First Experience pulling the Airstream Trade Wind with R1T

[Runs_4_beer]

I appreciate all the positive comments here about towing the airstream. I have an international 25 and have done a few short trips, but looking forward to some longer trips. I'm looking forward to getting the Tesla adapter. There are still some charging deserts I don't think I can cross like from winnemucca to Boise.

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[Mickey]

Awesome to see a bunch of us representing the Rivian/Airstream combo! Hope to see you guys out there! Any of you going to Alumalina or the ACI Annual Rally this year?

I just planned my charging stops from Alabama and can make it to NC. We are planning to attend the Alumalina in October. First timers and it sounds like fun!

 

[Foobar]

I just planned my charging stops from Alabama and can make it to NC. We are planning to attend the Alumalina in October. First timers and it sounds like fun!

Right on, we'll see you there! I've planned my charging/harvest host stops from NY to NC and will likely spend the rest of the week there after the rally.

I also just registered for the Airstream Club International rally in Sedalia MO for earlier in the month. First timers to both of those - should be fun.

 

[JamuJoe]

We had to do that once- also at a walmart EA- and just disconnected when someone was ready to leave and did a loop and reconnected.

Which reminds me. Although I agree the R1T is the best tow vehicle I've ever had it does unfortunately not have great mirrors for towing. I find it helpful to leave the backup camera on and on the dash, as shown below, so that when passing I can easily verify that I am clear also see if there is someone impatiently behind us. Also, when backing up although also use walkies which is the most useful.

Agree. I use a Furion Rear Observation System for full time view behind the Airstream.

 

[Foobar]

Agree. I use a Furion Rear Observation System for full time view behind the Airstream.

My Trade Wind came with the Voyager camera already installed on top of the rear hatch. I had to adjust it a bit though as I wanted to be able to see more of the rear horizon than the top of the rear awning. LOL

 

[logan]

My Trade Wind came with the Voyager camera already installed on top of the rear hatch. I had to adjust it a bit though as I wanted to be able to see more of the rear horizon than the top of the rear awning. LOL

Yeah, ours came with the voyager as well. With our old tow vehicle we didn't use it except sometimes when backing in but now we use it for the whole drive.

 

[MotoBenelli]

We’ve done a few trips (plus two 140mi trial loops) with our 2024 R1S towing our Bambi 19’ and are only seeing 1mi per KWH yet driving through the Rockies at 70mph each and every time. Yes it tows amazingly and we just handled a trip to MOAB this week via blizzard conditions over two i70 passes that we nearly missed their weather related shutdowns with multiple vehicles off the road and other crashes. I thank the off-road tires for this and easy to use trailer brake control. Yet even with the (disappointing) MaxPack we are only comfortable going 100-120mi before charge stops. That has limited us on routes to Sedona and not seeing anyway to exit south bound MOAB to go anywhere. It definitely tacked on quite a few hours of charging to our “hightail” back from Sedona turning a normally 660mi (ICE) trip to a route of 830mi and 5hrs or so of charging. I so wish that the MaxPack was the previously mentioned 800v architecture with some sort of bump in pack size. I believe most would totally of forgone the third row and I know would pay considerably more than the ripoff 6k amount for this current lackluster MaxPack offering that we have.

Rant Two: How is there no RAN in MOAB??
The Tesla w/built in adapter is only current option however they are just finishing an Electrify America site on the north end of town. But just for branding sake I would have thought (and I assumed) that MOAB would have been one of their first installs.

Question: How are any of you powering your backup camera screens? We do not have a 12v port in the cabin.

 

[Foobar]

Question: How are any of you powering your backup camera screens? We do not have a 12v port in the cabin.

My R1T is an early 23 build so it still has a 12v under the dash. That said, you can either tap into the fuse box or get a USB to 12v accessory adapter.

 

[Fraslin]

Question: How are any of you powering your backup camera screens? We do not have a 12v port in the cabin.

I have an R1S and run a cord from the 12V in the back. It runs along side the seats and is unobtrusive.

 

[Mickey]

We’ve done a few trips (plus two 140mi trial loops) with our 2024 R1S towing our Bambi 19’ and are only seeing 1mi per KWH yet driving through the Rockies at 70mph each and every time. Yes it tows amazingly and we just handled a trip to MOAB this week via blizzard conditions over two i70 passes that we nearly missed their weather related shutdowns with multiple vehicles off the road and other crashes. I thank the off-road tires for this and easy to use trailer brake control. Yet even with the (disappointing) MaxPack we are only comfortable going 100-120mi before charge stops. That has limited us on routes to Sedona and not seeing anyway to exit south bound MOAB to go anywhere. It definitely tacked on quite a few hours of charging to our “hightail” back from Sedona turning a normally 660mi (ICE) trip to a route of 830mi and 5hrs or so of charging. I so wish that the MaxPack was the previously mentioned 800v architecture with some sort of bump in pack size. I believe most would totally of forgone the third row and I know would pay considerably more than the ripoff 6k amount for this current lackluster MaxPack offering that we have.

Rant Two: How is there no RAN in MOAB??
The Tesla w/built in adapter is only current option however they are just finishing an Electrify America site on the north end of town. But just for branding sake I would have thought (and I assumed) that MOAB would have been one of their first installs.

Question: How are any of you powering your backup camera screens? We do not have a 12v port in the cabin.

I have an R1T Launch version and use my Airstream backup camera continuously while towing… just like a rear-view mirror. I have not seen inside the R1S, but my truck has a 12v port for plugging in the monitor. It is located underneath the dash, about centered, and hidden by a small sliding door. Hope you have one too.

 

[Hillbilly]

We had to do that once- also at a walmart EA- and just disconnected when someone was ready to leave and did a loop and reconnected.

Which reminds me. Although I agree the R1T is the best tow vehicle I've ever had it does unfortunately not have great mirrors for towing. I find it helpful to leave the backup camera on and on the dash, as shown below, so that when passing I can easily verify that I am clear also see if there is someone impatiently behind us. Also, when backing up although also use walkies which is the most useful.

I run my backup camera through the gear tunnel pass through and power off the 12V plug. I mount to my rear window so that I can see behind the RV by looking in my rear view mirror. Works great, like I'm looking through the RV with X-ray vision.

 

[logan]

We’ve done a few trips (plus two 140mi trial loops) with our 2024 R1S towing our Bambi 19’ and are only seeing 1mi per KWH yet driving through the Rockies at 70mph each and every time. Yes it tows amazingly and we just handled a trip to MOAB this week via blizzard conditions over two i70 passes that we nearly missed their weather related shutdowns with multiple vehicles off the road and other crashes. I thank the off-road tires for this and easy to use trailer brake control. Yet even with the (disappointing) MaxPack we are only comfortable going 100-120mi before charge stops. That has limited us on routes to Sedona and not seeing anyway to exit south bound MOAB to go anywhere. It definitely tacked on quite a few hours of charging to our “hightail” back from Sedona turning a normally 660mi (ICE) trip to a route of 830mi and 5hrs or so of charging. I so wish that the MaxPack was the previously mentioned 800v architecture with some sort of bump in pack size. I believe most would totally of forgone the third row and I know would pay considerably more than the ripoff 6k amount for this current lackluster MaxPack offering that we have.

Rant Two: How is there no RAN in MOAB??
The Tesla w/built in adapter is only current option however they are just finishing an Electrify America site on the north end of town. But just for branding sake I would have thought (and I assumed) that MOAB would have been one of their first installs.

Question: How are any of you powering your backup camera screens? We do not have a 12v port in the cabin.

For the last question. I tried a few options but like the OBD-II to 12v adapter for both backup camera and carplay.

For your route above was that with or without the tesla supercharger adapter? I have found it to make my life a lot better since getting. (I got the lectron one. Still waiting for rivian one.) That said I agree it adds a lot of time to our trips but I do find the tesla superchargers being opened up has helped a lot.

 

[logan]

I run my backup camera through the gear tunnel pass through and power off the 12V plug. I mount to my rear window so that I can see behind the RV by looking in my rear view mirror. Works great, like I'm looking through the RV with X-ray vision.

<snip>

Interesting. Thanks. I'm not sure we have tried the bed camera for towing since that has become available either.

 

[Hillbilly]

Interesting. Thanks. I'm not sure we have tried the bed camera for towing since that has become available either.

We leave the bed camera on to help with blind spot identification.

 

[ScottnAZ]

Great to see a bunch of Airstreams being towed around here! Last year, I posted a couple of tow logs on the airforums:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f463/rivian-towing-log-243992.html

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/another-rivian-towing-trip-246196.html

I really enjoy towing with the Riv, but we do need a little more range to make the trip more efficient. For us working stiffs, the added time to charge takes unnecessary time out of our already limited vacation time.

We made a big 17-night trip last fall from PHX>ALB for 4 nights>Durango for 4 nights>Moab for 9 nights>PHX, and the Defender was in the shop (surprise, surprise); it looked like we’d have to take the Rivian, but I simply couldn’t map a route that would get the trip done without a stretch of major range anxiety or having to add an overnight stop simply for charging. I looked at renting a truck for the trip, but thankfully we got the Defender back just in time.

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