Considering 1000 mile trip with 4 x 8 UHaul trailer

[Der]

I’m planning a GA-ME summer trip hauling a 4 x 8 enclosed trailer with furniture inside. Wondering what kind of efficiency impact I can expect? Will plan to stay at hotel overnight once at halfway point. Not too concerned about the actual driving part, having seen many people report that as a non-issue. TIA

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[Weekend at Gary’s]

I’m planning a GA-ME summer trip hauling a 4 x 8 enclosed trailer with furniture inside. Wondering what kind of efficiency impact I can expect? Will plan to stay at hotel overnight once at halfway point. Not too concerned about the actual driving part, having seen many people report that as a non-issue. TIA

Control of the trailer is great. I love towing with Rivian, I choose R1S LFP over my older Silverado for trips up to 220 miles. Trailer weight and elevation don’t seem to affect mileage too much. Wind and high travel speed destroy range. I travel through the Dalles (Oregon/Washington) and there is constant wind out of the west. I’ll get 0.83-1.05 mi/kW headed west and over 1.3 going east. This was a real shocker the first time I tried this. The navi-computer works well, seems to nail arrival range. Computer tries to stop me from making my biggest jump headed west through the Dalles, but somehow knows (Rivian must have efficiency info from Rivians driving this route ??). Note: your trip arrival range is updated for trailering (when you use navigation) but the miles remaining (state of charge) indicator is really just a percentage of miles remaining WITHOUT the trailer. I’m willing to accept that picking the Rivian (over Silverado ) I’m increasing my travel time by about 25% for trips in the highway more than 120 miles. Added time is for charging and driving slower.

 

[Thedude]

Good initial plan would be for 1mi/kwh and a charging stop every 100 miles.

 

[rhumbliner]

Trailer weight and elevation don’t seem to affect mileage too much. Wind and high travel speed destroy range.

I agree with 3 of the 4 but I’ve found that elevation makes a huge difference. We routinely tow our 28’ AS over the Cascades and climbing drops our mi/kWh to 0.5 while, of course, we gain range coming back down but nowhere near enough to offset the energy used climbing.

 

[KBabione]

Depending on your destination in Maine, your halfway point is likely either just south of DC or somewhere in NJ. Definitely look for a hotel with a L2 charger for your stop. I'm assuming that you've done that drive before so you know that getting your timing when you go around DC and NYC is critical - even more so with a trailer.

Here's my suggestion FWIW...Rent the trailer for a day between now and when you go, load it with some stuff, and drive 100 miles northeast and then head back home. This will give you both a feel for driving with the trailer AND an idea of your range with it behind you. U-Haul usually rents them for $25/day for local (return to the same place) so you wouldn't be out much, but then you'll really know for yourself rather than relying on us.

Driving 1,000+ miles with stops every 2 hours to charge will require a lot of planning (along with plans B and C for each stop). If you have to stop eight times enroute over two days, most could be meals so the time will go more quickly which will help. Good luck!

 

[Der]

Depending on your destination in Maine, your halfway point is likely either just south of DC or somewhere in NJ. Definitely look for a hotel with a L2 charger for your stop. I'm assuming that you've done that drive before so you know that getting your timing when you go around DC and NYC is critical - even more so with a trailer.

Here's my suggestion FWIW...Rent the trailer for a day between now and when you go, load it with some stuff, and drive 100 miles northeast and then head back home. This will give you both a feel for driving with the trailer AND an idea of your range with it behind you. U-Haul usually rents them for $25/day for local (return to the same place) so you wouldn't be out much, but then you'll really know for yourself rather than relying on us.

Driving 1,000+ miles with stops every 2 hours to charge will require a lot of planning (along with plans B and C for each stop). If you have to stop eight times enroute over two days, most could be meals so the time will go more quickly which will help. Good luck!

I actually thought about that but not driving much at all . I think I’ll take your advice and go out 100 miles or so. I’ve got plenty of time before the real trip.
FWIW-this will be the 3rd doing this trip, first time towing.
Thanks to all for the info. Much appreciated.

 

[Trinculo73]

Last year I towed a 5x8 Uhaul behind my R1T from Los Angeles to just shy of the Canadian border in WA, about a 1300 mile trip. My average efficiency was somewhere around 1.3-1.5 m/kwh - given how much better that was than when I've towed travel trailers, I'm attributing that to the lower overall height and the rounded front edges which help lower the overall drag from the trailer.

Like others have said, the experience of towing is basically flawless in a scenario like that. Even large, heavy trailers are easy to tow, a small Uhaul will barely be noticeable outside of the efficiency hit.

 

[UPR1T]

I actually thought about that but not driving much at all . I think I’ll take your advice and go out 100 miles or so. I’ve got plenty of time before the real trip.
FWIW-this will be the 3rd doing this trip, first time towing.
Thanks to all for the info. Much appreciated.

I’m planning a GA-ME summer trip hauling a 4 x 8 enclosed trailer with furniture inside. Wondering what kind of efficiency impact I can expect? Will plan to stay at hotel overnight once at halfway point. Not too concerned about the actual driving part, having seen many people report that as a non-issue. TIA

I rented the exact same trailer to haul furniture from Missouri to Michigan in October of last year. I looked up my Electrify records for the drive, and we averaged 1.6 miles/kWh, 700 mile trip.

 

[forestwalker]

Like others have already said, it will handle that size trailer with ease. As far as range impact, I have only hauled a 7000lb trailer, and it halved my range. If I recall correctly, it will update your range once you've pulled it a bit, so maybe a test run would be the best way to gauge?

 

[Zoidz]

Control of the trailer is great.
...
Trailer weight and elevation don’t seem to affect mileage too much. Wind and high travel speed destroy range.

I agree with 3 of the 4 but I’ve found that elevation makes a huge difference. We routinely tow our 28’ AS over the Cascades and climbing drops our mi/kWh to 0.5 while, of course, we gain range coming back down but nowhere near enough to offset the energy used climbing.

I've found that all 4 are factors. My efficiency with my dual axle flatbed trailer (3000 lbs empty) is lower than my single axle box trailer (1700 lbs empty), even with the box having higher wind resistance.

 

[rhumbliner]

I've found that all 4 are factors. My efficiency with my dual axle flatbed trailer (3000 lbs empty) is lower than my single axle box trailer (1700 lbs empty), even with the box having higher wind resistance.

Interesting. In stop & go traffic (or in the mountains) I would expect the heavier trailer to have lower efficiency but at freeway speeds I would expect the box trailer to have lower efficiency.

 

[Zoidz]

Interesting. In stop & go traffic (or in the mountains) I would expect the heavier trailer to have lower efficiency but at freeway speeds I would expect the box trailer to have lower efficiency.

I believe it's probably a combination of heavier weight as well as higher rolling resistance - 4 tires vs. 2 tires.

 

[antimatter]

Biggest issue I've had is that the Rivian navigation system will panic and beg you to turn around if you've got a route where you wouldn't make it if you went full highway speed. For instance, I had to haul my RV from Billings MT to Maple Grove MN, the first leg was 135 miles. I knew I'd need to go 60 mph max, but ended up going 55 mph to make sure I had the range. Up to 20 miles before I arrived in Miles City, MT (next charging stop) the Rivian's nav was yelling at me to turn around and go back to Billings. So, if you're towing be ready to do some 'napkin math' to make sure you have the range, and adjust your speed if you need to. Do not trust the navigation software to give you accurate range and state of charge info if you're towing. Most importantly, if you think you're going to come up short, slow down.

 

[VSG]

Up to 20 miles before I arrived in Miles City, MT (next charging stop) the Rivian's nav was yelling at me to turn around and go back to Billings.

What did you have your arrival % set to? It will only nag you if you're going to arrive with less than the % you selected.

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