R1S Towing Camper Trailer?

[dg770]

Hey all,

I’m hoping to purchase an R1S within the next few months…does anyone have experience towing a camping trailer? I’d like to get a Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL trailer. Tongue weight is 790 lb, UVW = 6208 lbs. I think that checks out. My main concern is that its exterior length is just over 33’. With a 121 inch wheelbase, is towing this too much to ask for from the R1S?

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[VSG]

You could try the search function on this site - a lot of people have spent a lot of time and effort to document their towing experiences.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

We have done towing in both our T and S. Your below both the tongue limit and max towing limits. How much you can tow thought also depends on what you have in the truck. The tongue weight counts against your GVWR.

When you're getting close to the limits, what you really need to do is calculate how much weight you have in the vehicle that's people and cargo. So you subtract the curb weight from the gvwr and then subtract off from the result, the weight of the people in cargo inside the vehicle and what's left over is what you can safely put on your hitch.

When manufacturers issue these tow ratings, they use pretty low weights and they only assume one person in the vehicle.

Other than the weight rating of the vehicle, it has plenty of power so there's no issue there. The other challenge will be range. When we tow our travel trailer which is about $5,500 lb loaded we get between 1 and 1.2 miles per kilowatt hour. That results in about 130 mi of usable range from 100 to zero. So plan to stop every 100 miles or so to charge. We have decided that it's not practical for us to go more than 500 mi with it because it requires too many charging stops.

 

[dg770]

You could try the search function on this site - a lot of people have spent a lot of time and effort to document their towing experiences.

Thanks! I couldn’t find this question being addressed

 

[dg770]

We have done towing in both our T and S. Your below both the tongue limit and max towing limits. How much you can tow thought also depends on what you have in the truck. The tongue weight counts against your GVWR.

When you're getting close to the limits, what you really need to do is calculate how much weight you have in the vehicle that's people and cargo. So you subtract the curb weight from the gvwr and then subtract off from the result, the weight of the people in cargo inside the vehicle and what's left over is what you can safely put on your hitch.

When manufacturers issue these tow ratings, they use pretty low weights and they only assume one person in the vehicle.

Other than the weight rating of the vehicle, it has plenty of power so there's no issue there. The other challenge will be range. When we tow our travel trailer which is about $5,500 lb loaded we get between 1 and 1.2 miles per kilowatt hour. That results in about 130 mi of usable range from 100 to zero. So plan to stop every 100 miles or so to charge. We have decided that it's not practical for us to go more than 500 mi with it because it requires too many charging stops.

Thanks! This is helpful. What’s the length of your trailer?

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Thanks! This is helpful. What’s the length of your trailer?

she is 28ft long

 

[Marchin_MTB]

Thanks! I couldn’t find this question being addressed

The search function is not the best. I recommend using Google with something like “Rivian Forum Post your towing results” and see what comes up.

 

[dg770]

Thanks! This is helpful. What’s the length of your trailer?

W

she is 28ft long

Niiice. I wonder how a 33’ would do

 

[Epicloop]

The R1S tows like a champ, maybe do a test run with a long trailer.
I accidentally went way over on weight (dump trailer) & no ill effects, length may be a different story.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Trailer sway is a much bigger problem when I've towed with the R1S vs the R1T. Still towed okay overall though. I don't run any kind of anti-sway or weight distribution on our ~5000 lbs camper. Basically decided to just use the T unless we need the extra seats, which is probably never.

 

[Thedude]

Hey all,

I’m hoping to purchase an R1S within the next few months…does anyone have experience towing a camping trailer? I’d like to get a Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL trailer. Tongue weight is 790 lb, UVW = 6208 lbs. I think that checks out. My main concern is that its exterior length is just over 33’. With a 121 inch wheelbase, is towing this too much to ask for from the R1S?

Keep in mind that manufacturer weights and tongue weights are very, very wrong in almost all cases. The actual empty weight is likely 6500lbs and the actual tongue weight around 850lbs. Once you load camping gear and supplies you’re starting to push the limits with a trailer at 7000lbs/910lbs. That leaves about 600lbs of payload capacity in the R1S for the family and kids (assuming kids since it’s a bunkhouse trailer) which is probably enough but close.

In short, you’ll be bumping right up against every limit of the vehicle. I wouldn’t do it.


I’d also recommend a trailer with larger capacity tanks if you plan to boondock anywhere without hookups. Only 40 gallons of water will disappear quickly and the small black and gray tanks won’t last with a family using the facilities.

 

[VandalSibs]

The search tool on most forums/message boards can be a bit wonky. That being said, there's a whole towing section listed if you scroll down from the top level of the forum home page.

Towing, Trailering, Flat Tow, Hauling, Hitches (rivianforums.com)

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Niiice. I wonder how a 33’ would do

Towing efficiency depends on aero of the trailer. Camping/box trailers are the worst. Weight only comes into play if you have a lot of elevation change. I wouldn't think the extra 5ft would make too much difference.

Camping trailers are about 1/3 to 1/2 the rated range.

 

[Epicloop]

I’d like to get a Wildwood X-Lite 28VBXL trailer. Tongue weight is 790 lb, UVW = 6208 lbs. I think that checks out. My main concern is that its exterior length is just over 33’. With a 121 inch wheelbase, is towing this too much to ask for from the R1S?

As others have mentioned the R1T would be better suited even though you may be within limits with the R1S.
It sounds like the refreshed version has lost some weight which may give you some additional payload, that is if the reduced weight applies to the larger battery packs.

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