Dunkin’ – Benton Harbor

Introduction

Part of the series to visit and review all the Rivian Adventure Network sites in Michigan, post the upgrades to all sites to support all electric vehicles.  Site visit on September 28, 2025.

Business/Location Name	Dunkin’
Address	2680 M-139, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
Network	Rivian Adventure Network
Station Details	6 Stalls (2 sets of 3 dispensers, each share 300kW; total 600kW site power)
Cost	$0.64 per kWh, $0.54 per kWh for Rivian vehicles

The Dunkin’ – Benton Harbor station was the 1st charging stop.  This also happened to be the only stop where I saw a Rivian vehicle charging. (Originally opened April 2023.  This station opened to all electric vehicles in April 2025).  

Accessibility

The Dunkin’ site at Benton Harbor is in the parking lot of the strip mall.  The site is 0.2 miles from I-94 at exit 28 you right next to the exit ramp.  North from the exit in the corner of the medium parking lot.    Four stalls in a row with perpendicular parking and two dedicated pull-through parking stalls.

Amenities

Dining options include: Dunkin’

Shopping options include: None

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Marathon gas station across the street

Concentration

This is the latest standard 6 station layout for Rivian.  There are a couple of pull-through stalls for those pulling a trailer.  The longer cables on the second-generation hardware remove most concerns about cables reaching charge ports.  There is a benefit that there are 6 units, this distributes the power across enough stalls to keep traffic flowing.

Location

This site supports I-94 east/west interstate.  Quite a popular location for charging in Michigan.  Connecting major cities including Grand Rapids – 95 miles NNE, Chicago – 95 miles W, and Indianapolis – 190 miles S.

50 Mile Loop:

150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The Rivian sites follow a standard layout for speed/power.  There are six dispensers that are configured in trios(A/B/C).  Two power cabinets can then each split power between three linked dispensers.  Each set shares a combined 300kW output.  The dispensers have liquid cooled cables supporting 500A.  Unless a site is full, most vehicles on the market today are going to arrive and be provided all the power they can request.  At this site the transformer is slightly undersized at 500 kVA, this will require power balancing when nearing the limit of site output power.

Summary

Unlike my last trip in this direction to review the Tesla sites where I stopped 5 times at charging sites, on this trip it was a direct run east to west on I-94.  Left with 92% and 169 miles later arrived here with 31%, 2% better than originally estimated by A Better Route Planner.  I did pause about midway in Jackson to check in on the NEVI site under construction there and found a team working on the site on a Sunday, and the station did unofficially open one week later.  I was suprised how close to the exit this site was located.  I arrived to find a Rivian R1S charging at one end of the set of 4 pull in stalls.  I took the post closest to the power equipment.

I struggled at first because the site was not showing up in the Rivian application to enable starting the charge.  I would find out much later in the trip that this was a problem with the zone level handling and that once that close to the charger you need to be zoomed in to the map as far as possible to be able to find the station to start the charge.  Of course all of these new dispensers are equiped with tap to pay credit card readers, so I started this charge with a tap of my card on the reader.  The power ramped up and I was able to see speeds in the 230kW range as expected.  After just 11 minutes I was back to 70% and ready to move onto the next stop.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $20.55

Total kWh: 32.116 kWh

Time: 11 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 175 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.64

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
35	A	7	3	25

Alternatives:

Meijer - 1920 Pipestone Rd, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022- $0.56/kWh – 350kW x 6 (Electrify America)

Meijer - 1920 Pipestone Rd, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022- $0.51/kWh – 250kW x 12 (Tesla)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Meijer – Northville

Introduction

Trip to visit all the southern lower Michigan Tesla Supercharger sites open to non-Telsa vehicles.  Site visit on July 21, 2025.

Business/Location Name	Meijer
Address	20401 Haggerty Rd, Northville, MI 48167
Network	Tesla
Station Details	12 Stalls (3 sets of 4 dispensers, total 750kW site power)
Cost	$0.53/kWh (8am to 11pm) $0.28/kWh off peak; $0.38/$0.21 per kWh for membership

The Meijer in Northville station was the last charging stop on my trip to check the southern lower Michigan Tesla sites.  A standard 12 stall layout with connection points on either side of the row of parking.  Based on the usage chart in the Tesla app, this site sees some of the heaviest use amongst the Michigan sites, but still maintains some stall availability throughout the day.  (This station opened in May 2022).  

Accessibility

This Meijer site is in the parking lot to the north, next to the garden center area.  The site is 0.4 miles from I-275 at exit 167.  The charge points are easy to spot in the parking lot.  There are six stalls on either side of a row of parking that support this location.  There is no accessible specific parking, nor is there any pull-through spots that allow easy charging while towing.

Amenities

Dining options include: Five Guys, Qdoba, Chick-fil-A, Wingstop, Thai Fresh, Mission BBQ, Panera, Starbucks

Shopping options include: Meijer, Kohl’s

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Meijer gas station in same parking lot

Concentration

This is a standard 12 stall V3 location.  The dispensers are arranged in the middle of a row of perpendicular parking, with the center of the layout on one side taken up by the power cabinets and the transformer.  There are several end dispensers that can support alternate parking arrangements for vehicles whose charge port locations don’t work the best with the short V3 dispenser cables.

Location

This site is placed along the I-275/96 route.  This site supports the northwest suburbs and is combined with the older V2 site in Livonia provides charging to those living in the area without access to home charging.  About 30 miles to Detroit and 70 miles to Lansing, it can also support interstate travel plans.

50 Mile Loop:

100 to 150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The currently installed V3 power cabinets can produce up to 500V and 600A.  The power cabinets are connected by the high voltage DC bus, and thus can share power amongst all the dispensers.  Of course, this 500V limitation reduces the peak charging speeds for some 800V architecture vehicles, but the 600A output works well for lower voltage higher amperage vehicles.  Since I am on this trip with Elektra, the 200A, 80kW limit of the vehicle will not be stressing these units at all.  Possibly in anticipation of the level of usage of this site, there is a 1000 kVA transformer here, making this one of a few sites in Michigan with this much power provided.

Summary

As my research indicated this was possibly the busiest site of the trip.  During my quick stop there were between 7 and 9 vehicles charging the whole time.  This included a Cadillac Optix that started to charge as I was leaving.  This site was also the first time on the trip that I came across an individual stall listed as out of order.  In this case the stall on the end 2D was listed as out of order.  Unfortunately, this is one of the stalls that supports alternate parking arrangements for vehicles that can’t easily connect to the short V3 cables.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $2.01

Total kWh: 5.3002 kWh

Time: 6 min

Average Charge Speed: 53 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.38

(63% to 70%)

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
38	A	5	8	25

Alternatives:

Embassy Suites – 19525 Victor Pkwy, Livonia, MI 48152 - $0.55/kWh + $0.50 connection – 60kW x 2 (Red E Charge)

Amoco – 22145 Farmington Rd, Farmington 48336 - $0.40/min + $1.00 connection – 62kW x 2

(ChargePoint)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Meijer – Brighton

Introduction

Trip to visit all the southern lower Michigan Tesla Supercharger sites open to non-Tesla vehicles.  Site visit on July 21, 2025.

Business/Location Name	Meijer
Address	8650 W Grand River Ave, Brighton, MI 48116
Network	Tesla
Station Details	12 Stalls (3 sets of 4 dispensers, total 750kW site power)
Cost	$0.49 per kWh, $0.37 per kWh for membership

The Meijer in Brighton station was the 12th charging stop on my trip to check the southern lower Michigan Tesla sites.  This is one of the newest sites, and thus is supporting the V3.5 hardware.  Based on the usage chart in the Tesla app, this site sees steady use but is not overly busy.  (This station opened in February 2025).  

Accessibility

This Meijer site is in the parking lot of the superstore business.  The site is 0.7 miles from I-96 at exit 145.  South from the exit on the north edge of the large parking lot.  The charge points are easy to locate once you have navigated to the Meijer parking lot.  The stalls are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot near the garden center.  The western most dispenser is placed with accessibility in mind.  There is no pull-though spot at this location.

Amenities

Dining options include: Wendy’s, Red Robin, Single Barrel Social, Olga’s Kitchen, McDonald’s, Chipotle

Shopping options include: Meijer

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Meijer gas station in same parking lot

Concentration

This is a standard 12 stall V3.5 location.  The dispensers are arranged along the outer edge of the parking lot.  The power cabinets and transformer are placed at the end of the row of dispensers.  The 12 stalls are using the newer V4 cabinets that have the longer cables, thus eliminating most parking concerns for vehicles that don’t follow the Tesla charging port location practice.

Location

This site supports I-96 east/west interstate and the US-23 north/south highway.  About 50 miles to Detroit and 50 miles to Lansing, this is about the mid-point between these 2 cities east to west across the state.  Flint is 40 miles to the north and the Ohio boarder is 70 miles to the south.

50 Mile Loop:

100 to 150 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

The currently installed V3 power cabinets can produce up to 500V and 600A.  The power cabinets are connected by the high voltage DC bus, and thus can share power amongst all the dispensers.  Of course, this 500V limitation reduces the peak charging speeds for some 800V architecture vehicles, but the 600A output works well for lower voltage higher amperage vehicles.  Since I am on this trip with Elektra, the 200A, 80kW limit of the vehicle will not be stressing these units at all.  Certainly seems that Tesla has selected 750 kVA transformers as the sweet spot for powering their sites.

Summary

At this stop there were 4 cars charging.  In addition to my car, there were 2 Model Y and one classic looking Model S.  This site was a long time coming with the equipment ready to go at least 3 months before the power company transformer showed up.  

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $4.53

Total kWh: 12.2534 kWh

Time: 12 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 61.3 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.37

(55% -> 70%)

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
37	A	5	7	25

Alternatives:

Shell – 8281 Grand River Ave, Brighton, MI 48114 - $0.50/kWh(+$1.00) – 160kW x 4

(Red E Charge)

BP – 204 W Grand River Ave, Brighton, MI 48116 - $0.48/kWh(6% tax) – 125kW x 2

(ChargePoint)

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com