Right-hand side charging access

[danwerle]

Hi,

I'm excited about the development of the new Scouts.

I'd like to request charging access on the right-hand side of the vehicle.

I live in a U.S. city where many electric vehicles depend on street parking for charging purposes. When vehicles are parked legally, accessing the right side for charging is much easier, and encourages drivers to park with the flow of traffic.

Thanks for all of your work developing the new Scout vehicles!

Dan
Portland, Oregon

 

[61ih80]

That's disturbing to think drivers are not parking "legally". What other option are they using to park?

 

[JohnnyScout]

My assumption is that charging ports are placed such that tge driver would see the cord plugged in as they enter the vehicle and be reminded to unplug before driving off stillbtethered although I also presume no EV can be driven or even 'fired up" when tethered.

And only in Oregon would there be charging stations placed like parking meters. Back east charging is like free air, pull in or back in

 

[J Alynn]

My assumption is that charging ports are placed such that tge driver would see the cord plugged in as they enter the vehicle and be reminded to unplug before driving off stillbtethered although I also presume no EV can be driven or even 'fired up" when tethered.

And only in Oregon would there be charging stations placed like parking meters. Back east charging is like free air, pull in or back in

I suggest center front grill area, maybe part of the grill folds down to access it. Then you could pull from either side so parking or pulling up to gas station would be easy no matter what option

 

[JohnnyScout]

I suggest center front grill area, maybe part of the grill folds down to access it. Then you could pull from either side so parking or pulling up to gas station would be easy no matter what option

Or old school, hidden behind fold down license plate like my 70.5 camaro I should have kept

 

[oldgeeksguide]

My assumption is that charging ports are placed such that tge driver would see the cord plugged in as they enter the vehicle and be reminded to unplug before driving off stillbtethered although I also presume no EV can be driven or even 'fired up" when tethered.

And only in Oregon would there be charging stations placed like parking meters. Back east charging is like free air, pull in or back in

I’ve seen a lot of talk about installing chargers on light poles (high power already available), having right side charging would be perfect for that. Basically anytime you’re parallel parking, charging port on the right side would be a plus.

 

[R1TVT]

There is also the consideration for pull-through charging (and trailering) and the location of the port. And from a BOM perspective, keeping the charge port closest to the connection to the BMS, ideally you want to reduce the run of any cables & wires in the EV and have a compact and efficient design. It's an interesting problem, since there is no "standard" port config, and there is no standard charging infrastructure on the other side...

I will say that I find the front driver side in my truck to be convenient with very few issues. Of course there is the big debate about how that front driver side location on the truck can sometimes require a Rivian to take up 2 spaces at a TESLA supercharger (depending on the station configuration, who is there first, and where you try to park)...

 

[danwerle]

Hi, Thanks for the replies! I agree, having the port located behind the license plate. That would be awesome!

It's illegal to parallel park on the opposite side of the street where I live. Regardless, about 20% of drivers still do park against traffic, and, to the best of my knowledge, it's a rarely-enforced law.

For those, like my wife and I, who depend upon on-street parking, I'm envisioning charging the vehicle at our home. Having the charging port on the right side of the vehicle would reduce the awkwardness of bringing the cord around to the left side of the vehicle and shorten the length of the cord needed from our home charging site.

Thanks again for the input.

Dan

 

[RebelliousPeasant]

I agree with having the charging port on the 'curb-side' of the vehicle. That's where the port is on my current EV and it works well. Teslas have it on the driver's side which to me is a dumb place for it because it always makes for awkward cable management when using a public, on-street charger. The cable is liable to get ripped off by a passing truck or something. Having it on the passenger side just makes more sense.