WDH for towing travel trailer

[IHScout]

Thanks! Appreciate that info! I appreciate the tip on Kneel mode, as a vertically challenged person with a perpetually torn ACL I'll be using kneel mode and I probably would drive myself crazy

I had bought the Anderson for my 22' Tundra as my old Bar type would make the Tundra feel like a roller coaster from the bouncing. Everyone on the Tundra forums suggested the Anderson because of the Tundra's car like suspension, and It appears yourself and a few folks on here are using them and happy. I know that for 1 of the charges I plan on using as I head to the Oregon coast will be a trailer disconnect and I'm happy I won't have to deal with the bars. I also appreciate the tip on the kneel function. I'm vertically challenged and have torn ACL/MCL so the kneel feature will be used. I would probably forget about it and drive myself nuts every time the truck kneeled down.

When I disconnect, I raise the tongue jack up high enough to release tensions on the chains. Then, I just disconnect the triangle piece that goes underneath the hitch. It is one pin and then I can reconnect quickly and lower the tongue jack. I have an electric tongue jack, so if do not, then that might be a lot to do.

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[Closedquestion]

When I disconnect, I raise the tongue jack up high enough to release tensions on the chains. Then, I just disconnect the triangle piece that goes underneath the hitch. It is one pin and then I can reconnect quickly and lower the tongue jack. I have an electric tongue jack, so if do not, then that might be a lot to do.

I'm looking forward to how easy that is compared to my spring bars. I definitely have an electric jack, my tongue weight is between 750-800lbs. Not cranking that weight by hand. I am going to downsize from my 28' to a 20'. That was in the works before I even had a thought of Rivian. I went from not knowing much about Rivian to selling my Tundra, placing the order for a shop 2024 R1T to picking it up Thursday in a span of 3 weeks.

 

[Foobar]

I’ve towed a small Tab 400 with an Andersen and a 25ft Airstream with an Equalizer. The Rivian towed either like nothing was back there and both performed fine without a WDH but I’m not taking any chances. Better safe than sorry.

 

[jeepfreakedc]

ProPride has been rock solid for me. Towing a similarly weighted Airstream.

What’s the downside to your Husky? Just the hassle of swapping the bars?

Good to hear! I’ve got a Hensley Hitch now, but we’re upgrading to a 25ft Airstream and planning on moving to the ProPride hitch as well.

 

[wolfnjan]

We got our R1S (DM, Max Pack) in November 2023 and since then have put 27,000 miles on it, including 4000 miles towing our Escape 19 fiberglass trailer. Since I’m retired most of those miles are from road trips. In fact, I was just on a 1200 mile road trip and thinking about what useful information I could share with the community.

Overall, I have found the R1S to be an outstanding tow vehicle. With the max pack I get an estimated 260 mile range, which is quite adequate. In fact, many cars don’t have any more range than that. The weight of the R1S makes it very stable in all conditions, the built in trailer brake controller works vey well, acceleration and braking feel like I’m not towing anything, and the software update that calculates the weight of the trailer and adjusts mileage accordingly is a fantastic addition.

I would argue that towing range isn’t the most important issue. That’s what everyone I meet in campgrounds asks. Instead, the issue is the charging infrastructure and the availability of trailer-friendly chargers. We took our first major towing trip from Pennsylvania to Florida in February 2024. We were able to do it, but it was an “adventure”. It took careful planning and on several occasions we had to wait for others to free up one of the few available stalls (mostly Electrify America). We also had to frequently disconnect our trailer to charge. With the access to Tesla chargers and ever increasing number of quality, non-Tesla chargers (including RAN), it’s a much different game today.

Here’s what I’ve learned from our experiences towing a mid-sized and relatively light (3000-4000 lbs) trailer:

• Rivian’s hitch receiver is fairly deeply recessed. You’ll want a long hitch ball mount to prevent hitting the trailer when backing up (lesson from bitter experience). I find this one from Amazon with a 14 1/4 inch length works well. CURT 45280 Class 3 Trailer Hitch Ball Mount, Fits 2-Inch Receiver, 7,500 lbs, 1-Inch Hole, 6-Inch Drop Black
• I also found these safety chain extensions very useful to easily hook up the safety chains. CURT 82932 Threaded Quick Link Trailer Safety Chain Hook Carabiner Clip, 1/2-Inch Diameter, 16,500 lbs Break Strength
• Do not use the range estimate on the driver’s console for range. Instead, set up your itinerary and use the estimate in the box on the lower left corner of the map display. The map display range is based on actual usage and is much more accurate and easy to use.
• Whether towing or roadtripping, I’ve found it best to stop every couple of hours for a stretch/bathroom break and a quick charge. By doing this, I find I add very little time to the overall trip and don’t have to worry about even coming close to running low on power.
• When towing, campgrounds with 50 amp (240 Volt) service make perfect level 2 chargers for overnight fill-ups. My mobile charger automatically derates them to 32 amps, and I often go even lower to 26-28 amps, which is fast enough and never causes problems for the electrical box. If 50 amp isn’t available, you can use the 20 amp (120 volt) for much slower charging, but this may be fast enough if you’re staying several days. The 30 Amp (120 volt) connections need a special connector and aren’t really much faster than the 20 Amp, so I don’t bother with these anymore.
• I recently purchased a level 2, J1772, extension cord. I have found this very useful in a variety of situations, including camping where the trailer is usually set up close to the power box. It doesn’t seem to affect charging speed at all. LEFANEV 40A 20 Feet EV Charger Extension Cord for J1772 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
• For road trips with hotels, you can search for hotels which include charging. We’ve had mixed results with this as some hotels were incorrectly listed as offering it, but we have at times found it helpful to get a free overnight charge.

There are still things Rivian could do to improve the experience. Most importantly to me would be the option to not have speed control automatically jump to the posted speed. At 70-75 on most highways, this is well above the recommended safe towing speeds of 60-65 and necessitates quickly reducing speed every time you set speed control. I’d also like to see Rivian enable adaptive speed control and blind spot monitoring while towing. I understand they’ve limited this for safety reasons, but believe that it’s more dangerous because you get used to having the features otherwise. I’ve also just seen that GM’s Super Cruise is fully enabled while towing. Surely Rivian could figure out how to enable this for our more limited driver assistance capabilities.

Happy road tripping,
Wolfgang Michalke

 

[antimatter]

Thanks for the comprehensive post. I'm planning to take my R1T on a maiden towing voyage in September, and there's a bit of teeth gnashing going on in the house over the issue of charging. Posts by folks who've 'been there, done that' really help, especially with all the negative info about EV towing on the web.

 

[VSG]

Most importantly to me would be the option to not have speed control automatically jump to the posted speed.

That option already exists.

 

[VandalSibs]

Thanks for the comprehensive post. I'm planning to take my R1T on a maiden towing voyage in September, and there's a bit of teeth gnashing going on in the house over the issue of charging. Posts by folks who've 'been there, done that' really help, especially with all the negative info about EV towing on the web.

How far are you going from home? Will the final destination have power? How fast are you gonna drive, and what are you towing?

 

[wolfnjan]

That option already exists.

Wow! Thank you for pointing that out. I missed it. I would definitely recommend turning off the auto speed limit when towing. I've already done that in preparation for my next trip.

 

[antimatter]

How far are you going from home? Will the final destination have power? How fast are you gonna drive, and what are you towing?

We're going from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area down to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin - which is near Prairie du Chien in the SW part of the state. We're going to be pulling an InTech Flyer Explore (big sail) with a canoe on top (small, added sail). There's a bank of Tesla chargers in Prairie du Chien, and we also have 30-amp service in our camp site (I have the adapter on order). My R1T is a dual-motor max, with 21" tires. We're planning to go in September.

**Edit** It's about 250 miles. I'm hoping to get a charge in La Crosse, WI.

 

[wolfnjan]

We're going from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area down to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin - which is near Prairie du Chien in the SW part of the state. We're going to be pulling an InTech Flyer Explore (big sail) with a canoe on top (small, added sail). There's a bank of Tesla chargers in Prairie du Chien, and we also have 30-amp service in our camp site (I have the adapter on order). My R1T is a dual-motor max, with 21" tires. We're planning to go in September.

**Edit** It's about 250 miles. I'm hoping to get a charge in La Crosse, WI.

You should be in great shape with that outfit. Aerodynamics are the most important thing, especially over reasonably level ground. The canoe won’t change that. We tow with 2 kayaks on the roof of our R1S and it doesn’t affect range at all. The only thing I would say is to keep your speed below 65 mph. Mileage goes down very quickly above that speed.

 

[VandalSibs]

We're going from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area down to Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin - which is near Prairie du Chien in the SW part of the state. We're going to be pulling an InTech Flyer Explore (big sail) with a canoe on top (small, added sail). There's a bank of Tesla chargers in Prairie du Chien, and we also have 30-amp service in our camp site (I have the adapter on order). My R1T is a dual-motor max, with 21" tires. We're planning to go in September.

**Edit** It's about 250 miles. I'm hoping to get a charge in La Crosse, WI.

Sounds like you're all set! I'm not familiar with the locations, but if you have it planned out, you should be good. And considering your trailer is smaller than what I tow, you should be okay (even with the boats, IMO).

 

[dubaigary]

We got our R1S (DM, Max Pack) in November 2023 and since then have put 27,000 miles on it, including 4000 miles towing our Escape 19 fiberglass trailer. Since I’m retired most of those miles are from road trips. In fact, I was just on a 1200 mile road trip and thinking about what useful information I could share with the community.

Overall, I have found the R1S to be an outstanding tow vehicle. With the max pack I get an estimated 260 mile range, which is quite adequate. In fact, many cars don’t have any more range than that. The weight of the R1S makes it very stable in all conditions, the built in trailer brake controller works vey well, acceleration and braking feel like I’m not towing anything, and the software update that calculates the weight of the trailer and adjusts mileage accordingly is a fantastic addition.

I would argue that towing range isn’t the most important issue. That’s what everyone I meet in campgrounds asks. Instead, the issue is the charging infrastructure and the availability of trailer-friendly chargers. We took our first major towing trip from Pennsylvania to Florida in February 2024. We were able to do it, but it was an “adventure”. It took careful planning and on several occasions we had to wait for others to free up one of the few available stalls (mostly Electrify America). We also had to frequently disconnect our trailer to charge. With the access to Tesla chargers and ever increasing number of quality, non-Tesla chargers (including RAN), it’s a much different game today.

Here’s what I’ve learned from our experiences towing a mid-sized and relatively light (3000-4000 lbs) trailer:

• Rivian’s hitch receiver is fairly deeply recessed. You’ll want a long hitch ball mount to prevent hitting the trailer when backing up (lesson from bitter experience). I find this one from Amazon with a 14 1/4 inch length works well. CURT 45280 Class 3 Trailer Hitch Ball Mount, Fits 2-Inch Receiver, 7,500 lbs, 1-Inch Hole, 6-Inch Drop Black
• I also found these safety chain extensions very useful to easily hook up the safety chains. CURT 82932 Threaded Quick Link Trailer Safety Chain Hook Carabiner Clip, 1/2-Inch Diameter, 16,500 lbs Break Strength
• Do not use the range estimate on the driver’s console for range. Instead, set up your itinerary and use the estimate in the box on the lower left corner of the map display. The map display range is based on actual usage and is much more accurate and easy to use.
• Whether towing or roadtripping, I’ve found it best to stop every couple of hours for a stretch/bathroom break and a quick charge. By doing this, I find I add very little time to the overall trip and don’t have to worry about even coming close to running low on power.
• When towing, campgrounds with 50 amp (240 Volt) service make perfect level 2 chargers for overnight fill-ups. My mobile charger automatically derates them to 32 amps, and I often go even lower to 26-28 amps, which is fast enough and never causes problems for the electrical box. If 50 amp isn’t available, you can use the 20 amp (120 volt) for much slower charging, but this may be fast enough if you’re staying several days. The 30 Amp (120 volt) connections need a special connector and aren’t really much faster than the 20 Amp, so I don’t bother with these anymore.
• I recently purchased a level 2, J1772, extension cord. I have found this very useful in a variety of situations, including camping where the trailer is usually set up close to the power box. It doesn’t seem to affect charging speed at all. LEFANEV 40A 20 Feet EV Charger Extension Cord for J1772 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
• For road trips with hotels, you can search for hotels which include charging. We’ve had mixed results with this as some hotels were incorrectly listed as offering it, but we have at times found it helpful to get a free overnight charge.

There are still things Rivian could do to improve the experience. Most importantly to me would be the option to not have speed control automatically jump to the posted speed. At 70-75 on most highways, this is well above the recommended safe towing speeds of 60-65 and necessitates quickly reducing speed every time you set speed control. I’d also like to see Rivian enable adaptive speed control and blind spot monitoring while towing. I understand they’ve limited this for safety reasons, but believe that it’s more dangerous because you get used to having the features otherwise. I’ve also just seen that GM’s Super Cruise is fully enabled while towing. Surely Rivian could figure out how to enable this for our more limited driver assistance capabilities.

Happy road tripping,
Wolfgang Michalke

My experience towing a 22’ airstream is very similar to yours. About 1.4 m/kwh efficiency, more than I thought, with lots of ups and downs along the California coast from LA to Paso Robles. Regen does some heavy charging on the downhills, since the trailer is actually pushing the truck! Campground 50 amp connections are great so long as they allow EV charging (always ask). The one we stayed at charged us a 1 time $20 fee for our 3 night stay, which was still a great deal. Also, I have the speed control set to engage at the speed I’m going, not at the speed limit, so I haven’t had that problem.

finally, I would give ANYTHING to have adaptive speed control/lane centering with the trailer in tow. Driving is far more tiring with the trailer due to the need for more frequent adjustments, so long trips wear you down.

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