SoCal EVs at Super73 HQ: Awning Reveal and Custom Builds

The awning finally went on the R1S. That was the win of the day, but the meet at Super73 HQ gave it the right stage to debut.

SoCal EVs and Tesla Club SoCal both showed up in San Clemente for another round at Super73 HQ. Last time we were here for the anniversary event, the place was packed with classics and custom builds. This one kept that same energy, just with a tighter EV focus and better October weather.

I brought the R1S. New gimbal setup too, a DSLR rig I was trying out for the first time. It did not go as planned, but we’ll get to that.

What Was in the Lot

Wil’s Cyberbeast was the first thing I spotted pulling in. Hard to miss. A Ford F-150 Lightning was parked nearby, plus at least one more Cybertruck in the mix. The standout for me was Mace’s Model S Plaid. The wrap on that thing is clean; it’s one of those builds where the details hold up at close range.

Inside the Super73 showroom, our friend Irvin had his R1S parked alongside a custom Rivian-inspired Super73 bike built to match it. The wheels read “R1” with a “73” badge, a nod to both brands. The colorway was Limestone to match his R1S, and the seats were stitched in Ocean Coast. It’s a detail-oriented build that clearly wasn’t an accident.

The R1S Awning Is Finally On

This was the moment I’d been working toward. If you’ve been following the R1S build, the rooftop awning was the piece that kept getting pushed. Install was a pain. Not going to sugarcoat it. But seeing it fully deployed with a table and chair set up underneath was worth the hassle.

The crowd reaction was good. A few people came over to look at it while we were set up outside. The awning does exactly what it should: extends quickly, creates real usable shade, and fits the R1S’s roofline without looking tacked on.

This is the SUV I traded the R1T for, and setups like this are a big part of why. The R1T had cargo utility; the R1S has camping utility built into a people-mover form factor.

The New Camera Setup

I was running a DSLR with a gimbal for the first time and it showed. The footage came out rough in spots, fighting exposure transitions between indoors at the showroom and outside in direct afternoon sun. I missed the Osmo Pocket the whole day. The phone kept me more consistent, which is a strange thing to admit when you show up with a “real” camera.

Not going to apologize for the vlog quality, but I’ll own that the setup needs more practice before it goes to another event.

Trip Numbers

159.2 miles round trip, 2.76 mi/kWh, 58 kWh used. Pulled in at home at 22% state of charge with 74 miles remaining. For a mostly freeway run from SoCal down to San Clemente and back, 2.76 mi/kWh is about right. Not exceptional, not bad. The R1S doesn’t pretend to be efficient on the freeway, and the range is forgiving enough that it doesn’t matter much on a day trip.

Good day overall. The awning was the headline, the meet had strong builds, and San Clemente weather did its thing. If you made it out, drop a comment. Always good to put faces to usernames at these things.