Help! Need basic charging station guidance!

[EMchef]

This may be basic but I am unclear as to how to charge my R1S away from home. Are there payment apps I should download? If so, what is the best? I’d like to plan a road trip this summer from CO to WI and I need to get a handle on this! First of all, what kind of adapter do I need to purchase? And how does it work when you pull up to a charging station? I pulled up to one the other day and just assumed I’d be able to pay for charging with a credit card on the spot. That was not the case. What am I missing? Clearly, I am a beginner and any help will be greatly appreciated!

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[jjswan33]

I'm sure @MidnightRivian can jump all over this one, he recently made a thread with a lot of tips if you search for it.

 

[onesoil]

Rivian does a very good job navigating you to chargers, so you don't need anything else other than Rivian navigation to plan your route. If you want to get nerdy with route optimization, you can also run your trip through A Better Route Planner (an App). It can sometimes get you to your destination quicker, but if you're just getting started, the Rivian navigation has worked well for me—as long as you set your filters properly. Play with the phone app route planner before your next big trip, it can get you familiar with the options on the way, and you can even plan the whole trip before you leave (and send said route to your truck when you are ready to leave).

The first major thing I would recommend is getting an A2Z Typhoon CCS>NACS adapter: https://a2zevshop.com/collections/charging-adapters/products/nacs-ccs1?variant=43186507612360 Get the kit that also comes with the L2 Tesla adapter, since there are still some Tesla-only L2 chargers around, and you want the ability to charge anywhere you can, fast and slow.

If you just got your vehicle, chances are it will take a long time before your free Rivian-provided adapter shows up. You can do a whole lot of worry-free traveling these days just between RAN (Rivian Adventure Network) and Tesla SCs—both of which are plug and charge, billing to your Rivian app. If you initiate with the Tesla App, and pay their monthly membership fee, you will get cheaper rates, but it won't be quite as simple as just plugging in and initiating a charge automatically.

I have had good luck with my A2Z, and as long as you use your Rivian navigation to get you to the correct Tesla chargers, you should find Superchargers to be about as easy as RAN locations—as long as you have an up-to-date form of payment tied to your Rivian app, it's as simple as plugging in and charging (watch an A2Z Typhoon adapter review to see how that's done with their adapter). Also, know that not all Tesla charge stations are supported—feel free to do some research on this forum about which ones do/don't work (Version 3 SCs are the only ones that do, but not all are available), but without getting too into those details, just follow your Rivian nav, and make sure to select the correct filters so you include "Adapter Required" stations.

In my opinion, you should download the following charge network apps at a minimum and create accounts with payment methods added so that you have your best shot at being able to charge on these networks when needed without the added stress/delay of downloading an app, creating an account, etc. Network penetration varies depending on where you're traveling in the country—so I hit the big three first, with less prevalent networks following those:

• Electrify America. Hopefully, you won't have the poor luck I have with EA. I usually exclude EA chargers from my route planning if at all possible (easier now that Tesla SCs are an option—more on that later). That being said, EA is essential to travel certain corridors, so it's a necessary evil at this point.
• EVgo. In my experience in/around New England, these are usually slower "fast" chargers, but nice to have the option when needed.
• Chargepoint. I haven't personally experienced many chargepoint fast chargers (or any above 100kW anyway, but there are a lot of Chargepoint L2 chargers, and it's nice to have this option when visiting places for a couple hours or more. I think they do have 500A+ "full speed" chargers in some parts of the country.
• There are some other, less widely available ones that I have apps for, and have used at times in a pinch:
  • Flo (always seems reliable, but not usually very fast).
  • Shell Recharge (I've only come across these in New York State, but I'm sure they are cropping up in other places—they usually seem to work pretty well in my experience).
  • I have others in my EV app folder, but so rarely use them that I don't feel the need to recommend them.

You may also want to download Plugshare, an app that crowd-sources ratings and reviews for chargers of all sorts (L2, L3, most/all networks) allowing you to find ones that might not show up on other maps and to check up/down status, speeds being seen, etc. It's not perfectly reliable, but it can help you find juice when you most need it or help you not make the wrong call and end up at a charger that "should" be working properly but isn't for whatever reason.

I used to use this app a lot more with other non-Tesla EVs that had poor/nonexistent route planning, but I now trust my Rivian about as much as I trusted my Tesla—and you have the added perk of a more accurate range estimating algorithm, which is nice.

tl/dr;
Prepare yourself with L2/L3 NACS to J1772/CCS adapters and included mobile charger, trust your Rivian Nav, and don't stress—you've jumped into EV ownership at the right time with the right vehicle to get most places worry-free!

 

[MidnightRivian]

This may be basic but I am unclear as to how to charge my R1S away from home. Are there payment apps I should download? If so, what is the best? I’d like to plan a road trip this summer from CO to WI and I need to get a handle on this! First of all, what kind of adapter do I need to purchase? And how does it work when you pull up to a charging station? I pulled up to one the other day and just assumed I’d be able to pay for charging with a credit card on the spot. That was not the case. What am I missing? Clearly, I am a beginner and any help will be greatly appreciated!

Check out this thread.

Tesla Road Trip Charging Level 3 and Level 2

just make sure you have a credit card payment set up in your Rivian app and you can use the plug and charge feature.

You can use the Tesla app to take advantage of membership pricing and enable your charging session there.

You can purchase the A2Z typhoon level 3 DCFC Supercharger adapter For fast charging on the go using the Tesla network.

You can bundle that with the level two Tesla A2Z Stellar destination adapter so you can charge at hotels using Tesla Destination chargers.

Download Tesla app, ABRP, PlugShare and Rivian App.


A2Z adapter working at full speed as designed.

Works great at Buc-ee’s

Saves me time and money when paired with Tesla membership pricing.

Feel free to use the forum discount code “RIV” to save $$$.




A2Z EV Tesla Supercharger Adapter for Rivian - Save 10% + FREE shipping with discount code "RIV". 12 Months Warranty

 

[jerseyff]

Early on someone at an EA charger told me a very wise piece of advice, always initiate a pay for charge from the corresponding app, it works 99% of the time. A much higher rate than if you try to initiate and pay at the station/charger, etc.

I still live by this. I also figured out, download and setup your app with payment before you need to be charging! Public charging can be very time sensitive.

Download, get an account and payment method setup for the following apps to cover your bases: Blink, ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVgo, Rivian, Shell Recharge and Tesla.

 

[usulio]

Your charging port is called a CCS port. Most public charging spots are CCS, but there are other types so make sure. By the way, if you are slow charging then you just use the upper half of the port, that's a J1772 port which almost all slow chargers are.

Tesla's fast charging connector is called NACS. You need an adapter to use Tesla's NACS chargers.

You generally need the app at most places to charge. It sucks but that's how it is.

Use the Plugshare app to see which chargers along your route are actually working well according to other people's reports. Pay attention to the charger speed as fast chargers range from 50 kW (pretty slow) to 200+ (very fast).

 

[LindaC]

Great advise above! I have had my S since Feb and just took first trip FL to NJ. I would add the following.
-Once you get the A2Z Adapter, go to a local Tesla station and test. My first stop at a Tesla station wasted 20 min and I ended up going to find another charger (was lucky there was another option fairly close). After that I had no problem at Tesla stations. Still not sure if I did not have the adapter in correctly or didn't initiate from Tesla app first (sounds like that should not be necessary)
-Don't try to go too far (don't pass a good charging point thinking you can get to the next one on the route until you get used to the apps). My partner is one who would drive 6 hrs before a stop and I tried pushing to keep him happy - ended up someplace where there are no fast chargers! (wasted hours on that one at a slow charger to get us far enough to move on)
-Rivian Nav: besides making sure you have all the correct charging networks selected, make sure you have your filters set. On our first tries it kept taking us the long way around on back roads.

 

[Deacon]

When I take a long road trip, I map out my route and then find chargers (I always stop at RAN charge if possible - use plugshare and Rivian app) that I might want to use along the route and list them on a spreadsheet with addresses and miles between them. That let me always know where the next one is - secret to life is plan "B". You should also check the areas you will be traveling in for local charging networks - OK and MO have Francis Energy - and FL has Florida Power and Light. You may want to check on some of these. In my area we are starting to see a quite a few Circle K stations with chargers.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

CAUTION: LONG POST.

I generally agree with the advice above, @EMchef, but with these qualifiers and elaborators.

Below, I use "kW" to stand for "kilowatts" (a unit of charger speed) and I might use "kWh" to stand for "kilowatt hours" (a measure of the amount of charge delivered or needed).

*** Tesla Supercharger Adapters ***

For Tesla Superchargers, which can expand your fast-charging options and often lower costs, you need a Tesla (NACS) to CCS adapter.

Rivian approves the one they will eventually send us. Nothing else. It will likely be US-made. The few participants who have gotten the official chargers all seem to report good experiences from the beginning. I'm waiting for that.

Most Forum participants who choose road trips this summer are buying Chinese-made aftermarket adapters. They report good experiences, after the first few uses which can require force to connect and disconnect, with A2Z Typhoon adapters (https://a2zevshop.com/products/nacs...enuehunt&utm_medium=quiz&utm_campaign=jyHv4w; use discount code "RIV" for best price on A2Z products).

Forum participants generally report poor experiences with Lectron adapters. They report dangerous experiences with no-name adapters from Amazon. Remember a DC adapter transmits very high amounts of electricity -- high voltage and high amperage -- so any malfunction can be especially dangerous!

Rivian doesn't assume any responsibility whatever for damage caused by an aftermarket NACS adapter. Not for damage to your vehicle. Not for damage to the charger. Not for damage to third parties or property. It's all on you. I haven't heard any reports of such damage from A2Z, which has sold a lot of DC adapters. I haven't heard any reports of lasting damage from Lectron, but forum participants tell credible stories of Lectron adapters that wouldn't connect to the chargers, Lectron adapters that wouldn't latch, Lectron adapters that wouldn't unlatch, and Lectron adapters that wouldn't disconnect from the chargers. (Search forum threads for Lectron details if you want more than this brief summary. I'm just summarizing what I've read here and elsewhere.) I have heard reports of damage from no-name DC adapters -- if someone gave me a no-name, I would discard it right away.

No Tesla Supercharger (DC) adapter will work on any Tesla Destination (AC) charger! The Tesla-side plugs will fit, but the vehicle-side pins will go to the wrong places. Best case: Nothing works. Worst case: You can damage your car or start a fire. You must know which product you have, and where not to use it. You can't substitute the other way, either -- see below.

*** Tesla Destination Adapters ***

For Tesla Destination chargers, which are often your best overnight charging options at hotels, you need a Tesla (NACS) to J-1772 (AC) adapter. Two products stand out -- each with superb engineering and excellent customer service. For safety with Rivians, which can take an AC charge up to 48 amps, get at least a 60-amp adapter -- preferably from one of these two vendors:.

TeslaTap (http://www.umc-j1772.com/) is made in USA, is much more expensive, is currently available, and cannot be bundled with a Tesla Supercharger (DC) adapter. Everyone who has a TeslaTap seems happy. I'm also VERY happy with TeslaTap products and customer service. Their most economical 60+ amp product is actually an 80-amp cabled adapter: http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=100.

A2Z (a2zevshop.com) makes the A2Z Stellar NACS-to-J1772 adapter in China. The Stellar is much less expensive, is currently unavailable, and (when available) can be bundled with their Tesla Supercharger (DC) adapter for a better discount. Everyone who has an A2Z AC adapter also seems happy -- and, as a bonus, A2Z participates actively in this Forum and lets us all watch them handle customer feedback publicly. Nobody seems to go wrong with either company's customer service! A2Z's 60+ amp product is also actually rated for 80 amps: https://a2zevshop.com/products/a2z-...venuehunt&utm_medium=quiz&utm_campaign=jyHv4w

No Tesla Destination (AC) adapter will work on any Tesla Supercharger (DC) charger! The Tesla-side plugs will fit, but the vehicle-side pins will go to the wrong places. Best case: Nothing works. Worst case: You can damage your car or start a fire. You must know which product you have, and where not to use it. You can't substitute the other way, either -- see above.

*** ABRP/Nav and PlugShare ***

In my experience, ABRP's Web planner and the in-vehicle Navigation usually, but not always, send you by a decent route and usually (but not always) send you to DCFC chargers with a good reputation. But the choices offered by ABRP and Rivian Navigation are biased toward large and well-known charging networks with the fastest charging speeds, even when these chargers are much more expensive than nearby competitors. That's not always what I want, especially at mealtimes. Also, sometimes Rivian Navigation insists on navigating me to chargers that PlugShare has ranked as low reliability. That's almost never what I want!

My best friend for accuracy is the PlugShare app and www.plugshare.com, which show user-supplied descriptions of successes and failures (with a summary score of reliability) for every public EV charger in the free world.

***

As a relative EV veteran (first plug-in hybrid 2018, first Bolt 2019, recent coast-to-coast R1T road trip, this is what I do to make sure I'm ready for anything on a road trip.

Some of my steps are the ones you'd take on any road trip, but some are specific to EV travel. The last leg of our recent trip, from Chicago to the West Coast, is fresh in my mind, from the first planning steps to the actual driving. My wife is usually ready to choose an adventure, but she doesn't want me imposing adventures on her without her consent. So here's what I do to give both of us an enjoyable experience.

Please note that your preferences will absolutely vary. These steps make my wife and me very confident that we can handle anything an EV trip might throw at us. But if the complexity threatens to scare you away from EV travel, then ignore the parts that won't give you a more confident trip and take the EV anyway.

Here are my steps. Some you would do anyway, some you might not have thought of, and some you might not need. Adapt and simplify to make them the best for you.

My Step 1: Figure out my optimal day's travel. For my wife and me with an R1T, trying for a brisk but minimally stressed trip, it was in the range of 550-600 miles. Your preferences will differ from ours, and everyone's preferences will differ from one trip to the next depending on the trip's purpose.

My Step 2: Use Apple Maps or Google Maps to find the most direct highway route from beginning to end of the trip, with any intermediate destinations that are important to you. In our case, it was from Midway Airport to our home in southwest Washington, with a Saturday night stop at our favorite EV-friendly hotel in the Seattle area to see Seattle family. Apple Maps preferred I-90 almost all the way, but with a cutoff using US-212 through Wyoming. I didn't think that cutoff would have fast chargers, and I didn't want to risk a hotel Level 2 without having a DC Fast Charger backup.

My Step 3: Use PlugShare, filtered on "Lodging," to find hotels with reliable Level 2 chargers, about the correct distance apart, and also PlugShare filtered on "CCS Plug" to make sure the hotel chargers aren't so far from a fast charger that we would lack options if they failed. PlugShare confirmed my suspicions that the US-212 cutoff is a problem for EVs, so we'd better stay on I-90 where there are DC Fast chargers in Gillette and Sheridan, Wyoming.

My Step 4: A good Level 2 charger overnight can save you an hour of fast charging time, so use your favorite hotel broker site (mine is www.aaa.com, with AAA-member savings unlocked) to make sure the candidate hotels are available and reasonably priced for the night(s) needed. Filtering on "EV Charging Station" may give additional hotel ideas; as more of us search on that variable, the brokering sites will display charging information more prominently for everybody.

If you don't like the hotels that looked good on PlugShare, find other good hotel options. We wound up with Austin MN; Deadwood SD; and Butte MT. Austin and Deadwood had Tesla Destination chargers where we could use our TeslaTap adapters. Butte had the Rocker Inn, next to the Flying J Town Pump (with Electrify America chargers). It also had Hotel Finlen, which had a PlugShare listing but no actual charger for guests. So we chose the Rocker Inn.

My Step 5: Use www.abetterrouteplanner.com (ABRP web site) to plan each day's travel, noting ABRP's suggested route and suggested chargers. I set mine with a preference for RAN chargers, which will never slow us down compared to other options. I don't set mine to "avoid" or disfavor any charger network -- ABRP turns that into a prohibition, and that can give weird results. The only RAN charger on this leg of our route is in Spokane Valley WA. We made sure we included that one.

My Step 6: Compare ABRP's suggested route against the Apple/Google Maps route, because sometimes ABRP's results look irrational -- as if a three-year-old in Sweden had chosen them! Don't use any information from ABRP or the Rivian Nav if they don't make sense to you. If the ABRP results make sense, though, they will confirm that your route and time estimates are at least reasonable. If ABRP rules out Apple/Google's preferred route, that doesn't mean Apple/Google are wrong -- but it means you need to do a PlugShare analysis of your charger options before you commit to a route.

My Step 7: If you're confident that your hotel-to-hotel plans are realistic, consult your travel partner and reserve your chosen hotels now or soon. If you're confident that you can find a good hotel option later, you can delay this step. Do whatever makes you the least anxious about time, money, and good sleep.

My Step 8: This can be done the night before each day's travel: I check PlugShare again, filtering for reasonably fast chargers within a few miles of the highway. I used 50 kW or greater, but if there had been too many to list I would have used a higher cutoff number. List a reasonably generous number of chargers, arranging them from nearest to farthest from your origin site. (Road distance from your location may suffice -- you mainly need to know the distance between each.)

I write down in columns this information, most of which (except cost) is consistently available in PlugShare: (1) Miles from start; (2) Probable maximum charging speed in kW; (3) PlugScore, as an estimate of reliability; (4) Probable charging cost, which may be per minute (good for Rivians) or per kWh (bad for Rivians); and (5) comments about amenities and things to do while charging. If PlugShare is missing charging cost, I prefer to go to the relevant app and finish filling in the "cost" column. But you only need complete information about the variables YOU really care about! If you think I'm overthinking this, you can skip any step you want!

Higher driving speeds increase your vehicle's power consumption per mile. If you know you have 50-kW or faster chargers throughout your route, you can usually get an earlier arrival (if not pulled over) when you drive at higher speed. If you're limited anywhere to charging rates slower than 50 kW, sometimes you get an earlier arrival at your final destination by driving more slowly. I tried to distill this into a simple formula, but it was difficult. (I've seen a suggestion to drive in MPH no faster than your charging speed in kW. I think that is arithmetically valid only in a very narrow range near the middle; it becomes wildly misleading at each end of the theoretical speed range.)

My Step 9: My wife and I talk, either at night or in the morning, about how we THINK the next day will go, what we're each hoping for the day, and whether we'll start the day spending money to save time, or spending time to save money. The important thing isn't whether we have that balance "right" or "wrong" -- there's no such thing! The important thing is to agree on the basic FRAMEWORK for the day's improvisation. She usually manages the emotional tone of our family, I usually manage the tech for the team. It works for us.... I am so fortunate....

Here's something important, though: To avoid being stranded, never plan to arrive at any charger (no matter how reliable) without enough remaining charge to get to the next reliable charger. This is the most important rule. Try never to violate it. To preserve charge and range, lower your speed if you must -- or charge to a higher level at the preceding charger.

The next three variables are a "balancing act" -- a puzzle with many right answers. Feeling good about your trip, and making sure all your traveling companions have good memories too, are usually the most important goals. It's worth making sure you and other adult participants are reasonably "on the same page" about charging TIME, charging ANXIETY, and charging COST. These are just frameworks to guide your choices -- not rigid principles. Here are some potentially helpful explanations:

(1) Your charging speed will be greatest at lower states of charge. Therefore, to minimize charging time, it's best to arrive at each charger with 15-40 miles of charge left, try to stop charging around 60%, and try to get to the next charger with about 15-40 miles left. However, try not to violate the "to avoid being stranded" rule above, and don't spend money you can't afford in order to save time that you can afford. (2) Even a perfect PlugScore of 10 is no guarantee that the charger will work for you at an adequate speed at a particular time. To minimize charging anxiety, it's best to know where your backup chargers are -- that's one way that Step 8 pays off. If there's a potentially serious gap in your plans -- especially if one charger's failure could leave you without viable DC Fast charger options -- make sure you and your partner are BOTH comfortable with how you'll minimize the impact if it happens. Neither of you is going to have a good trip if one of you is anxious! Sometimes you have to charge to a higher level than time or cost would suggest, in order to minimize anxiety about "what if the next one doesn't work?" (3) To minimize charging cost, consider spending more time at less expensive chargers, perhaps filling higher than time efficiency suggests and enjoying a nice meal or some shopping or a walk while you do it. Don't spend time you can't afford in order to save money that you can afford.

My Step 10: No matter how well or poorly you did all the other steps, it's show time! Start your trip, put the next hotel in the Rivian Navigation, and see if the Navigation's output makes sense for YOUR priorities. Now you can start driving.

If you agree with Navigation's plan, let Navigation guide you. If Navigation wants you to charge at someplace that's close to the place you like, remember Navigation will precondition your battery for fast charging at the charger it chose. [Preconditioning is especially important for charging in cold weather (where the battery will charge more slowly until it warms up) or in very hot weather (where the battery will charge more slowly if it overheats).]

You can take Navigation's suggestions if you want, but you don't have to -- you supervise Rivian Navigation, it doesn't supervise you. If you drive to a different a little farther than the Navigation says, the battery will probably stay conditioned. If you stop sooner than the Navigation says, the battery will be partially conditioned.

If you want to add a stop to the Navigator, do it! If you want to blow past a stop, do it -- as long as you have enough information to be confident about your range. If you want to spend more time at a stop than Navigator suggests, spend the time -- it's YOUR trip! Any planning steps you completed above will help you handle anything unexpected. So enjoy the trip!

 

[COdogman]

Some exceptional EV wisdom being dropped in this thread!

OP check your route for the EV stations along the way and have payment set up on the apps before you set out on your trip. Use Plugshare to check the stations so you don’t head to one that is trash. Use your Rivian nav only to get from charger to charger.

Enjoy your trip

 

[Laserboy1054]

Awesome info in the previous posts! One tidbit I learned (this may be in one of the previous posts--a lot there I might have missed) during a panic on my first long drive (two weeks ago, so I'm as much a newbie as OP): the ABRP app sent me to a Tesla charger and _said_ it had CCS plugs. When I got there, I saw nothing but NACS plugs (I don't have an adapter yet) and I freaked out! I did not know about the "Tesla Magic dock." This has a built-in adapter that you can access by pressing the button on the plug for two seconds (while it's still on the charger) and then _pushing_ in before pulling out. You'll find you're holding a Tesla plug with a CCS adapter already on it--magic! I had enough range that I could easily have made it to a slow charger and then spent a few hours getting charged to a safe level to make it to the next fast charger, but that would have been a real pain! Fortunately, I calmed myself enough to do some googling first and found the above info--ABRP had not lied, as I initially feared!

All the above is a lot to digest! And it is true that owning an EV requires more planning and forethought than traditional (ICE) vehicles (imagine doing these drives in 1920, when the gasoline infrastructure was in its infancy and there was no Interstate system!). But don't panic! With two weeks under my belt, it's already becoming second nature to me. Stay calm, think ahead, just a bit, and take the opportunity of an hour of charging to wander around or otherwise decompress!

 

[EMchef]

CAUTION: LONG POST.

reply:
Thank you. This is amazing information. I very much appreciate all of the details!!

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Awesome info in the previous posts! One tidbit I learned (this may be in one of the previous posts--a lot there I might have missed) during a panic on my first long drive (two weeks ago, so I'm as much a newbie as OP): the ABRP app sent me to a Tesla charger and _said_ it had CCS plugs. When I got there, I saw nothing but NACS plugs (I don't have an adapter yet) and I freaked out! I did not know about the "Tesla Magic dock." This has a built-in adapter that you can access by pressing the button on the plug for two seconds (while it's still on the charger) and then _pushing_ in before pulling out. You'll find you're holding a Tesla plug with a CCS adapter already on it--magic! I had enough range that I could easily have made it to a slow charger and then spent a few hours getting charged to a safe level to make it to the next fast charger, but that would have been a real pain! Fortunately, I calmed myself enough to do some googling first and found the above info--ABRP had not lied, as I initially feared!

All the above is a lot to digest! And it is true that owning an EV requires more planning and forethought than traditional (ICE) vehicles (imagine doing these drives in 1920, when the gasoline infrastructure was in its infancy and there was no Interstate system!). But don't panic! With two weeks under my belt, it's already becoming second nature to me. Stay calm, think ahead, just a bit, and take the opportunity of an hour of charging to wander around or otherwise decompress!

Great information on Magic Dock, @Laserboy1054. For others' benefit: The Magic Dock "button" to which you refer is a depressible button, in the metal area near the end of the wand, with a little target-shaped icon on it.

Our Bolts take about an hour to add 150 miles of charge. Our Rivians take about 20 minutes, when charge level is low, to add 150 miles of charge. We like to use the restroom and walk around, about every 150 miles. Twenty minutes of something else, every 150 miles of driving? Sounds like a good day to me! ?

Very best wishes!

 

[Treebeard]

This may be basic but I am unclear as to how to charge my R1S away from home. Are there payment apps I should download? If so, what is the best? I’d like to plan a road trip this summer from CO to WI and I need to get a handle on this! First of all, what kind of adapter do I need to purchase? And how does it work when you pull up to a charging station? I pulled up to one the other day and just assumed I’d be able to pay for charging with a credit card on the spot. That was not the case. What am I missing? Clearly, I am a beginner and any help will be greatly appreciated!

I went 3200 miles no adapter. Download charging apps. Some chargers take credit cards and some work through the app on your phone. Electrify America is my last resort. Sometimes broken sometime crowded. Tesla- look for magic docks, you can set the nav program to hide chargers that need adapter no adapter needed and works with your Rivian account. Mercedes chargers need a ChargePoint account. The nav system works well, I do point to point driving a lot, meaning charger to charger as well as plotting out my trip. If a charger does not start- sometimes unplugging and replugging works, sometimes moving to a different charger works. I always arrive at a charger with enough juice to get to another charger, unless it’s a RAN, never had an issue with these. After you first day it will seem easy. I always look at my route and see the charging situation and look for chargers I have never heard of. Like FPL in Florida. Cheapest fast charger I have ever used and reliable.

 

[RivianRunner]

Some exceptional EV wisdom being dropped in this thread!

True, but it sounds so complicated and confusing. But I will admit, I've done all my road trips for the las 6 plus years using nothing but Tesla Superchargers (and a Level 2 charger, if my hotel offered it).

If I could distill this thread down to one simple rule it would be only buy a Tesla for road trips.

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