Question about using cruise control while towing

[Bill Tolar]

1. Can I use ADAS on the R2 when towing
2. Agent said
   The R2 is designed with advanced driver assistance features, including Universal Hands-Free driving through Autonomy+. According to Rivian, you can use these hands-free features even when towing—so you’ll be able to enjoy assisted driving while pulling up to 4,400 lbs with the tow package.
   
   From the Rivian app.
   
   

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[mkhuffman]

1. Can I use ADAS on the R2 when towing
2. Agent said
   The R2 is designed with advanced driver assistance features, including Universal Hands-Free driving through Autonomy+. According to Rivian, you can use these hands-free features even when towing—so you’ll be able to enjoy assisted driving while pulling up to 4,400 lbs with the tow package.
   
   From the Rivian app.
   

Those pesky AI liars. I trust actual human beings who have driven an R1 and towed things with it.

One day there will be no more AI. Just imagine, if you can.

 

[VSG]

You're a dreamer.

 

[MoreTrout]

Rivian adaptive cruise does not have automatic following distance. I am not sure what that even means.

You change following distance by changing the drive mode setting to Mild, Medium or Spicy. There is no other way to change the following distance. Those settings also impact how the truck conducts automatic lane changes when in Autonomy+ mode.

Did that actually go away with gen 2? Because I absolutely can adjust the following distance with the right scrollwheel on my gen1 and use it all the time. (but not while towing)

 

[mkhuffman]

Did that actually go away with gen 2? Because I absolutely can adjust the following distance with the right scrollwheel on my gen1 and use it all the time. (but not while towing)

I was corrected - Gen1 behavior is different from Gen2.

 

[DeafPug]

The R2 Owner’s Guide was posted on the Rivian web site this morning. Instead of everyone guessing at the answer, read the manual.

 

[EVtowing]

The R2 Owner’s Guide was posted on the Rivian web site this morning. Instead of everyone guessing at the answer, read the manual.

Excellent, thank you.

Page 209 of the R2 manual (I can’t copy/paste from it) makes clear that only Manual Cruise Control (Rivian capitalizes it) is available when towing. It is initiated by pulling the right stalk towards you, and disengaged by pushing it away from you. All it does is maintain a set speed without regard to the speed limit or vehicles around it. So, old school.

Page 209 does not explain how to change the cruise control speed after engaging it.

Pages 248-249 explain Adaptive Cruise Control which is not available while towing. Engagement/disengagement is as I described above. Once engaged, you “adjust the set speed and minimum following distance” using the right haptic wheel or the “drive stalk large scroller”.

It is not explicitly stated how to change the minimum following distance, but moving the drive stalk small scroller up or down changes the Autonomy Drive Style so presumably that affects the following distance as @mkhuffman noted earlier in this thread.

I remain disappointed that Rivian does not enable Adaptive Cruise Control while towing. Maybe that will change someday….

 

[SwampNut]

I was corrected

By an AI even. Shame. Go stand in the corner.

Instead of everyone guessing at the answer, read the manual.

First day on the internet? This is not how it works.

I remain disappointed that Rivian does not enable Adaptive Cruise Control while towing.

Absolutely ridiculous. Long ago I towed with a Jeep which had GREAT adaptive behavior while towing.

My current solution to all of the crappy ADAS in the RIvian is a Comma 4. I've even towed off road, letting it drive...

 

[NinjaWrap]

My current solution to all of the crappy ADAS in the RIvian is a Comma 4. I've even towed off road, letting it drive...

Was just going to say Kyle showed this in Out of Spec Bits video

 

[SwampNut]

It's sad that we have to add a $1k little box with open-source self driving code written by some goofball who just decided to do so one day, on a $100k truck.

Anyway, like CarPlay, those are still good compromises for me, relative to the absolute JOKE that the other EV trucks are. But for an SUV? There are so many equally good SUV choices with better self driving (and CarPlay LOL). I have absolutely no idea why anyone would buy the R1S or R2.

 

[mkhuffman]

By an AI even. Shame. Go stand in the corner.

@VandalSibs is an AI bot? Say it isn't so!

 

[azbill]

As do the other vehicles with adaptive that I've driven. It's ridiculous not to.

GM does hands free towing, they only disable automatic lane changes. They also have a great trailer blind spot camera view, based on inputting the trailer dimensions into the towing app. It paints a big red box on the road where the trailer will be during a lane change.

 

[Jdcorbitt3]

Excellent, thank you.

Page 209 of the R2 manual (I can’t copy/paste from it) makes clear that only Manual Cruise Control (Rivian capitalizes it) is available when towing. It is initiated by pulling the right stalk towards you, and disengaged by pushing it away from you. All it does is maintain a set speed without regard to the speed limit or vehicles around it. So, old school.

Page 209 does not explain how to change the cruise control speed after engaging it.

Pages 248-249 explain Adaptive Cruise Control which is not available while towing. Engagement/disengagement is as I described above. Once engaged, you “adjust the set speed and minimum following distance” using the right haptic wheel or the “drive stalk large scroller”.

It is not explicitly stated how to change the minimum following distance, but moving the drive stalk small scroller up or down changes the Autonomy Drive Style so presumably that affects the following distance as @mkhuffman noted earlier in this thread.

I remain disappointed that Rivian does not enable Adaptive Cruise Control while towing. Maybe that will change someday….

Just to clarify. The scroll wheel on R1s now works just like Teslas did before Teslas lost control of speed with FSD. Scrolling up and down changes the speed. Slow scrolls in 1 mph increments, fast scrolls in 5 mph increments. Moving the scroll wheel left and right, effective changes following distance. It really changes drive mode between “Mild”, “Medium”, and ”Spicy”. So scrolling left and right also changes how aggressive lane changes are as well, like “Chill, normal and Mad Max”.
I towed a lot with my Model Y and tow a lot with my R1T. They both do very well towing. I would think as Rivian improves their software, we will get adaptive cruise while towing. Rivian does a good job figuring out the load you are towing.

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