The new towing updates work great!

[Lawrence-of-Blaine]

I towed my Wells Cargo trailer back to the Twin Cities from Wisconsin yesterday, 110 miles and got 1.78 mi/kwh! The original tow mode would have given me about 1.1 mi/Kwh.
With a trailer like mine, this very small range hit makes a whole lot more sense than just chopping it in half like the original tow mode did. I’m a happy camper!

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[VSG]

This makes no sense. Tow mode doesn't reduce your range by half. Your range while towing is reduced because of aerodynamic drag, and to a much lesser extent the weight of the trailer. Tow mode initially shows a conservative ESTIMATE of your range that is 1/2 the EPA range, because the Rivian has absolutely no idea per se of what you're towing, so it's better to initially display an underestimate of range than an overestimate. But with driving and with the trailer profiles, this ESTIMATE gets better the more you tow.

The actual efficiency you are getting now vs. "before" hasn't changed. Your range when towing that trailer hasn't changed.

(And before what? Are you referring to a specific OTA update? 2024.11.02, which is the current version, doesn't have any new tow mode features listed in the release notes.)

 

[Lawrence-of-Blaine]

This makes no sense. Tow mode doesn't reduce your range by half. Your range while towing is reduced because of aerodynamic drag, and to a much lesser extent the weight of the trailer. Tow mode initially shows a conservative ESTIMATE of your range that is 1/2 the EPA range, because the Rivian has absolutely no idea per se of what you're towing, so it's better to initially display an underestimate of range than an overestimate. But with driving and with the trailer profiles, this ESTIMATE gets better the more you tow.

The actual efficiency you are getting now vs. "before" hasn't changed. Your range when towing that trailer hasn't changed.

(And before what? Are you referring to a specific OTA update? 2024.11.02, which is the current version, doesn't have any new tow mode features listed in the release notes.)

My understanding of the *original* tow mode implementation was that the vehicle essentially declared your range to be half of non-towing. And the ability to “learn” was not implemented until many months after the first vehicles shipped— many months. There were many early reviews of towing experiences and they all said effectively the same thing— that tow mode drastically reduced your range. What I understood from all those reviews was that tow mode would cost you a lot of range— all by itself.
I agree with you— range is affected mostly by drag and very slightly, by trailer weight. I did not mention that this was the first time I’ve ever towed; so compared with the very first experiences anyone ever had with towing, my experience yesterday was vastly better than what I had read and seen a year or more ago; and also reflective of the new(er) software that does learn from your trailer’s characteristics. I was not referring to the latest update specifically. The evolution of tow mode has taken place over time.

 

[HyperionMark]

Range on paper/screen is a VERY VERY different beast than real world range. Them showing a different range on your screen did nothing to change physics.

 

[Lawrence-of-Blaine]

Range on paper/screen is a VERY VERY different beast than real world range. Them showing a different range on your screen did nothing to change physics.

Nope, but it sure dials back one's expectations.

 

[VSG]

What I understood from all those reviews was that tow mode would cost you a lot of range— all by itself.

Yes, those early reviews tended to get this fact wrong. There is nothing inherent about tow mode that changes your range. You could drive in tow mode without a trailer and still get the same efficiency you would in All Purpose without a trailer.

For your trailer, 1.78 is about what other people have reported with similar small trailers. As an original estimate, I very much prefer that Rivian starts with a "worst-case" efficiency of 50% EPA. I think it would be a disaster if they didn't change the estimated range on the display, then let you figure out for yourself what your actual range/efficiency was with your specific trailer.

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