Towing + Efficiency: Please post your experience!

[Thedude]

@jakef801 I’m fairly certain (but not positive) that Rivian does not use the trailer brakes unless in tow mode. The manual isn’t explicit but it suggests that is the case. You also have no way to set or adjust trailer brake gain without being in tow mode. Most trucks have a brake controller that functions entirely independent of drive mode like your Tundra but the Rivian appears to be activated only in tow mode. The Rivian feels more stable not because of the braking but because it weighs 2000lbs more than the Tundra and has much better suspension that manages weight transfer and sway.

I can tell you that going downhill at 100% SOC in tow mode with a trailer that there is zero braking from the trailer brakes without applying the brake pedal.

In my opinion the potential risks outweigh the very marginal increase in range when using conserve over tow mode.

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[Thedude]

I get the feeling that Rivian software engineers just throw some shit together and send it out to the public without any testing. Three software versions ago the towing mode reported fairly accurate ranges. The 47.2 update threw it all out the window with ridiculously bad estimates. The supposedly fixed 02.3 is a little better but still completely inaccurate.

Hitched up to my 7000lb trailer like usual and here are the newest results. It shows 108 miles at 50% which is about double what the truck can do.

After arrival showing an 11% consumption but a range loss of only 5 miles

The trip meter shows accurate consumption numbers.

 

[av8or]

I’ve put all this in another post, but I’ll put it here too so interested parties might see it. Trailer is an e-pro 15 tb and is about 3k lbs. The trip was from pdx to Lincoln City and down the coast to Coos Bay and back.

Overall I’m very satisfied with the results and look forward to more trips.

 

[TheIglu]

Just towed a 6x10 Haulmark enclosed trailer (non-Vnose) on my normal work commute.

In this weather, I usually go through 27-28% range on my 75 mile commute home.

With this trailer loaded with approx 1k lbs of stuff, I used 39% going home, which includes 1500' of elevation rise.

Not bad at all. Mostly doing 60-65mph in 28 degree weather.

 

[Goose]

Does anyone have an experience towing the exact same load with ICE vs EV and the impact on efficiency? My only hesitation (apart from cost of an R1T) with going EV is I need to make a 150 mile tow with a boat from Raleigh, NC to Wilmington, NC. This area is a charging dead zone with only one 62.5Kw option on the way.

I just picked up my new 21' bay boat, weight is 3000lb's as it sit on the the trailer. With my 4Runner I experienced a 27% decrease in mpg (11mpg down from 15mpg, I have E load Nitto's) while towing at 70mph. Could I expect the same mi/Kwh decrease if towing with an R1T? If so, in theory, that would use about 225 miles of the 300ish miles range with an R1T on A/T's.

 

[BigE]

Does anyone have an experience towing the exact same load with ICE vs EV and the impact on efficiency? My only hesitation (apart from cost of an R1T) with going EV is I need to make a 150 mile tow with a boat from Raleigh, NC to Wilmington, NC. This area is a charging dead zone with only one 62.5Kw option on the way.

I just picked up my new 21' bay boat, weight is 3000lb's as it sit on the the trailer. With my 4Runner I experienced a 27% decrease in mpg (11mpg down from 15mpg, I have E load Nitto's) while towing at 70mph. Could I expect the same mi/Kwh decrease if towing with an R1T? If so, in theory, that would use about 225 miles of the 300ish miles range with an R1T on A/T's.

I don't have any data yet on trailer towing, I will in a month or so with our camper. But depending on where your coming from in the Raleigh area, if you needed to, you could do a pit stop in Smithfield at Carolina Premium Outlets EA station and fill up. The EA station to Wilmington is ~100 miles.

 

[Kärsti]

I've towed quite a bit, mostly local (<50 miles), with one longer 150 mile trip. I mainly tow a 2300 lb (empty weight) 18 ft equipment trailer. My partner has an enclosed 3 horse trailer that weighs 3500 lb empty.

Loaded weights have ranged from about 3500 lb to 10,000 lb+. I dont have a picture of the efficiency while towing, but it does not really seem to matter what the weight is, efficiency with the equipment trailer is about 1.15-1.25 mi/kWh, including the 150 mile highway trip with 8000 lb of sheetrock and around town with a Kubota tractor (9000 lb). Towing the enclosed horse trailer with horses (10,000 lb) results in lower efficiency (1 mi/kWh), but still not bad. Once the charging infrastructure is better interstate towing with the R1T will be fantastic, but for now it's mostly <100 mile trips.

Overall, this thing is a great tow rig (it's easy to forget there's even a trailer back there), assuming the distances are reasonable.

 

[Goose]

I don't have any data yet on trailer towing, I will in a month or so with our camper. But depending on where your coming from in the Raleigh area, if you needed to, you could do a pit stop in Smithfield at Carolina Premium Outlets EA station and fill up. The EA station to Wilmington is ~100 miles.

So I'm actually coming from Cary and destination is Carolina Beach. Charging at the destination isn't an issue, my in-laws have a town house and I plan to install a level 2 charger in the garage. The Smithfield EA station is pretty out of the way, plus the wife would be PISSED if I had to stop for 20 min to charge up the truck on this simple 2 hour drive to the beach. I REALLY want to get an R1T but I need to be able to make the tow one way on one "tank" like I can now.

If you, or anyone else, is local to the Cary/Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh area and want to do some testing we can hook up the boat and tow down 64 or 540 to get some boat towing data. This style of boat is VERY popular in saltwater so it could be very good data to have.

I've towed quite a bit, mostly local (<50 miles), with one longer 150 mile trip. I mainly tow a 2300 lb (empty weight) 18 ft equipment trailer. My partner has an enclosed 3 horse trailer that weighs 3500 lb empty.

Loaded weights have ranged from about 3500 lb to 10,000 lb+. I dont have a picture of the efficiency while towing, but it does not really seem to matter what the weight is, efficiency with the equipment trailer is about 1.15-1.25 mi/kWh, including the 150 mile highway trip with 8000 lb of sheetrock and around town with a Kubota tractor (9000 lb). Towing the enclosed horse trailer with horses (10,000 lb) results in lower efficiency (1 mi/kWh), but still not bad. Once the charging infrastructure is better interstate towing with the R1T will be fantastic, but for now it's mostly <100 mile trips.

Overall, this thing is a great tow rig (it's easy to forget there's even a trailer back there), assuming the distances are reasonable.

Good info. I would have thought your open trailer would get better efficiency, less aero restrictions. I wonder if my bay boat would be "slipperier"?

 

[av8or]

It’s more about speed above 55mph when towing. I think what you’re wanting to do is right at the edge of what large pack can do. But I’m not sure you could do it at 70 mph.….at most you’ll have to drive a little slower or stop for 15 minutes at the 62.5kW charger.

 

[Thedude]

Does anyone have an experience towing the exact same load with ICE vs EV and the impact on efficiency? My only hesitation (apart from cost of an R1T) with going EV is I need to make a 150 mile tow with a boat from Raleigh, NC to Wilmington, NC. This area is a charging dead zone with only one 62.5Kw option on the way.

I just picked up my new 21' bay boat, weight is 3000lb's as it sit on the the trailer. With my 4Runner I experienced a 27% decrease in mpg (11mpg down from 15mpg, I have E load Nitto's) while towing at 70mph. Could I expect the same mi/Kwh decrease if towing with an R1T? If so, in theory, that would use about 225 miles of the 300ish miles range with an R1T on A/T's.

I don’t think you’ll be able to do it on a consistent basis. With a margin that slim all it takes is a slight headwind and you won’t have enough charge to make it.

Towing the same travel trailer I lost about 33% efficiency with my ICE truck and 40% from the R1T. That’s also towing at 80mph with the ICE truck versus 65-70mph with the Rivian. The R1T is extremely capable and comfortable at towing but takes a huge efficiency hit.

 

[Goose]

It’s more about speed above 55mph when towing. I think what you’re wanting to do is right at the edge of what large pack can do. But I’m not sure you could do it at 70 mph.….at most you’ll have to drive a little slower or stop for 15 minutes at the 62.5kW charger.

I don’t think you’ll be able to do it on a consistent basis. With a margin that slim all it takes is a slight headwind and you won’t have enough charge to make it.

Towing the same travel trailer I lost about 33% efficiency with my ICE truck and 40% from the R1T. That’s also towing at 80mph with the ICE truck versus 65-70mph with the Rivian. The R1T is extremely capable and comfortable at towing but takes a huge efficiency hit.

These both are extremely helpful! I wonder if the dual motor would be able to make the journey without an issue since they're rated for 350 miles range? I don't tow above 70mph, especially when pulling a boat that's worth more than an R1T.

 

[Indy avocado]

Does anyone have an experience towing the exact same load with ICE vs EV and the impact on efficiency? My only hesitation (apart from cost of an R1T) with going EV is I need to make a 150 mile tow with a boat from Raleigh, NC to Wilmington, NC. This area is a charging dead zone with only one 62.5Kw option on the way.

Rough numbers from memory & a single trip (140mi round trip) with the R1T and camper our 2100lb teardrop:
Macan S - ~23mpg @70mph -> 13mpg @ 70mph towing = 43% reduction in efficiency
R1T - ~2.1 mi/kwh @70mph -> 1.25mi/kwh @ 70mph towing = 40.5% reduction in efficiency.

Basically it's the same hit, I think the R1T is probably slightly worse if I can collect better metrics, which I will do in a few weeks here. It's just than the Macan can do ~450mi (250 towing) on a full tank nominally, and add another 400mi of range (200 towing) in under 5 minutes. And gas stations are pretty easy to find.

 

[Goose]

Rough numbers from memory & a single trip (140mi round trip) with the R1T and camper our 2100lb teardrop:
Macan S - ~23mpg @70mph -> 13mpg @ 70mph towing = 43% reduction in efficiency
R1T - ~2.1 mi/kwh @70mph -> 1.25mi/kwh @ 70mph towing = 40.5% reduction in efficiency.

Basically it's the same hit, I think the R1T is probably slightly worse if I can collect better metrics, which I will do in a few weeks here. It's just than the Macan can do ~450mi (250 towing) on a full tank nominally, and add another 400mi of range (200 towing) in under 5 minutes. And gas stations are pretty easy to find.

Very interesting! Since I have E load A/T's on my 4Runner I get about 300 miles per tank or about 220 miles towing this boat. If we could verify the % efficiency decrease is translatable between ICE and EV that would go a long way to EV truck confidence.

 

[Indy avocado]

Very interesting! Since I have E load A/T's on my 4Runner I get about 300 miles per tank or about 220 miles towing this boat. If we could verify the % efficiency decrease is translatable between ICE and EV that would go a long way to EV truck confidence.

One thing to point out - the Macan is much smaller than the R1T - I think you'd see a much smaller hit using a pickup.

Most people get ~13mpg at 70 with this trailer, but I think most people with a Tacoma are more like 21mpg unloaded @ 70mph, F150s are 19-20.

My gut says a diesel loses about 20-30%, gas 30-40%, and EV 40-50% when towing a medium sized trailer.

 

[Goose]

One thing to point out - the Macan is much smaller than the R1T - I think you'd see a much smaller hit using a pickup.

Most people get ~13mpg at 70 with this trailer, but I think most people with a Tacoma are more like 21mpg unloaded @ 70mph, F150s are 19-20.

My gut says a diesel loses about 20-30%, gas 30-40%, and EV 40-50% when towing a medium sized trailer.

I get what you’re saying and I think your estimates are pretty close. We will have to see how the dual motors handle towing.

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