New to Rivian and EVs got a few questions

[CGriding]

Pulled the trigger on the R1T Dune and now have some questions since it's our first EV and had some questions after reading through the treads here.

With everyone switching to NACS it seems like the Tesla Universal Wall Connector is the way to go for at home charging?

For road tripping i would need a2z typhoon but would I also nee to get the stellar to get access to all chargers while not charging from home?

I also have to travel for work and leave the R1t at home for 21 days at a time do i need to leave it plugged in? or is it better to leave it unplugged, would it be dead by the time I get back?

I've seen a lot of threads about preconditioning when the battery is cold to get the best effieciecy but does this even matter if I'm just going to drive around 10-20 miles around town? Is it hurting the battery to not precondition before driving?

Are most people doing PPF? I see all the videos of people ripping it off road or sand. Should I be worried about it sand blasting the paint?

Thanks really excited to pick it up!

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[persiansamurai]

Congrats on the dune. Beautiful package. Long time R1T owner - 2.5 years so far, and multiple prior EVs including Tesla’s and BMWs. Rivian has been my favorite by miles. I have the NACS to CCS adaptor and that’s been all I’ve needed. I haven’t run into a scenario where I’ve needed a NACS to CCS in a non-supercharging situation yet but even then I suspect the adaptor for CCS will still work with new machines. For home, I think either way is fine for your wall charger setup. Maybe a home NACS will be more future proof with that becoming the accepted standard.

With PPF, I ended up just going with a ceramic coating and get touchup once a year. I had PPF on my model X and I just didn’t like the way it looked. I think if I ever were to do it, I would go with stealth. With you having the California dune, that is one beautiful paint job, and very unique, so a stealth PPF could be very reasonable and a good investment.

My vampire drain is 1 mile per day max - so I wouldn’t bother keeping it plugged in. Let the baby sleep.

And preconditioning is really only needed for the extremes - like heat alerts or cold alerts. Regular daily driving 10-20 miles around town it wouldn’t be necessary at all.

You are in for a blast. It still feels like it’s a new car to me every time I drive it, now approaching 25K miles. I’ve taken it on rv trips, sand crawling, beach camping, mountain trips, and my kids and wife are happy and comfy. Congrats again and welcome to the good life.

 

[Big_Ike]

Congratulations! Funny to say that's a great price for that vehicle, but it is.

I'm building a new home and am installing 3 Tesla Universal Chargers.

I believe in optionality, so I have similar versions of both of the adapters that you've mentioned above.

Personal preference, but I wrap all my vehicles. My first EV was a 2016 Model S and the AZ highway and roads chipped the paint on my hood to death.

Otherwise, I agree with everything @persiansamurai says above.

I think you're going to be very pleased and surprised by how much you enjoy driving an EV.

 

[DayTripping]

Adding to what others have said, but I'd suggest leaving it plugged whenever not driving it, and especially when you are gone. Set the charge level at 50%. Ideal resting charge rate for the batteries in your truck is 50-55% to minimize degradation. I keep mine at 50% and charge in time before I leave if I need more to return home with at least a 20% charge.

Tesla chargers are the way to go whether you have NACS or not. I have 6 EVs at home (2 are motorcycles) and I use Tesla chargers for all of them.

 

[CGriding]

Using the rivian site for planning road trips they start the car at 100% but it seems like this is bad based on what I'm reading on here. Do you all ever do 100%? How bad is this.

 

[DayTripping]

I never do 100% unless I can absolutely make it there and back on a trip with at least 15% at my destination and no stops.

There is almost no benefit otherwise unless I am really worried about making it to the next charge stop or need more of a buffer.

At higher SoC (state of charge) the car will charge much slower than when it is at a low SoC when using a supercharger. So you can go from 20-50% charger faster than you can go from 50-80%. So basically you want to hit a charger when around 20% and maybe charge to 70% and scoot on to the next one. To charge from 10 to 100% or even 90% at a supercharger will take a long time.

It will save you a lot of time on a trip to charge in the sweet spot of the charging curve. Your charging rate at 20% will likely be 4 times faster than your charging rate at 90%. So get more miles of range for each minute charged when you start charging from lower levels.

Let me know if you need a better explanation.

 

[MidnightRivian]

I don't pre condition for short trips and honestly just charge my battery to 85% most of the time and 90% probably 2 - 3 months of the year.

Black is a labor of love and will easily show swirls / rock chips. I also wanted to go off-road without having to worry about pinstriping. PPF was a personal decision that I am very happy I did early on.

I decided to use PPF like Stek which has hydrophobic properties built in to help with making it easier to wash. I would also recommend doing the door sills and maybe even go one step further and add DCE door sill protectors.

https://www.stek-usa.com/paint-protection-film/dynoshield/

I also went with the A2Z Typhoon Pro and Stellar combination to have with me at all times.

Both have served me well and their customer service has always been easy to work with.

If you get PPF don't just go to one shop or the lowest cost.

I would visit three vendors you would like to do business with and look at their prep process and look at their finished vehicles and pay close attention to edges of metal panel, side mirror and side mirror where it attaches to the door, edges of trim and look to add ceramic coating to the plastic cladding panels.

A2Z EV has sale going on right now for NACS to CCS1 adapters and it stacks with discount code "RIV" to save even more $$$ and get free shipping.

New orders: Current estimate for A2Z is shipping will take 2 weeks for the new Typhoon Pro adapter. Still in time for travel plans in May.

You can bundle the A2Z Stellar AC Tesla to J-1772 adapter for Hotel Destination charger for $91 additional after discount by adding both into your cart. This adapter is used with Tesla home chargers or Tesla Destination chargers which are commonly found at hotels, parking lots, shopping centers and Airbnb.

The level 2 Stellar adapter will pay for itself overtime by avoiding an expensive fast charge on the road every night while you sleep at the hotel with Tesla destination charging.

A2Z Stellar Adapter NACS to J-1772 for Destination and Home charging. This adapter literally pays for itself

You can use the same Tesla Find Us link to locate Tesla Level 2 destination chargers.

Tesla Find Us Superchargers available with adapter / Magicdock location Chargers

Discount promo code “RIV” is still working and free shipping is also available.

A2Z EV Typhoon Pro NACS To CCS1 adapter - DCFC adapter - DC adapter 500A

A2Z EV NACS TO CCS1 Adapter for Rivian - Save 5% / Free Shipping + bundle the A2Z Stellar AC NACS to J-1772 adapter for $91 additional after discount code "RIV".



A2Z EV NACS to J-1772 - AC adapter for home / hotel destination chargers - 80A

A2ZEV NACS To J1772 adapter (Hotel Destination Charger for Hotels / Shopping centers) | Up to 80A | 20kW | 12 Months Warranty

Here is a good example of 10+ free level 2 AC Tesla destination chargers 8 kW - 16kW charging available at a grocery store only if you have a Tesla to J-1772 AC adapter. The destination chargers are commonly found at malls, shopping center, movie theaters, etc.

You can use the same Tesla Find Us link to locate Tesla Level 2 destination chargers.

Tesla Find Us Superchargers available with adapter / Magicdock location Chargers

The Rivian you see is using DCFC level 3 with an adapter

 

[Big_Ike]

Using the rivian site for planning road trips they start the car at 100% but it seems like this is bad based on what I'm reading on here. Do you all ever do 100%? How bad is this.

I charge to 100% before every roadtrip (5-7 per year), otherwise 80-85%. I've followed this formula for the last 10 years of EV ownership and have experienced no significant battery degradation on any of my vehicles.

 

[DavidMillett]

Pulled the trigger on the R1T Dune and now have some questions since it's our first EV and had some questions after reading through the treads here.

With everyone switching to NACS it seems like the Tesla Universal Wall Connector is the way to go for at home charging?

For road tripping i would need a2z typhoon but would I also nee to get the stellar to get access to all chargers while not charging from home?

I also have to travel for work and leave the R1t at home for 21 days at a time do i need to leave it plugged in? or is it better to leave it unplugged, would it be dead by the time I get back?

I've seen a lot of threads about preconditioning when the battery is cold to get the best effieciecy but does this even matter if I'm just going to drive around 10-20 miles around town? Is it hurting the battery to not precondition before driving?

Are most people doing PPF? I see all the videos of people ripping it off road or sand. Should I be worried about it sand blasting the paint?

Thanks really excited to pick it up!

Welcome to the Rivian family.

You just need a NACS TO CCS adapter and life is a dream. It really doesn't matter which home charger plug you choose there is always an adapter.

When you leave any EV for an extended period it is always a good idea to leave it plugged in.

Let us know what it is has been like for you to be an EV driver in a month or two.

Remember any inconvenience you face is part of what we all do to reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

 

[AnninSI]

Welcome to the Rivian Family! Lots of great experiences shared here. I would only add that I recently had home service (for 7500 mile check) and as I travel a lot for business and frequently don't come home for the weekend, I have been leaving it unplugged and have 1-1.5%/day drain. The technician confirmed, feel free to leave it unplugged, it will be just fine. I regularly charge to 70% and up to 100% if leaving on a lengthy drive - then 80-85% on the road. Enjoy!

 

[malditofman]

Pulled the trigger on the R1T Dune and now have some questions since it's our first EV and had some questions after reading through the treads here.

With everyone switching to NACS it seems like the Tesla Universal Wall Connector is the way to go for at home charging?

For road tripping i would need a2z typhoon but would I also nee to get the stellar to get access to all chargers while not charging from home?

I also have to travel for work and leave the R1t at home for 21 days at a time do i need to leave it plugged in? or is it better to leave it unplugged, would it be dead by the time I get back?

I've seen a lot of threads about preconditioning when the battery is cold to get the best effieciecy but does this even matter if I'm just going to drive around 10-20 miles around town? Is it hurting the battery to not precondition before driving?

Are most people doing PPF? I see all the videos of people ripping it off road or sand. Should I be worried about it sand blasting the paint?

Thanks really excited to pick it up!

I had $700 discount on the Rivian wall device so I went that way. Works great. PPF is Paint Protection Fantasy. It can yellow, crack or peel at the edges over time, hence a common warranty if only ten years. It costs thousands of dollars to have professionally applied. Skip it and donate the money to your favorite national park. When out of town for a few weeks leave it plugged in. Don't go crazy worrying about minutiae like preconditioning the battery all the time before charging and driving. Keep in mind that high speeds burn up fuel fast, whether ICE or EV. I keep my R1T Tri at 60 mph in Conserve mode and get within 2% of the range marketed by Rivian. Drive 75 to 80 and range takes a hit. Congrats on the Dune. It's a good value as it's a Tri with over $5,000 in options included, but without the Ascent interior, which is a good trade-off as the Adventure interior is very nice. My Tru has blown away all my expectations both on pavement and off-road. My old F150 is a dinosaur by comparison. Enjoy your new toy. Drive well.

 

[CGriding]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

[Irish76]

Adding to what others have said, but I'd suggest leaving it plugged whenever not driving it, and especially when you are gone. Set the charge level at 50%. Ideal resting charge rate for the batteries in your truck is 50-55% to minimize degradation. I keep mine at 50% and charge in time before I leave if I need more to return home with at least a 20% charge.

Tesla chargers are the way to go whether you have NACS or not. I have 6 EVs at home (2 are motorcycles) and I use Tesla chargers for all of them.

I agree with the above. I also have a Tesla Universal Wall Connector for my R1S. The one rule I have always followed in driving EVs for 8 years is ABC - Always Be Charging. You never know when you might have an emergency and NEED to be charged (hurricane/tornado/fire/zombie invasion…).

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Congrats! You have got a lot of good advice here. I recommend reading through the forum in your spare time or watching some YT videos.

I try to show what it’s like to live with EVs and I believe it’s better than ICE in most cases.

There’s something about being out in nature with only the sound of the environment and a little electric motor noise. It’s even better than being out in the garden 🪴

 

[DayTripping]

One thing you'll need to get used to is one-pedal driving. Most people pick it up very quickly. The one thing I'll caution you on is that if you drive in snowy or icy conditions, you can't ever totally eliminate it on a Rivian. So whenever you let off the power, the truck will start to slow via regenerative braking (aka regen) where the car is trying to use the motors as little generator to recapture the energy while slowing the truck.

So if you were to let off the throttle quickly, on a slick surface, it could possibly cause some slippage. I wish I could totally turn off regen in the winter when conditions warrant it. The Rivian does have user selectable regen and some drive modes adjust it as well. You can never turn it completely off.

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