Chud
Member
- First Name
- Kevin
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2024
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 19
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
- Vehicles
- 2023 R1S
- Thread starter
- #1
Bottom line up front:
Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) chargers are the best chargers I’ve used so far. Period.
(I know many of you already know this but I have recently been reminded that quite a few of us have never travel far enough to need anything other than their home charger so this may be new to some including those that have never had an EV before like me last year)
On February 18th I will have had my R1S for a year. I have put 24k on it in that time and while while I have my wall charger at home like many of you I have spent my fair share of time using public chargers. That being said there are no Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) chargers near me to use until yesterday.
When I pulled up the to charger I had assumed (wrongly) that I would have gone through the same or similar steps of starting the charger but nope. I got out, plugged it in, it recognized my vehicle and started charging. Plug and play(charge). It only took about 20 seconds to start charging. (I didn’t actually time it. This was just my perception of how long it took). The speed was good and when it was done it just charged the credit card I already had on file with Rivian. Then I was sent a receipt via email. Many times at other charging networks I had to push a few buttons, swipe a card or use the app. Then the charger will go through its startup process of verifying the connection and matching the vehicle’s charging capabilities and then it’ll start to charge. All in all the processes takes anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes depending the charger and your set up to it. Which doesn’t sound like a big deal, and it’s not, unless it’s really cold, hot or it’s raining, snowing or the like. Then that 60-120 seconds seems like forever. Those that have been caught in it know what I mean. Trying plug it while it’s cold and raining. You’re shivering and wet but you either don’t have to time to wait it out, it’s not going to pass any time soon or you’ve forgotten your umbrella/rain gear. This happened to me once and I sat in the vehicle shivering like a wet dog until I warmed back up. The display is simple but works well even when the sun is shining directly on it. This is one of the complaints I have with Electrify America. Their chargers usually (but not always) work pretty well and the speed is good but sometimes when the sun is shining directly on the screen it is very hard to read as the sun washes out the screen but not so with the RAN. From now on if I see a RAN along my rout I will stop there even if it’s a top off or a bathroom break. Solid charger and process Rivian. Well done.
(Below is my review/narrative of the specific location I stopped at in Centerville, Texas)
947 W St Marys St, Centerville, TX 75833
I drove to Houston from Dallas yesterday to pick up a set of wheels and tires. About halfway between is a RAN site behind a Shell station, dinner and truck stop on the east side of I45. The dinner and truck stop is called Woody’s Smokehouse Northbound. It gets 4.5 stars on google. While I did not eat there the place was clean and packed with locals and travelers alike so I’m assuming the food had to be decent. Just like any truck stop you can pick up a few things that a normal convenience store would mostly not have. I notice they have a ton of beef jerky, cakes and pies. Think smaller and more country version of Buc-ee’s. The staff was friendly though I didn’t have a ton of interaction with them. The bathrooms were clean and well stocked. Thought the hallway to them was freezing and I don’t normally get cold. It was cold enough that I heard few folks make a comment as they hit the wall of cold air. I’m sure in the Texas summer this would be a welcome experience.
The chargers were behind the store to the north where the 18 wheeler parking was. Wide open space between the truck parking and the chargers. At first the area where the chargers are seemed a little sketchy but I’m overly cautious by nature. I’m the person that can’t sit with their back to the door so take that with a grain of salt. There are 6 Rivian chargers that are next to a number of Tesla superchargers. I didn’t count them but I’d guess 10+. This might become more relevant when the Tesla Magic Dock becomes more widespread. One of the chargers was not work while I was there the first time but on my way back later that day all six were operational again so it could have just been down for an update or something. There were only 3 to 4 trucks there during both of my stops. There were quite a few Tesla’s that came through during both my charging sessions but there were always plenty of spots to charge. I was the only Rivian charging both times I was there but you never really felt like you were “alone” because of the Tesla traffic. I will add some pictures below but you are sort of stuck in a corner and I do not think most people would feel comfortable there charging at night. Not that there was anything wrong per-say. It just felt isolated. Normally when I stop to charge somewhere it’s well light, in plain sight, everyone can see you and you can them. I kept my rear facing camera up on the center display so I could see what was going on behind me. Because of the hill your review and side mirrors won’t show you the whole picture. Again, maybe it’s just my PTSD but I don’t think I’d stop there at night when there is no one around and they are on the other side of the buildings. During the day though no problem. One last note of interest. Because the chargers are so far away from the entrance to the store. You may want to stop at the store first to use the restroom before you charge if you really need to go. I needed go, could not wait and it’s a long walk from the charges to the store front. 200 to 300 yards up a hill. It’s no joke if you have to go or the weather isn’t great. Will I stop there again? Absolutely but probably not at night.
Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) chargers are the best chargers I’ve used so far. Period.
(I know many of you already know this but I have recently been reminded that quite a few of us have never travel far enough to need anything other than their home charger so this may be new to some including those that have never had an EV before like me last year)
On February 18th I will have had my R1S for a year. I have put 24k on it in that time and while while I have my wall charger at home like many of you I have spent my fair share of time using public chargers. That being said there are no Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) chargers near me to use until yesterday.
When I pulled up the to charger I had assumed (wrongly) that I would have gone through the same or similar steps of starting the charger but nope. I got out, plugged it in, it recognized my vehicle and started charging. Plug and play(charge). It only took about 20 seconds to start charging. (I didn’t actually time it. This was just my perception of how long it took). The speed was good and when it was done it just charged the credit card I already had on file with Rivian. Then I was sent a receipt via email. Many times at other charging networks I had to push a few buttons, swipe a card or use the app. Then the charger will go through its startup process of verifying the connection and matching the vehicle’s charging capabilities and then it’ll start to charge. All in all the processes takes anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes depending the charger and your set up to it. Which doesn’t sound like a big deal, and it’s not, unless it’s really cold, hot or it’s raining, snowing or the like. Then that 60-120 seconds seems like forever. Those that have been caught in it know what I mean. Trying plug it while it’s cold and raining. You’re shivering and wet but you either don’t have to time to wait it out, it’s not going to pass any time soon or you’ve forgotten your umbrella/rain gear. This happened to me once and I sat in the vehicle shivering like a wet dog until I warmed back up. The display is simple but works well even when the sun is shining directly on it. This is one of the complaints I have with Electrify America. Their chargers usually (but not always) work pretty well and the speed is good but sometimes when the sun is shining directly on the screen it is very hard to read as the sun washes out the screen but not so with the RAN. From now on if I see a RAN along my rout I will stop there even if it’s a top off or a bathroom break. Solid charger and process Rivian. Well done.
(Below is my review/narrative of the specific location I stopped at in Centerville, Texas)
947 W St Marys St, Centerville, TX 75833
I drove to Houston from Dallas yesterday to pick up a set of wheels and tires. About halfway between is a RAN site behind a Shell station, dinner and truck stop on the east side of I45. The dinner and truck stop is called Woody’s Smokehouse Northbound. It gets 4.5 stars on google. While I did not eat there the place was clean and packed with locals and travelers alike so I’m assuming the food had to be decent. Just like any truck stop you can pick up a few things that a normal convenience store would mostly not have. I notice they have a ton of beef jerky, cakes and pies. Think smaller and more country version of Buc-ee’s. The staff was friendly though I didn’t have a ton of interaction with them. The bathrooms were clean and well stocked. Thought the hallway to them was freezing and I don’t normally get cold. It was cold enough that I heard few folks make a comment as they hit the wall of cold air. I’m sure in the Texas summer this would be a welcome experience.
The chargers were behind the store to the north where the 18 wheeler parking was. Wide open space between the truck parking and the chargers. At first the area where the chargers are seemed a little sketchy but I’m overly cautious by nature. I’m the person that can’t sit with their back to the door so take that with a grain of salt. There are 6 Rivian chargers that are next to a number of Tesla superchargers. I didn’t count them but I’d guess 10+. This might become more relevant when the Tesla Magic Dock becomes more widespread. One of the chargers was not work while I was there the first time but on my way back later that day all six were operational again so it could have just been down for an update or something. There were only 3 to 4 trucks there during both of my stops. There were quite a few Tesla’s that came through during both my charging sessions but there were always plenty of spots to charge. I was the only Rivian charging both times I was there but you never really felt like you were “alone” because of the Tesla traffic. I will add some pictures below but you are sort of stuck in a corner and I do not think most people would feel comfortable there charging at night. Not that there was anything wrong per-say. It just felt isolated. Normally when I stop to charge somewhere it’s well light, in plain sight, everyone can see you and you can them. I kept my rear facing camera up on the center display so I could see what was going on behind me. Because of the hill your review and side mirrors won’t show you the whole picture. Again, maybe it’s just my PTSD but I don’t think I’d stop there at night when there is no one around and they are on the other side of the buildings. During the day though no problem. One last note of interest. Because the chargers are so far away from the entrance to the store. You may want to stop at the store first to use the restroom before you charge if you really need to go. I needed go, could not wait and it’s a long walk from the charges to the store front. 200 to 300 yards up a hill. It’s no joke if you have to go or the weather isn’t great. Will I stop there again? Absolutely but probably not at night.
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