My Memorial Day Weekend Road Trip Report

[RivianMatt]

We've had our R1S since mid-September last year, and other than a quick jaunt up to Lake Tahoe from our home in Marin County in the SF Bay Area for a week of skiing in February, we hadn't been on any sort of road trip. That changed over this last weekend, when we drove up to Portland, OR (where we used to live) for four days, returning yesterday. A few observations: I saw all sorts of Rivians all over metro Portland (!!)...many more than I was anticipating, and more than I seem to be seeing in the SF Bay Area. My wife wondered if Portland is more adventurous than Marin County! It was of course a long holiday weekend, so I was somewhat worried about charging along the way. With a couple of minor hiccups, that worry was completely unfounded. I never had to wait for a charger, and we charged either at RANs in Mt. Shasta, Roseburg, OR or Happy Valley, OR or at various Electrify Americas (in Anderson, CA, Grants Pass, OR, Portland and Dunnigan, CA). I found myself really embracing the "slow down, get out and stretch your legs and relax while charging" mentality. It was SO nice to never have to go to a gas station! Sometime ago, I read a tip on these forums to get a window cleaner squeegee and glass cleaning fluid to store in the frunk, given that I would have typically washed my bug-laden windows at a gas station. I had those supplies in hand and cleaned the windows at each charging stop. At the Roseburg RAN yesterday, I parked next to a R1S with manufacturer license plates. The driver asked me how I liked my Rivian, so of course I had to ask him if we works for Rivian. He's a software engineer for Rivian in Sunnyvale, CA, so I had to pry him for any insider scoops on future software updates. Alas, he smiled but was closed-lip. After talking for a bit and leaving the RAN thinking I'd never see him again, I ran into him at the next RAN in Mt. Shasta! Lastly, I went into the road trip planning on driving in Conserve mode, but ended up driving in All-Purpose/Low height the entire trip. There really wasn't a need to drive in Conserve.

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[mczouav]

For memorial week end, We camped in Caroga lake campground , ny, for 3 days with bluebird r1s. No electricity, no phone signal. almost in the wild. We had charged 80 miles ish away last at Verona SC ( to 100 % soc effortlessly at 39c/kwh) and really enjoyed the power of the big battery of the r1s to charge phone, smart but energyvore watch, laptop… weirdly the r1s still had somewhat weak signal and we could still slowly signal with family ( text only). The side mirror flood lights are super useful at night. I only realized now about camp modes low power modes so I did not test it. Looks like vampire drain was 3 %. And we had a trip to a trail…. On the way back we had 30% battery arriving again at Verona SC… success. Wife is happy, happy family.