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Suspension height when towing

VandalSibs

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I'm picking up my R1T on Saturday, and will be towing my camping trailer with it soon. I was wondering if you can set the truck to a particular suspension height, or if it always needs to be in "standard". The difference might require me to purchase a new hitch.

(For background, I'm towing an inTech Sol Dawn, which has a coupler height of approx. 12 inches)
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Not forced to use Standard, but you can't use lowest.
 

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I noticed the truck goes into lower ride height when detects towing but I tow in standard height because it is more comfy and fits perfectly with the coupler height.
 
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VandalSibs

VandalSibs

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Not forced to use Standard, but you can't use lowest.

Thanks! If the math works out, all I'll have to do to move to towing with the R1T is flip the ball on my current hitch (it's on a 3/4" rise due to towing with a Model Y).

Another related question would be, does the towing profile store/remember the suspension height setting, or does it need to be changed every time I hitch up?
 

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Congratulations!

You can tow with it in the low ride height. I have done this but standard is much better as you have a little more suspension travel. When I tow my travel trailer I tow in standard/firm all purpose.

I do usually drop it into low when hitching up. The biggest thing is to make sure your trailer is level or just so slightly tongue down. If the tongue is pitched up it will have a lot more sway and can be dangerous depending.

Get that hitch adjusted or adjust yourself when you get the truck before you taker er out on the road. Make sure you have everything dialed in.
 

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(For background, I'm towing an inTech Sol Dawn, which has a coupler height of approx. 12 inches)
Man, that's a cool little trailer. Never heard of them before. Would love to see some pictures once you've got everything! ?
 
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VandalSibs

VandalSibs

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Congratulations!

You can tow with it in the low ride height. I have done this but standard is much better as you have a little more suspension travel. When I tow my travel trailer I tow in standard/firm all purpose.

I do usually drop it into low when hitching up. The biggest thing is to make sure your trailer is level or just so slightly tongue down. If the tongue is pitched up it will have a lot more sway and can be dangerous depending.

Get that hitch adjusted or adjust yourself when you get the truck before you taker er out on the road. Make sure you have everything dialed in.
Thanks for the info! We've been towing for a year with our Model Y and things were nice and even (or darn close to it) then, so hopefully I can make things work in "low" with the R1T just by flipping my hitch ball. I'll find out soon!

I did have to use an anti-rattle clamp though, but from what I can see, there's room for it on the R1T.


Man, that's a cool little trailer. Never heard of them before. Would love to see some pictures once you've got everything! ?
Here's some shots from picking it up last year to the few trips we went on - picked up in January (pic 1), trips in April (pic 2), May and June (pic 3).

Rivian R1T R1S Suspension height when towing PXL_20230128_230101738
Rivian R1T R1S Suspension height when towing IMG_20230410_092731
Rivian R1T R1S Suspension height when towing PXL_20230616_220011653
 

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Ended up getting an adjustable hitch from weight safe so we can adapt to different configurations. The anti rattle from Trimax is compact and fits reasonably well.
We also have a single axle camper (~2500 lbs). I like the suggestion of towing in stiff/moderate. I have tried soft and there is quite a bit of pitch (porpoising?) around the trailer axle.
 
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VandalSibs

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Which anti-rattle do you have specifically? I got one from Curt last year, but the metal seems soft and the tool-free use is pretty weak, so I'm looking for something new.
 

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Marchin_MTB

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Marchin_MTB

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One other thing I have found is that the rear tires tend to throw some muck up at the trailer leading edges (we have a pretty short distance from hitch to trailer and it looks like that may be the case for you). Consequence of a good departure angle I guess. There are threads on this forum that discuss mudflaps designed for the R1T and I’ve been seriously considering some of those for the rear tires.

Given the angle of the front of your trailer @VandalSibs and that big panoramic window on the Sol I would recommend looking into this.
 
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VandalSibs

VandalSibs

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It's got a cover on it, came with the trailer. But I'll keep an eye on things to see if we need to look into mudflaps or not.
 

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Thanks! If the math works out, all I'll have to do to move to towing with the R1T is flip the ball on my current hitch (it's on a 3/4" rise due to towing with a Model Y).

Another related question would be, does the towing profile store/remember the suspension height setting, or does it need to be changed every time I hitch up?
It will not remember your prefered hight
 

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We tow a 25' Airstream and generally use standard ride height / firm suspension setting. We've tried towing at low height to see if it made any different in efficiency but (unscientifically) didn't really notice anything different.

Since this thread is related to towing, thought I'd shout out the third annual Charged Rally for people interested in (or currently) towing RV's with EV's. June 20-23rd in beautiful Granby, CO. This will be our third year attending and always a great time to connect with others and in a great location for other activities this year!

https://www.allelectricfamily.com/rally-info
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