Benton Harbor, Michigan RAN Chargers are installed!

[krtrice]

Stopped by the proposed site to see if construction had started. Surprisingly, all stalls and electrical supply equipment appear installed but there was no power flowing yet.

Great location right off of I-94 in between two Tesla supercharger sites that I previously frequented on my weekend trips to northern Michigan. Happy to see more chargers added in the Midwest!

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[Autolycus]

Interesting that those pedestals in Benton Harbor are oriented differently than most of the other stations. I'm guessing it was a clearance issue with the fence/property line.

Also, I agree with others who have commented on the "normal" orientation: It seems like the pedestal should be on the left side of the space with the screen facing to the right so you stand in front of your own car while using the screen.

 

[Puttyandnapalm]

I went to high school in this area, very surprising to see them installed there. Exciting!

 

[2025R1S]

This is interesting. I’m not sure what it says about Rivian.

The area has (2) Tesla supercharger locations (effectively an open network for all NACS vehicles, and open to CCS - pending retrofit). There is an EA location in-progress, in addition to a FlyingJ location in-progress.

I love seeing more CCS chargers, but this doesn’t move the needle for me. I would rather Rivian put the chargers in the Upper Peninsula, so that I could go somewhere new - more easily. For a closed network CCS charger to be put in Benton Harbor - it seems a bit redundant. Even if RAN was open, the charger could be used in a number of other locations.

To me, it seems like bad planning on Rivian. I hope Tesla doesn’t spend a bunch of taxpayer dollars installing more chargers where there are already a ton of chargers. For me, it’s all about being able to go to more places easily, so if there are existing DCFC - it seems pointless to add even more. Rivian should be using this RAN cash more wisely.

The only defense I have for Rivian here is the Superchargers around here are really busy, CCS chargers are a crapshoot with reliability - so if the EA or FlyingJ CCS chargers are down in Benton Harbor and the Superchargers have a line; there is now a backup just for Rivian drivers.

 

[SDH]

As mentioned, the first thing I noticed compared to other RAN's in the orientation of the charging units. RAN's I have visited have them turned 90 degrees and it made it a bit awkward to pull the cable up to the plug socket. Perhaps this works better??

 

[timf]

2B and 2C look like they should be facing the other way.

 

[Count Orlok]

any plans to install RAN at places people use?

 

[Autolycus]

2B and 2C look like they should be facing the other way.

I was trying to figure out what to make of those. It seems to me like they should be facing the opposite direction from each other, maybe? It makes sense to have a pull-through on that lane, but having them both in the same lane seems counterproductive.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

For those who have used RAN, is it actually plug-and-charge or do you have to interact with the screen?

 

[timf]

I was trying to figure out what to make of those. It seems to me like they should be facing the opposite direction from each other, maybe? It makes sense to have a pull-through on that lane, but having them both in the same lane seems counterproductive.

The intent appears to be either one truck with trailer can pull through and charge on 2C, or if 2C is empty or does not have a trailer, 2B becomes available. They are currently facing a driveway, not parking spots.

 

[Whyz]

Showing as live!

 

[Dark-Fx]

Ran into the tech at Grayling and he said he turned up Benton Harbor yesterday. Next station in Michigan is probably going to be TC, but both TC and Saginaw are delayed because of parts shortages.

 

[Dark-Fx]

For those who have used RAN, is it actually plug-and-charge or do you have to interact with the screen?

Plug&Charge. Don't have to do anything in the truck or the station. Seemed to activate faster than a normal free DC station too. I heard contactors somewhere about 2 seconds after the cable clicked into place. Very little wondering if it was going to work.

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Plug&Charge. Don't have to do anything in the truck or the station. Seemed to activate faster than a normal free DC station too. I heard contactors somewhere about 2 seconds after the cable clicked into place. Very little wondering if it was going to work.

Thanks! I hope when they start charging for RAN soon, that it will continue to be that seamless.

 

[Bradburn]

any plans to install RAN at places people use?

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/ORV-Riding/state-forest-roads

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