Rivian R1T Tows a Sports Car Cross-Country

[az graboid]

My "small" travel trailer comes in at ~7,000#.
My house to Flagstaff is ~140 miles, with a 5,500 foot elevation gain, which we do all the time.
I'd say the Revian is not quite ready for prime time, at least for the mountain west.

 

[oops]

I'd say the Revian is not quite ready for prime time, at least for the mountain west.

Maybe the Rivian is just not quite ready for you?

It never ceases to amaze how one can convince themself that the only thing people do is exactly whatever they do.

 

[MoKan]

Pretty interesting article:

Rivian R1T Tows a Sports Car Cross-Country, Stops at Every Walmart

Images via: @gideontherivian on Instagram A couple uses their new Rivian R1T to tow their Ford Mustang across the county and back - here is their story. Most

tfltruck.com

Corresponding video expands on things a bit more than the article, but also can’t be skimmed:

Summary: a Rivian employee and their spouse drove a Rivian R1T 2500 miles one-way (so 5000 miles round trip) while towing a roughly 6000 pound load (combination of aluminum car trailer and a Mustang on it). The couple provided a scale ticket showing the entire rig, with them and their luggage in the truck, weighed over 14,000 pounds. TFL estimates they got roughly 100 miles per charge, running the battery between 16% and 80% which maximizes charging speed.

Charge time was variable because the chargers put out varying amounts of current. No numbers are provided for how long charge times were.

As a comparison to TFL’s previous pure electric towing test when they tried to tow a small (2000 pound) overland trailer to Oregon, they got 100 miles per charge with a Tesla Model X. So the R1T did significantly better given it was towing 3x the weight. It would be interesting to see what it’s range would be with a 2000 pound trailer instead for a more direct comparison.

At those speeds, the aerodynamic profile (CdA) of the trailer will matter more than weight.

The Tesla got kicked in the balls because it is so aerodynamic without the trailer. By adding the trailer, the aerodynamic loading was increased significantly, further hurting range.

 

[MoKan]

The Rivian charge time from 10-80% is 30 minutes. Unless I missed something, the video says they stayed between 16%-80%. Implying sub-30 minute charge times.

A sub 30 minute stop every 100 miles doesn’t sound that bad. That’s like road-tripping with children.

Also noting, ~35% of range left on the table here if this was a more typical regional run from 100% to empty.

Just for clarification...

For the newest generation of EVs, charge time is limited by the charger, not the vehicle.
150kW will fill about 50% in 30 minutes. That is a 300A load for 480V AC input. Not something you will find in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Hayes, KS.

You are looking at a realistic 30 to 75kW of charge power most places outside of CA.

The charge infrastructure has a long way to go.

 

[ccw]

At those speeds, the aerodynamic profile (CdA) of the trailer will matter more than weight.

The Tesla got kicked in the balls because it is so aerodynamic without the trailer. By adding the trailer, the aerodynamic loading was increased significantly, further hurting range.

Great point!

 

[Mojave_Idiot]

This is every discussion about electric trucks. Suddenly every guy that’s commuting empty back and forth to work 90% of their miles is pulling a fifth wheel up a 10% grade 8 days a week.

 

[Roverine]

 

[Mojave_Idiot]

That’s more efficient than a bunch of individual engines, strictly speaking, so… ok.

 

[Roverine]

I gues, if you don’t consider the efficiency losses from transmission of power across the grid and the efficiency of the individual electric motors. But then there’s the impact of mining and recycling lithium batteries. Once we truly figure out storage and develop excess renewable energy resources to generate the power, electric will be superior, but we’re still a ways from that. Until then, I suppose implementation of electrics will spur innovation to mitigate or resolve these issues; but let’s not kid ourselves that in the short term, these are coal-fired cars with huge carbon footprints.

 

[Whyte Rhyno]

I've been on board with EVs for a while now. They're great at what they're great at and they suck at everything else. I've got a Rivian R1S in my future but I sure as hell won't be roundtripping with it or towing with it. That's what the Tremor is for. I'll use the Rivian everyday for commuting in style and enjoying the electric all wheel drive in the winter. Stopping 20 times to charge on a road-trip doesn’t sound very enjoyable. Also, the day they stop digging giant mines looking for lithium and the coal cars in Montana stop heading west to Washington powerplants is the day EVs will actually be green.

 

[Whyte Rhyno]

View attachment 47156

Funny because it's true

 

[greatoppressor]

Certainly, electric vehicles have all of the torque and power necessary to tow some extremely heavy loads, but as many have already pointed out, range continues to be a problem for the foreseeable future (which, in my opinion, is even true for EVs when they're not towing anything, too). I told someone the other day, after seeing too many EV commercials to count during the Super Bowl, "until it take 10 minutes or less to charge/fill, don't even talk to me about it."

One thought I had, though (after watching TFLTruck attempt the Ike Gauntlet with the Rivian) about the unique opportunity of an EV that has the setup to tow (like a Rivian) is that you could actually tow extra power with you. You could add battery banks to the trailer to improve the range while towing. That being said, I don't know if it's possible to get enough extra charge from those additional batteries to offset the power needed to pull them on the trailer. It would be a fun experiment, though. Other issues, of course, would be the need for a pretty hefty cable to carry the power from the trailer to the EV and also the extra time it would take for a "fill up".

Lots of folks in industry out there want to knock Toyota and a handful of other manufacturers who are focusing more on hydrogen for either ICE or fuel-cell-electric propulsion. Those critics focus entirely on efficiency, pointing out how inefficient it is to produce hydrogen, only to suffer from additional losses when either burning it or running it through a fuel cell. They all seem to ignore the one huge advantage that hydrogen has to offer over all of these battery-only EVs: short fill-up times, which equates to a more practical usable range.

I'm still waiting for someone to make a real attempt at a flow-battery platform to overcome this fill-up/recharge issue.

-SR-

 

[forcebwu19]

I'll just leave this here:

Edison Motors

Edison Motors is a privately owned Canadian Clean Technology Company. In 2022, Edison built North America’s first diesel electric hybrid logging truck. Edison Motors aims to produce Electric Hybrid Vocational Trucks & EV Conversion Kits that deliver fuel savings without compromise. We have com

www.edisonmotors.ca

 

[2020Tremor]

The Rivian charge time from 10-80% is 30 minutes. Unless I missed something, the video says they stayed between 16%-80%. Implying sub-30 minute charge times.

A sub 30 minute stop every 100 miles doesn’t sound that bad. That’s like road-tripping with children.

Also noting, ~35% of range left on the table here if this was a more typical regional run from 100% to empty.

That is if you can find a high capacity charging stations a 100 miles apart, otherwise could be anywhere for 30 minutes to over night to reach 80% depending on what is available.

Eventually electric will take over (currently getting the legislation push over some other technologies) but still requires some infrastructure additions and technology advancements to make wide spread adoption more feasible. In town or short haul situations seem more feasible at this time. It will eventually get there for more wide spread applications but going to be a bumpy road getting there.

 

[deezel-gitur]

The problem with road trips at the moment is when your not first in line to charge up.

I drive a diesel, I already feel this! It's more often than not I pull up behind the one diesel pump, and it's occupied on both sides by some foreign-made crossover hybrid wierdos, yet there are MULTIPLE open gas-only pumps!!

It's at those moments that I am glad for the front-facing camera; let's you get real close. I then shrug and say "sorry, didn't want to block behind me while waiting", if/when the offender get's grumpy at me.

 

[deezel-gitur]

I'll just leave this here:

Edison Motors

Edison Motors is a privately owned Canadian Clean Technology Company. In 2022, Edison built North America’s first diesel electric hybrid logging truck. Edison Motors aims to produce Electric Hybrid Vocational Trucks & EV Conversion Kits that deliver fuel savings without compromise. We have com

www.edisonmotors.ca

They already have electric super-heavy haulers, they're called trains.

I don't think you could really find any hard evidence, but there's a reason GM purchased the entire city of LA's electric street-car network, and proceeded to dismantle it so that people would have to buy ICE vehicles.. :

General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[deezel-gitur]

Other then rich old guys, who can afford the extra 25 hours on such a road trip, unless you are young and sleep in the truck you will end up with a extra hotel stay & hopefully the hotel has a charger

Plus, how many charging stations can you use without unhooking the trailer? I’ve yet to see any pull thru stations & they are all set up/sized for smaller cars

I’m also curious how they heat the interior of the truck and how much juice it takes, I’ve seen videos of winter crashes that block the roads and highway for hours and hours, now yes this can be a problem for a gas/diesel vehicle, but the question is how does the electrical vehicle heat the cab & how long will it last?

Idk, to me personally the Hybred plug in makes the most sense from all aspects at this point in time

Didn't you hear? Young people nowadays don't want to own cars, we just want to rent everything (jk)

 

[deezel-gitur]

Pretty interesting article:

Rivian R1T Tows a Sports Car Cross-Country, Stops at Every Walmart

Images via: @gideontherivian on Instagram A couple uses their new Rivian R1T to tow their Ford Mustang across the county and back - here is their story. Most

tfltruck.com

Corresponding video expands on things a bit more than the article, but also can’t be skimmed:

Summary: a Rivian employee and their spouse drove a Rivian R1T 2500 miles one-way (so 5000 miles round trip) while towing a roughly 6000 pound load (combination of aluminum car trailer and a Mustang on it). The couple provided a scale ticket showing the entire rig, with them and their luggage in the truck, weighed over 14,000 pounds. TFL estimates they got roughly 100 miles per charge, running the battery between 16% and 80% which maximizes charging speed.

Charge time was variable because the chargers put out varying amounts of current. No numbers are provided for how long charge times were.

As a comparison to TFL’s previous pure electric towing test when they tried to tow a small (2000 pound) overland trailer to Oregon, they got 100 miles per charge with a Tesla Model X. So the R1T did significantly better given it was towing 3x the weight. It would be interesting to see what it’s range would be with a 2000 pound trailer instead for a more direct comparison.

Also, I gotta say this. My friends took delivery of their Rivian R1T today, and I had the opportunity to take it for a spin (read: scare the crap out of them...)

The 0-60 time of 3 seconds is NO joke. If anyone remembers the Hulk coaster at Universal, it is pretty much that but more quiet. It seriously is like driving a Porsche 911 turbo with a gosh-darn tailgate. Is it gonna replace my Tremor?

Cons: small, "toy-car" feel, no actual "off" button (app on your phone, so it might interact with the 5g from my COVID vaccines but maybe I can just tap my arm with the next software upgrade)

Pros: It's a truck (nuff said).


Also if I could (almost) exclusively drive my Diesel on the Freeway, where it gets 18-20 mpg, and use the toy truck for local jaunts and still be able to haul a good amount, that sure sounds like a great way to convince our collective better halves to make the switch to an all-truck household.

I see no downside currently...

 

[2020Tremor]

Also, I gotta say this. My friends took delivery of their Rivian R1T today, and I had the opportunity to take it for a spin (read: scare the crap out of them...)

The 0-60 time of 3 seconds is NO joke. If anyone remembers the Hulk coaster at Universal, it is pretty much that but more quiet. It seriously is like driving a Porsche 911 turbo with a gosh-darn tailgate. Is it gonna replace my Tremor?

Cons: small, "toy-car" feel, no actual "off" button (app on your phone, so it might interact with the 5g from my COVID vaccines but maybe I can just tap my arm with the next software upgrade)

Pros: It's a truck (nuff said).


Also if I could (almost) exclusively drive my Diesel on the Freeway, where it gets 18-20 mpg, and use the toy truck for local jaunts and still be able to haul a good amount, that sure sounds like a great way to convince our collective better halves to make the switch to an all-truck household.

I see no downside currently...

I see a major one, possible massive wait to get one if just getting on the list now. Supposedly they are booked out to the end of 2023 already. You may get lucky and snarf one up that someone backs out on.

 

[CRS250]

I know almost nothing about electric vehicles and will only drive one when there is no other choice. That being said, I have seen a Lightning in person and was impressed. Ford sold their stake in Rivian, at a loss, so I'd not hang my hat on their products, at least for the time being. At the current state of battery technology, and charging infrastructure, EV's are impractical for long-distance driving. I have always thought that standardized, easily swapped battery packs are the way to go. However, the current battery packs are too large to be easily swapped-out. I can see a day when you stop at the "Battery Station" and swapping-out the power pack would take less time that filling a 20 gallon gas tank. If that ever comes to fruition, cross-country EV travel would be a breeze.