I've Put 83,000 Miles On My 2022 Rivian R1T In Just Three Years, Visiting 9 Cities On A 4,900-Mile Road Trip, And The Battery Has Lost Less Than 1% Capacity

Most cars are appliances. They get you from one place to another with the personality of a toaster and the emotional weight of a shoelace. But every so often, something happens. A connection is forged between man and machine. A bond is built not just from horsepower or torque figures, but from shared adventures, real dents, and midnight highway conversations only an owner and his truck could understand. One user went to Reddit to talk about his recent adventure. “TLDR: I love this truck; ownership of it over these 3 years has been a life-changing experience. The relationship with this community and the company has been the icing on the cake. Also, a 4900-mile road trip and a 19K 3-month repair.
I was a Nissan Leaf owner from May 2014 to July 2022. In those 8 years, I put 103K miles (12,875 miles per year) on that car with a loss of 30% of my usable battery, having an ending range of 65 miles on a full charge. Very limiting, but I was happy to be able to drive electric, even with the limited range.
I was looking for a vehicle with more range. test drove a Tesla Model 3 in 2020, but wasn’t happy with the build quality, put money down on Ford F-150 Lighting, and was honestly just waiting for something to come along that would check all the boxes I wanted as my next EV.
A coworker mentioned Rivian to me and I hadn’t heard of it so I did a little research, I was very interested in what I learned and after watching a few youtube videos I put my deposit down for an R1T vehicle. I made an ordered with all of the bells and whistle, Rivian Blue exterior, Forest Edge interior, powered tonneau cover, I built my perfect vehicle. This was back in December of 2021.
I did my test drive in May of 2022, and on July 20, 2022, I took delivery of my Rivian R1T.
I was beside myself. I think I drove around that day from 9 am when I took delivery till 2 am, sharing the vehicle with family, friends, and strangers all over the city of Atlanta. I must have shown off the launch feature to no less than 20 people that day, maybe more. (Side note, I would love to know if there is a way for Rivian to check out my drive history to see how many times I’ve “Lanched” in my 3 years of ownership)
Life-changing. That’s what I tell people when they ask me how my experience living with the truck has been. In those early days, the number one question I got from folks was a very quiet “Do you like it?” Not like, “how is it?” but more of a core, deep down inside, do I connect with the vehicle? I don’t ever remember hearing people ask such a pointed, direct question about any purchase I’ve ever made. Life-changing is what I would tell them.
In the Leaf, I was very limited on where I could go and where I could explore.
I was a baggage handler for USAirways from 1993 to 2005. I had 15 1/2 years of flight benefits, flying around the world for free. It was a great part of my life. Those 8 years with the Leaf were great years as well, where I explored Atlanta with a lot of passion, but I rarely left the city.
With the Rivian, it was time to take exploring to the next level. I started with the Georgia Traverse, 300 miles of forest roads through the North Georgia Mountains, doing little pieces on my days off from driving freight trains for CSX railroad. The next adventure was to tackle the Blue Ridge Parkway in its entirety, then the Skyline Drive. I explored the 4 previous state capital cities of Georgia and then all the Fall Line Cities of Georgia.
Once I got through those adventures, I decided to explore the Linville Gorge Wilderness area in great detail, doing 6 trips in 6 weeks, hiking and camping in the back of the truck. When hurricane Helene struck and closed those areas off, I was deeply and personally aware of a lot of the impacted areas because I had been spending so much time exploring them.
In those early days of ownership, I had printed out a fact sheet that I would hand people or leave on the windshield of the truck so that the folks I encountered who had questions about the truck could learn more about the vehicle.
When the Rivian Space in Atlanta opened in October of 2023, I initially felt like the folks at the Space didn’t need my involvement, that they had it covered as far as educating the public about the brand, and that the company would do great things.
In Feb of 2024, there was an owner’s appreciation night, in March, there was the unveiling of the R2/R3/R3X event, and in April, those vehicles were in the Atlanta Space. It must have been a culmination of those events that piqued my interest in getting more involved with the Space at Ponce City Market. I realized I could park out front of the Space, open up the truck, and help folks that were passing by learn about the R1T and the company. 
Many times, folks would spend a little time with me and then look over their shoulders and notice that there was a Rivian Space they could walk into and learn even more about the vehicles. I would often spend 2 or 3 days a week, 5 to 10 hours a week in front of the space, sharing my excitement for the brand.
My relationship with Rivian has grown in magical ways. By April of 2025, at the opening of the Alpharetta Space at Avalon, I was able to meet and spend time with the VP of Facilities. He invited me to take a tour with him and his team of the Stanton Springs site, and two weeks later, I took him up on the offer to visit the future home of Rivian in Georgia.
I mentioned to him that I would be taking a big road trip coming up, and I would be near the Normal, IL, plant, and he arranged for me to get a tour of the R1 facility as well as a tour of the build-out of the R2 facility. Andrew was my guide for that tour. Knowing how much work is yet to be done to get R2 on the road, I am very grateful for all of the time that Andrew took to share his knowledge with me about the facility at Normal. We spent about 3 1/2 hours on the tour. I left Normal that day, being very inspired about the future of Rivian.
My 4900 mile road trip
After 2 years and 9 months of ownership with the R1T, I was ready to take on one of the biggest adventures of my life. A 9-city tour, a week of camping, and what ended up being a 30 charging location blast across the county. 19 of those chargers were on the Rivian Adventure Network.
I have been going on a one-week camping trip in the Spring in the middle of no where Tennessee for the last 21 years but this year I wanted to be a little more adventurous. I took 25 days off from work and reached out to friends from across the country to see how many of them I could visit.
I did some simple plotting and mapping, but I really did let the navigation in my Rivian do all of the work, and it shone.
My first stop was Asheville, NC, to visit with a close friend and his family. I was able to see the destruction of Helene first hand, but also spend some time in a park with my buddies, 4 and 1-year-olds, and get in some pretty amazing mountain views in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Next stop was a quick visit with a friend in Knoxville, TN, and an impromptu visit to a friend who just happened to be in town to purchase a bike.
Onto Liberty, TN, where my camping trip was held, I unloaded my camping gear and parked the truck. A few days in, I was asked if I could volunteer to help shuttle folks from the drop off to the parking lot for the day, about an 8-mile round trip on mountain roads. I always enjoy sharing the vehicle and volunteering, so I jumped at the opportunity. There were about 600 folks at the camping event this year, so getting to share the Rivian with all of them is a blast, and my R1T is everyone’s favorite shuttle vehicle experience.
My next stop was St Louis, MO. Getting to see one of my best friends who used to live in Atlanta, I spent 3 days in St Louis having their great pizza, exploring the city, its parks, and the Mississippi River. I even had a chance to visit the Chain of Rocks bridge, a spot that I last visited 30 years earlier.
Onto Normal, IL, for my factory tour, the drive in was pretty cool, getting to see the windmill at the Normal facility before I even saw the plant itself. Again, Andrew was a great host, Head of Security joined us for the tour. I am so appreciative of the time that both of them spent with me on the 3 1/2 hour tour of the R1 and R2 facilities.
I didn’t really realize how out of the way Normal would put me from St Louis for my next leg to Denver but with the help of Driver + and using my charging stops to get in some good quick solid naps in the back seat of the truck I blasted across the county getting from Normal, IL to Denver, Co in about 24 hours with charing stops.
I had a rainy but relaxing day in Denver and was even able to get in a quick visit to the Denver Space. I was surprised by how much activity was going on in such a small space, demo drives, future owners, the space was a buzz, even with the cold rain falling outside.
With just a short visit in Denver, I was onto Albuquerque for my next stop the next morning. I had never driven on the back side of the Front Range before, so I was excited for what the next leg of this adventure had in store. It was still raining in Denver that morning, which meant it would be snowing up in the mountains. I was a little concerned, as I have never really driven on snow with the truck, but that’s what adventure is all about. The truck did great in the snow. I took Highway 285 from Denver to Salida, to Del Norte, and onto Albuquerque. One of the most beautiful drives I have ever done in my life, snow-covered mountains on the horizon left and right from 7 am to 5 pm. Stunning.
I had my bike with me for the trip, and Albuquerque was my first stop, where I unpacked it and headed out to explore the city. I parked on the west side of the city and quickly found the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. It was a good ride, just 6 miles at sunset, a chance to stretch my legs from the trip and take in the sights. 
I had a great dinner. New Mexican cuisine is probably my favorite regional food in the whole country. It was a rainy night, so I decided to head on to my stopping point for the night in Santa Rosa, NM. Even in a driving rainstorm, the R1T did pretty well, doing most of the driving for this leg of the trip. Having the truck be so capable of highway driving made the trip possible, like being the passenger on a plane is how I describe it to people.
The next morning, I started the drive to Cisco, TX, which would be my stopping point for the night. I had a great charging experience in Amarillo, TX, with a good BBQ stop there at Pork N Things. I visited the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the 2nd largest canyon system in the country, charged up in Lubbock, TX, and got in a shower at the Pilot Station while charging. Made a dinner stop in Abilene, TX, and learned all about the history of that town.
Slept in the truck that night and topped off at the RAN location in Cisco, TX. It was on to Austin for a 3-day adventure. I met up with an old roommate there, and the adventures started pretty quickly, on our bikes, with breakfast tacos, and down to the River we rode. I really wanted to visit the Rivian Space in Austin, and my friend was more than happy to lead me there. 
I had a chance to meet the team, they were great, we connected nicely, and after sharing stories from the road for a while, they made a very sweet offer. They had extra tickets for a BBQ event the next day in Lockhart, TX, and gave my friend and me tickets. The next day, we had a blast. I tried all the BBQ and spent a good amount of time at the Rivian vehicle that was set up there, sharing my experience of living with my R1T for the last almost 3 years and sharing stories about my road trip.
Over the 3 days, I rode my bike over 50 miles and was able to visit the Rivian space all 3 days. My last stop for the tour was New Orleans, again, the truck did great, a 12-hour drive across Texas, and amazingly through Houston around lunch time with barely any traffic delays to speak of. I spent a day and a half in New Orleans, biked around with a friend and his partner. Had some good food and a great sunset on the lake.
Feeling a little homesick, I departed New Orleans the next day and had a peaceful final drive from New Orleans back home to Atlanta. Another 12-hour drive where the truck did all of the heavy lifting, maintaining lane, speed, and distance to the next destination. Such an amazing road trip vehicle.
I am already thinking about what adventure I’ll go on next. Again, the truck did great on this amazing tour of the country. My journey with my Rivian has been rich and deep. Now at 83K miles and climbing, I am looking forward to all of the places I’ve yet to visit and all of the conversations I’ll get to have with folks about living with an EV and having a great experience with my Rivian.
I guess I’ll add, I’ve averaged about 30K miles a year on the truck, I’ve had less than a one percent drop in usable battery and range on the vehicle. It’s a Quad motor, Large Park with 318 miles of range in All Purpose mode. I call it Heaven and Earth with the Blue/Green combo.”
It was a turning point. The kind of ownership experience that moves beyond torque specs and warranty coverage. After eight years with a Nissan Leaf, a car with the range of a sneeze and the soul of a power strip, he didn’t just upgrade, he escaped. The R1T didn’t represent a next chapter; it represented an entirely new book. In its first 36 months, this truck covered more ground than most people do in a decade. Through Appalachian forests, downtown skylines, and off-grid wilderness, it became more than a vehicle. “Life changing,” he says. And the kicker? After 83,000 miles, the battery has lost less than one percent of its usable capacity.How Volkswagen’s $5 Billion Bet on Rivian Will Power the Next-Gen EV PlatformBut this wasn’t just a man falling in love with a truck; it was a man finding purpose through a brand. He didn’t just drive it. He evangelized. As Reddit user abuamiri put it, And he was. He parked in front of Rivian Spaces. He handed out printed fact sheets. He demoed launch mode like a high-voltage circus act. He wasn’t selling, he was sharing. Like the early Mustang owners in the ’60s, or Miata fans in the ’90s, his enthusiasm was grassroots, contagious, and authentic. FlawedCommune even credits him with helping make their used R1T purchase.Of course, no great story is without its scars. In Austin, Texas, he misjudged a parking deck and backed into a pole. With a bike rack on the tailgate and clearance signs overhead, distraction did its work. The initial estimate was $5,000. The final bill? Nineteen grand. Two months of parts waiting. Two weeks of paint prep. Why a $19,000 Quarter‑Panel Fix Became a Defining Chapter in My Rivian R1T JourneyA quarter panel replacement. And yet, he didn’t blame the truck. Didn’t even rant about the insurance company. Instead, he called it part of the journey, like replacing a head gasket on a ’70s BMW or fixing rust on a CJ Jeep. It was just another chapter.Then came the road trip, a 4,900-mile, 25-day blitz across nine cities. From the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Mississippi River, from snow-dusted passes in Colorado to desert sunsets in New Mexico, the R1T carried him across the nation. Thirty charging stops. Hundreds of strangers met. One camping trip with 600 fellow adventurers, where the Rivian served as the unofficial shuttle. “Having the truck be so capable of highway driving made the trip possible,” he wrote, “like being the passenger on a plane.” And in that awe was reverence for a machine that asked for nothing but electrons and delivered everything.Rivian R1T Quad‑Motor Breakdown: 1,025 hp, 0–60 mph in 2.6 s & 7‑Seat Adventure ReadyAnd through it all, the road miles, the factory floors, the community events, his R1T kept going. With its Quad-Motor setup and a 318-mile range in All Purpose mode, he’s averaging 30,000 miles a year. He calls it “Heaven and Earth,” thanks to its Rivian Blue and Forest Edge combo. The battery degradation? Less than one percent. In EV terms, that’s remarkable. We’re in a strange era of automotive history. Some say the golden age of driving is behind us. Maybe they’re right. Passion doesn’t die with the V8. It evolves. And sometimes, it wears a powered tonneau cover and a Rivian badge.Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
Source: torquenews.com