DC Fast Charging adventure from So Cal to East Texas

[Tesla2.0]

I am in process of driving back a Rivian R1S from Santa Monica to Houston. I have documented my charging trip log. This thread is mostly about charging experience EA, not about Rivian product. Stay tuned to read…

 

[Tesla2.0]

Santa Monica, CA -> Barstow, CA

Charging Session: #1
Location: Starbucks
Charging Network: Rivian
Energy delivered: +100.3 kW
Charging time: 45 min
Cost: FREE (to Rivian cars)

This station was accidental find across from EA station on the other side of I-15 Freeway. Rivian stall doesn’t not have big screen like Electrify America, it only stated how much kWh was dispensed.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Barstow, CA -> Las Vegas, NV

Charging Session: #2
Location: Premium Outlet
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +58.31 kW
Charging time: 18 min
Cost: FREE
(waived $24.94 thinking this car is Polestar 2 from my EA Apple Wallet card)

Note: This station has latest generation of EA stalls. I was enjoying 205kW juice on 350kW stall until this Tesla Model Y came next to me to charge to share charge load, I immediate saw charge rate dropped to 50 kW. It was then I decided to bail out of station

 

[Tesla2.0]

Las Vegas, NV

Charging Session: #3
Location: Palazzo parking garage
Charging Network: ChargePoint
Energy delivered: +62.47 kW
Charging time: Overnight charge
Cost: Free (Palazzo comp, normally $3/6 kWh, so saved $31.23)

 

[Tesla2.0]

Las Vegas, NV -> Kingman, AZ

Charging Session: #4
Location: Kroger Supermarket
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +67.77 kWh + 11.76 kWh = 79.53 kWh
Charging time: 31min + 12min = 43 min
Cost: FREE ($28.81 + $4.72 = $33.53 Waived thinking car is Polestar 2, and only gives 30 min free charge each session)

 

[Tesla2.0]

Kingman, AZ -> Phoenix, AZ

Charging Session: #5
Location: Walmart Supercenter
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +74.65 kWh
Charging time: 32min
Cost: $34.78 (old generation EA dispenser)

I decided to pass by Phoenix instead of going eastward to Flagstaff. I decided to go to Casa Grande to check it out. Lucid AMP-1 is next stop!

 

[Tesla2.0]

Rivian Navigation system cannot find Lucid AMP-1. Such weak TikTok CCP manipulation style!
Anyway, Google provided me address to input to Rivian Navigation and onward to Casa Grande, Lucid AMP-1

Thornton Road to Casa Grande and bumped into barriers, had to turn around…

Peter Rawlinson must be avoiding me answering tough questions of LCID share price.

Ended up turning around east bound to Tucson, AZ.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Phoenix, AZ -> Casa Grande, AZ -> Tucson, AZ

Charging Session: #6
Location: Premium Outlets
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +74.98 kWh
Charging time: 35 min
Cost: $2.84 ($32.19, only paid 5 minutes idle time, old generation EA dispenser STILL CLUELESS this is Rivian, not Polestar!)

At this station I met an EA maintenance woman driving Rivian R1T truck and I watched her fixing broken stalls by opening these stalls to troubleshoot and making that 1-800 calls. To save her and EA’s dignity, I did not take any picture of spaghetti wires inside these machines.
(So far so good as I haven’t got bricked in any stall since I left California)

 

[Tesla2.0]

Tucson, AZ -> Lordsburg, NM

Charging Session: #7
Location: Chevron Gas Station
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +86.28 kWh
Charging time: 35 min
Cost: $39.22
Trip accrued cost: $76.84

Beautiful sunset in Tucson, AZ!

What a contrast of an ancient LEAD gas dispenser next to EA electric dispensers.

Wow! MOST EXPENSIVE CHARGING YET!!

I’m still far from home, staying in this 3000 population town with only 1 restaurant open at 8:30pm —— Golden Arch!

 

[Tesla2.0]

Lordsburg, NM -> Deming, NM

(Stall #2 350 kW bricked, but Stall#3 350 kWh worked)
Charging Session: #8
Location: Walmart Supercenter
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +62.05 kWh
Charging time: 31 min
Cost: $28.89
Cumulative cost: $105.73

At 34F, the efficiency starts getting ugly despite I got up early 8am to get on the road. 1.46 mi/kWh ?! OUCH!

At this station, I saw MB EQB SUB for the first time!

Because of cold weather reduced efficiency and first time I got brick in a EA stall, I decided going forward to charge more often so not to get stranded.

 

[Driveabout]

Much appreciated your thorough information. I'm planning an AGT trip from Central CA to Santa Fe, NM in early March.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Deming, NM -> El Paso, TX

Charging Session: #9
Location: Walmart Supercenter
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +63.42 kWh
Charging time: 28 min
Cost: FREE (Invoice subroutine broke, so charging never happened. Thank you EA!)
Cumulative cost: $105.73

I can see Mexico from this side. So where is that Trump wall?

So many local areas have barbed wires.

This part of I-10 is geo-fenced for Highway Assist. I’m getting out of El Paso. I didn’t feel safe and ease around border.

 

[Tesla2.0]

El Paso, TX -> Van Horn, TX

(2nd time encountered bricked EA,
Stall #2 bricked, went to stall #3 and worked)
Charging Session: #10
Location: Days Inn
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +62.65 kWh
Charging time: 28 min
Cost: FREE ($9.84 - weird, broken EA software just like to keep giving me free juice!)
Cumulative cost: $105.73

Here I met an interesting brand new Chevy Bolt owner. He said his last Bolt was recalled, while in recall process, GM eventually replaced his car with brand new Chevy Bolt and $12,000 for compensation. He is going opposite direction from Oklahoma to California. He asked me how fast does R1S charges, I told him not as fast. (As I was comparing it to Lucid Air) He then told me he got under 50 kWh charging speed with Bolt, but his car can go 4+ mi/kWh. Still, that is a lot of waiting at 50 kWh charging speed.

At random border control check point…
“US Citizen?”
“Yes!”
“Go!”
(I wondered in my head what happen if I answered back whimsically in “Si Senõr!”)

 

[Tesla2.0]

Van Horn, TX -> Fort Stockton, TX

Charging Session: #11
Location: Walmart Supercenter
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +65.74 kWh
Charging time: 25 min
Cost: $8.76 (from EA app)
Cumulative cost: $114.49

Back on the road again…
TEXAS IS SO BIG!!!!!!!

 

[Tesla2.0]

Fort Stockton, TX -> Ozona, TX

(EA app doesn’t work on this station stalls, nor any RFID reader work on taking Apple wallet card, so I use traditional credit card swipe, I have experienced this handshake failed issue with Lucid Air before, good thing I have this knowledge because getting stranded in small town Texas is just not funny.)

Charging Session: #12
Location: Hampton Inn
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +72.51+19.19 = 91.70 kWh
Charging time: 29+16= 45 min
Cost: $9.95 + $5.68 = $15.63
Cumulative Cost: $130.12

Notice how much cheaper is $0.32/min to $0.42/kW, it’s about 65% cheaper on 350 kW. I don’t understand EA charging rate inconsistency. Maybe different state have different rate regulation. TEXAS IS WAY CHEAPER PRICE!!!

Funny how some of Texas hills look like human curves.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Ozona, Tx -> Junction, Tx

Charging Session: #13
Location: EconoLodge
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +47.03 kWh
Charging time: 20 min
Cost: FREE (stall has bug couldn’t provide invoice, free juice again as this charging session never happened. TY EA for broken software to work in my favor yet again. )
Cumulative Cost: $130.12

Kind of spooky to charge late at night seems to be a ghost town to me.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Junction, TX -> San Antonio, TX

Charging Session: #14
Location: Walmart Supercenter
Charging Network: Electrify America
Energy delivered: +80.01 kWh
Charging time: 32 min
Cost: $10.21 (EA app and wallet reader won’t work again, I just use credit card to swipe. Texas has cheap juice on 350kW time. If this is Arizona or New Mexico, it would be $33.60)
Cumulative Cost: $163.72

It seems I have enough juice to go to Houston in one shot!

My mind was willing, but my body wouldn’t… Dropping dead in some hotel in San Antonio downtown with garage parking.

 

[Tesla2.0]

San Antonio, TX

Charging Session: #15
Location: Riverwalk Plaza Hotel
Charging Network: L2 Cypress Creek
Energy delivered: +???? kWh (All the way from 80% to 100%)
Charging time: Overnight
Cost: FREE
Cumulative Cost: $140.33 (correction for previous arithmetic error!)



Morning breakfast then headed back to Houston. San Antonio downtown river walk is a beautiful place, it’s almost as time warp back in 20th century.

 

[Negan1000]

Thanks for sharing your cross country drive and EA charging experience.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Knight in shiny armor finally got home with white steed. My wife was joyous looking at her new ride. Total trip charging cost $140.33. If this is a gas SUV, probably roughly a $700 trip. BIG THANKS to bad EA software gave me charging discount! Have I got stuck somewhere because of bad EA? NEVER!!! A Better Route Planner is an awesome companion app over every EV’s negation system.

This Rivian R1S was something my wife always wanted to replace our Honda Odyssey. We considered Model-X in the past, but it didn’t fit our need as 3rd row space was really non usable. We are one more step closer to fully electrified.

My neighbors all have Tesla, so we are the unique residents. We got the cars people hardly find on the streets. If Tesla’s CyberTruck is not a vaporware, then our household will be complete.

Never thought I have to use this extension cord to charge this car. Our Wallbox 20’ cable wouldn’t able to reach it. Happy camper now when overprepared.