Friscorays
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Bummer about March 1, 2022.
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I think EVs aren’t the best choice for long-haul towing, at this time. But for local use I think they’re as good, if not better — even for towing. 11k lbs is double (or more) than the Tacoma/Ridgeline that it’s physically competing with. Looking at the contractors who use those trucks (mainly the Tacoma) I think the R1T would actually make a great EV alternative.Even ignoring the construction bent, his more general point that long range, frequent towing is hard in an EV is fair. EVs are not going to be good for daily long range drives or daily towing at any distance. The charging infrastructure and charging speed would quickly become frustrating.
Totally agree with all your points. I'd be quite disappointed if I showed up to this event and the guide seemed to know so little about some basic information (ie, wading depth).To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.
All good points here and from mact (except for maybe the urban cowboy crack- guess he’s never seen the F series garage queens in Texas or the south)…and to be fair to Rivian they can’t and shouldn’t be populating these events with their engineers. Kyle and the other youtubers often get phone and email access to the engineers at Ford and some others for technical questions. That’s probably how it should have been handled, or maybe send mact to a presser instead of the ressie holder event?To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.
- Didn't know charging standards
- Didn't know wading depth so unanswered question
- Didn't know stats on battery shield supporting truck's weight
- 'I don't know' about temperature effect on range
I realize not everyone is an EV nerd but some of that stuff I'd have thought should have been known by someone answering questions at an event like this.
The towing thing is still a big question. I totally get where Rivian is coming from with the conservative 50% estimate but it'd be nice to finally get some real world data, different size/shape/weight trailers, etc. Yes it's definitely not a work truck or marketed as such, and will never replace a super duty diesel towing machine, but I'd like to think the picture is a little better depending on what's being towed (or maybe I'm just hopeful). I did do some playing with ABRP and inflated Wh/mi numbers and my usual trips are longer but they're also generally a once/twice a year kind of thing, so might just have to be framed properly.
Now, talking about it as a construction vehicle work truck, or replacing something towing a huge RV is just off the mark, but think some of that could have been avoided if the guide had steered him in the right direction.
I think this is the real takeaway. Whether they like it or not, Rivian are first to market and therefore they are competing against everything else that already exists. They need to have a good message for that. So far, I found that message lacking. Those of us that are on these boards get it. The people I talk to you in real life, who have never heard of Rivian before, they make the same assumptions that were present in this review.…and there’s fair assessment the R1T but it once again reveals the amazing category footprint these trucks occupy. Depending on the perception of the reviewer Rivian is competing with all the other EVs and ICE pickups, SUVs, sprinters, sport sedans, etc…
So to be fair, he skipped the booth that had all the charging info and went to the compass yellow display. If he had questions about charging he should have gone to the charging booth.To be fair the guide or whoever was showing him the truck wasn't doing him a lot of favors either.
- Didn't know charging standards
- Didn't know wading depth so unanswered question
- Didn't know stats on battery shield supporting truck's weight
- 'I don't know' about temperature effect on range
I realize not everyone is an EV nerd but some of that stuff I'd have thought should have been known by someone answering questions at an event like this.
No different than asking a salesperson at a dealership a questionThe event was definitely geared towards a normal customer. As someone who reads this forum multiple times a day, they had no more information than I had. Think of the staff as the CS chat folks who just relate what is already publicly available.