For a long time, people have been speculating about what it will be like with different electric vehicles. You no longer have to wonder if you have Rivian. One owner has taken at least four 300- to 400-mile road trips with the truck and shared his experience on Reddit. Below, we take a look at their main talking points.
Road trip problems with the Rivian R1T
According to a post by user johnthegaptist on Twitter, the truck and other electric vehicles just aren’t ready for regular road trips for three main reasons. One is the shipping time. Charging an electric vehicle takes much longer than filling a tank of gas, even with fast charging.
Versions prior to 2022 took approximately 72 minutes to charge from 10% to 90%. Even with over-the-air updates that improved charging times, users still had to wait about an hour. Also, sometimes queues at charging stations are several cars long, which means extended wait times.
Another reason is the shipping network. Although the distribution and availability of charging stations has improved over the past few years, it is still not enough.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have one or two on your way. However, as John the Baptist discovered, you will likely have to detour to get to the charging station. This could mean driving 10 minutes or more in the wrong direction. You should also return to your lane for an additional 10 minutes.
If it’s not quite up to the front, you may need to stop and refill the battery even with plenty of range left to make sure you make it the rest of the way. Also, some chargers don’t work, and even if they do, they may not offer the best charging speeds.
Finally, the electric driving range is affected by the weather. Bad weather means that your range can be halved, and therefore, you won’t be able to reach your destination.
Of course, struggle in the same conditions but don’t lose the same extent. Also, you’re more likely to come across a random gas station than a charging station, which makes it less of a problem.
Other potential factors affecting road trip safety of the electric vehicle
While the user may be right in their assessment, there are still other issues that make EVs problematic on road trips.
One example is that 30% of your car’s maximum range is useless, according to . Most EV owners only charge their cars from 10% to 80% to keep the battery healthy. Additionally, this is because shipping speeds usually slow significantly after increasing 80% of costs for those being billed per minute. So even if you charge it up to 90%, that means you never use 20% of your battery capacity.
After that, road trips mean you spend a lot of your time driving on highways rather than in cities. With that said, you lose out on the benefits that often lead to increased fuel efficiency and greater range. And wind resistance from fast driving puts extra pressure on available range.
Finally, being on a road trip means you’re likely to be carrying extra luggage with the added weight, which reduces range.
What do electric vehicles need to be more viable for road trips?
Ultimately, the main reason electric cars are a problem for road trips is the lack of charging stations. If the infrastructure were to catch up, landlords wouldn’t have to wait in line, reducing wait times.
What’s more, detours to find charging stations won’t be necessary, and EV owners can wait until their batteries are running low to recharge. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about reaching for a charging station even with a low battery.
Finally, improved charging speeds can reduce how long drivers wait at each charging station, making it more viable.
