I'm now in the club!

[VandalSibs]

Hey all.

After years of waiting and hesitating, I dove in and took delivery of an El Cap R1T Max Pack. The car is replacing my Model S daily driver and a RAM 2500 tow vehicle (for a 25' Airstream). What made me finally purchase is the growing desire to streamline my fleet size (insurance costs, maintenance, city parking of 3 vehicles), Gen 2 improvements and their latest incentive.

Now, before folks warn me about towing range, I've towed a smaller Airstream with a Model X and I know what to expect. That said, having now tried both EV and ICE towing, I'm willing to trade more frequent stops for the power and stability of EV towing. The RAM was bouncy and noisy (but yes of course, had amazing range).

What's impressed me about the R1T in my short experience with it:

- The ride. This thing is a truck (albeit smaller than my old HD truck) but almost drives like my Model S. Actually, I think it may drive better than my S. I feel like it handles road imperfections better. Really doesn't porpoise a lot for a truck when hitting potholes or expansion joints.
- The interior. It's refined and looks good. I feel like I'm getting more of my money's worth compared to the S interior. Both are high priced cars, it should feel like it inside.
- The efficiency. I've yet to dig into stats in great detail but I'm actually surprised I only ate into 20% of the battery or so. Drove around quite a bit yesterday in cold, snowy weather, some of it hauling an extra set of wheels/tires. Nothing scientific here, just an impression.
- The UI. Ok, Tesla probably has the upper hand but I do like the looks of it better. Feels like they got designers involved and not just IT guys. It's pleasant to look at.
- The sales and deliver experience. The folks at the Montreal service center (and their sales and delivery guide colleagues from Toronto on the phone) were super friendly. Taking possession was such a pleasant experience.

What I heard as concerns before buying and noticed already:

-The heat pump. Yes, it's noisy. Can't exactly say my Teslas were silent but somehow you hear and feel it a bit more inside the Rivian. That said, it warms up the car fast despite our sub-freezing temps.
-The tonneau cover. Why do I feel like it'll be the first thing to fail? It's the new and improved of course but man it's noisy. Please tell me it's 'by design'. ;-)

More to come as I drive it more but so far, it's exceeded my expectations.

I came from towing a small 16' camper with a Model Y, and moving to a R1T Dual motor Gen 1 Large Pack made things so much better. Wife and I did a big trip to the Oregon coast back in September, and I logged charging and efficiency data, if you are interested: R1T Towing an InTech Sol Dawn

Was the Airstream you towed with your Model X the 25 footer, or something smaller?

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[iansriv]

Not even a single pic

You outdid yourself with Benny Hill!

 

[steilkurve]

I came from towing a small 16' camper with a Model Y, and moving to a R1T Dual motor Gen 1 Large Pack made things so much better. Wife and I did a big trip to the Oregon coast back in September, and I logged charging and efficiency data, if you are interested: R1T Towing an InTech Sol Dawn

Was the Airstream you towed with your Model X the 25 footer, or something smaller?

Thanks for the link. I’ll read that with great interest as we plan our first outing later this Spring.

To answer your question, I was towing a 16’ Airstream Bambi single axle trailer with the Model X. Outside of us wanting a larger trailer, this was the perfect towing combination. That Airstream was narrower at 8‘ which along with the single axle made for less drag. And the X was a great tow vehicle with its low center of gravity and ample power.

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