The Rivian option

Charjd

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I need a new truck fairly soon and the two options are the Silverado EV and Rivian R1T. I don't like the Ford much. It's conventional look screams "old tech" for some reason. The availability of the Silverado is a huge unknown right now. They won't even start building them until next year. Next year is actually not that far away. I'm very interested in the Trail Boss option. It's supposed to be somewhere between the WT and the loaded version. I travel to Salt Lake frequently and I am amazed at the number of Rivians in the Salt Lake area. You can get an idea of how many there are by how many you see on the road. I see one or two every day. Even with the lack of a dealer network, people are still getting them somehow.
 

LLninja

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You needed to have your reservation in many years ago to get the Rivian today. Alternatively, you can pay more than MSRP on sites like Cars & Bids if you really want one now. I don’t have a reservation, but as soon as the R1S has the optional 400 mile battery pack, I’m going for it
 

EVTrucking

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I need a new truck fairly soon and the two options are the Silverado EV and Rivian R1T. I don't like the Ford much. It's conventional look screams "old tech" for some reason. The availability of the Silverado is a huge unknown right now. They won't even start building them until next year. Next year is actually not that far away. I'm very interested in the Trail Boss option. It's supposed to be somewhere between the WT and the loaded version. I travel to Salt Lake frequently and I am amazed at the number of Rivians in the Salt Lake area. You can get an idea of how many there are by how many you see on the road. I see one or two every day. Even with the lack of a dealer network, people are still getting them somehow.
Rivian has a service center in SLC. The further away from a service center the fewer Rivians you will see.

FWIW I enjoy my R1T a great deal. For my needs/wants it is the perfect size and checks all the boxes.

I have a 1/5/2021 Silverado EV reservation as a backup plan.

There are a fair number of used low mileage R1Ts out there for sale.
 

Trekkie

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You needed to have your reservation in many years ago to get the Rivian today. Alternatively, you can pay more than MSRP on sites like Cars & Bids if you really want one now. I don’t have a reservation, but as soon as the R1S has the optional 400 mile battery pack, I’m going for it
they've pretty adamantly answered 'it won't' on the R1S, they stripped some features on the R1T 400 mile version (two motors, performance, etc). Not to mention it'll take forever to charge a bigger battery since they're not doing what Chevy is doing and splitting the pack 'in two' electrically so when you charge with 800v you can charge faster as each half of the pack is charging at 400v
 

EVTrucking

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they've pretty adamantly answered 'it won't' on the R1S, they stripped some features on the R1T 400 mile version (two motors, performance, etc). Not to mention it'll take forever to charge a bigger battery since they're not doing what Chevy is doing and splitting the pack 'in two' electrically so when you charge with 800v you can charge faster as each half of the pack is charging at 400v
Good point. If you make a fair number of trips that exceed range and or don’t have access to home/work charging then once 800v charging becomes available it will save time. I am not sure what the impact on battery life would be to frequently fast charge at 800v.

My Kia EV6 has 800v charging capability but have never used it. Cannot use it yet as I am not aware of any charging ports that deliver 800volts. However, I do like that it has the capability.
 

LLninja

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Good point. If you make a fair number of trips that exceed range and or don’t have access to home/work charging then once 800v charging becomes available it will save time. I am not sure what the impact on battery life would be to frequently fast charge at 800v.

My Kia EV6 has 800v charging capability but have never used it. Cannot use it yet as I am not aware of any charging ports that deliver 800volts. However, I do like that it has the capability.
Hopefully the battery management system will keep you from frying the batteries. That said, when at home, I would just charge slowly, but when traveling and towing an Airstream (like all the ads show in the GM sites) I will need to fast charge along the way.
 

EVTrucking

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Hopefully the battery management system will keep you from frying the batteries. That said, when at home, I would just charge slowly, but when traveling and towing an Airstream (like all the ads show in the GM sites) I will need to fast charge along the way.
I am sure the battery management will protect the battery.

Pulling a RV trailer with an EV truck will require frequent charges. Current Level 3 DC fast chargers, when available, are pretty fast.
 

LLninja

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I am sure the battery management will protect the battery.

Pulling a RV trailer with an EV truck will require frequent charges. Current Level 3 DC fast chargers, when available, are pretty fast.
That’s the plan, drive 150-200 miles, recharge and eat
 

camaroz1985

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My Kia EV6 has 800v charging capability but have never used it. Cannot use it yet as I am not aware of any charging ports that deliver 800volts. However, I do like that it has the capability.
EA or EVGo 350kW chargers support 800V, that is how they get those numbers. Current is limited to 500A by CCS standard, which is why 400V class vehicles top out around 200 kW. Rivian actually is around 450V, which is why it can go to around 220 kW.
 

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EA or EVGo 350kW chargers support 800V, that is how they get those numbers. Current is limited to 500A by CCS standard, which is why 400V class vehicles top out around 200 kW. Rivian actually is around 450V, which is why it can go to around 220 kW.
Thank you as I did not know that.

I assume 800V capacity is not in the realm of an OTA.
 

camaroz1985

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Thank you as I did not know that.

I assume 800V capacity is not in the realm of an OTA.
No it is not, the modules and components all need to be designed for 800V. GM is doing things slightly different though, with the ability to "stack" the pack electrically, the motors and everything down stream of the battery doesn't need to be 800V. This method allows for the faster charging without the higher component level costs. Of course if everything is running at 800V, it would be more efficient overall, which is why Hyundai/Kia announced they are changing the front motor inverters on the Ioniq5/EV6 to 800V from 400V (to match the rear), and expecting to see an efficiency improvement of approximately 5%.
 

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No it is not, the modules and components all need to be designed for 800V. GM is doing things slightly different though, with the ability to "stack" the pack electrically, the motors and everything down stream of the battery doesn't need to be 800V. This method allows for the faster charging without the higher component level costs. Of course if everything is running at 800V, it would be more efficient overall, which is why Hyundai/Kia announced they are changing the front motor inverters on the Ioniq5/EV6 to 800V from 400V (to match the rear), and expecting to see an efficiency improvement of approximately 5%.
Knowledge is power!
 

Trekkie

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Good point. If you make a fair number of trips that exceed range and or don’t have access to home/work charging then once 800v charging becomes available it will save time. I am not sure what the impact on battery life would be to frequently fast charge at 800v.
It won't, because it's really charging at 400V x 2. That is probably the neatest feature to me. Still using 400V architecture, but the pack is electrically split in two and uses both 'legs' of the 800V charging system to charge two packs at 400V.

I mean anytime you charge a battery you reduce its life, but the BMS is what keeps it in line for the best life. No different than the ICE engine wearing out every time you use it.
 
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