Should I bail out or stick?

[Bristlecone]

Is it possible that you're snow-shoeing because no vehicles you've previously owned were capable of making the trek?
Maybe the R1S can make it all the way to the cabin, so you'll cut out those extra 2 miles (assuming there's gotta be SOME kind of roadway to have initially taken raw materials back to where the cabin is currently sitting, unless it was truly scratch-built, at which point there's no electricity there anyway, and the entire point is moot...). Just thinking aloud.

We snowshoe because there are places where snow is 3-4 feet deep on the remote road. Six months of the year. And no electricity; our cabin is off-grid solar.

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[R1Thor]

We snowshoe because there are places where snow is 3-4 feet deep on the remote road. Six months of the year. And no electricity; our cabin is off-grid solar.

It's a good thing you're you (and responsible); I'd be figuring out how to mount a plow or treads to my R1T

 

[Milermore]

Looking for advice from experienced owners, particularly in cold climates. I've got an RS1 on order, and took the test drive yesterday. Of course I liked it a lot. Here's my dilemma. This would be our going-to-our-mountain-place-in-Colorado-vehicle, replacing a 2007 4Runner. Round trip 180 miles. No worries about doing that range in summer. In winter, we park about 2 miles from our cabin, which is on a gnarly unplowed road, and we snowshoe in. So the car would sit out usually 2-3 days at a time, at 11,000 feet elevation. Cold. My worry is vampire drain of 2-3% a day, according to my guide on the test drive, and reduced winter range. Full range is only 270 miles, since we'd have to do 20 inch all terrain wheels and tires (guide says no winter tires available for the longer range 21-inch). Drive up there is no interstate, only about 1/4 of it at 65-70 mph, rest in the 50's to 60. Elevation gain from my house to the cabin is 4,000 feet. There's a charging station about halfway, but it's often not working. So I need to know I can do round trip without charging. One factor that says stick is I pre-ordered before the price increase, and would get both the $7,500 federal tax credit and the $5,000 Colorado tax credit. I've also got a pre-order in on the Volvo EX90, which will likely have a 300 mile range, will have a heat pump for more efficient cold weather driving, and based on my 2 plus years experience with my other car the Volvo electric XC40 Recharge, has no vampire drain. No federal tax credit, though. Advice anyone?

It sounds like you have a unique edge case that EVs have a hard time meeting right now. If I were you, I would stay in the old 2007 4Runner a couple more years until batteries are better, charging infrastructure is better, and vehicle efficiency is better.
Of course everyone has their own motivators, so do what makes sense to you and enjoy!

 

[cohall]

We do Denver-Breck-Denver all winter without any issues. It's about 175 miles roundtrip, with about a 5K elevation gain on the way up.

However, we are lucky to be able to keep the truck in a heated garage while we're there, which helps on the vampire drain.

I think it would be doable, especially if you are ok with making a quick stop to add a few KWs on the way back home. There are options in Frisco and Georgetown. Theoretically RAN is coming to Silverthorne/Dillon soon as well. I'm hopeful that more options continue to open up along the other popular corridors as well (i.e. Fairplay, etc.).

That said, range anxiety is real and it sucks. If you don't want to deal with it, I'd take a pass.

 

[Bristlecone]

Thanks Cohall, good to hear. Our travel is on 285, and there’s charging in FairPlay, about 10 miles before where we park in winter. That charging station has been a bit flakey but pretty reliable the past few weeks. I’m at the hemming and hawing stage but I might just go for it. Have to persuade the spouse.

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