Failed towing experience

[Fade5G]

My second trip towing our Mammoth Overland trailer with the R1T did not go as planned. We left Las Vegas Friday to head to Flagstaff but ended up turning around at the Kingman, AZ RAN charger (122 miles from home) because I was not confident it would make the leg from Kingman to Williams, AZ (112 miles).

Details:
Left home with 85% charge (this gave me over 60 miles of margin based on the range estimator). I started the drive going 80 mph and after 30 mins dropped to 75 mph. My range at arrival continued to drop so I slowed to 70 mph after 15 more minutes. 18 miles out from the Kingman RAN I dropped the trailer on the side of the road and arrived at the charger with 1.2 miles of range. I did some quick math, factoring in the 3k feet of elevation to be gained on the next leg and decided to turn around. I was not confident that the R1T could make the 112-mile leg uphill while towing. We picked up the trailer and went home to swap vehicles and sleep.

The R1T was showing 1 mi/kWh but the range estimator was wildly off. We charged to 90% in Kingman but had to stop at the Las Vegas RAN charger to make it home.

We swapped out the Rivian for our Bronco and left the next morning. It sucks because we lost a night of camping and wasted 4 hours. The one bright spot from the trip was that the RAN chargers worked great and were free. We still love our R1T but will definitely think twice before towing long distance.

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[xyskis]

With elevation, driving that speed, and only having 85% to start, I’m not surprised this was your experience. Could the range estimator be better? Absolutely. Sounds like the new software update learns your trailer and you can save specific trailers to different profiles. I think you could’ve saved yourself this headache by charging to 100% and driving at speed limit to maybe +5.

I towed a 4x8 UHaul with a Model Y and found the speed beyond 60 mph was a huge factor followed by elevation gain. Speed was the greatest determinant of how quickly I would drain the battery. It was an interesting optimization of drive fast and stop at every supercharger along i5 or slow down and charge at every other.

 

[mindstormsguy]

80mph towing a trailer will absolutely kill your range. The difference between 60 and 70 with my car hauler is pretty large. I don’t want to imagine what 80 would be like.

80 seems pretty fast for any towing anyway. Seems like asking for trouble.

 

[Goose]

As someone that has been towing boats for 20 years, be careful towing at that speed. Some states even have strict 55mph towing laws in place. When I tow on the highway I do not go beyond 70mph, typically keeping it in the 65mph range.

 

[Gkfisher]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Helps us learn the ins and outs of EVs and R1 vehicles.

 

[240vPlug]

I get the apprehension based on what you have said. A couple of things to note with towing... Especially travel trailers which are a worst case scenario.

1) charge to 100% before you set out
2) use ABRP with a reference consumption set to 1 mi per kwh at 65
3) if possible limit speed to 60mph

I have done a couple towing videos. At 60 mph my TT gets 1.1 to 1.2 mi per kwh towing. At 65 its 1.0 to 1.1. going 70 or 80 dramatically lower.

Towing is very doable with planning ahead, patience (i know 60 is slow), and good working chargers on the route.

This is my most recent tow with the latest software update. This video is a short tow. I also towed it 1200 miles in the scorching heat from MD to Hilton Head SC.

 

[Hillbilly]

My second trip towing our Mammoth Overland trailer with the R1T did not go as planned. We left Las Vegas Friday to head to Flagstaff but ended up turning around at the Kingman, AZ RAN charger (122 miles from home) because I was not confident it would make the leg from Kingman to Williams, AZ (112 miles).

Details:
Left home with 85% charge (this gave me over 60 miles of margin based on the range estimator). I started the drive going 80 mph and after 30 mins dropped to 75 mph. My range at arrival continued to drop so I slowed to 70 mph after 15 more minutes. 18 miles out from the Kingman RAN I dropped the trailer on the side of the road and arrived at the charger with 1.2 miles of range. I did some quick math, factoring in the 3k feet of elevation to be gained on the next leg and decided to turn around. I was not confident that the R1T could make the 112-mile leg uphill while towing. We picked up the trailer and went home to swap vehicles and sleep.

The R1T was showing 1 mi/kWh but the range estimator was wildly off. We charged to 90% in Kingman but had to stop at the Las Vegas RAN charger to make it home.

We swapped out the Rivian for our Bronco and left the next morning. It sucks because we lost a night of camping and wasted 4 hours. The one bright spot from the trip was that the RAN chargers worked great and were free. We still love our R1T but will definitely think twice before towing long distance.

Always charge to 100 before a long trip or if you are on one and have the time to do it while eating/shopping/whatever.

 

[COdogman]

Not to pile on, but you definitely should charge to 100% for any road trip like that, even if you don’t end up needing it. And if there is any question about whether you might not make it between chargers you should slow down and stay at a speed that maximizes your efficiency. With the R1s that seems to mean under 80mph for sure. I would say 70mph would be safe. I never tow anything and I notice a big efficiency drop off after driving 80+. I’m sure that’s even more pronounced when towing.

Don’t hesitate to try your trip again - it’s sounds like you can make it just fine.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

lol… dude going 80mph towing a trailer and complaining about his lack of confidence in towing. He seems to have a high safety confidence!

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I will echo everyone else that your speed is the biggest factor here. I have a long road trip planned in a couple weeks and I plan on keeping it to 75 even without towing simply to maximize range and make it easy on me for charging stops.

 

[Dark-Fx]

lol… dude going 80mph towing a trailer and complaining about his lack of confidence in towing. He seems to have a high safety confidence!

Couple times I towed short distances with my Bolt EV in the winter time, I was experimenting with speeds and efficiency... Car felt okay at 80 mph but the range was trending down to less than 50 miles range if I had started at 100% charge. Definitely more comfortable towing at 65 mph. 55 even better but that means staying off the freeways entirely around here because I'm not willing to put myself in that kind of danger.

 

[twieland]

Yep, speed is the biggest factor reducing range. We just towed a 20' Airstream Basecamp from Nebraska to Florida (1200 miles) and keeping our speed 60-65mpg we averaged 1.26 mi/kWh for the entire trip. Slowing down a couple times as we watched our efficiency carefully allowed us reach the next charging stop. We were able to keep it at 65 for a majority of the trip.

 

[logan]

FWIW, sometimes it helps to make it concrete since it is more than most expect. Drag force is proportional to the square of the velocity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_equation

So, the difference between 80 mph and 60 mph drag force wise is (80/60)^2 ~= 1.8 times worse.

Slowing down and just setting the cruise control to a slow speed so you don't forget and speed up can make a big difference when you are worrying about range.

 

[Zoidz]

To each his own, but I have been towing all sorts of trailers for 40+ years and have never towed at 80 mph, and I do have a heavy foot when not towing. Increased stopping distance, less maneuvariability in an unexpected situation, and the generally crappy build quality of trailer tires these days keeps me under 70 mph when towing.

I've been monitoring efficiency at various speeds (not towing) and it's painfully clear that it drops off fast above 70 mph. Towing would be even worse. 100% charge and 60 - 65 mph would have more than likely made the trip with margin.

 

[Goose]

and the generally crappy build quality of trailer tires these days keeps me under 70 mph when towing.

This right here is the primary reasoning for my previous post. The other items that Zoidz mentioned can be avoided with proper brakes, weight of tow vehicle, staying within towing recommendations, trailering skills, proper towing connections (WDH if needed), etc. BUT, there's no avoiding the shit quality of trailer tires. I only buy Goodyear Endurance, which are pretty much the highest user reviewed tires out there. I check my tires for damage and pressure before every highway tow and have still experienced blowouts, it's terrifying every time.

Lowering the speed will decrease the strain these tires experience. The added EV towing range is just a bonus.

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