RAN charging station- Cheyenne WY

[Bill P]

I just used the RAN station in Cheyenne, and I have some constructive criticism. This RAN station is located in a large mall parking lot with room to charge without dropping a trailer (at least fairly early a.m.), and some public restrooms. So far, so good. But there was: a) a bank of Electrify America chargers (as well as Tesla only) in the same parking lot, b) 3 of the 6 RAN chargers were out of order, and the RAN chargers were Rivian only. WTF?!?

A) Once you get off the coasts, fast charging is sparce. When installing new stations, spread 'em out. B) Gotta maintain those chargers if you want to sell cars. And C) a rising tide lifts all boats. Open up all RAN stations to everyone.

Please take this as constructive criticism. I got the charge I needed. I love my R1S. And I appreciate that Rivian is installing the RAN. But we're not going to get any help from the government. So we gotta act strategically with the charging network.

thanks!

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[emoore]

Maybe there was an issue with the electrical service or something else. I was there a month or so ago and all 6 were working. And those Telsa chargers are not open to anyone but Tesla cars. And we all know the issues that EA can have so I appreciate having a Rivian only chargers there. They aren't open to everyone because they are the old design so until they upgrade them they will be Rivian only.

 

[Bill P]

I've used these before and found all 6 working too, just not this time. And I'd think if the electrical service were out that it would kill the whole group - but I definitely don't have expertise!

I did notice that the Tesla chargers were Tesla only.

I respect your position. But I'd still argue that prioritizing a reliable, distributed, open charging network is very much in Rivian’s enlightened self-interest.

Anyway, as said, I'm happy to be pulling a trailer around the high plains (and Rockies) with my R1S!

 

[BigSkies]

On one hand, I completely get the criticism. I share some of the same thoughts.

On the other hand, I read into more details about what it takes to get a DCFC installed, and I'm mostly happy to have them available where they can be.

Just narrowing down the potential location list to businesses that are willing to have parking lots ripped up, and can support over a meggawatt (ish) of electric power draw rules out a lot of locations that we would normally like to see them at.

It's not an accident that a lot of chargers end up at malls, Walmart, Costco's, etc.

 

[Bill P]

Quite valid points relating to situating stations. It sounds like there's some promising innovation involving integrating battery banks with charging stations to allow them to be located in spots with lower capacity service.

I'd still argue that reliability and opening networks should be priorities. But I know there are many competing (valid) priorities in the mix.

This was, as said, meant to be constructive not a negative rant. (Not saying you're calling it that. )

I really like my Rivian and consider it a great tow vehicle. Just looking forward to having more folks join the party!

 

[hammick]

We were there last week. Saw an Equinox EV charging in one of the trailer spots. I wanted to say something but bit my tongue.

 

[BigSkies]

Quite valid points relating to situating stations. It sounds like there's some promising innovation involving integrating battery banks with charging stations to allow them to be located in spots with lower capacity service.

I'd still argue that reliability and opening networks should be priorities. But I know there are many competing (valid) priorities in the mix.

This was, as said, meant to be constructive not a negative rant. (Not saying you're calling it that. )

I really like my Rivian and consider it a great tow vehicle. Just looking forward to having more folks join the party!

We think a lot alike about it.

There are many things I wish were easier and better about the energy transition overall. DCFC is a component of that. These are hard problems being solved, and there's a lot of room for improvement.

What gives me hope for our future climate is that there are really smart people solving really hard practical problems every day.

It's less about policy-wonks in Washington DC trying to regulate or deregulate whatever (although that can be important too). It's more about things like practically scaling permitting processes and speeding utility interconnection requests. Or HVAC contractors figuring out how to sell heat-pumps. Or thousands of other things done by regular people every day.

These are legitimately hard problems that are being solved imperfectly. The way things get better is for the professionals to get a little better with each iteration.

A lot of it also gets better with scale. EV's make up just under 10% of US car sales, and roughly 2% of the cars on the roads. Businesses will care a lot more about catering to EV owners when 10%, 20%, or 30% of the cars on the roads are electric. Most businesses can't be bothered with it today.

 

[Bill P]

amen, brother.

 

[DuoRivian]

I can see why they are not (yet) open to the public because there are other options. So this site is still a net positive for Rivian drivers.

 

[Bill P]

Definitely a net positive. But I firmly believe in the "rising tide lifts all boats" concept. Range anxiety is a real deterrent to broader EV adoption. And critical mass will benefit everyone.

That said, good on Rivian for building out the RAN!

 

[COdogman]

In a location with the other charging options so close, it makes less sense it would be open to all - or at least making it open to all wouldn’t be a priority.

Plus, that mall is like a museum. An almost perfectly preserved in amber 90s era mall, complete with an arcade and a Renzios inside. It is by far the most interesting place in Cheyenne

 

[Bill P]

I respectfully disagree on opening all networks. At this stage (and for the foreseeable future) all EV's (in my humble opinion) are on the same team.

Fully agree about the mall! (Although other good stuff in Cheyenne. ) Takes me back to my teenage years in the 70's.

 

[Irish76]

Definitely a net positive. But I firmly believe in the "rising tide lifts all boats" concept. Range anxiety is a real deterrent to broader EV adoption. And critical mass will benefit everyone.

That said, good on Rivian for building out the RAN!

Well done folks. This is what a serious, amicable and healthy discourse should be. Lots of great points and much to noodle on. Appreciate the discussion!

 

[BigSkies]

I had a timely discussion yesterday that is semi-relevant.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how important it is for all EV networks to be open to everyone.

I brought my R1T to the Lafayette Cars & Coffee yesterday, and as usual, most questions about the Rivian came down to charging.

Just going through the process of explaining that some Tesla chargers are usable, but others aren't confuses people and makes them question the entire EV experience.

It would be like telling people flying into your state that they can fill up their gas cars at Exxon stations but not Chevron stations. It's an absurd layer of complexity that leads to needless friction.

Closed EV networks made sense at the time, but they need to rapidly open. Rivian is a small offender here, but Tesla really needs to upgrade their older stations. Particularly in places like Wyoming that have zero competition.

The industry is going in the right direction in the long term with the NACS transition, but that will lead to even more confusion in the short term as there are more mismatches between the plugs on cars and the plugs on chargers.

 

[Bill P]

I'm back at the mall in Cheyenne, charging up before heading north to Casper. Still only 3 of 6 stalls working. But no crowd and didn't even have to drop the trailer. I'm thankful this is here.

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