Towed my 4Runner rockcrawler 1800 miles from Colorado to the Rubicon trail and back

[JeremyP]

A few weeks ago I towed my 4runner from western Colorado to South Lake Tahoe and back to run the Rubicon trail. I was probably at the tow rating since the trailer weighs 1800lbs and the 5500lbs for the 4runner, plus there was a bunch of extra stuff inside. The towing was great and I didn't need to unhook at all at chargers, but the cooling struggled to keep up while charging (105+ in northern Nevada). It worked best to not be in the car while charging so the a/c could just work at cooling the battery. Ran the trail with no breakage so that was also a plus!

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[VSG]

Next with the Rivian?

 

[3dogfl]

Like TFL, but better

 

[2kwik4u]

WOW, the scenery out there is just so different and neat and cool. Lived on the east or the west coast desert my whole life. Family never really explored much. So wild that this is the same country when compared to somewhere like KY.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[tivoboy]

That thing is KITTED UP!.. nice.

I‘ve done that journey once WAAY in the past when I worked for an OEM known for this trail and their marketing team invited me to ride along.. next to ZERO driving for me..

It was both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. I think I was jacked up on adrenaline for four days straight.

Best e-ticket ride ever!.

enjoy.

 

[mkennedy009]

I miss living 40 mins from Desolation. It is my centering place. I can't wait for electric trucks to take over. The trucks seem to have very loud exhaust on the Rubicon.

 

[Thedude]

I miss living 40 mins from Desolation. It is my centering place. I can't wait for electric trucks to take over. The trucks see to have very loud exhaust on the Rubicon.

We need some no frills electric trucks to be built that way there are old rigs around in 20 years that are cheap enough to buy, modify and can still function to do trails like this.

 

[R1SFamilyGuy]

Next with the Rivian?

Noob here. Judging by the reactions, this is not possible today?

 

[mkennedy009]

We should get some Tesla motors and batteries and figure out how to do it. These guys do a great job https://www.electricclassiccars.co.uk/

 

[Joules Burn]

Noob here. Judging by the reactions, this is not possible today?

https://stories.rivian.com/r1s-first-production-ev-rubicon-trail

 

[GeorgeHudetz]

https://stories.rivian.com/r1s-first-production-ev-rubicon-trail

I wonder if a dual-motor could do it.

 

[HaveBlue]

I wonder if a dual-motor could do it.

Yes the Quad and DM are similar enough to go the same places. Both will have equal motor stall limitations. Both will take serious damage. Shame Eaton hasn't released a locker for the DM but then it'll go places that make things costly.

That's a sweet 4th Gen SAS! Looks like 35s. I have a lifted GX470 with a locking diff as well but it won't be getting a swap.

 

[JeremyP]

Yes the trail has been done by a Rivian with lots of effort and bent tie rods, and probably lots of damage. I thought about that as I did the trail and they must have had a crew working very hard to make it happen, which doesn't sound like any fun to me. My 4runner has 37" tires, air lockers and lower axle gears, crawler gears in the transfer case, a front axle from a fj80 land cruiser, and custom linked suspension front and rear. There was a group on the trail the same time as us hauling in supplies for the jeepers jamboree and they said some spots have gotten worse in the last couple years. With my Rivian I try to restrain myself from running too difficult of trails, but it's hard with so many options close by as my front bumper shows!

 

[Rivan]

Is there a special tow hook that is recommended? I tried using a tow hook from my Tundra, but I noticed it’s too short. Shouldn’t they all be somewhat standard? I do not tow things around usually. I needed to check if I do it with the R1S

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