Tow Test - Rivian R1T & nuCamp TAB 320 S Boondock Teardrop Trailer

[Lil'O Annie]

We have a Tab 320S Boondock we've been towing with our Macan. The R1T should be showing up soon, so I can hopefully report back some additional real-world experience!

May I ask, how liveable the Tab 320S for you? How tall are you. Is it too cramped inside? Everything working well in the Tab? We are 5'8" and 5"11" and I could just stand up straight in the kitchen area. Would you recommend the Tab? Thanks!!

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[Indy avocado]

May I ask, how liveable the Tab 320S for you? How tall are you. Is it too cramped inside? Everything working well in the Tab? We are 5'8" and 5"11" and I could just stand up straight in the kitchen area. Would you recommend the Tab? Thanks!!

I'm basically 6' and the bathroom stinks to use. The kitchen/sink is slightly annoying, but usable. My wife finds no height related issues.

We probably should have gone with the CS model with the outside kitchen, as we like to spend as little time in the camper as possible.

A lot of people complain about lack of storage, which I can kind of understand, but has never been an issue for us - we can pack a week worth of clothes in a couple of duffle bags. The little storage there is inside is tough to get to, and awkwardly shaped. The kitchen cabinets, however, do hold a lot.

Towing is super easy, and we can get in and out of almost any spot due to the small size. It's very quiet inside and reasonably well built (especially compared to other campers these days). The ALDE hot water/heat system is pleasant to use but a little bit of a maintenance headache. The Boondock package is of dubious value to me - if I was buying new id really just want the axle and DIY the solar and battery to something a little more appropriate for actual boondocking. I also assume the tires and extra height has a measurable economy/rangehit.

We are generally pretty happy with it, I don't think the teardrop shape works as well on this size of camper as it does on the smaller ones - I think the shape of the Basecamp is more aappropriate, but the bed is noticably smaller.

 

[crashmtb]

OR EVEN BIGGER...
https://bowlus.com/volterra/

My parents have a bowlus “terra firma”.
Absolutely terrible company to deal with once the cheque clears. Support does not match the price at all. build quality is alright, but doesn’t quite match the price. Their service model is absurd. At the $300k asking price , one might expect them to send out a technician for warranty work. Nope. All service must be done at their factory in Oxnard, CA.
fortunately they use commonly available parts(mostly marine instead of RV grade), and provide decent documentation…with the caveat that it’s all on a Dropbox folder which they control.

a whole lot of coin for a design airstream abandoned in the 30s.

 

[Indy avocado]

So, we've had the truck for a week today, and got out for a little winter camping trip overnight.

Other than a little slop in the hitch making some bouncing over big bumps, it's easy to forget there's anything back there.

Lack of radar cruise while towing is VERY annoying to me.

Range estimate is hilariously broken in tow mode. It's bouncing between 200 and 650 miles remaining at like 50% state of charge.

Getting about 1.35mi/kWh in mixed driving, 65-70 on the highway, 55-60 on county roads... It's a little underwhelming, but that's why we originally ordered a Max pack.

 

[Lil'O Annie]

So, we've had the truck for a week today, and got out for a little winter camping trip overnight.

Other than a little slop in the hitch making some bouncing over big bumps, it's easy to forget there's anything back there.

Lack of radar cruise while towing is VERY annoying to me.

Range estimate is hilariously broken in tow mode. It's bouncing between 200 and 650 miles remaining at like 50% state of charge.

Getting about 1.35mi/kWh in mixed driving, 65-70 on the highway, 55-60 on county roads... It's a little underwhelming, but that's why we originally ordered a Max pack.

What do you think of the Tab?? How long have you had the Tab and what model year is it? Thanks!!

 

[Indy avocado]

I put the majority of my thoughts in a previous reply.

It's a 2021 model we both 2nd hand. We've had it about 9 months and have done about 11 trips and probably 3500mi.

My complaints are mostly the very predictable - when the bed is made, there's really only space for 1 person to stand. To have a useful interior space, you need to switch between bed and dinette which is easy enough except you have to move all your bedding, and trying to get bedding into the limited storage space is a challenge. The best move is to just roll it all up and use it as a backrest.

There's a very active NuCamp/T@B community that will help with literally anything you would come across.
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/

We chose the T@B because we wanted something under 3000lbs, relatively aerodynamic, with a toilet, with A/C, and not a pop-up. There's a few others out there, but they aren't as well built, attractive, or aerodynamic - that said, I think the shape of the 320 is not particularly aerodynamic at speeds above 55mph - the back drops off too fast.

What do you think of the Tab?? How long have you had the Tab and what model year is it? Thanks!!

I'm basically 6' and the bathroom stinks to use. The kitchen/sink is slightly annoying, but usable. My wife finds no height related issues.

We probably should have gone with the CS model with the outside kitchen, as we like to spend as little time in the camper as possible.

A lot of people complain about lack of storage, which I can kind of understand, but has never been an issue for us - we can pack a week worth of clothes in a couple of duffle bags. The little storage there is inside is tough to get to, and awkwardly shaped. The kitchen cabinets, however, do hold a lot.

Towing is super easy, and we can get in and out of almost any spot due to the small size. It's very quiet inside and reasonably well built (especially compared to other campers these days). The ALDE hot water/heat system is pleasant to use but a little bit of a maintenance headache. The Boondock package is of dubious value to me - if I was buying new id really just want the axle and DIY the solar and battery to something a little more appropriate for actual boondocking. I also assume the tires and extra height has a measurable economy/rangehit.

We are generally pretty happy with it, I don't think the teardrop shape works as well on this size of camper as it does on the smaller ones - I think the shape of the Basecamp is more aappropriate, but the bed is noticably smaller.

 

[Runs_4_beer]

WE plan to tow our Airstream with our R1T when we get it. Our Airstream is a 25FB that weighs in at 7,200#. We are hoping to get 120 miles on a charge. A range like that can work for our camping style. We take long Airstream trips but rarely cover more than 200 miles in a day.

We hope to take Factory Delivery of our R1T in Normal. We plan to pull the Airstream to Normal with the Silverado. We already have a campground staked out about ten miles from the Factory. We will take delivery of our R1T and spend a week or so trying it out touring central Illinois. We will then hook the Airstream to the R1T. SuEllyn will Tow the Airstream back to Florida. I will follow her in the Silverado.

Brian

We have a 25FB and tows great. I don't think you will have any trouble getting 120 miles. We were getting around 1.1 mile/kwh on the two local trips we made. It's getting better but finding places to charge without having to unhitch is going to be the challenge.

 

[Yossarian]

As mentioned in a previous posting, we have a 320S BD that we planned to tow with our new R1T Max whenever it is that it finally gets delivered. The info from folks who are already towing T@B's with their Rivian is very helpful and much appreciated. Unfortunately, it is also a bit discouraging, as is also the latest from Rivian on the status of the Max battery pack.

The hope was the impact on range when towing something as light and somewhat aerodynamic as the T@B 320 would be in the 30 - 35% range, roughly similar to what we experienced towing it with our ICE vehicles. Based on the real world experience of those who've posted in this thread, the reality is that the penalty seems to usually be closer to 50%, and sometimes greater. While Rivian has always said that towing would halve your range, that was generally with much larger, heavier and bulkier loads than the T@B.

If the efficiency towing the T@B with an R1T is in the 1.35 mi/kWh, that would mean needing to charge at about 80 miles on average on long trips (assuming 80/20 SOC parameters). Is that truly what folks are experiencing?

While the Max Pack would extend things to about 105 miles, that still means stopping every two hours. That will make for long days to do the kind of camping we planned on (retired this year, so trips to more remote parts of North America were on the cards). It would also make it tough to transit some of the parts of the US & Canada that have poor charging infrastructure.

Adding to the anxiety is the recent Rivian decision communicated to QM R1T Max reservation holders that production of the model has been put off indefinitely. Rivian says that they now plan to make a dual motor R1T Max that may start delivering late next year. To their credit, Rivian has offered long-term Max reservation holders a small discount on this new R1T Max and delivery prioritization. The DM R1T Max will use new in-house motors, perhaps in conjunction with a newly configured battery pack however. That gives me considerable pause: I really don't want to be a beta-tester for a new model. Rivian tells me that must make the decision to opt for the new Max or a refund early in 2023.

There is one other option however, and that is to change to the R1S. That means remaining limited to the Large battery pack, but I'm wondering if the efficiency with the SUV may be slightly better. My thinking is that the airflow over the longer R1S roof will serve to effectively decrease the frontal area of the T@B, leading to slightly better range than is the case with the R1T.

Decision time soon . . .

 

[Thedude]

If you plan to tow long distance often then you’re best off not buying a Rivian. The technology just isn’t here yet to make it a viable option.

 

[Tahoe Man]

If you plan to tow long distance often then you’re best off not buying a Rivian. The technology just isn’t here yet to make it a viable option.

Agree, if you watch the All EV Family on Youtube they have nothing but issues but they try and downplay and gloss over the issues.
Bottom line, if you want to tow and roadtrip just get a hybrid gas or all all gas.

 

[Thedude]

Agree, if you watch the All EV Family on Youtube they have nothing but issues but they try and downplay and gloss over the issues.
Bottom line, if you want to tow and roadtrip just get a hybrid gas or all all gas.

Yep. I tow my 7000lb trailer every week and it does great but I’m only going 20 miles each trip.

 

[emoore]

If you plan to tow long distance often then you’re best off not buying a Rivian. The technology just isn’t here yet to make it a viable option.

Seems like some people are making it viable for them. Just because it isn’t for you doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else.

 

[Thedude]

Seems like some people are making it viable for them. Just because it isn’t for you doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else.

There’s really no way around the fact that it is a severe limitation to long distance towing. Sure it can be done but not quickly or efficiently.

 

[Tahoe Man]

There’s really no way around the fact that it is a severe limitation to long distance towing. Sure it can be done but not quickly or efficiently.

When we were considering a Rivian this was a major major issue was the time. Also my wife and I watched some Youtube vidoes to see if it was even viable in practice. We watched All Electric Family and noted they were trying to tow a Airstream. Things we had to consider was that not only is the range severely reduced (even more with bad weather), but you'll have to disconnect the trailer for every charge. Then off course half the chargers don't even work. Then you'll need to do this every 100 miles or so. Then you'll have to wait at least an hour at every charge and that is if everything goes smooth and that's not even counting disconnecting and reconnecting. All this and the stress with the real possibility of getting stranded. And of course most of the charges are located in parking lots, making navigating with a trailer difficult at best.

So technically you can tow with an electric truck, but there is no way I would want to go through all of this. I'm not sure how this gets resolved in the future. Even if you double the capacity of the battery, charging times are even more ridiculous.

 

[Thedude]

@Tahoe Man I think higher capacity/density battery packs, consistent reliable charging infrastructure and reliable 350kw charging rates would make towing pretty doable.

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