EA Pass+ and pricing change update

[seatosummit]

66 charing sessions in 13 months and $335 in savings according to the EA app, so I guess the price jump is justified in my particular case.

EA is making improvements, but I don't think they are keeping pace with the surge in EV adoption and the congestion and augmented duty cycle on their dispensers.

I've had issues at the Soledad location repeatedly even with new HW. Vacaville derated to 30kW repeatedly after 5 mins. Required repeated session termination / restart. Sure wish it wasn't such an anxiety inducing mystery what the experience at the next charger was going to be.

Traveling north I could not wait to get to Shasta after which I was fully on RAN.

I hope that Rivian has thoughtfully crafted their HW and SW backend architecture such that they will be equipped to handle the increased utilization when they open up to other vehicles.

The cabinets are designed in such a way that you can only get full ~215kW in the event that no one else is on the same group of three chargers. I wish they would explore the Tesla DC load balancing strategy that enables power charging between supercharger cabinets. Hasn't been an issue yet in my experiences with RAN, but it likely will be in the future.

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[jjswan33]

66 charing sessions in 13 months and $335 in savings according to the EA app, so I guess the price jump is justified in my particular case.

EA is making improvements, but I don't think they are keeping pace with the surge in EV adoption and the congestion and augmented duty cycle on their dispensers.

I've had issues at the Soledad location repeatedly even with new HW. Vacaville derated to 30kW repeatedly after 5 mins. Required repeated session termination / restart. Sure wish it wasn't such an anxiety inducing mystery what the experience at the next charger was going to be.

Traveling north I could not wait to get to Shasta after which I was fully on RAN.

I hope that Rivian has thoughtfully crafted their HW and SW backend architecture such that they will be equipped to handle the increased utilization when they open up to other vehicles.

The cabinets are designed in such a way that you can only get full ~215kW in the event that no one else is on the same group of three chargers. I wish they would explore the Tesla DC load balancing strategy that enables power charging between supercharger cabinets. Hasn't been an issue yet in my experiences with RAN, but it likely will be in the future.

I guess I’m doing pretty well and just realized that 3 of my last 5 charges were free. I guess there is good reason I’m so bullish on EA.

 

[seatosummit]

I guess I’m doing pretty well and just realized that 3 of my last 5 charges were free. I guess there is good reason I’m so bullish on EA.

Damn! You win! That is a lot of EA experience.

Weirdly, I haven't encountered any EA stations in free dispense since December.

 

[jjswan33]

Damn! You win! That is a lot of EA experience.

Weirdly, I haven't encountered any EA stations in free dispense since December.

Well I am approaching 40k miles in my R1T but all of those miles and EA experience are since April of last year. I had never fast charged my EV6 in the short time I was driving it before I got my R1T.

I don't think they were in free dispense mode, I think some kind of error from how I unplugged or something. Not sure. Usually when they are in free dispense they don't show up in your account history and it has been a while since I have seen that.

 

[seatosummit]

Well I am approaching 40k miles in my R1T but all of those miles and EA experience are since April of last year. I had never fast charged my EV6 in the short time I was driving it before I got my R1T.

I don't think they were in free dispense mode, I think some kind of error from how I unplugged or something. Not sure. Usually when they are in free dispense they don't show up in your account history and it has been a while since I have seen that.

Ya, I've seen some of your posts and got the sense you were racking up miles. I'm at 22k from June '22 delivery.

Somewhat unrelated, but how has your efficiency changed with the camper on the back? I am looking at GFC as an option, but am curious what I would be in for from an efficiency hit.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I guess I’m doing pretty well and just realized that 3 of my last 5 charges were free. I guess there is good reason I’m so bullish on EA.

That's alotta ... Hopefully you're using a cash back card that gives extra back for EV charging. Costco Visa gives 4% on EV charging (same as gasoline).

 

[jjswan33]

Ya, I've seen some of your posts and got the sense you were racking up miles. I'm at 22k from June '22 delivery.

Somewhat unrelated, but how has your efficiency changed with the camper on the back? I am looking at GFC as an option, but am curious what I would be in for from an efficiency hit.

Funny part is I WFH so those are mostly recreational miles ?

About 15% for the camper. Below is my efficiency with the camper and my Nitto Recon Grapplers.

 

[jjswan33]

That's alotta ... Hopefully you're using a cash back card that gives extra back for EV charging. Costco Visa gives 4% on EV charging (same as gasoline).

That’s a good tip. I was surprised there wasn’t a card that offered that but I’m also the only guy in OR that doesn’t have a Costco membership I think.

 

[andrew]

Wasn't my charging trip report however I just checked plugshare.
Boise- 2 working
Island City- unclear, 2-3 down?
Space Age- 1 down
Yakima- 350s not working
Ellensburg- 2 of 4 down

Just compounds issues of more EVs on the road and summer travel equating to long wait times.

Been to the Huntington once and had no issues.

Gotcha. I certainly wouldn't let that stop me from traveling but I understand. I do admit I was nervous needing to charge in Grants Pass on July 5th and I only needed a bit of juice to make it between Crescent City and Klamath Falls RAN stations but that was more due to limited charging resources and I don't think it's fair to pin that on EA, luckily the wait wasn't long.

Now if half of the stations are down that will put some blame on EA of course but better 2 stations then no stations.... glass half full I guess.

I split my living between Seattle and Salt Lake so I drive this route (one way) something like 6 or 8 times a year. I think I've done it 6 times since I got my R1T. I can say that I've never had any problems reaching my destination, BUT I've had a couple of times where I've had to wait for a charger or the 350s were down so it took longer. During the winter it is MUCH better, less chance of the charger being too hot, fewer people out on road trips, etc. The problem is that for a couple of these segments it would either not be possible to miss a charger or it would require driving much below the speed limit which isn't fun. So you just have to hope that they are all working.

The bigger issue was coming back to Seattle from Montana last summer. The EA in Ritzville was working at like 50kw, the Ellensburg one wasn't working at all. We ended up sitting at the 50 kw EVgo in Ellensburg just enough to make it back to the EA in North Bend, WA.

I'm with @WSea here, summer is rough because the chargers are more likely to be cooked, and the traffic is heavier. Makes some of the more empty segments pretty sketchy.

 

[seatosummit]

Funny part is I WFH so those are mostly recreational miles ?

About 15% for the camper. Below is my efficiency with the camper and my Nitto Recon Grapplers.

Very cool.

1.64 is not as bad as I would have imagined. Do you find the range estimation to be pretty accurate in all purpose mode? I.e. has it adjusted to the reduced efficiency and updated route planning accordingly?

I had four bikes on the tailgate and found that it pretty drastically over estimated my efficiency on some highway stints, which was less than pleasant when rolling in with 5 miles of buffer.

Shasta RAN last Friday

 

[SANZC02]

I guess I’m doing pretty well and just realized that 3 of my last 5 charges were free. I guess there is good reason I’m so bullish on EA.

Interesting, my app does not show my free sessions.

One time I understand as I plugged in and it just started charging, never asked for any information.

One was a new install that said charging was complimentary, the other said it was having communication issues but neither of those last 2 ever made an entry to my account.

 

[jjswan33]

Very cool.

1.64 is not as bad as I would have imagined. Do you find the range estimation to be pretty accurate in all purpose mode? I.e. has it adjusted to the reduced efficiency and updated route planning accordingly?

I had four bikes on the tailgate and found that it pretty drastically over estimated my efficiency on some highway stints, which was less than pleasant when rolling in with 5 miles of buffer.

Shasta RAN last Friday

Well my expected range hasn't updated at all and my truck thinks I have the more efficient 21s so I just add a 30% buffer to whatever it says.

Also as a side note, is GFC supporting the Rivian now? I hadn't heard that. Oru does offer a canvas wedge style camper starting at around $6k but for a comparable cost I would definitely go with the bigger player for better support and more experience building campers. That said Oru did correct all of my early issues.

 

[jjswan33]

Interesting, my app does not show my free sessions.

One time I understand as I plugged in and it just started charging, never asked for any information.

One was a new install that said charging was complimentary, the other said it was having communication issues but neither of those last 2 ever made an entry to my account.

That had been my experience as well, that is why I didn't even realize they had been entered as free.

 

[seatosummit]

Well my expected range hasn't updated at all and my truck thinks I have the more efficient 21s so I just add a 30% buffer to whatever it says.

Also as a side note, is GFC supporting the Rivian now? I hadn't heard that. Oru does offer a canvas wedge style camper starting at around $6k but for a comparable cost I would definitely go with the bigger player for better support and more experience building campers. That said Oru did correct all of my early issues.

Got it. I like the feedback of a range estimate at destination displayed so I can get a sense of whether I need to drive more efficiently or can push it a bit harder, depending on how much that number changes. Suppose you can certainly do that also, but a bit more math as the estimate will almost always be falling.

GFC doesn't support them yet, but it sounds like it might come soon. I'm not familiar with Oru, but will check them out.

Currently waiting on a 12 gal water tank for the frunk. Hoping to get serious about the build sometime this fall.

 

[jjswan33]

GFC doesn't support them yet, but it sounds like it might come soon. I'm not familiar with Oru, but will check them out.

Currently waiting on a 12 gal water tank for the frunk. Hoping to get serious about the build sometime this fall.

Ok. Yeah Oru Designs is a pretty young company, I guess that is why they were more willing to do the leg work to build one for a Rivian. Also a shorter lead time than other companies which was a draw.

https://www.orudesignsusa.com/?gcli...6Iu7T7hllnTu1F4APVTuzLsvGTmjUcT0aArNTEALw_wcB

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