Used my R1T in Tornado cleanup

[1965Cobra427]

In the aftermath of several tornados (at least 7 reported by the National Weather Service) that ravaged Northwest Arkansas in the early morning hours of May 26, there are tens of thousands of trees scattered widely across miles of commercial and residential properties in our area.

I have a Kubota 4060 tractor with a grapple attachment that can handle up to 1,500# of tree debris at a time. Hundreds of volunteers are working to clear away fallen trees and my tractor is a good asset, but needs taken to the scene on a flatbed trailer.

The Rivian has proven very capable in towing this rig to and from worksites over the past several days.

The truck estimates the trailer weight to be 10,500# and it reports 1.0 mi/kwh.

Acceleration, braking and handling are comparable to the Chevrolet 2500 Duramax diesel I previously owned.

This little truck ROCKS!

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[Laserboy1054]

There are tens of thousands of trees scattered widely across miles and of commercial and residential areas in our area.

I have a Kubota 4060 tractor with a grapple attachment that can handle up to 1,500# of tree debris at a time. Hundreds of volunteers are working to clear away fallen trees and my tractor is a good asset

(A) Thank you for being an awesome human! (B) That is, indeed, a badass truck! Way to go putting it to good use. I hope the impact of the weather on you wasn't too bad. (We got a couple of hits around here, in Southern Illinois, but not too bad--this time. There's always "next time"!)

 

[1965Cobra427]

We had trees down, but no structure damage. We without power, but the Rivian stepped up there too! I ran our refrigerators, 70” TV, phone chargers and several LED lamps as well as my garage door openers on the Rivian’s 120 vac outlets. -Handy-

 

[monzarottie]

In the aftermath of several (at least 7 reported by the National Weather Service) tornados that ravaged Northwest Arkansas in the early morning hours of May 26, there are tens of thousands of trees scattered widely across miles and of commercial and residential areas in our area.

I have a Kubota 4060 tractor with a grapple attachment that can handle up to 1,500# of tree debris at a time. Hundreds of volunteers are working to clear away fallen trees and my tractor is a good asset, but needs taken to the scene on a flatbed trailer.

The Rivian has proven very capable in towing this rig to and from worksites over the passeveral days.

The truck estimates the trailer weight to be 10,500# and it reports 1.0 mi/kwh.

Acceleration, braking and handling are comparable to the Chevrolet 2500 Duramax diesel I previously owned.

This little truck ROCKS!

This is fantastic! You should submit your story to [email protected]. Who knows, you might make it to the owners newsletter.

 

[1965Cobra427]

monzarottie You should submit your story to [email protected]. Who knows, you might make it to the owners newsletter.

Great suggestion, I just sent it off to them. Thanks!

 

[gregeast]

Well done sir!

 

[R1SFamilyGuy]

(A) Thank you for being an awesome human! (B) That is, indeed, a badass truck! Way to go putting it to good use. I hope the impact of the weather on you wasn't too bad. (We got a couple of hits around here, in Southern Illinois, but not too bad--this time. There's always "next time"!)

Yes. This should be on Rivian Stories!

 

[iansriv]

You're a Rivian hero! Glad you're ok and appreciate what you're doing for the community.

 

[HaveBlue]

Nice job! That must be a 2 1/4 ball to tow that monster. Those things are heavy.

 

[Thedude]

Acceleration, braking and handling are comparable to the Chevrolet 2500 Duramax diesel I previously owned.

Yep. Solve the limited range/long charge times and electric trucks have diesels beat in every way for towing. Loved everything about mine as a tow vehicle other than those limits (and small mirrors too I guess).

 

[1965Cobra427]

The Dude The mirrors are small but in this case, the high mounted rear cab mirror kind of made up for it.

 

[RivianRunner]

In the aftermath of several tornados (at least 7 reported by the National Weather Service) that ravaged Northwest Arkansas in the early morning hours of May 26, there are tens of thousands of trees scattered widely across miles of commercial and residential properties in our area.

I have a Kubota 4060 tractor with a grapple attachment that can handle up to 1,500# of tree debris at a time. Hundreds of volunteers are working to clear away fallen trees and my tractor is a good asset, but needs taken to the scene on a flatbed trailer.

The Rivian has proven very capable in towing this rig to and from worksites over the past several days.

The truck estimates the trailer weight to be 10,500# and it reports 1.0 mi/kwh.

Acceleration, braking and handling are comparable to the Chevrolet 2500 Duramax diesel I previously owned.

This little truck ROCKS!

I love it when people go out and actually prove all the people wrong who claim, "Electric trucks aren't good for towing". It's especially nice when you are helping others recover from a traumatic life event. Kudos!

As someone who has towed a huge variety of heavy loads for over 40 years, using mostly gasoline for power, I can tell you that most work towing is local in nature. The longest towing trip I've done on the clock was under 100 miles. Because it's uneconomic to pay the fuel bill, and the hourly wages and trip expenses, to do long-distance towing using a pickup truck. That's the domain of heavy trucking. Sure, it happens, but it's not typical of normal work-related towing. Like this tornado cleanup.

Thanks for helping the community recover!

 

[White Shadow]

I love people who go out and actually prove all the people wrong who claim, "Electric trucks aren't good for towing".

I think electric trucks are great for towing....they just aren't great for distance towing. But for short distances, it's great because of the torque provided by electric motors.

 

[RivianRunner]

I think electric trucks are great for towing....they just aren't great for distance towing. But for short distances, it's great because of the torque provided by electric motors.

Without better charging infrastructure for towing long distances, that's true.

The problem is, people claim electric trucks can't tow, without specifying long-distance towing or even acknowledging that long-distance towing is only a tiny fraction of all towing needs, particularly towing for work or business where it's uneconomical to tow long distances.

Kudo's to those who are actively setting the record straight and helping their neighbors in the process.

 

[RoadTripFan]

Thank you for being a help to your community! Awesome to see an R1T doing this. I have often wondered if we shouldn't create "Disaster Response Groups" within our Rivian communities:

-electrically powered kitchen for feeding a neighborhood / first responders in immediate aftermath.
- Charging stations and hotspot to allow affected parties to contact family and otherwise give updates.
- basic first aid kits available for people who have simple first aid needs that they can not otherwise get addressed as first responders have their hands full.
- Delivery of water and equipment.
- Have found a rechargeable chain saw to be very useful for high-use situations when partnered with a spare battery and the plug int he truck bed so that the equipment can be used for hours straight

I am sure there are other items/uses I am not thinking of...

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