Camper for the R1T -- what can I safely and reasonably tow?

[Yellow Buddy]

Awesome for you. Let us know the efficiency you get. My guess is 40% range reduction - if lucky.
So if a regular is a 50% range reduction , this is supposedly saving 2/3 better than that. Something like that....I don't do math.

Maybe 1.4 to 1.6 kWh per mile vs 1.2 kWh per mile.

Surprise us!

I think you're probably right if not optimistic in that guess.

My experience with the Model X..

Normally I saw 2.4-2.6mi/Wh on that car. When I towed my enclosed 6x10 V-Nose (96") I got between 1.1-1.4mi/Wh. When I towed a U-Haul 6x12 (~79") I got about 1.8-2.0Wh/mi. Unfortunately this is off of memory, highly unscientific, and the U-Haul was around town. But IF - big IF, that scenario holds, the U-Haul was anywhere from 30-80% more efficient than the V-Nose.

That said...if I got 1.8Wh/mi around town with a much smaller U-Haul, a lighter less powerful Model X. I've got virtually no hope of being even at 1.8Wh/mi with this thing.

If for some reason this thing ends up pulling a 25' trailer above 2.0Wh/mi...I'm going to buy a couple more of these things because that means these things are about to be very popular amongst EV owners. That would be about 250 miles of range while towing a camper..

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[Wentworth]

Apologies, OP, if I missed someone else mentioning them, but have you looked into the world of expandable trailers? They look like a regular camper but set up with pop-up style beds. If we ever get rid of our Rockwood HW 24C, it will be for one of those.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Apologies, OP, if I missed someone else mentioning them, but have you looked into the world of expandable trailers? They look like a regular camper but set up with pop-up style beds. If we ever get rid of our Rockwood HW 24C, it will be for one of those.

Expandable as in hybrids? Or another kind?

We looked at a couple of larger pop up ones, but the wife wants a hard sided one and a bath that didn't have the toilet inside the shower.

We also looked at some of the hybrid hard sides with the pop out beds, but that left us with the efficiency hit of a full camper and had the disadvantage of soft sides.

 

[Wentworth]

Yes, that’s what I am referring to. It sounds like your family believes it wants a big trailer.
As a wilderness camper (backpack/canoe) I see the canvas beds as an advantage.
Someone else mentioned renting. Our neighbors do it once a year and I’m going to second the motion.

 

[Tucker74]

I’ve got an Airstream 23CB, it’s 4700lb dry so probably around 5500 loaded with a 650 lbs hitch weight. I know another member has a 25FB (6700/850) … the R1T pulls them no problem it’s just the range.

Small bit of data, pulled my Airstream home from storage this evening. Was a short ~15mi trip, had 67% SoC (~200mi) when I hitched up. When I put it in tow mode after it recognized the trailer it immediately went to 100mi. As I drove (freeway ~65mph) the range kept steadily getting better, showing 57% SoC and 144mi when I backed into driveway. The efficiency graph was showing 1.16 mi/kWH average for the trip. Need to make a longer trip to know more, but better than expected from what others have posted here.

 

[Thedude]

Small bit of data, pulled my Airstream home from storage this evening. Was a short ~15mi trip, had 67% SoC (~200mi) when I hitched up. When I put it in tow mode after it recognized the trailer it immediately went to 100mi. As I drove (freeway ~65mph) the range kept steadily getting better, showing 57% SoC and 144mi when I backed into driveway. The efficiency graph was showing 1.16 mi/kWH average for the trip. Need to make a longer trip to know more, but better than expected from what others have posted here.

Did you get the new update? I noticed mine also started creeping up during the first tow after the update. They fixed one problem but I’m not sure they didn’t create a new one. At 57% SOC you should have 74ish kWh of charge - a range of only 86 miles based on your average usage. To go 144 miles you’d need an efficiency of 1.95mi/kWh which I would call impossible while towing based on extensive experience towing with this truck.

 

[Tucker74]

I did indeed get the update yesterday, not quite the 644mi others were seeing but still seems wonky. Again, this was a short trip so I wasn’t going to read much into it. I also didn’t reset the trip, so may have been off from previous efficiencies. The range did climb 44mi though?

 

[srnyoung]

I just pulled the trigger on a used Hi-Lo 25c, picking it up next weekend. The claim is that it's 77% more efficient to pull, so I'm very curious as to what my mi/kWh will be.

Marketing materials always overpromise and of course electrics are different. That said IF this holds and a normal travel trailer is a 40%-55% range hit, then this would be between a 9%-13% range hit...seems VERY optimistic. I'd be surprised if it has less than a 30% hit but I'll be the test subject.

Watching! Will be super curious to see what you get with the short trailer. Almost wonder if it would be better in “High” ride to have less of a parachute behind you.

 

[HarisonAltDelete]

A 28-32ft travel trailer is pretty well into the domain of a full size 3/4 or 1 ton truck. You are unlikely to have the payload capacity on the truck to handle a trailer of that size, regardless of whether the Rivian had the stability/weight and power/torque to handle it. I tow a 7000lb 20’ trailer it it just about maxes out the rear GAWR and with just me in the truck and some stuff in the bed is close to the max payload rating.

Towing distance will also be pretty miserable with a trailer that size, if you plan to travel much.

I've towed plenty of 28-32 campers with a 2006 Tahoe just saying

 

[Thedude]

I've towed plenty of 28-32 campers with a 2006 Tahoe just saying

Yep, lots of people do and but it’s far safer to tow a heavy trailer with a truck that can handle it. I know you can get budget ultralight trailers in that length but a good quality 28-32’ trailer is a 10k pound trailer and too much for a half ton truck. My smaller 20’ trailer has a tongue weight heavier than most SUVs and a lot half tons can handle, especially if there are passengers in the truck.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I’ll grab a better picture in the morning but just got her home.

I was going between 55-65mph, winds were 15-20mph. Had a bunch more sway than I’m used to, so I will have to dial her in a bit more.

Efficiency came out to 1.3mi/kWh.

Also if there are any Rivian engineers on here, I want to know what in the world you were thinking when you put the backup camera right behind the hitch. I couldn’t see a thing to back up, ended up taking forever to line up.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

A am

I’ll grab a better picture in the morning but just got her home.

I was going between 55-65mph, winds were 15-20mph. Had a bunch more sway than I’m used to, so I will have to dial her in a bit more.

Efficiency came out to 1.3mi/kWh.

Also if there are any Rivian engineers on here, I want to know what in the world you were thinking when you put the backup camera right behind the hitch. I couldn’t see a thing to back up, ended up taking forever to line up.

In the up position. Wife loves the size, thinks it’s perfect for the 4 of us. The tip out was the star of the trailer as it felt “nice and open” vs some of the galleys we saw. She also liked the hard side so it didn’t feel like a tent.

 

[Tucker74]

Backup camera really sucks for hitching a trailer, can’t remember having such a hard time with any other camera 🫤

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I ended up selling the WDH that came with it (drawtite w/sway) and got a weigh safe WDH. My trailer has a coupler height of 26” and needed the bar in a ride position. With the drawtite it blocked the camera completely. With the weigh safe, I can now see..

The 6” bar comes right underneath the camera.

The extension out stinks for aero, but allows me to see the ball

Having it stick out kind of stinks for aero. But backing up is easier now too. Without a roll feature it got hairy at times trying to inch the trailer while also not being able to see the ball. The final driver to get this was when I came within several mm of poking my couple into the back of my truck

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