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Towing car hauler

Wing

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Wind resistance really kills range.

I normally drive this route (almost daily) 16% is a consistent usage at 80mph.

Yesterday I did the trip towing my 20ft car hauler and used 40% of the battery going 60mph. I really expected to double the energy consumption not that much more.

The range estimate is 200km or 125 miles but based on actual driving there's no way. The range at 100% would be 100 miles at best case.

It is what it is and it works for my drive but really means I can't go anywhere else with my trailer as towing for an hour to charge for an hour is just ridiculous. Would make a 4 hour drive 7 hours or so.

It does tow great that's for sure though.

Rivian R1T R1S Towing car hauler PXL_20240711_231206687


Rivian R1T R1S Towing car hauler PXL_20240712_113336326


Rivian R1T R1S Towing car hauler PXL_20240712_113341797
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Electrified Outdoors

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Yeah that's a worst case scenario right there. Big box on wheels. The aero matters more than the weight unless your changing elevation.

Towing our travel trailer we get between 1 and 1.2 mi per kwh.

Did you have a lot of wind or hills? 1.28 seems pretty low. I would expect you could do at least 1.6 km per kwh.
 
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Wing

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Zero wind best case warm day. Flat ground pretty much.
 

beatle

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Good data point. 80mph is a pretty fast tow speed. Does your trailer have a v-nose? Looks like it has a bit of one, but not a sharp one. I've wondered how much a difference a v-nose makes on a car hauler as I'm kind of looking at them.

Wind resistance is pretty brutal and increases exponentially with speed. You may experiment with ABRP to calculate your total travel time if you reduce your speed. You might actually come out ahead with fewer, shorter charging stops if you tow at say, 70 mph.

This site has an interesting calculator. I think it's made more for hypermilers, but even if you don't use it to help calculate your load/consumption, it has some good info about how much an impact aero makes. It also shows how little a difference rolling resistance makes with a heavy aero load. That's at least some good news for those towing with 20ATs.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/tool-aero-rolling-resistance.php
 
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Wing

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60mph tow!

V nose was honestly worse.
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