Towing + Efficiency: Please post your experience!

[Indy avocado]

Is there room inside the teardrop for them? I guess that would complicate using the trailer while you're at a charging stop though.

Technically? Maybe. But getting them in and out would be a real pain with the narrow and short (~5') door, and then it would be tough to get 2 of them inside without laying them on the couch/bed where they'd beat each other and the bed up. We could optimize a bit by removing the front wheels and putting them in the bed of the truck - I should invest in a rail at the front of the bed to attach the forks to.

There's also a rack on the back of the camper, but I think that would create just as much drag, as part of the bikes would be above the camper even. Plus we only have about 250-350lbs of tongue weight depending on loadout and putting 60-80lbs of bike hanging off the back seems ill-advised.

The Airstream Basecamps (16 and 20) have a rear door for easy cargo loading/unloading... Its what I wanted but we saved a ton of money with this, we liked the color, and we wanted to see how much we'd use a small camper before comiting even more money.

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[Dark-Fx]

and we wanted to see how much we'd use a small camper before comiting even more money.

This is kind of where I'm at right now. I like the idea of having the camper but I also like being able to bring everything with us when we go somewhere else for the day's activities.

 

[Indy avocado]

This is kind of where I'm at right now. I like the idea of having the camper but I also like being able to bring everything with us when we go somewhere else for the day's activities.

We actually moved away from the concept of a van or the roof tent & camp kitchen because we *didn't* want to be burdened by all our stuff on daily activities! Though in recent months we are starting to come back around to a campervan for the simplicity.

 

[Dark-Fx]

We actually moved away from the concept of a van or the roof tent & camp kitchen because we *didn't* want to be burdened by all our stuff on daily activities! Though in recent months we are starting to come back around to a campervan for the simplicity.

That's a big part of why i'm working on sliding storage for the bed in the truck. Everything needs to have a place so it's easy to find and easy to pack up. Stuff doesn't get in your way when packed up in the truck like it will in a van since you're not living with the cargo.

One of my plans is going to make it easier to pack the tent up while everything else is being used. Awning had been dependent on the tent for support, trying to leave one up complicated taking the other down. Taking the awning down complicates doing activities during that, so everything just tended to get pushed back into having to wait to be completely ready to go already.

 

[HeresRonnie]

We've had our R1T just over a month and took first trip towing our Airstream Basecamp 20X recently. Setting cruise at 63mph, temps in the upper 40's, with a 10-15mph crosswind we were able to achieve 1.31 m/kWh towing in flat Nebraska. We were pretty happy with those results, and in warmer weather expect to be able to do even better. We 'downsized' from a larger Airstream as the Basecamp is advertised as being slightly more aerodynamic than a traditional shape Airstream (towing the Basecamp with our previous ICE vehicle we did see 5-10% better fuel efficiency over our previous 23' Airstream).

I actually saw you on the all electric families video. I was searching the forum to see if any basecamp users were on here and look at that full circle! How do you like the basecamp so far? What type of hitch are you running? I am currently debating whether to pull the trigger on one and figured it would be easy for me to tow because of the aerodynamics.

 

[twieland]

I actually saw you on the all electric families video. I was searching the forum to see if any basecamp users were on here and look at that full circle! How do you like the basecamp so far? What type of hitch are you running? I am currently debating whether to pull the trigger on one and figured it would be easy for me to tow because of the aerodynamics.

LOL, that was a fun video with AllElectricFamily! We 'downsized' from a 23' Flying Cloud to the Basecamp 20x to get the best aerodynamics, and for our family of 3 we are happy with it. Plenty of space and it does tow really well with the R1T. We're using an Anderson Rapid Hitch with the greaseless Alumiball. No grease required and no weight distribution or sway bars, and have found even in strong winds the setup is super stable. We're taking our first long trip (1300 miles) at the end of May and will be quick and easy to drop the trailer for charging at some stops along the way.

 

[HeresRonnie]

LOL, that was a fun video with AllElectricFamily! We 'downsized' from a 23' Flying Cloud to the Basecamp 20x to get the best aerodynamics, and for our family of 3 we are happy with it. Plenty of space and it does tow really well with the R1T. We're using an Anderson Rapid Hitch with the greaseless Alumiball. No grease required and no weight distribution or sway bars, and have found even in strong winds the setup is super stable. We're taking our first long trip (1300 miles) at the end of May and will be quick and easy to drop the trailer for charging at some stops along the way.

that’s awesome to hear! Please give us a report after your long trip, so far everyone seems to love the basecamp and I haven’t heard one negative review yet. This might be one of the better options for the R1T.

 

[KootenayEV]

LOL, that was a fun video with AllElectricFamily! We 'downsized' from a 23' Flying Cloud to the Basecamp 20x to get the best aerodynamics, and for our family of 3 we are happy with it. Plenty of space and it does tow really well with the R1T. We're using an Anderson Rapid Hitch with the greaseless Alumiball. No grease required and no weight distribution or sway bars, and have found even in strong winds the setup is super stable. We're taking our first long trip (1300 miles) at the end of May and will be quick and easy to drop the trailer for charging at some stops along the way.

Glad to hear of your experience with the Anderson. We have the WDH model (with chains) for our 20' Flying Cloud behind our current TV of a Honda Ridgeline. I'm hoping to stop using the "weight distributing" part once we have our truck and just use the anti-sway hitch part. We will be sticking with our trailer rather than swapping to a Basecamp, so I'll be looking at other mods we can make to improve the aero (I'm thinking remove stuff we don't use on the roof, which currently is the A/C and antenna, and possible add some fairings along the bottom to get rid of the sharp edges around the tanks etc).

 

[DamonR1T]

Out of curiosity, which Grand Design Imagine did you go with? I'm looking at the 2670MK and wondering if my R1T can handle it. RV forums on Reddit are saying no way, don't even try it. But I suspect they aren't familiar enough with Rivians.

 

[bmac]

Out of curiosity, which Grand Design Imagine did you go with? I'm looking at the 2670MK and wondering if my R1T can handle it. RV forums on Reddit are saying no way, don't even try it. But I suspect they aren't familiar enough with Rivians.

@DamonR1T, take a look at my post (#4) under this thread. I towed an Imagine 2400BH with no issues other than range. I think you should be able to tow a 2670MK just fine, but plan on charging every 80-100 miles.

 

[av8or]

I did a test yesterday to see if I could pull my 3500 lb. e-pro up over Mt Hood to the RAN in Madras. Bruce @DuckTruck rode along to keep me company and to help with the driving duties. Short answer is easy.
Since I didn’t know what the consumption would be with a net gain in elevation of 4,000 ft., I charged to 96% in Sandy, OR. and headed the 91 miles for Madras, I tried to drive my normal way, using climate control and running slightly above the speed limit (allegedly). While on the steep sections consumption did go up to about .75 mpk it ended in Madras at 1.13 mpk. and had 26% left. 1.2 is what I have seen normally.
While at the RAN we had lunch at the distillery across the street, which I highly recommend. By the time we got done and back to the truck it had been 1 hour and 3 minutes and had charged back up to 96%. With that we left and drove all the way back to Tigard, OR. 130 miles and I ended with 15%. This completely opens up the cascades and further east for some fantastic camping this summer!
This truck is truly amazing as a tow vehicle. From 25 mph behind a slow big rig climbing the grade to 75 mph (allegedly) is effortless and silent!
Sorry I didn’t take pictures of the scenery for you all……but trust me it was beautiful!


edit; added context

 

[Blueassassin]

I was getting 1.0… car is 2140lbs

good news I can say I got my money's worth out of the battery got it down to 4%

 

[azbill]

Two towing tests so far, got 0.94 mile/kWh with my boat, 5500lb.

Then got 1.4 mile/ kWh with my small enclosed trailer, about 1000 lb.

I did both tests at 70mph on a freeway.

I also have a horse trailer that I have not pulled yet, but suspect it will be worse than the boat, 6-7k with two axles.

 

[Kärsti]

More towing data. Total weight 7600 lbs (2300 lb trailer 5300 lb tractor). I got pretty good efficiency, towing around town, note the speed, and to be fair the route was more down than up, by about 800 ft, it was at about 1.22 mi/kWh before the descent at the end of the route. We will see what it looks like when I have to pull it back up the hill........ As always you can barely tell there was a trailer attached.

 

[EVerywhere]

1,321 mile round trip in two days, half pulling empty trailer, second half with a project Z4 to work on with my son this summer. 1.43 mi/kWh is really not bad. Only charging frustrations were in Canada with 350kW rated chargers struggling to delivery 30-50 kW with no other vehicles at the stations. All reported in Plugshare so hopefully they get the message that this is not good enough. Overall the R1T is an incredible towing vehicle, so much torque that you forget you are towing anything. I would like to be able to use Driver+ while towing, 600+ miles per day is a lot without it.

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