rhumbliner
Well-Known Member
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This weekend I towed my 6000 lb Airstream from Bend to Blue River and back. Crossing Santiam Pass on the way to Blue River isn't very exciting since I'm starting at 3623' and Santiam Pass is at 4817' so the elevation change isn't great. But the return trip is interesting since the elevation at Blue River is around 500' so the climb is ~4300', hence my reason for this post.
The Blue Sky Market in Rainbow, OR has a single 50 kW EVCS charger and, fortunately, is trailer-friendly. For the return drive I charged to 100% and headed up to Santiam Pass. Since I was unsure of the power draw I set my cruise control to 50 mph just to be extra cautious -- and pulled over several times to allow faster traffic to pass. Truth be told though, OR 126 has some serious potholes so 50 mph isn't the worst plan. Turns out I didn't need to be so cautious since I summited Santiam Pass with 63% SoC so I only used 37% of my battery capacity. At that point I reset my cruise control to 55 mph and arrived back in Bend with 38% SoC.
Blue River to Santiam Pass:
The entire trip from Blue River to Bend:
A few thoughts:
1) If towing an RV to the Blue River area with the intent of dry camping, the charger at Blue Sky Market is absolutely essential. Without that charger I would be required to stay at an RV park with 50-amp power.
2) I believe I could make the drive all the way from Eugene and still have enough juice to cross Santiam Pass, but the Blue Sky Market charger gives me great peace of mind. It would be nice if they someday upgraded to 150 kW but in the meantime I'm just happy to have this. And it's trailer-friendly.
3) I had intended to simply charge to 90% for the return trip but I had so many folks grill me on the R1T's towing capability that I ended up staying until I hit 100%, The questions were pretty typical: who makes Rivian? how much can that small truck tow? what's your range? how long does it take to charge? isn't it really a hybrid? etc. I wish Rivian had a referral program. I think I sold 6 this weekend.
The Blue Sky Market in Rainbow, OR has a single 50 kW EVCS charger and, fortunately, is trailer-friendly. For the return drive I charged to 100% and headed up to Santiam Pass. Since I was unsure of the power draw I set my cruise control to 50 mph just to be extra cautious -- and pulled over several times to allow faster traffic to pass. Truth be told though, OR 126 has some serious potholes so 50 mph isn't the worst plan. Turns out I didn't need to be so cautious since I summited Santiam Pass with 63% SoC so I only used 37% of my battery capacity. At that point I reset my cruise control to 55 mph and arrived back in Bend with 38% SoC.
Blue River to Santiam Pass:
The entire trip from Blue River to Bend:
A few thoughts:
1) If towing an RV to the Blue River area with the intent of dry camping, the charger at Blue Sky Market is absolutely essential. Without that charger I would be required to stay at an RV park with 50-amp power.
2) I believe I could make the drive all the way from Eugene and still have enough juice to cross Santiam Pass, but the Blue Sky Market charger gives me great peace of mind. It would be nice if they someday upgraded to 150 kW but in the meantime I'm just happy to have this. And it's trailer-friendly.
3) I had intended to simply charge to 90% for the return trip but I had so many folks grill me on the R1T's towing capability that I ended up staying until I hit 100%, The questions were pretty typical: who makes Rivian? how much can that small truck tow? what's your range? how long does it take to charge? isn't it really a hybrid? etc. I wish Rivian had a referral program. I think I sold 6 this weekend.
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