Max Pack worth it for towing?

[rbrak29]

Is the R1T's Max Pack worth the additional cost? Will be towing a Basecamp 16X yearly down to Tucson and back from ND and twice to the west coast and back from ND. Have CT reservation, but need a topper. Will outfit the R1T with Flated topper (https://getflated.com) since I only need the topper during these long trips.

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[DuoRivians]

We haven’t seen a tow max pack v large pack comparison.

The reason this test would be different from previous highway driving tests is that when towing, both rear and front motors are engaged all the time.

As far as we can make an educated guess, the max pack comes with a more efficient rear motor (than in the large pack).

So presumably, when towing, the discrepancy in range between the two battery packs should be greater than the 20-30 miles seen in the highway non-towing range test comparison.

 

[zefram47]

Not a chance. It's only 14 kWh additional on a full charge, so at best you might be talking less than 20 miles of extra range while towing. Trying to do no more than 80% charges on the road that means around 13 miles. Pretty rare that an extra 13 miles would get you to a charger further down the road. And preliminary data show it doesn't charge any faster either. So glad I didn't wait for Max pack like I was originally...hoping that at some point in the future a true 180 kWh pack does come out. In the meantime, look at one of the Silverado EVs or the GMC equivalent...180-220 kWh and likely better efficiency than the R1T.

 

[DevonD]

Not a chance. It's only 14 kWh additional on a full charge, so at best you might be talking less than 20 miles of extra range while towing. Trying to do no more than 80% charges on the road that means around 13 miles. Pretty rare that an extra 13 miles would get you to a charger further down the road. And preliminary data show it doesn't charge any faster either. So glad I didn't wait for Max pack like I was originally...hoping that at some point in the future a true 180 kWh pack does come out. In the meantime, look at one of the Silverado EVs or the GMC equivalent...180-220 kWh and likely better efficiency than the R1T.

The difference being he can currently buy a large or max pack R1T. All GM/Chevy EV trucks have been delayed till at least 2025. Still haven’t delivered any to customers. And what makes you think they’ll have better efficiency? The frontal area will be much larger and weighing 9000lbs won’t help.

 

[CharonPDX]

Nope.

ND (assuming you mean North Dakota, per the Fargo in your profile,) is a wasteland of charging, as unfortunately are most North/South routes between Minnesota/Iowa and Idaho/Utah. Max Pack won't unlock any better routes than are possible with a Large pack. You'd just have extra buffer.

Fargo to Sioux City should be doable on I-29 on a Large Pack if you keep it slower than 70, then you can cut through Nebraska/Colorado or keep going to Texas.

A Better Route Planner says you'll spend 26 hours 23 minutes driving, 10 hours 33 minutes charging, assuming the Basecamp 16X has roughly equivalent efficiency to my T@B 400. (I've even seen some people claim better efficiency with the Basecamp than my T@B. And I was towing with the "worse case" - Quad motor, 20" wheels with AT tires. Just going for a dual-motor with the more efficient 21" wheels+road tires will give you more additional range over my truck than a Max Pack would over the Large+dual+21s.

Heck, in the latest Vehicle Studio, the *STANDARD* pack with dual motor has nearly the same listed range as the Large quad+offroad+20s!

 

[Dark-Fx]

Trying to do no more than 80% charges on the road that means around 13 miles.

I'm typically happy to run down to a particular miles remaining instead of a percentage. Increase in battery capacity is going to be closer to a direct increase in range for me. Realistically the effect is going to mean needing to charge less high into the pack, and hitting the same chargers, so it could save a decent chunk of time if I only need to go to 80% vs 90%.

That said, it's not enough for me to go through the hassle of having to trade in my current vehicle, but I would definitely be making the consideration on a new purchase.

 

[vandy1981]

As far as we can make an educated guess, the max pack comes with a more efficient rear motor (than in the large pack).

There's speculation that the rear motor inverter uses the more efficient silicon carbide MOSFET that they're using on the front motor.

If that's true, the added kWh and the new inverter made it worth the extra $7K I paid with price protection, but I'm not sure I would pay the $10K they're asking for now.

 

[BrentInCO]

As @Dark-Fx posted elsewhere today … https://rivian.com/support/article/what-is-the-usable-kwh-capacity-of-your-battery-packs

If efficiency is 1 mile / kWh while towing … 10 more miles.

 

[zefram47]

As @Dark-Fx posted elsewhere today … https://rivian.com/support/article/what-is-the-usable-kwh-capacity-of-your-battery-packs

If efficiency is 1 mile / kWh while towing … 10 more miles.

Interesting they're now claiming 131 kWh usable on the large pack. I've been using 128.5 kWh to run rough calculations since I think that's what maybe OoS managed to pull out of one after the update that opened the pack up a bit.

 

[sub]

Interesting they're now claiming 131 kWh usable on the large pack. I've been using 128.5 kWh to run rough calculations since I think that's what maybe OoS managed to pull out of one after the update that opened the pack up a bit.

The Rivian API reports that my battery capacity is 127
The "drive" screen reports my battery health as 97%

127/.97 = 130.9

So that math works out pretty good.

However, the question remains if anyone's vehicle has 100% battery health.

 

[hgpayne]

Sometimes the difference is just a few miles. I'd rather have the buffer. Apparently, because we did get the Max Pack. Preorder prices made it a $7k option for me. I still don't get the range I think I need towing but it will have to do. I'm glad I didn't get the large pack nor the quad. I'm happy with the more efficient dual motor. I do wish they would have slapped the 180 kwh battery in there though.

 

[kylealden]

As @Dark-Fx posted elsewhere today … https://rivian.com/support/article/what-is-the-usable-kwh-capacity-of-your-battery-packs

If efficiency is 1 mile / kWh while towing … 10 more miles.

I get more like 1.3-1.5 mi/kWh with a Basecamp 20X, for whatever that might be worth.

But yes, you're better off optimizing your tires. I'd save the money and get a dual-motor with AS tires.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

We have several thousand miles towing in our R1T and R1S. Quad motor vs Dual motor not that much difference in efficiency. The difference comes from the dual motor being able to disengage the rear motor above 20 mph instead of having to switch into a dedicated conserve mode like you do on the quad motor. So EPA numbers are higher because those tests are done in all purpose mode. Being able to get the increased efficiency without losing the 4WD capability is a big plus for the dual motor.

Towing efficiency on these trucks varies, but a travel trailer is the worst case scenario as its a big box on wheels. 1 to 1.2 mi per kwh is what we have experienced with towing. The max pack has 11 kwh of usable capacity over the large. That's 11-13 miles more towing range than the large pack at those efficiencies.

Large Usable: 131 kwh
Max Usable: 142 kwh

If its worth it or not will be subjective. The guy or gal who needs that extra 11 miles to keep from being stranded will tell you its worth it. Only you can decide.

 

[Epicloop]

Is the R1T's Max Pack worth the additional cost? Will be towing a Basecamp 16X yearly down to Tucson and back from ND and twice to the west coast and back from ND. Have CT reservation, but need a topper. Will outfit the R1T with Flated topper (https://getflated.com) since I only need the topper during these long trips.

Do you have the pre order pricing? Yes worth it.
Do you ever wish you had less range, especially towing? Yes worth it.
Why would you want the lower towing range of the CT?
Looks like your efficiency with the Basecamp is approximately 1.4m/kwh so an additional 15 miles (9%) with the MP (large +).

 

[Supratachophobia]

There's speculation that the rear motor inverter uses the more efficient silicon carbide MOSFET that they're using on the front motor.

If that's true, the added kWh and the new inverter made it worth the extra $7K I paid with price protection, but I'm not sure I would pay the $10K they're asking for now.

I wish they would confirm this once and for all.

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