rohitgarewal
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- Thread starter
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I’ve been eyeing a Rivian camper for almost a year now and finally pulled the trigger this week. I picked up the last of their Gen 1 X3’s as the new Gen 2’s are coming in and are almost $20K more expensive. For those that don’t know what a Patriot Camper is - it’s an incredibly compact, off-road camper built for those that want to go over landing. It’s the “Rivian” of off-road campers - can go anywhere, incredibly well built for a 1-2 product brand, significantly more expensive when compared vehicles that look similar, but those that know “know” that there really isn’t anything else like it. It’s won off-road camper of the year 7 years in a row - there’s really nothing better. You can find out a lot more information by going on Youtube - there’s a fantatical off-road community whom have posted a ton of videos.
But this thread is not about the camper. It’s for those that want to know how a compact trailer impacts range. I am happy to report that range Is MUCH better than I expected. For reference, I drove from the Bay Area to Las Vegas with cruise set to 70MPH without the trailer. My overall efficiency was 2.2 mi/KwH on the 22” wheels. Conditions were fine, with the weather between 55 - 65 degrees for almost the whole drive. Elevation went from 250ft to 4700 ft, with several fluctuations between 2000 and 4000 ft.
On the way back, towing the trailer, the efficiency was ONLY down to 1.7 mi/KwH! This was a huge win for me, as I have heard that efficiency is cut by 50%, down to 1.1 mi/kwh for larger trailers. This essentially allowed me to drive 160 miles on a 80% charge, from Rivian station to Rivian station, with at least 30 miles remaining when arriving for a charge. Temperatures were less than ideal for most of the drive home as well. We had the same elevation changes, but for most of the drive the temperature was in the mid 40’s, which I am guessing impacted range. I did slow down on this return drive those, with an average drive speed of about 60 MPH (fluctuating between 55 on the climbs and 65 on flats and downhills).
The only other thing I wanted to comment on was the Rivian network. it was awesome, and I wish there were many more, but I was super impressed by how many there already are in California. From the Bay Area to Las Vegas, I was able to do the entire trip charging only at Rivian chargers. They are much cheaper than EA and EvGO, much more reliable, and were simple plug and play. More importantly for me, the people charging were super cool, and were respectful to leave the trailer pull through charger(s) as the last one used - I was able to pull up to the trailer pull through with no wait at every Rivian charging station.
Thats about it! I’ve attached some pics and please let me know if you have any questions! Most of my pictures and videos were taken on my Osmo 3 which I haven’t downloaded yet - here are a few I captured on my iPhone.
But this thread is not about the camper. It’s for those that want to know how a compact trailer impacts range. I am happy to report that range Is MUCH better than I expected. For reference, I drove from the Bay Area to Las Vegas with cruise set to 70MPH without the trailer. My overall efficiency was 2.2 mi/KwH on the 22” wheels. Conditions were fine, with the weather between 55 - 65 degrees for almost the whole drive. Elevation went from 250ft to 4700 ft, with several fluctuations between 2000 and 4000 ft.
On the way back, towing the trailer, the efficiency was ONLY down to 1.7 mi/KwH! This was a huge win for me, as I have heard that efficiency is cut by 50%, down to 1.1 mi/kwh for larger trailers. This essentially allowed me to drive 160 miles on a 80% charge, from Rivian station to Rivian station, with at least 30 miles remaining when arriving for a charge. Temperatures were less than ideal for most of the drive home as well. We had the same elevation changes, but for most of the drive the temperature was in the mid 40’s, which I am guessing impacted range. I did slow down on this return drive those, with an average drive speed of about 60 MPH (fluctuating between 55 on the climbs and 65 on flats and downhills).
The only other thing I wanted to comment on was the Rivian network. it was awesome, and I wish there were many more, but I was super impressed by how many there already are in California. From the Bay Area to Las Vegas, I was able to do the entire trip charging only at Rivian chargers. They are much cheaper than EA and EvGO, much more reliable, and were simple plug and play. More importantly for me, the people charging were super cool, and were respectful to leave the trailer pull through charger(s) as the last one used - I was able to pull up to the trailer pull through with no wait at every Rivian charging station.
Thats about it! I’ve attached some pics and please let me know if you have any questions! Most of my pictures and videos were taken on my Osmo 3 which I haven’t downloaded yet - here are a few I captured on my iPhone.
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