Trip Report: Minnesota to Utah & AZ National Monuments

[Joules Burn]

That's awesome! We are thinking of either getting a R2 tri or a Gen3 R1S. Any other recommendations of medium to difficult roads around Moab area that are scenic but not too technical?

Shafer Trail is a "must do"!

Number one reference is "Photographing the Southwest" by Laurent Martrés. Some regions and editions are out of print but they are worth the eBay price for guidance.

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[Doug]

Thanks for the info. We will check it out.

 

[MediaArtsDad]

This is awesome, we were just exploring through this same area a couple of weeks ago in our R1T, let our SOC get a lot lower, as we pulled into Blanding around 6%, having last charged at Bryce Canyon with a few % added in Boulder while at the Anasazi State Park Museum. Trip Report coming soon!

 

[Tejkalra]

We are long time National Park visitors and hikers. Hit them all, some several times. For this 2 week trip we went much more off the beaten path....

Moab area BLM lands
Bear's Ears National Monument in Utah
Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona
Dixie National Forest (near Bryce Canyon NP)

2025 Dual Motor R1T Max Pack. Nokian Outpost nAT tires. Thule bed top tent plus an awning and Yakima water tank on cab roof crossbars. A very inefficient setup..... 3,957 miles with an overall efficiency of 1.86 m/kwh.

Charging: Uneventful. I got my first R1T (yes, I'm on my 2nd one because I put a lot of miles on...) in 2023 and have done this Minneapolis to Denver and beyond route once or twice a year. Since that time the charging infrastructure has vastly expanded and improved. EA, IONNA, Pilot Flying J, ChargePoint, Tesla. Used all those networks on this trip with no issues.

Some overnight Level 2 charging did come in VERY handy on this trip though. In Bluff, Utah around Bear's Ears we stayed at Bluff Dwellings Resort which had 2 11 kW Tesla chargers. And, critically, to visit the White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes in the Vermillion cliffs we staged out of Cliff Dwellers Lodge in Marble Canyon which has mutilple L2 chargers. It would have been much more difficult to do this trip without Cliff Dwellers L2 chargers. Nice place, highly recommend.

The heart of the trip was an overnight stay at the White Pocket and a hiking in South Coyote Buttes the next morning. If you are not familiar, these places are in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. it requires lengthy drives on single track, rutted, sandy roads to visit. You need to apply to a lottery to get a permit for South Coyotes Buttes much like the more famous North Coyote Buttes (aka; "The Wave"). I'm 0 for 6 on winning a Wave permit lottery..... The Wave is famous and relatively easy to get to. The White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes are less famous but in the opinion of many better. But much, much harder to get to. I got the Outpost nAT tires specifically to do this trip and glad I had them on.

We departed Marble Canyon with 100%. 44 miles (but 3 hours!) to White Pocket. Overnight at White Pocket. About 1.5 hours and 15 more off-road sandy miles to South Coyote Buttes. Then about 60 miles to Kanab, UT. ABRP said I would arrive in Kanab with 50% charge left. But ABRB does not know about deflated tires for deep sand nor the overnight battery drain for cooking and electric blanket heating. I actually arrived in Kanab with around 26%. 26% is about the lowest I would want to be on a trip like this. It's possible to do it but watch your energy........

The White Pocket and South Coyote Buttes are incredible places to go. Takes planning, they are off the beaten path to be sure, make sure you know what you can handle but well worth the visit.

A few other notes: Bear's Ears exceeded expectations. Great hiking to Native American stone dwellings. Natural Bridges was very cool. Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley are very over rated... The Dixie National Forest is like a mini Bryce Canyon that my wife and I liked better.

In the image below note the tiny figure of my wife slightly right of center for a sense of scale

Nice trip.
I just took one from eastvale ca to grand canyon and page and all and back to eastvale ca. Total miles 1537 miles. Efficiency was 2.16.. Horrible. Charging was not bad. Used tesla and RAN and EA. Rain on my way back for like an hour or so. Strong head wind from Vegas to Hesperia. Was not expecting such a low efficiency. As I was going uphill. But returning was all down hill mostly. Was not happy with efficiency.
Edit - 2025 R1t tri motor max.

 

[emoore]

Nice trip.
I just took one from eastvale ca to grand canyon and page and all and back to eastvale ca. Total miles 1537 miles. Efficiency was 2.16.. Horrible. Charging was not bad. Used tesla and RAN and EA. Rain on my way back for like an hour or so. Strong head wind from Vegas to Hesperia. Was not expecting such a low efficiency. As I was going uphill. But returning was all down hill mostly. Was not happy with efficiency.
Edit - 2025 R1t tri motor max.

Doesn’t seem like bad efficiency for the rain and head wind.

 

[Tejkalra]

Doesn’t seem like bad efficiency for the rain and head wind.

This efficiency is 100% conserve mode.
Gen1 QM gave me 2.47 for 22000 miles with 100% AP mode.
Gen 2 TM.. I am getting 2.61 for 18000 miles with 99% on conserve mode. I tried AP mode on this tri motor, I was getting 2.09 for 900 miles, I switched to conserve mode since then. Was expecting 2.8 at least. Nope never went above 2.67 and I took this trip to grand canyon. It dropped to 2.61 because of speed rain and wind. Seems like these new motors are not efficient compare to bosch motors that were in gen1 trucks. May be battery chemistry may be different? Don't know. But all I know I was getting good 260 miles with few miles left when I reached the charger. Now with Gen 2 I am getting same like 260 miles but with conserve mode (403 miles advertised). Also slightly bigger battery then Gen 1. Also 3 motors compare to 4. Not happy.

 

[emoore]

I have a Gen 1 QM and have a lifetime of 2.34 miles/kWh; mostly in AP with some conserve on the highway. I think 2.67 for TM in conserve would be pretty good. Rivian R1 vehicles aren't very efficient due to the aero. I doubt the new motors have that much effect on efficiency and are probably close to or better than the Bosch motors. But if you are that unhappy about it maybe get something more efficient? R2 should be more efficient.

 

[Tejkalra]

I have a Gen 1 QM and have a lifetime of 2.34 miles/kWh; mostly in AP with some conserve on the highway. I think 2.67 for TM in conserve would be pretty good. Rivian R1 vehicles aren't very efficient due to the aero. I doubt the new motors have that much effect on efficiency and are probably close to or better than the Bosch motors. But if you are that unhappy about it maybe get something more efficient? R2 should be more efficient.

I hope R2 will be better. Fingers crossed. It's only efficiency that I don't like about r1t. Other then that I love that truck.

 

[VandalSibs]

Shafer Trail is a "must do"!

Number one reference is "Photographing the Southwest" by Laurent Martrés. Some regions and editions are out of print but they are worth the eBay price for guidance.

I'm intrigued... my wife and I are in the initial planning stages of a National Parks road trip for next year, and I'd love to drive this (we've been to Canyonlands before, but it was a very quick in a Model Y). The National Parks page says that this is a "challenging" drive - is that line for an average driver, or is it actually challenging for experienced off-roaders?

 

[Erik+]

This efficiency is 100% conserve mode.
Gen1 QM gave me 2.47 for 22000 miles with 100% AP mode.
Gen 2 TM.. I am getting 2.61 for 18000 miles with 99% on conserve mode. I tried AP mode on this tri motor, I was getting 2.09 for 900 miles, I switched to conserve mode since then. Was expecting 2.8 at least. Nope never went above 2.67 and I took this trip to grand canyon. It dropped to 2.61 because of speed rain and wind. Seems like these new motors are not efficient compare to bosch motors that were in gen1 trucks. May be battery chemistry may be different? Don't know. But all I know I was getting good 260 miles with few miles left when I reached the charger. Now with Gen 2 I am getting same like 260 miles but with conserve mode (403 miles advertised). Also slightly bigger battery then Gen 1. Also 3 motors compare to 4. Not happy.

Why would you buy a tri-motor and keep it in conserve 99% of the time!? That doesn't seem very exciting. Use those motors!

 

[Joules Burn]

I'm intrigued... my wife and I are in the initial planning stages of a National Parks road trip for next year, and I'd love to drive this (we've been to Canyonlands before, but it was a very quick in a Model Y). The National Parks page says that this is a "challenging" drive - is that line for an average driver, or is it actually challenging for experienced off-roaders?

I did this in a Jeep Overland. You need a high ground clearance pickup, SUV or rental car. A "rock climbing" Jeep is not necessary for this trail. There are some local maps for back road difficulty.

 

[Budman]

I'm intrigued... my wife and I are in the initial planning stages of a National Parks road trip for next year, and I'd love to drive this (we've been to Canyonlands before, but it was a very quick in a Model Y). The National Parks page says that this is a "challenging" drive - is that line for an average driver, or is it actually challenging for experienced off-roaders?

I did it last spring. It's a very easy drive in a Rivian, even with all season tires. I did it "bottom to up" That is the direction I would recommend. Starting in Moab area and finishing in Canyonlands NP. Dead Horse State Park is right next to Canyonlands. The rim hike at Dead Horse SP is a must do.

Speaking of must do hikes (assuming you are the hiking type). Go to Fisher Towers. About 20 miles east of Moab. One of my favorite hikes ever. Onion River road is very nearby and that is also a great drive.

 

[Tejkalra]

Why would you buy a tri-motor and keep it in conserve 99% of the time!? That doesn't seem very exciting. Use those motors!

I am one of those looser who will buy sports car and drive it at 65 mph.
I need efficiency. I am not that much of a 0-60 kind of person. I might have got dual max in that case but meh.. I like this one minus efficiency.

 

[emoore]

I am one of those looser who will buy sports car and drive it at 65 mph.
I need efficiency. I am not that much of a 0-60 kind of person. I might have got dual max in that case but meh.. I like this one minus efficiency.

But do you expect 35+ mpg from said sports car?

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