Couple of Towing Questions......

[2kwik4u]

Just retrieved the boat from storage. Second time towing with the Rivian, first time using cruise control with a trailer. Been towing for years, heck, decades now, so I've got most of the essentials covered. Have a couple Rivian specific questions though.

Overall, the truck tows well. Single pedal driving is super nice. Air suspension works well also. I can see this being a pretty enjoyable experience overall. However, like everything else about this truck, there are a couple little things that I think are going to be an annoyance.

How can I dismiss the black warning box in the lower left of the instrument panel (blue box)?

That's going to get super annoying on the interstate if I have to start at that warning the whole time. Not super thrilled with the red alert (red circle at the bottom) about the forward collision being off either. Surely there's a way to acknowledge that, and then get it off the screen. I'm already a little bummed by no adaptive cruise while towing. My Q7 handled this without an issue and the adaptive cruise was a welcome drivers aid on long stretches of highway when towing. That top bar (upper red box) is wildly unhelpful and mostly blocked by the steering wheel anyway. Between all the warnings and notifications that center box with the efficiency (or map directions) becomes nearly unusable. This feels like a big miss to me from a tech side. Am I missing something here, or does that part of the IP just live like that while towing?

Does the hitch seem excessively shallow in terms of insertion? I bought an anti-rattle drop hitch and the little "nubbin" that keeps it from rattling barely engages. I had to get another pin because of the double thick side plates, but that was easily overcome. Something feels awry, but I can't quite put my finger on it. That red dimension below looks REALLY shallow. Any thoughts?

Finally, does anyone else have "not centered" lines while in reverse? I hadn't noticed until I backed out of the driveway this morning with the hitch in. Not a huge issue, but feels mildly annoying.

Included a full setup picture, just for some street cred.

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[azbill]

Rivian disables most of the ADAS functions while towing. It has no adaptive cruise control when towing, only basic cruise control. That is why you have this message. I prefer to tow with my Hummer, it has hands free Supercruise when towing.

I also had to get a longer hitch pin for the Rivian, I think the depth of insertion is more shallow because they have more metal than is standard on the sides of the reciever.

 

[rbrak29]

Agreed, tech while towing need works, a lot of work. Came from a F150 Powerboost with Blue Cruise. Adaptive cruise and lane centering while towing was nice. Rivian pretty much turns all sensors off. Towed 13K with a Gen 1 R1T. You get used to the annoyances. Moved to a Gen 2 in hopes Rivian improves towing driver assist. First towing trip in Gen 2 starts tomorrow to Lake Crescent. NOTE: DO NOT rely on Rivian's range estimates while towing (in trailer information in Drive Modes). Greatly over estimates range. Gen 1 embellished towing range, Gen 2 is much worse. Rivian support notified. Use ABRP app. Rivian bought ABRP, should use it in their software. As far as reverse lines, mine is the same.

 

[theonetruestripes]

Same on reverse lines, noticed it this morning while backing new trailer into garage. Even with them being off center they have been super helpful, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that either my Rivian doesn’t know where it’s centerline is, or the tow hitch isn’t centered!

It is a shame there is almost no driving assist while towing. Like it is already more stressful then regular driving, so some assistance would be very nice.

On the plus side physically my R1S was a super confident tow, like “oh you want to drag this trailer that weighs more then many cars and is about as aerodynamic as a brick up hill, sure no problem”. My imagined personality for my Rivian is like “and can we tow this one off road, it was cool when we took that utility trailer off road, can we bring this one up a off-road hill? Come on, lets go!"

 

[CBRacerX]

All these things don't matter after you go up the first hill.

 

[rhumbliner]

All these things don't matter after you go up the first hill.

I soooo agree with this sentiment.

But I’ve been towing my Airstream up and down the Pacific coast and I really miss having some type of ADAS. I’m now in the process of switching to Comma AI so I can have ACC and lane centering while towing.

 

[HaveBlue]

I find the center line annoying because it perfectly covers the ball when hooking up and I can't see when to stop. The black box must come up when you have surge brakes because the car can't sense electric brakes. I suppose you could put the car in accessory mode and that would bypass and enable some stuff back, at your own risk.

Yea the receiver is a thicker class 4/5 or whatever that needs a longer pin.

 

[VandalSibs]

Same on reverse lines, noticed it this morning while backing new trailer into garage. Even with them being off center they have been super helpful, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that either my Rivian doesn’t know where it’s centerline is, or the tow hitch isn’t centered!

It's more likely that the camera is slightly out of alignment. And while the lines are nice to have, it's really where the hitch ball goes that matters, right?

 

[VSG]

My hitch ball is precisely on the guidelines, FWIW

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

It's more likely that the camera is slightly out of alignment. And while the lines are nice to have, it's really where the hitch ball goes that matters, right?

 

[2kwik4u]

Rivian disables most of the ADAS functions while towing. It has no adaptive cruise control when towing, only basic cruise control. That is why you have this message. I prefer to tow with my Hummer, it has hands free Supercruise when towing.

I also had to get a longer hitch pin for the Rivian, I think the depth of insertion is more shallow because they have more metal than is standard on the sides of the reciever.

How do you like the Hummer overall? I'm not super pleased with my Rivian and these agitations around towing aren't helping me fall any further in love with it.

 

[2kwik4u]

It's more likely that the camera is slightly out of alignment. And while the lines are nice to have, it's really where the hitch ball goes that matters, right?

I mean, you're not wrong.

I backed up to the trailer, and got the ball into the socket in the first try. This is still light years ahead of what I did before backup cameras were a thing.

The misalignment is just another subtle reminder of something being not quite right with the truck. These little things that don't really affect function, but are bad form just really drive home the feeling like I downgraded coming from my Audi.

I want to love the Rivian, but this little nit-picky stuff seems to be ever present.

 

[2kwik4u]

I find the center line annoying because it perfectly covers the ball when hooking up and I can't see when to stop. The black box must come up when you have surge brakes because the car can't sense electric brakes. I suppose you could put the car in accessory mode and that would bypass and enable some stuff back, at your own risk.

Yea the receiver is a thicker class 4/5 or whatever that needs a longer pin.

Hasn't thought of the lines blocking the ball completely. Guess it's one way to look at it.

I'll try accessory mode next time I'm towing. See if that makes it go away. I also have a Bluetooth trailer brake controller, wonder if hooking that up would remove the warning. Trailer doesn't have brakes. Boat and trailer combo is only 3,100lbs, so it wasn't sold with brakes. I've talked about adding brakes for years, but never saw a need maybe nows the time?

 

[2kwik4u]

I soooo agree with this sentiment.

But I’ve been towing my Airstream up and down the Pacific coast and I really miss having some type of ADAS. I’m now in the process of switching to Comma AI so I can have ACC and lane centering while towing.

This is where I'm at. The physical towing experience might be stellar, but this constant warning that I have to use the brakes to slow down is annoying at best.

I came from a Q7 that kept adaptive cruise and decent lane keep assist while towing. Drug the boat to St. Augustine and back from Buffalo last summer. Spent over 45hrs towing over the course of two weeks, I'm sure I would have gotten used to a warning if staring at it that long, but the adaptive cruise was a serious help.

It's really a shame Rivian disables all the ADAS. It's like one more little indicator that screams "this was a mistake" every time I drive/tow because it feels like a downgrade from my Audi.

 

[2kwik4u]

All these things don't matter after you go up the first hill.

I sure hope this is the case. That constant nagging "use manual brakes" indicator is going to get old fast, and it's not like I had issues with hills before, so this feels more downgrade than upgrade.

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