Rivian R1T Road Trip Coast to Coast (2,550 Miles)

Following an amazing race of all the EV trucks you can buy today, I offered to drive the Rivian R1T back to Florida from San Diego. Along the way, I stopped in Phoenix for a day and a half to spend time with Greg and his Cybertruck and Gjeebs and his R1T.
I have gone coast to coast many times in my Tesla Model Y, Model 3 and even halfway across the country in our Tesla Model X. I am well versed in how to make this trip, and deal with charging along the way. The thing I wasn't as familiar with and ultimately hated about this trip was the public DC fast charging network.
Utilizing Electrify America, EVGo, Mercedes Chargpoint Shell Recharge and Rivians Adventure Network, I was able to experience the good and bad of all the major charging networks in the country. On just one stop, I was fortunate enough to be able to utilize a Tesla Supercharger with a Magic Doc. Days after this trip, Tesla officially opened up the network to Rivian owners with an adapter, meaning you are not limited to just superchargers with the magic doc.
The Rivian R1T I am driving is a 2022 Quad Motor with the Large battery pack. It is rated for 352 miles of range and is able to charge at speeds up to 220 kW. With an onboard battery of about 135 kWh, the Rivian moves all 7,000 lbs + with reasonable efficiency, and where the weight reduces range, Rivian put a large battery pack underneath to still deliver good real world range.
By the time I reached my home in Florida, I had traveled 2,550 miles, consumed nearly 1,400 kWh of energy, paid over $450 in charging and saw the Rivian pass over the magical 50,000 mile mark. Even after 50,000 miles, this truck is still holding up tough, with no noticeable signs of wear, certainly not 50k miles worth. The half shafts were starting to make some noise and are likely going to need to be rebuilt as is a known issue with the R1T.
Although I sincerely enjoyed the comfort, and ease of driving the R1T, I seriously disliked the charging experience. Whether it was broken chargers, over priced chargers, or slow performing chargers, there were very few charging stops that were at least at expectation.
When we started road tripping in our Teslas, we used to make this trip, just in reverse, several times a year. In the beginning, there was only 1 V3 Supercharger on this route, and that was in Nashville. Since then, V3 superchargers have been deployed so fast that you can make the trip only using V3 superchargers now.
Now that Rivian has access to the Tesla supercharging network, i can say now that I wouldn't think twice about owning a Rivian, which is something I would not have said before. The Tesla Supercharging network is seriously that good and that important to the ownership experience that if your EV does not have access, I wouldn't not even consider owning it.
Thanks to Tesla continuing to open up their charging network, we are finally in the age of wide spread EV adoption. This is a game changer and makes what used to be deal breaker EV's now enticing to many people.
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[@evanr81]

Watching you at EA chargers is like someone playing blackjack

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

haha great metaphor

[@MickMcGuire]

Great video, i just ordered R1T, the leasing deals are incredible right now

[@sherwinm]

Same 😊

[@MickMcGuire]

What spec did you order?

[@sherwinm]

@@MickMcGuire 2023 dual motor performance in limestone. I leased it. Got free color upgrade and $2K off the price. Trying to get the powered tonneau added for $500 for a later install. Guide is looking into it. Taking delivery later this week. Crazy lease deals right now with option to buy later. But this video concerns me with charging on road trips. I’m in the southwest. Those NACS adapters need to hurry up 🤞🏼

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Amazing deals right now

[@sherwinm]

@@BeardedTeslaGuy But you're still waiting for your Cybertruck. Come join us ☺

[@frankrockenback5329]

Did this trip from So Cal to AZ four times. EVGo in El Cajon was our favorite charge stop. No waiting and charged as intended. The BofA in El Centro has always been a nightmare. A woman called EA on us for "taking too long to charge". She wanted them to shut off our dispenser. Always enjoy your videos.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Lol

[@adjust.clinic]

Was she driving a Bolt? Was she waiting for the 350kw charger? 😂

[@e2dub]

Thanks for the informative Rivian road trip footage BTG! Maybe you should consider rebranding your channel to Bearded EV Guy.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Thanks for the super chat! I am a car person first, Tesla second. I love all EVs that rock and Rivians are pretty awesome

[@Wittstock99]

Nice job

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

cheers

[@teslatalk42069]

this video would be considered long haha Rock On!!

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

lol, I didn’t want to make it a 3 part series this time, so I just put it all on! Thanks for watching!

[@Rx100Vx]

So cool .

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Cheers

[@jesseslong6800]

I remember the days before VISA and Mastercard My dad had a card for every gas station brand in his Wallet. A very big and fat wallet full of gas cards. So it nice the cell phone does not get heavier and heavier with each app that gets added to it. LOL

[@martinTX]

Great video, I love driving the I10. About to take a 4500mile trip in R1S. 95% will be charging at Tesla SCs. Estimated 2.2MW⚡

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Nice

[@bonniekrueger6126]

You have the patients of a saint. I’m planning of getting the new model y when it comes out. Was wondering how much it costs at Tesla chargers for a Tesla?

[@KidKnuckles]

Lakeland dude here: that shell charger is absolutely INSANE! I think your frustration was justified. I was getting frustrated just watching this video! New charger, Mercedes charger…. *ambulance blaring by* Bummer… so new charger! 😂😂 Great video, I always enjoy your road trip videos. How was the drive assist with the R1T compared to Tesla’s latest software update? I don’t even use autopilot anymore in my M3 because I would get warnings for absolutely no reason. How was the comfort also? My M3 is nice and plush on short trips, but any distance and it quickly becomes uncomfortable with the “buckets” on the edge of my seat creating pressure points on my hip bones. Just thoughts while watching and reflecting on my own road trip experiences. I’d love to get an R1T someday, but for now I’m satisfied with my M3. Lengthy comment, I know. I appreciate you and your informative videos and summaries of the charging environment outside of the Tesla bubble. Well done!

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

I have to be honest, a year and a half ago when I rented an R1T to review, drive assist sucked. Wouldn’t work nearly anywhere. On this trip it worked almost the entire trip on the highway. Radar makes it accelerate and brake super smooth and I like that switching lanes it stays activated and automatically reengages

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

No it isn’t. If a person can buy almost a 100,000 dollar truck they should be able to afford the charging cost. He sounds like Kyle Connor whining who owns 20 cars . The chargers are expensive to buy and install. Pilot flying j charges 60cent a kWh . And Tesla depending were you charge is high too. Also some do it by time of day. Stop bashing ea. you wouldn’t have been able to go out of your city without ea. now you can use superchargers but they started in 2013 with only 1 car to charge a model s. It should work great when you make everything. But now you see they don’t handle non teslas all that great like 800 volt cars. Tesla has a new 12.00 charging plan for frequent users. When you drove a gas car and charged at a highway gas station travel plaza they charged a lot. They have demand charges that cost a lot. They haven’t rolled out the 3500 magic docks they promised the White House . They only have about 40.

[@radcpuman]

Would it have made since to sign up for the EA charging plan (for a month) and get the discount based on the amount you used on this trip? (like 2 minutes later you signed up for the pass, lol).

[@disneymike3311]

How is the Rivian driver assist? I e only had Tesla autopilot and FSD. Does it compare?

[@jacecole]

Did the windshield crack on this trip!? Noticed that on the leg leaving AZ

[@angryGTS]

It's expensive a hell to charge out west!! I'm spoiled with the cheap per minute at EA in Georgia. The most i have ever paid was $5. Florida is pricey too. I save all my free charging for when I go back home to Florida to see my family.

[@manamedia]

Playing one of my Fav Beck Songs and Albums: 1:26:25 Morning

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Love me some Beck

[@MissG0011]

I see that you have the exact same crack in your windshield that I got when I rented a Tesla Model 3 and took it on a road trip, and I'm wondering if this is a common ongoing issue with Telsa windshields? I was stop and go on the interstate due to construction taking us down to one lane. After 35 minutes we got going again and I got slammed with a flock of bugs on the windshield. So, I turned on the wipers and shot the window with wiper fluid. I immediately heard a pop and saw that the windshield cracked in same spot yours did. What are your thoughts on this?

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

This was already on the truck before the trip

[@PureBounce]

BT. There is a way to change your arrival in the R1T by percent. You can set to show the arrival percent of your choice. Example if you want 5% you can set it that way. Probably would have saved time on your trip.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

I tried everything to get the screen to show me arrival % estimate rather than miles. Would not work, confirmed with others you can’t make it do that

[@Quickicecarreviews123]

I don’t know that much about rivians but it’s odd that it tells you to charge to a certain percent 💯but then doesn’t say what percent you will arrive at when driving if I was listening correctly lol

[@Lorwildrose]

You might want to check the Tesla pricing now. In Canada the regular price is $0.91 /kWh

[@Paul-cj1wb]

Tesla will not put up with Bolt owners doing what that guy was doing by taking up a 350kw charger for an EV that charges at 55kw max. If the station is getting full, they'll likely restrict it (via VIN) to a 30 minute limit before raising their rates anywhere from .50 cents to a $1 per minute after that; like they do with their own Teslas when the site is getting full by sending you a warning that your rates will go up after 80% (which takes Tesla less that 30 minutes to reach most times). Or $1 per minutes idling fee. Tesla is not EA or EVgo and will not allow their network to turn into such fiascos by allowing that to go on. They don't like it, let them go back to clogging up EA stations or pay the price. Although I would say that most Bolt owners mostly want the Supercharger access on more remote locations where CCS is non-existent or, when available, have to deal with their usual horrible unreliability. As a Tesla driver, you got to see and experience the fiasco hell that the CCS network is. That's why Tesla opening up it's vast network with it's 99.6% reliability rate is so game changing for North America EV adoption.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

I’m sure there will be enhancements over time, certainly limiting charge % when busy is one thing they already do

[@fatwajim]

I assume this roadtrip was done before the Tesla Supercharger network opened up for Rivian?

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Like DAYS before lol

[@byronbergman8264]

The charging issue is not really an issue since Rivian can use the Tesla superchargers. BTG, it seems like the only real complaint that you have is public chargers. That has been well-known for years at this point.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Yep! Like 3 days after the road trip 🤦‍♂️

[@joelgonzalez4455]

Would charging at teslas be cheaper than Electrify America?

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

100%

[@flu922]

That big crack on the windshield... : (

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

I know…

[@stevefaulkner4678]

Thanku for sharing it seems that the total cost is the same as driving an ice vehicle that gets 20miles per gallon. What are your thoughts? Am I missing something

[@Paul-cj1wb]

Charging on the CCS network without their plans (which he wasn't using), perhaps. Although I would say it's closer to 30 miles per gallon equivalent in most places. But when using the Supercharger network with a Tesla, it's not even close. For example, he went to the Phoenix area. They have a Supercharger station there that charges only .13 cents per kilowatt after 10 PM. I myself never paid more than .31 cents per kilowatt and that was only once. I usually paid .24 cents or cheaper. And non-Tesla drivers can get the same price with a $12.99 per month plan (which you can choose to pay for only that month you're on a road trip away from home charging) or they can save some money on the plan if they elect to go with a one time payment of $99 for a whole year. That's basically the cost of a single fill-up for an F-150 and other ICE pickup trucks. Hope that helps.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

I’m not sure what the comparable would be but to make it easy, I’d say yea, probably about that. Public charging is too expensive. Tesla chargers are better priced for a trip like this. Even at comparable cost, that’s only during long trips. Daily it’s super cheap charging at home

[@TheTheboss175]

Its so painful watching your charger experience on non tesla chargering networks. Makes me happy i got a Tesla. I drove from the Illinois to Florida with no issue on the tesla network.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Seriously. The ease of Tesla supercharging makes everything else pointless

[@djcali001]

What really makes the current cost of CCS charging even more inexplicable is that they’re jacking up their rate at the same time as electricity prices are down. I’m in New England where we have notoriously high rates and even here the rate is half what it was during the spike at the start of winter. Yet EV charging prices have not only not gone back down in response they’ve gotten higher still. You’ll never get EV adoption where it should be if the damn infrastructure providers are worse price gougers than the fossil fuel industry is. What’s extra galling is their ramping up prices at the same time they’re getting a huge injection of public money to fix the mess they created. I love my Mach E but every time I have to use public charging and pay a “connection fee” and then 50+ cents per kilowatt hour for a charge I do tend to look a bit more longingly at those Model Ys driving by.

[@RSkala100]

I drive a Model Y in the northeast and pay between 0.38 and 0.46 cents per KW at Tesla superchargers. Home charging using a demand meter between 11pm and 7am I pay roughly 0.08 cents. The Ys efficiency helps too at 3.5 to 4 miles per KW. Overall charging costs are much cheaper than gas costs in the northeast.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

It’s not in alignment with the direction the country is going

[@ocrodriguez78]

This video is awesome as it shows EV’s and the charging issues that come with them are just too much of an inconvenience. How can you say it was a successful charge when you have to jump thru hoops to get going? This is hilarious!

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

That’s the issue. And that’s why Tesla is the best option for most people. Seamless, reliable, and convenient

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

@@BeardedTeslaGuyI guess you didn’t hear Kyle say that the Tesla network let him down in the cyber truck. I hate when Tesla drivers bash other networks without knowing what is going on. A Tesla put in there network with only a few locations on the east and west coast in 2012. No cross country network. They made a model s to work for their network. They didn’t need a screen because it was done thru the app when you baught the car. Ea had to install in a timeline by the government that didn’t give them the option to make their own chargers. They originally had 4 manufacturers starting in 2018 1st one installed in 2018. We in Ohio didn’t get ea until 2019. I haven’t had the problems you complain about. I have had a ev 9 years. Walmart was nice enough to give land in the parking lot to install them. They are not meant only for road trips. They are also for city charging. Tesla is not always in great locations. Grand junction Colorado is way off the highway per Jordon and Kyle. Some are at hotels with zero amenities. If no ea you wouldn’t be able to drive a rivian across country. The rivian network is not everywhere but no one bashes them for releasing a truck without supporting the truck. If you blame ea who owes rivian nothing. You should blame rivian for the slow rollout. Ea is replacing a lot of the older units and they post them on twitter. The chargers cost a lot you are not going to get them cheap. Pilot flying j is 60 to 75 cents per kWh . Gm owners will get a discount. Tesla charges non Tesla customers 60 cents at a magic dock location. And it changes depending on were you are. So ea can be cheaper. I have pass plus and it. Is in the 30cents range a kWh .

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

No it isn’t crazy to see chademo. Lots of Nissan leaf owners use them and Kia soal ev owners that have older models that have chademo. Stop complaining about the price. You can afford a tesla cyber truck and other teslas but can’t afford the charging cost. These units cost 20 to 30,000 dollars per unit to install. You are two impatient and should never be driving a non tesla. All the complaining helps nothing.

[@DarkRelms1]

Being a mach e gt owner i feel ur pain with electrify america. They are part of the problem for people being scared to get ev's in my opinion. I always have to call them to have them restart the charger so i sit on the phone for 20 mins or so then charge for 40 mins.

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

It’s pathetic and unacceptable

[@DarkRelms1]

Yep i get my adapter for tesla in may and then give Electrify America the big middle finger.@@BeardedTeslaGuy

[@DarkRelms1]

Ya i get my tesla adapter from ford in may then i give electrify america the big middle finger.@@BeardedTeslaGuy

[@theDougAngle]

Sorry...I couldn't do it. Not knowing if a charging network/station is going to work would be a deal killer for me. LOVE MY TESLA.... yes, I know some other vehicles can utilize Tesla's Superchargers now. Road tripping without worry is PRICELESS.

[@atlmz6]

“Hey sir don’t take this personal but be careful driving around the gulf coast, batteries and salt don’t get along”…. 🤦🏾‍♂️ “how often do you have to charge”….. so damn annoying lol😂

[@MickMcGuire]

Yes as soon as Evs hit salt air they burst into flames 😂😂

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

More common discussion at chargers than you’d think and I just 🤦‍♂️ every time

[@MickMcGuire]

@@BeardedTeslaGuy I am a little south of you, I get told that in my office 😂. There are 8 Teslas in the parking lot now ⚡

[@dennisknehans3206]

We should be able to get 300,000 miles out of his battery maybe more.

[@jpmackin]

$.50/kwh…..💩

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Yea, no bien

[@nathanielwilson1899]

I see zero reason to ever consider a EV. This and all the other video like this make it quite clear that EV will never replace ICE cars.

[@davidcottrell570]

So why are you watching? It’s OK. Most of the time we plug in overnight at home. Wouldn’t you like to be able to do that? Once upon a time you would have had to go to a pharmacy to buy fuel, and your model T would have a range of 120 miles. EV struggles are like that, and people with horses and buggies said the same thing.

cyber truck is the worst looking product t Tesla has ever made iam buying a Rivian

[@BeardedTeslaGuy]

Lol