R1T visits RIT

[KBabione]

Nice trip report and observations on the R1T. And thanks all for the hike recommendations! I've yet to take a long enough trip that charging was required so these details are helpful. As for the Rivian nav - it's just not at the level of Google at all and I use Waze as a "nav source of truth" all the time. Ideally I would like to see an ABRP and Waze mashup (yeah, I know they are owned by Rivian and Google respectively). Since that seems unlikely, how about ABRP replacing the nav today? I buy can dream... Seems like manual trip planning like the days of yore is needed to have a high degree of confidence that your EV trip will go smoothly.

Happy to help with the hiking! On long trips we too use Waze and confirm that the Rivian nav matches it. In the year we've had our R1S I will say that the Rivian nav has continued to improve.

For trip planning, @Budman did a great job explaining How to use PlugShare for Route Planning and it's what I now use for all longer trips. Give it a try and you'll get it pretty quickly - it easily gives you all of the chargers and a good feel for their status along with others near your route as alternatives. As you plan a long trip it's good to have a target AND a secondary option that is in range. You just never know...

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[McLovin]

As you plan a long trip it's good to have a target AND a secondary option that is in range. You just never know...

Great suggestion, and something I didn't really think about until our drive home. I was planning on arriving at our hotel ~ 20% (had 18% when we pulled into the parking lot) and utilizing the "free charge" amenity of the hotel. However, I was NOT planning on one of the chargers being "out of order". Luckily for us no one was using the good one, and we got up to 92% by the morning. But, had it not been available, I would have had to go searching in the morning (as I did on our way up).

 

[KBabione]

Try the PlugShare route planning - just make sure you've set the filters correctly, specifically networks you can/want to use and which plugs you can use (i.e. select NACS if you have an adapter). It makes it really easy to see other chargers near your route, even if you're just keeping them in mind as backups. In our experience, backups are especially important if you're expecting to have access to a hotel's destination charger for 8 or more hours. They are great when they're available, but if you're checking in late there's a good chance someone else is plugged in already for the night or that it's been ICE'd because it's convenient to the lobby.

Since you're in VA...We were at a wedding in Charlottesville over Memorial Day weekend and stayed at the Boar's Head Resort. Starting with a 100% charge, it was right at the edge of our "comfortable" range at 234 miles away. I knew that they had 2 destination chargers AND a 14-50 outlet so I expected to charge there (with a RAN about 20 minutes away as my backup). I had a great charging experience because I got the one charger that was working and the 14-50 outlet was in a part of the parking lot that was being resurfaced and was inaccessible. I plugged in overnight our first night and then moved the car to free up the charger. It's really nice when someone else pays for your trip home!

 

[McLovin]

Since you're in VA...We were at a wedding in Charlottesville over Memorial Day weekend and stayed at the Boar's Head Resort.

Boars Head…hope you didn’t get listeria…. (Too soon?)

I know the resort well…played many tennis matches there (the indoor courts are awesome as it’s UVA’s home facility).

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