

4) ACC seems overly sensitive when cornering on curvy roads. I know Rivian's ACC/Driver+ uses "curb speed assist" to adjust vehicle speed when corning ... and I really like this feature (in general). I always wished the Raptor's ACC would slow it a bit during curves; instead it would go full beans into a corner without regard to speed (like a runaway train). That said, sometimes the R1T's CSA would brake really hard entering a corner on the interstate, almost like phantom braking, rather than gently backing off the throttle to ease momentum and flow through. In other words, it "overreacts". I do have regen set to High ... so maybe that's why it seems so aggressive?

5) Highway Assist (HWA) needs 'lane change' capability. This is well documented, but taking a long road trip you realize just how much it's needed. Between the aforementioned lag in resuming speed after being slowed and having to disable HWA to change lanes, then reenable, I found myself constantly interacting with ACC/Driver+ when it should be more seamless. HWA worked well overall, IMO, so long as you were in an open lane with no one ahead and stayed there for long distances. That scenario was rare on this trip, so ACC/Driver+ and HWA felt a bit crude (in need of refinement).

6) Buffeting in the R1T cabin when the windows are down is ridiculous. The effect can be partially offset by opening windows on both sides, but it sucks in general and is hard to find a comfortable set up if you only want windows down on one side (e.g., driver's window down). In the Raptor I could vent the sunroof or open the rear glass sliding window to offset the effect. I'm going to try some anti-buffeting products used on other cars to see if I can minimize it somehow.

7) Public charging stations/DCFCs lack travel conveniences like squeegees, trash bins and often restrooms. sucks when you're on a road trip. A few times I found myself stopping at a gas station -- on top of a charging stop! -- just to clean the windshield and throw trash away. (Note that most charging locations I visited had trash littering the site)

8) Public charging is a weird experience ... often wrought with strange behavior and lack of etiquette.

For example, stopping at a location where chargers are full and having to get out of your vehicle, look at each screen and see what everyone's SOC is. That feels odd enough, but then you have to strategize how you'll queue up to get the next available charge point. Then if another EV pulls up, wanting to do the same, you immediately feel defensive (combative) because there's no formal queuing process and depends on human nature to function smoothly. If there's anything we've learned about modern society ... people suck. More than once I had someone come to a location after me, then snake the first available spot before I could get positioned for it. That's bullshit, and I don't feel like having to be confrontational just to juice my vehicle.

Then there are the people who come up to you while charging, ask how long you'll be, and if you'd mind disconnecting so they can get some charge. What?!! Now, I understand if someone is at 85%+ SOC, charging at 12kWh, and you have 10% and need a charge; the former is poor etiquette and asking is warranted. But if I'm on a charger at 47% SOC and you ask me if I'd mind unplugging so you can charge ... that's going to come with a polite f*ck you. This honestly happened to me several times; not just someone asking how long I planned to charge (i.e., 75% or 100% or whatever), so they could gauge their wait time, but when I was under 60% SOC and someone asked me if I'd mind moving on so they could charge. Crazy.

Related to above, and probably the catalyst for such behavior, are the people charging to 100% when that might take an hour or more because they're already over 80% SOC. I don't know how many times I went to the 350kW station in Murietta and an Ioniq 5 was doing exactly this when I had 10% and really needed to connect. There seems to be a lack of education around battery tech, charging speeds, etc on top of etiquette (and modern societal "I'm the only one who matters" norms).

Charging in public locations late at night feels super vulnerable. Even when charge points are in well lit parking lots, like grocery stores or Walmarts, I felt uneasy about my vehicle being physically tethered to something and knowing I'd be there for 30+ minutes. You can't just jump in the car and drive off if someone sketchy approached; you're kinda trapped. And many public DCFCs are not well lit, with the only light coming from the charge point's illuminated signage. Public charging needs to become more like modern gas stations / convenience stores in this regard, with proper lighting and safety.

DCFCs in the part of Southern California I was at seem stupid expensive, and with limited to no choice (which of course drives some of the price gouging). A few times I had to pay a $2.99 session fee and $0.66/kW at a 50kWh EVGO charger. So a "slow" charger, with 1-hour max charge session, and stoopid rates. When comparing the calculatie the cost per mile for charging sessions at that location with my Raptor at 14.5 mpg and $4.50/gal fuel, it wasn't much different. I didn't buy a Rivian to save money on fuel ... bu that's not right, and does nothing to help EV adoption.

9) Rivian's estimated range math when route planning through in-vehicle NAV never adds up. This is a combination of a couple things: One is the guess-o-meter (GOM) in the driver's instrument screen, and how it only provides a theoretical range estimate based on SOC, tire/wheel package (20s, 21s, 22s) and drive mode (All Purpose, Conserv, etc). That's ... useless. Then there's the distance-to-destination and miles-remaining estimate when planning a route through the vehicle's NAV (route planner). This is often more *realistic*, but not really more accurate.

In a practical sense, subtracting the distance to a destination from the estimated range in the GOM should give you the estimated remaining range, right? That is never the case. Let's say the GOM says you have 260 miles of range, and your destination is 150 miles ... you should see 110 miles of estimated range remaining. Instead, it'll be like 50 miles. The math doesn't add up, because the GOM is theoretical and the route planning mileage is independent of that.

10) Estimated range remaining at destination is off by 20% or more. Building on above, I found the miles of range remaining estimate in the NAV route planner was off by 20% or more. In other words, if NAV said I'd have 113 miles left when I reached my destination, it would actually be more like 85 ... or worse. Several times it was really less than 50% of what it estimated I'd have (said I'd have 130 miles remaining and I had 60 when I arrived). This meant always factoring in much less range than I theoretically should have and my route planning, outside of the in-vehicle system, had to manually accommodate for the discrepancy.

It's worth noting I had a large cargo box on my roof, so my aero was affected and that had a negative impact on range. I also had probably 500-600 lbs of total payload (me, dogs, stuff). Over the 3000 miles I averaged 1.92 kWh ... not great. Having all-terrains mounted on the 22s also likely contributed to less range than if I had the stock PZero Sports on there. I generally drove about 5-7 over the posted limit on the 70 mph stretches, rarely going 80 mph or faster). With all of those caveats ... the 'estimated miles remaining' were never even close.

11) Many public charge points / DCFCs are *not* set up to accommodate large vehicles like the F150 Lightning, Hummer EV and future models like the Silverado and RAM Rev. I found the R1T a bit tight in many locations, with narrow lanes or awkwardly laid out charge stations, and couldn’t have imagined a full size truck in those situations.

12) Location-specific to Temecula / Murietta / Menifee, because that area is a DCFC desert, but I found myself *always* thinking about my SOC/range and how/when I'd charge. It was exhausting at times strategizing, trying to factor in a stop, stressing about how long the wait would be when I got to a charger, etc. I didn't enjoy that at all, and if my EV life was dependent on public charging like that ... I'd not own a Rivian (or any CCS EV).

These are all just things I recorded during the trip. I could bitch about public charging / DCFC infrastructure in general, but that's well documented. I could comment on the R1T's charging curve, but Kyle / Out of Spec and others have chronicled this many times. I could reiterate how much aero impacts range, but it kinda goes without saying with any EV.

Happy to answer any questions, from the trip in general or on observations above.

Excellent analysis! I hope Rivian is paying attention and will address the R1T issues.

 

[Rob O]

Great points. Now the main question - keeping the R1T or moving back to a Raptor?

(I'm currently having the same dilemma myself)

TL;DR ... keeping the Rivian for now.

Honestly, if the Raptor weren't still a challenge to get at or below sticker, and the Raptor R both impossible to get and suffering with leak issues, I would have seriously considered going back as soon as I returned from this trip. I'll admit I looked at inventory and tried to rationalize it while we were in California.

The two main things were the public EV charging experience and the Rivian's size.

I love road trips and do a lot of long drives each year. My daughter is a competitive equestrian, showing regularly up and down the Western US and Canada (as well as events in Colorado, Nevada, Michigan and further east). I drive to nearly every show with the dogs and our gear; wife and daughter usually fly. On this trip I found I really, really missed the Raptor's cabin size and bed capacity. While the R1T has a lot of clever storage -- frunk, gear tunnel, under bed cavity, etc -- it's *tiny* compared with the Raptor. And since there's still no tonneau, the bed was almost useless. I ran a canopy on the Raptor, and grew very comfortable with all that dry storage. The Raptor swallowed all our stuff and more ... while I had to be very strategic packing the Rivian, and even then still needed the range-robbing cargo box.

That said, I love the R1T's size otherwise. The Raptor could be a pain because of its size, and particularly its width/girth. The Rivian is a joy to drive, park, take on trails, etc ... and it fits in my garage, where the Raptor lived it's entire life in the driveway.

Then there's fueling. I never hesitated to jump in the Raptor and go; 100 miles or 1000 miles, didn't matter. With the R1T, you have to plan and think and create contingencies and monitor. I'm not nearly as excited about just getting in the Rivian and going on a long journey. Hell, I'm helping my 21 y/o pick up a motorcycle tomorrow. The owner is 100 miles from me (200 round trip), but on the other side of a mountain pass. Knowing I'll be towing a motorcycle trailer empty there and loaded back, with a usable 250 miles of range normal, then factoring in load and elevation, I don't think I can make it without having to find a charger. And guess what? There are like 2 (individual) 50kW or less charge points on that route. I'll likely have to go further than the owner into the next city, charge there, then backtrack for the bike and drive home. That's dumb. In the Raptor I could have gone there, picked up the bike, driven home and had 300 miles of fuel range left!

In the end, I really like the R1T. I like it for enough reasons to keep it for now. I've told myself I'll give it a year, see if there's a move to NACS (potentially opening up a new world of chargers), get the tonneau cover and see if that helps with cargo capacity, and enjoy stress free use for the majority of the time I'm driving it close to home (where I have a L2 charger in the garage).

 

[Rob O]

I’ve done a few long trips on my stock 20 ATs and range estimate has been pretty spot on. Maybe off by 2-5 miles. I don’t have a RTT or anything mounted to my vehicle atm. I’m guessing the fact that you put ATs on your 22s, have a cargo box and a decent payload resulted in your quite different range estimate, mpg would be pretty different with a gas vehicle too with those additions to be fair.

I should have also noted a good chunk of the trip across California is into serious headwinds/crosswinds. Anyone who has driven from Redding to LA knows that entire stretch can be ridiculous. Going 75mph+ with those winds and the cargo box meant aero was really aerNo.

As for the A/Ts, I see little impact in normal driving. They're very similar in overall spec to the OE tires (weight, load rating, etc), and they're on factory wheels (so not pushed out toward the fenders, and thus impacting air flow or creating drag). Other than the tread pattern, they're not terribly different.

I think there’s so many different users (car companies and new buyers) using CCS they aren’t thinking or understanding that. To me it’s a no brainer, like a gas station at Costco you just wait in line based on when you arrive.

The number of different EVs out there from different manufacturers and with different battery tech, etc definitely has an impact. Not enough uniformity nor owner understanding/education. On top of that, not a single charging location I visited (probably a dozen or more just in those two weeks) had a layout where queuing like at a Costco gas station was even remotely possible. A couple didn't even have another spot to wait; you had to double park in front of people charging and in the parking lot aisle. Some had spots across from the chargers, but no way to line up or be in order of go. Those two things -- EV variety and charge point layouts -- combined with modern social norms (me me me) make for anxious queuing.

 

[Rob O]

This is why EV's aren't ready for prime time. Maybe this ultimately gets resolved, but will take years and years. It's also why I wouldn't recommend an EV for anyone at this time, except for maybe a Tesla. Frankly your experience with public fast charging would ruin a nice road-trip for me. I just couldn't see myself getting up in the middle of the night to charge or having to deal with A*holes. I agree, people suck, that's why I like gas stations, I only have to stop for a few minutes, there's rarely any interaction with them, then I'm on my way.

100%. I wouldn't buy a Tesla personally, but I'd recommend one to anyone who was new to EVs, did road trips, and wanted a seamless "iPhone like" experience.

Also how are women supposed to handle these late night sketchy locations, I wouldn't want my wife taking a risk going to these locations late at night just to get a fricken charge. I also agree with the queuing procedure, in reality there is no procedure. And what do you do when the A*hole is free charging to 100%, we're all suppose to just sit there and wait for an hour and half?

100% again.

This is just going to get worse as the Joe Six-Packs starts buying electric vehicles, they have no clue about battery tech, let alone what a kW or kWh are. Mix in some Crazy Karen's, sprinkle in a a few chatty Kyle Conner's and then the real loud wannabe rapper who blast the rap crap next to you as he charges for an hour, it's gonna be real interesting.

You pretty much described what I encountered a couple times. So it's definitely going to get worse ... because we're kinda already there.

 

[Rob O]

Did a trip from north of Seattle to northern San Diego County over the holidays and charging in WA, OR, Norcal (I-5 and 101 even hwy 1 from Carmel to Cambria) was really easy and smooth and no issues at all. But charging in San Diego, Orange County and LA was frustrating, challenging and tried my patience. Not just the lines but so often chargers didn't work or were offline...maybe just bigger populations using them more??

My California experience was limited to the area we stayed (Temecula / Murietta / Menifee). San Diego had plenty of options, as did the OC and LA. In fact, two of my best charging sessions (in SoCal) were in Irvine.

On the road was a mixed bag, between a late night Walmart EA station with homeless RVs right across from it and a gang of motorcycles rolling in, revving their engines to 14000 for no reason (at the charging station) ... to the luxury that is a Rivian RAN station.

 

[Rob O]

Public charging stations are going to have to start charging more when the charging rate drops below a certain number. As a starting point it probably needs to be 60kw. Once you drop below that your rates need to double to discourage loitering. (Also, high idle fees as they are with Tesla.)

I think idle fees (steep idle fees) and max charge time limits should be enough; the price per kW is just greed (sorry, simple supply and demand ). EVgo had session fee, idle fees, auto shut off at 60 minutes and still priced at $0.66/kW. With few to no alternatives in the area, that's beyond economics and just screwing the customer. I talked with several other people who were there from out of the area, including a couple other Rivian owners (big soccer tournament in town), and they were also blown away.

 

[Rob O]

We’re you able to search for an air BNB that had a charger? That could’ve solved some of the heartache.

Of course you can search for that amenity. In this case, it wouldn't have helped as the area we stayed is notoriously short on rentals. We visit there twice a year for a horse show (daughter rides/competes) and it's always a challenge getting a decent place. We book months in advance and still have to stay in an adjacent town sometimes. Add to that we travel with our dogs, so need a pet friendly rental, and our choices are further limited. So, in some locations, a pet friendly unit with the right features (high speed internet for wife's work and daughter's online school), the right number of beds/baths, *and* EV charging might be possible ... but in most that combo won't exist.

 

[Rob O]

This was in Southern California. Now imagine doing this in the Southeast, where I live. It’s much worse here. What you described is NOT. A charging desert. A charging desert is here in the Southeast.

I hear you. I say all the time, the West is lucky to have such an expansive build out and greater acceptance / adoption of EVs. The charging desert thing is all relative, I suppose. Where I was definitely lacked the infrastructure other areas of California enjoy, but was still better than a lot of places around the country. If I lived in the Southeast ... I wouldn't own a Rivian (or any EV). In fact, I didn't buy the R1T to save the planet or cut my fuel costs; I bought it because I like the product, the founder/company, and it met many of my other enthusiast needs/wants. If I wasn't in an region where owning an EV made some sense, in terms of charging network, I wouldn't own one.

 

[Rob O]

Yep. The entire state of Mississippi is pretty pitiful, with a single CCS charger in Jackson supporting the I 20 corridor. driving from Atlanta to Dallas is difficult, unless you're in a Tesla in which case it's trivial.

The heavily traveled I-22 corridor has no fast DCFC chargers between Memphis (and the EA station here has been completely dead for weeks) and Alabaster, south of Birmingham. That's a tough 260 mile leg, with only a handful of 50kw chargers at dealers that aren't available after business hours.

I watched Kyle's Out of Spec video where they crossed the Southern US from FL to AZ, with like a single 50kW charger in a Nissan back lot or some shit. No thanks! That kind of journey is sadistic. LOL

 

[Quick]

TL;DR ... keeping the Rivian for now.

Honestly, if the Raptor weren't still a challenge to get at or below sticker, and the Raptor R both impossible to get and suffering with leak issues, I would have seriously considered going back as soon as I returned from this trip. I'll admit I looked at inventory and tried to rationalize it while we were in California.

The two main things were the public EV charging experience and the Rivian's size.

I love road trips and do a lot of long drives each year. My daughter is a competitive equestrian, showing regularly up and down the Western US and Canada (as well as events in Colorado, Nevada, Michigan and further east). I drive to nearly every show with the dogs and our gear; wife and daughter usually fly. On this trip I found I really, really missed the Raptor's cabin size and bed capacity. While the R1T has a lot of clever storage -- frunk, gear tunnel, under bed cavity, etc -- it's *tiny* compared with the Raptor. And since there's still no tonneau, the bed was almost useless. I ran a canopy on the Raptor, and grew very comfortable with all that dry storage. The Raptor swallowed all our stuff and more ... while I had to be very strategic packing the Rivian, and even then still needed the range-robbing cargo box.

That said, I love the R1T's size otherwise. The Raptor could be a pain because of its size, and particularly its width/girth. The Rivian is a joy to drive, park, take on trails, etc ... and it fits in my garage, where the Raptor lived it's entire life in the driveway.

Then there's fueling. I never hesitated to jump in the Raptor and go; 100 miles or 1000 miles, didn't matter. With the R1T, you have to plan and think and create contingencies and monitor. I'm not nearly as excited about just getting in the Rivian and going on a long journey. Hell, I'm helping my 21 y/o pick up a motorcycle tomorrow. The owner is 100 miles from me (200 round trip), but on the other side of a mountain pass. Knowing I'll be towing a motorcycle trailer empty there and loaded back, with a usable 250 miles of range normal, then factoring in load and elevation, I don't think I can make it without having to find a charger. And guess what? There are like 2 (individual) 50kW or less charge points on that route. I'll likely have to go further than the owner into the next city, charge there, then backtrack for the bike and drive home. That's dumb. In the Raptor I could have gone there, picked up the bike, driven home and had 300 miles of fuel range left!

In the end, I really like the R1T. I like it for enough reasons to keep it for now. I've told myself I'll give it a year, see if there's a move to NACS (potentially opening up a new world of chargers), get the tonneau cover and see if that helps with cargo capacity, and enjoy stress free use for the majority of the time I'm driving it close to home (where I have a L2 charger in the garage).

I'm in the exact same situation as you - with the exact same thoughts. Love the R1T, but the realities of charging and lack of available storage (no tonneau yet), means that it doesn't actually work as a truck. I have a Ram 1500 that serves actual truck duties when the Rivian can't. Though the Rivian is far more enjoyable to drive than the Ram.

Which ultimately relegates the Rivian to simply an electric toy - or a weekend Home Depot run vehicle. Not sure it has a lifespan in that capacity.

 

[ibwatson]

I may post a separate trip report of my journey, but for now I'll limit this mostly to observations from along the way.

***********

Trip:

Drove from Bend, OR to San Diego (~1000 miles) over two days, then up to Temecula, CA where we stayed for about 10 days. While there we had a daily commute of 40-50 miles round trip, and often did that jaunt more than once a day. We also had a couple side trips to Newport and Irvine, down to San Diego again, and around the area we were staying. In all, I amassed about 1000 miles while in SoCal. I then did the ~1000 mile / 2-day trip back to Bend from Temecula.

I used Conserve mode whenever I was on the highway, whether a 10 mile run to town or long stretches of Interstate, and All Purpose mode otherwise. When in Conserve mode, I had ride height set to Low and in All Purpose set to Standard ... and regen was always set to High.


SitRep:

I was dependent on public charging 99% of the time, both on the road and while we were at our Airbnb. The rental property was located in a DCFC desert; Temecula / Murietta / Menifee have just three 350kW charge points (literally, and one didn't have a cable) with only a handful of 50kW stations spread about. I was always waiting for a charger, having to settle for slow "fast" chargers, settling for a 6kW L2 charger or having to be strategic about what time I tried to get on the 350s (which more than once I visited between midnight and 5am). Our rental didn't have EV charging capability, but I was able to sneak in a few 120V / 15A overnight charges in the garage for a few extra miles of range (couldn't reach the 14-30 or 14-50 plugs in the house).

It's also worth noting the R1T replaced my Raptor, which has been my road warrior and adventure vehicle since 2018. I logged about 20k miles a year on road trips in that thing, and it was a mile-eating beast. Loved that truck for long-distance driving ... and so many of my observations below will be relative to the Raptor experience (covering this same route a couple times a year, in particular).

Observations ... covering the R1T specifically, DCFC and public charging, EV road tripping in general, etc:

1) R1T adaptive cruise is waaaaay too slow to accelerate back up to set speed when passing a vehicle that's triggered the system to slow down. If I came up on a vehicle going slower than my set speed, and ACC started to slow the R1T correspondingly, as I changed lanes to pass it took *forever* to build up momentum again. This is both dangerous -- trying to get over into the flow of traffic, only to be slowing anyone else coming up behind me as the R1T lags -- and annoying, as it kills travel momentum every time. In the Raptor, it would start to slow as it approached a slower vehicle, but as soon as I changed lanes (system detects clear path), it was on the throttle back to set speed. The Rivian is just too slow and required me to apply the throttle manually in those situations.

2) There's no "Resume" function for ACC. I played with all the ACC/Driver+ controls (stalk and steering wheel buttons) while on the trip and couldn't find anything that resumed a set speed. When I arrived to my hotel on the first day, I sifted through the owner's manual (pages 121-140) and don't see anything specifically noting "Resume". So after disengaging ACC for any reason, I'd need to return to my previous speed and set (engage) ACC again through the stalk. That seems silly.

3) ACC still gets "spooked", even after recent OTAs aimed at improving it. I had the system hard brake on me a few times, and it seemed to happen most when strong shadows crossed the road perpendicularly. Unsettling on the open road at speed ... and super dangerous on freeways in California, where traffic is often coming up on you at ridiculous speed (which could result in a rear-end collision).

4) ACC seems overly sensitive when cornering on curvy roads. I know Rivian's ACC/Driver+ uses "curb speed assist" to adjust vehicle speed when corning ... and I really like this feature (in general). I always wished the Raptor's ACC would slow it a bit during curves; instead it would go full beans into a corner without regard to speed (like a runaway train). That said, sometimes the R1T's CSA would brake really hard entering a corner on the interstate, almost like phantom braking, rather than gently backing off the throttle to ease momentum and flow through. In other words, it "overreacts". I do have regen set to High ... so maybe that's why it seems so aggressive?

5) Highway Assist (HWA) needs 'lane change' capability. This is well documented, but taking a long road trip you realize just how much it's needed. Between the aforementioned lag in resuming speed after being slowed and having to disable HWA to change lanes, then reenable, I found myself constantly interacting with ACC/Driver+ when it should be more seamless. HWA worked well overall, IMO, so long as you were in an open lane with no one ahead and stayed there for long distances. That scenario was rare on this trip, so ACC/Driver+ and HWA felt a bit crude (in need of refinement).

6) Buffeting in the R1T cabin when the windows are down is ridiculous. The effect can be partially offset by opening windows on both sides, but it sucks in general and is hard to find a comfortable set up if you only want windows down on one side (e.g., driver's window down). In the Raptor I could vent the sunroof or open the rear glass sliding window to offset the effect. I'm going to try some anti-buffeting products used on other cars to see if I can minimize it somehow.

7) Public charging stations/DCFCs lack travel conveniences like squeegees, trash bins and often restrooms. sucks when you're on a road trip. A few times I found myself stopping at a gas station -- on top of a charging stop! -- just to clean the windshield and throw trash away. (Note that most charging locations I visited had trash littering the site)

8) Public charging is a weird experience ... often wrought with strange behavior and lack of etiquette.

For example, stopping at a location where chargers are full and having to get out of your vehicle, look at each screen and see what everyone's SOC is. That feels odd enough, but then you have to strategize how you'll queue up to get the next available charge point. Then if another EV pulls up, wanting to do the same, you immediately feel defensive (combative) because there's no formal queuing process and depends on human nature to function smoothly. If there's anything we've learned about modern society ... people suck. More than once I had someone come to a location after me, then snake the first available spot before I could get positioned for it. That's bullshit, and I don't feel like having to be confrontational just to juice my vehicle.

Then there are the people who come up to you while charging, ask how long you'll be, and if you'd mind disconnecting so they can get some charge. What?!! Now, I understand if someone is at 85%+ SOC, charging at 12kWh, and you have 10% and need a charge; the former is poor etiquette and asking is warranted. But if I'm on a charger at 47% SOC and you ask me if I'd mind unplugging so you can charge ... that's going to come with a polite f*ck you. This honestly happened to me several times; not just someone asking how long I planned to charge (i.e., 75% or 100% or whatever), so they could gauge their wait time, but when I was under 60% SOC and someone asked me if I'd mind moving on so they could charge. Crazy.

Related to above, and probably the catalyst for such behavior, are the people charging to 100% when that might take an hour or more because they're already over 80% SOC. I don't know how many times I went to the 350kW station in Murietta and an Ioniq 5 was doing exactly this when I had 10% and really needed to connect. There seems to be a lack of education around battery tech, charging speeds, etc on top of etiquette (and modern societal "I'm the only one who matters" norms).

Charging in public locations late at night feels super vulnerable. Even when charge points are in well lit parking lots, like grocery stores or Walmarts, I felt uneasy about my vehicle being physically tethered to something and knowing I'd be there for 30+ minutes. You can't just jump in the car and drive off if someone sketchy approached; you're kinda trapped. And many public DCFCs are not well lit, with the only light coming from the charge point's illuminated signage. Public charging needs to become more like modern gas stations / convenience stores in this regard, with proper lighting and safety.

DCFCs in the part of Southern California I was at seem stupid expensive, and with limited to no choice (which of course drives some of the price gouging). A few times I had to pay a $2.99 session fee and $0.66/kW at a 50kWh EVGO charger. So a "slow" charger, with 1-hour max charge session, and stoopid rates. When comparing the calculatie the cost per mile for charging sessions at that location with my Raptor at 14.5 mpg and $4.50/gal fuel, it wasn't much different. I didn't buy a Rivian to save money on fuel ... bu that's not right, and does nothing to help EV adoption.

9) Rivian's estimated range math when route planning through in-vehicle NAV never adds up. This is a combination of a couple things: One is the guess-o-meter (GOM) in the driver's instrument screen, and how it only provides a theoretical range estimate based on SOC, tire/wheel package (20s, 21s, 22s) and drive mode (All Purpose, Conserv, etc). That's ... useless. Then there's the distance-to-destination and miles-remaining estimate when planning a route through the vehicle's NAV (route planner). This is often more *realistic*, but not really more accurate.

In a practical sense, subtracting the distance to a destination from the estimated range in the GOM should give you the estimated remaining range, right? That is never the case. Let's say the GOM says you have 260 miles of range, and your destination is 150 miles ... you should see 110 miles of estimated range remaining. Instead, it'll be like 50 miles. The math doesn't add up, because the GOM is theoretical and the route planning mileage is independent of that.

10) Estimated range remaining at destination is off by 20% or more. Building on above, I found the miles of range remaining estimate in the NAV route planner was off by 20% or more. In other words, if NAV said I'd have 113 miles left when I reached my destination, it would actually be more like 85 ... or worse. Several times it was really less than 50% of what it estimated I'd have (said I'd have 130 miles remaining and I had 60 when I arrived). This meant always factoring in much less range than I theoretically should have and my route planning, outside of the in-vehicle system, had to manually accommodate for the discrepancy.

It's worth noting I had a large cargo box on my roof, so my aero was affected and that had a negative impact on range. I also had probably 500-600 lbs of total payload (me, dogs, stuff). Over the 3000 miles I averaged 1.92 kWh ... not great. Having all-terrains mounted on the 22s also likely contributed to less range than if I had the stock PZero Sports on there. I generally drove about 5-7 over the posted limit on the 70 mph stretches, rarely going 80 mph or faster). With all of those caveats ... the 'estimated miles remaining' were never even close.

11) Many public charge points / DCFCs are *not* set up to accommodate large vehicles like the F150 Lightning, Hummer EV and future models like the Silverado and RAM Rev. I found the R1T a bit tight in many locations, with narrow lanes or awkwardly laid out charge stations, and couldn’t have imagined a full size truck in those situations.

12) Location-specific to Temecula / Murietta / Menifee, because that area is a DCFC desert, but I found myself *always* thinking about my SOC/range and how/when I'd charge. It was exhausting at times strategizing, trying to factor in a stop, stressing about how long the wait would be when I got to a charger, etc. I didn't enjoy that at all, and if my EV life was dependent on public charging like that ... I'd not own a Rivian (or any CCS EV).

These are all just things I recorded during the trip. I could bitch about public charging / DCFC infrastructure in general, but that's well documented. I could comment on the R1T's charging curve, but Kyle / Out of Spec and others have chronicled this many times. I could reiterate how much aero impacts range, but it kinda goes without saying with any EV.

Happy to answer any questions, from the trip in general or on observations above.

Thanks for sharing all this! Recently did Portland to Palm Springs and back, as well as Portland to Boise this last week (and another Palm Springs trip in a few weeks), and your comments especially about the ACC and charging etiquette are spot on. The way it can freak out when it thinks a slow semi I’m passing is bouncing between lane is flat out hazardous.

Rivian nav routed me to a Shell Recharge station was that was still under construction in the Californian nether-regions on the I-5 side of Modesto, which ended up giving me massive range anxiety. On my way back from Boise I had to teach a Hummer EV owner that he couldn’t just try to use the second cable from the EA 350kw station I was using, and had to move his truck to the other one. I’ve also come to expect that when stopping to charge I will need to change stations at least once and make at least 3 attempts to get the actual charging started because of network issues, error messages, or artificial rate-limiting.

The charging infrastructure/amenity and education/etiquette issues are indeed the biggest hurdle to mass EV adoption. The networks have a LOT to do to keep up pace.

That said, our Rivian is the most comfortable road trip vehicle I’ve ever owned and I’m not giving it up, just holding out hope that it becomes better and easier to travel over time.

 

[the_mace]

Great thread. Not at all surprised on the items and I agree on all of them. Despite growing EV adoption this is still very much early days and for trips like the OP did you have to be brave and deal with a lot of inconveniences.

I've done EV trips to remote locations but generally when its just me. The family has no tolerance for those inconveniences so we take an ICE vehicle then. That means extra cars hanging around for road trips etc.

Someday.

 

[Rob O]

I'm in the exact same situation as you - with the exact same thoughts. Love the R1T, but the realities of charging and lack of available storage (no tonneau yet), means that it doesn't actually work as a truck. I have a Ram 1500 that serves actual truck duties when the Rivian can't. Though the Rivian is far more enjoyable to drive than the Ram.

Which ultimately relegates the Rivian to simply an electric toy - or a weekend Home Depot run vehicle. Not sure it has a lifespan in that capacity.

Yup. I hadn’t planned to sell my Raptor as quickly as I did. Figured I’d hold onto it, see how the Rivian worked as a replacement, then go from there; if it didn’t work, I’d sell the R1T … and if it did, I’d sell the Raptor.

Ultimate, I’m glad I let the Raptor go so soon … it was a “sink or swim” moment for EV life. For the first couple weeks I had the Rivian, I was still using the Raptor daily. I was intimidated by charging and range, the R1T was new (wanted to keep it looking and smelling fresh-out-the-box), the Raptor was familiar and comfortable, etc. and had I still had the Raptor when this recent road trip came up, I’d have taken it over the Rivian. With the Raptor gone … I’ve had no choice but to adopt in daily life and adapt for road tripping. I thing that’s force me to more realistically assess. Otherwise, it’s exactly as you said.

 

[Rob O]

Thanks for sharing all this! Recently did Portland to Palm Springs and back, as well as Portland to Boise this last week (and another Palm Springs trip in a few weeks), and your comments especially about the ACC and charging etiquette are spot on. The way it can freak out when it thinks a slow semi I’m passing is bouncing between lane is flat out hazardous.

Rivian nav routed me to a Shell Recharge station was that was still under construction in the Californian nether-regions on the I-5 side of Modesto, which ended up giving me massive range anxiety. On my way back from Boise I had to teach a Hummer EV owner that he couldn’t just try to use the second cable from the EA 350kw station I was using, and had to move his truck to the other one. I’ve also come to expect that when stopping to charge I will need to change stations at least once and make at least 3 attempts to get the actual charging started because of network issues, error messages, or artificial rate-limiting.

The charging infrastructure/amenity and education/etiquette issues are indeed the biggest hurdle to mass EV adoption. The networks have a LOT to do to keep up pace.

That said, our Rivian is the most comfortable road trip vehicle I’ve ever owned and I’m not giving it up, just holding out hope that it becomes better and easier to travel over time.

Agree with all of that.

I also drive to Palm Desert a couple times a year. Just did that trip in March in the Raptor. I can go down (and back) in one shot in the Raptor; 16 hours give or take. Charging stops for the Rivian adds 3 hours (or more) and ultimately turns it into a 2-day journey with an overnight stop.

This was another observation I forgot to include. With the R1T on a long trip, I don’t necessarily stop more frequently or more times than I did in the Raptor ... it’s just that the stops are much longer. The Raptor could go 450-500 miles on a single tank, but my bladder couldn’t. I’d stop for the dogs, grab food, etc along with a fuel stop or two, so the number of stops was similar to what I had with the Rivian. But a stop to charge was minimum 30 minutes, and I needed 6 of those!

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