Rivian charger or Tesla universal charger?

[Shadow68]

QMerit installed my Tesla Universal Charger

Thank you!
That's really good to know - I've been disappointed with the responsiveness of ones Tesla recommended on their website...

Now I just gotta wrap up this trip so I can get home a take care of these things and start enjoying my new R1T!

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[MidnightRivian]

I would go with Rivian charging station personally. I like it from a troubleshooting / warranty perspective and having it all in one app.

If I have any issues with the vehicle charging using the home charger, they can easily troubleshoot and point to only RIVIAN branded hardware as being faulty.

I like having the charger information in the app and letting it automatically handle updates in the background.

My unit is from 6/2023 which has a thick heavy duty cord that I personally like. I believe the newer units have a cord that is little bit easier to handle and wrap around the charging station.

Sometimes I have seen brand new Rivian charging stations being sold for $500 - $550 shipped on this forum / Facebook. Just try to stick with local pick-up to avoid scammers.

Edit: Here is a brand new Rivian charging station for $425 shipped.

FS: NIB OEM Rivian Wall Charger (EVSE). $425 Shipped. New in Box.

Already had a Tesla charger and never got around to installing this. $425 shipped ($375 local pick up), new in box. Thank you!

 

[R1Sezejay]

I would go with Rivian charging station personally. I like it from a troubleshooting / warranty perspective and having it all in one app.

If I have any issues with the vehicle charging using the home charger, they can easily troubleshoot and point to only RIVIAN branded hardware as being faulty.

I like having the charger information in the app and letting it automatically handle updates in the background.

My unit is from 6/2023 which has a thick heavy duty cord that I personally like. I believe the newer units have a cord that is little bit easier to handle and wrap around the charging station.

Yes i noticed that too rivian has a thick cord compare to tesla.

 

[Shadow68]

Another (possibly unpopular) point: I know everyone loves the Tesla universal wall charger and I think it's great (especially if you have 2 plugs on the same breaker).

Oh no - not unpopular at all.
The load sharing at that price point is the primary motivator for me. I'd be happy to hear about competing alternatives... I've got no particular love (or hate) for Tesla products - I just want certain features, safety & reliability at a good price. I feel like the $800 for the Rivian one is rather steep, given the feature set (unless I've overlooked something)

But I personally don't consider using an adapter as a big deal.

Definitely not a problem using a quality adapter IMHO...
As I understand it, that is exactly what the Tesla Universal does - it just includes one and has a fancy stowage mechanism for it. Of course it's NACS>J1772 which is the opposite of what you're discussing - but I can't imagine how that makes a bit of difference.

 

[R1Sezejay]

I would go with Rivian charging station personally. I like it from a troubleshooting / warranty perspective and having it all in one app.

If I have any issues with the vehicle charging using the home charger, they can easily troubleshoot and point to only RIVIAN branded hardware as being faulty.

I like having the charger information in the app and letting it automatically handle updates in the background.

My unit is from 6/2023 which has a thick heavy duty cord that I personally like. I believe the newer units have a cord that is little bit easier to handle and wrap around the charging station.

Sometimes I have seen brand new Rivian charging stations being sold for $500 - $550 shipped on this forum / Facebook. Just try to stick with local pick-up to avoid scammers.

Edit: Here is a brand new Rivian charging station for $425 shipped.

FS: NIB OEM Rivian Wall Charger (EVSE). $425 Shipped. New in Box.
[/QUOTE
Almost half the price compare to rivian website.

 

[MidnightRivian]

Most folks who are selling it for around $500 probably got it with their pre-order for that price or they received it as a promotion from Rivian with Q-Merit install credit.

I would personally try to snag one from a well known or local member for under $500 and call it a day.

 

[Shadow68]

I would go with Rivian charging station personally. I like it from a troubleshooting / warranty perspective and having it all in one app.

If I have any issues with the vehicle charging using the home charger, they can easily troubleshoot and point to only RIVIAN branded hardware as being faulty.

That's a really good point that I hadn't considered...
I need to think about that some more ?

I like having the charger information in the app and letting it automatically handle updates in the background.

So the "smart" features of the Rivian charger go beyond creating charging schedules and viewing statistics? I didn't realize there was further integration with the vehicle. It sounds as though you're saying that you can set it up to automatically accept and install vehicle software updates. Are their any other features that would be specific to the Rivian charger that would be unavailable on any other charging hardware?

 

[R1Sezejay]

Most folks who are selling it for around $500 probably got it with their pre-order for that price or they received it as a promotion from Rivian with Q-Merit install credit.

I would personally try to snag one from a well known or local member for under $500 and call it a day.

Hope i could find one here in socal.

 

[MidnightRivian]

That's a really good point that I hadn't considered...
I need to think about that some more ?


So the "smart" features of the Rivian charger go beyond creating charging schedules and viewing statistics? I didn't realize there was further integration with the vehicle. It sounds as though you're saying that you can set it up to automatically accept and install vehicle software updates. Are their any other features that would be specific to the Rivian charger that would be unavailable on any other charging hardware?

I am talking about the updates for the charger itself. The charger is setup in your Rivian app and you can view the information such as Voltage V, Amperage A and Power kW.

The software update for the charger are handled automatically and you can view the software version in the app.

The updates for the vehicle is handled in the app or on the center screen dash for everyone. Doesn't matter what charger you purchased.

The charging schedules and viewing how much current is being delivered is also available in the App for everyone. Doesn't matter what charger you have.

You just won't see Voltage or Amperage in the App unless you flip to the Rivian charger and view the information there.

 

[ebarke]

I would go with the standard tesla (not universal) 450, buy an adapter on Amazon for <$100, then you can use any tesla/nacs level 2 charger, because you have your own adapter. I keep mine in the driver door pocket, so I can use it to charge at home or when I'm at my business, or anywhere else that may only have a tesla L2 charger (ie a hotel).

 

[rchartson]

I got a Grizzl-e charger...made in Canada....level 2 30 amp based on my circuit...scaleable to higher amps if needed. no wi-fi or complexity...works great on my Rivian and wife's Lucid....much cheaper than the companies models.....

 

[Hercules10]

What bout the speed it say tesla can charge

What bout the speed? Tesla says it can charge 44 miles per hour while Rivian 25 miles per hour or it just depends on the amps your gettin?

You would really need a robust wiring system to get 44 miles per hour. I have the Rivian charger and using 48 amps the wiring (in spec) gets warm; so I throttled it back to 38 amps. It may be that the Tesla charger is capable of, but I doubt most household systems could provide the power needed for 44 miles per hour; probably 60 amps or higher. Sounds like Tesla advertising hooey. The Rivian charger is not that special, is a pain to connect to the WIFI, but it does the job and I see it on the APP.

 

[Guuma]

The Emporia has been great for me and their price point is hard to beat. They even sent a new charger handle/cord when I had a crack in the handle. App is decent and easy to use. But of the choices you listed, I would lean towards the Tesla universal.

 

[simpsonhomer]

Hi all! Im in the process of getting a
lvl 2 wall charger for my R1S quad which is better rivian charger or tesla universal charger?and which charging app is better rivian or tesla?

Easy choice—get the Tesla Universal Wall Charger.

I have both the Rivian charger and the Tesla. Other than taking a few more seconds to sync with the Rivian, the Tesla is better in every way. It's a lot cheaper, it supports both NACS and J1772 so it's future-proof, it will load-balance with other Tesla chargers, and it has better "smart" integration.

If the Tesla Universal Wall Charger was available when my Rivian was delivered, I would have gotten that one instead.

 

[bdwalters]

Here is an unpopular opinion. I used the mobile charger with an appliance outlet and never felt I needed anything fancier. It was always fully charged in the morning. Just make sure you have an industrial grade outlet. If you road trip constantly, the plugging and unplugging might be less than ideal, but we found the Rivian to be too inefficient to be a good road trip vehicle, so we usually took our Tesla.

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