Towing a car trailer - approximate range hit?

[mikehmb]

Warning: this is a stupid idea, but I find it amusing. Please skip if you don’t like bizarre thought experiments.

Anyone have experience towing a car trailer with a 3500lb vehicle on it? Specifically, R1T with 21” roads, keeping speeds sane (60mph-ish) and assuming flat with minimal headwinds. Approx range hit?

Backstory: We might be upgrading the i3 to a newer model with a larger battery (ours is a ‘15 and the battery is teeny). We found the ideal candidate in San Diego. But because even that larger battery is still small, it would be a bear to drive 500+ miles considering the stops (150 miles best case if we don’t go REx, 200 if we do, but prefer not to bleed it down to require REx, so more like 120 …). So I’m considering throwing it on a trailer … but then the range on the truck might drop to poop in which case, why not just drive the i3 in the first place. LOL - yes I understand how silly this is, but it’s a fun exercise and I’m looking for an excuse to do a road trip.

TL;DR - I have a stupid idea that makes no mathematical or financial sense, but am going to consider it anyway because Fun.

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[Donald Stanfield]

Range will be cut in half towing. Out of all the reports I've seen and what I have seen personally that's a pretty good rule of thumb.

 

[MoreTrout]

If you do it, try not to embarrass a Raptor too bad if you have to pass one on the way.

 

[Thedude]

Based on my experience towing you’ll be stopping the same amount as if you drive the i3 but dealing with a trailer as well. I’d opt to just drive the BMW back.

 

[COdogman]

I love making things hard for myself, but I would just drive the i3 back without question.

 

[Jack Smoke]

A lot f the range drop is from drag more than weight. You’ll probably do better than 50% of normal range on the way there, but the trip back will likely be half

 

[W1SE]

Warning: this is a stupid idea, but I find it amusing. Please skip if you don’t like bizarre thought experiments.

Anyone have experience towing a car trailer with a 3500lb vehicle on it? Specifically, R1T with 21” roads, keeping speeds sane (60mph-ish) and assuming flat with minimal headwinds. Approx range hit?

Backstory: We might be upgrading the i3 to a newer model with a larger battery (ours is a ‘15 and the battery is teeny). We found the ideal candidate in San Diego. But because even that larger battery is still small, it would be a bear to drive 500+ miles considering the stops (150 miles best case if we don’t go REx, 200 if we do, but prefer not to bleed it down to require REx, so more like 120 …). So I’m considering throwing it on a trailer … but then the range on the truck might drop to poop in which case, why not just drive the i3 in the first place. LOL - yes I understand how silly this is, but it’s a fun exercise and I’m looking for an excuse to do a road trip.

TL;DR - I have a stupid idea that makes no mathematical or financial sense, but am going to consider it anyway because Fun.

I have towed 2 vehicles with my truck. Once for 200 miles and once for 40 miles. With towing a vehicle that size you will experience a drop of about 35 percent. I went up over a small mountain pass with it also. Nice thing is the regen on the way back down.

I will say I find satisfaction in a crazy road trips with an EV. My son bought a Mini SE (95 mile range in winter) and drove it from Portland back to Salt Lake. So either way have fun with it. Make it an adventure. Let us know how it goes.

Note: this mini was not the SE
And I removed my racks for the longer trip for better aerodynamics

 

[kizamybute']

Warning: this is a stupid idea, but I find it amusing. Please skip if you don’t like bizarre thought experiments.

Anyone have experience towing a car trailer with a 3500lb vehicle on it? Specifically, R1T with 21” roads, keeping speeds sane (60mph-ish) and assuming flat with minimal headwinds. Approx range hit?

Backstory: We might be upgrading the i3 to a newer model with a larger battery (ours is a ‘15 and the battery is teeny). We found the ideal candidate in San Diego. But because even that larger battery is still small, it would be a bear to drive 500+ miles considering the stops (150 miles best case if we don’t go REx, 200 if we do, but prefer not to bleed it down to require REx, so more like 120 …). So I’m considering throwing it on a trailer … but then the range on the truck might drop to poop in which case, why not just drive the i3 in the first place. LOL - yes I understand how silly this is, but it’s a fun exercise and I’m looking for an excuse to do a road trip.

TL;DR - I have a stupid idea that makes no mathematical or financial sense, but am going to consider it anyway because Fun.

Not sure what the wild idea was???

Many say 50% is a good rule of thumb and it probably is a fair guide in many cases. Naturally, it depends on the weight and aero of what your towing. The i3 is so small, the roof will barely rise above the tailgate of the truck, so there might not be much of an aero hit. 3500 lbs at only 1/3rd of how much the truck can tow. My guess, you'd probably be around 1.3 to 1.4 mi/kw towing that thing. Although, you said you were going to tow it on a trailer right? So that's going to add another 1,500 lbs for you to lug around with you!

You want a wild idea.........??

Think about the RV trailer Airstream is building....... The all-electric one that can park itself and assist with propelling itself forward while being towed.

Using that idea, if towing the car with a tow bar instead and all 4 wheels on the ground, stick someone in the driver's seat to gently assist. Could eliminate any penalty to the Rivian. In all reality, could somewhat INCREASE the range of the Rivian by gently pushing it along.

Then, when you get to your charger, just charge both vehicles at once.

Being that the i3 only has 150 miles in range, it might run out sooner than the Rivian, but if that's the case, just have the driver leave the i3 on and tow charge it for short distances, by taking his / her foot off the accelerator to allow it to regen the battery. Tow charge adds range far faster than any charger. Might not be the best for the i3, but if you do it in short spurts, probably wouldn't hurt anything. Thus, rather than letting the battery run all the way down, maybe have it assist the Rivian for 5 miles, then tow it for 2.5 miles and repeat. Being that the range is half that of the Rivian, any 2 to 1 ratio would likely balance out the range. So could assist for 2 miles and tow for 1 mile.

Although, the BMW would be getting a good draft from the Rivian, so its range would probably increase above the 150 mile rating since it wouldn't have to punch its own hole through the air. And, only going 60 mph, the range of both probably go up since that's pretty slow. My Rivian, I get rated range at 70-75 MPH in good weather conditions.

I still want to try towing a Rivian, just to see how much of a range hit it is versus how much range/charge the Rivian being towed would gain.

Theoretically, if your range drops to 100 miles towing another Rivian, if it added 50 miles of range to the Rivian being towed, then you could increase your total range by 50%. The i3 would be good since its such a small car and won't have nearly the drag that a Rivian does. Just the regenerative braking on the Rivian will make the towing Rivian work quite hard. Would definitely need to put it in the low regen setting. The i3 should tow a lot easier.

I did the same thing with my Chevy Bolt years ago. But towed with a gas car. I couldn't believe how much range it gained in a short distance. It was 12 years ago, but I think it was something in the neighborhood of 1 kwh per 4 or 5 miles. With that thing, and only a 16 kwh battery, 65-80 miles would bring it full. And that was on the low regen setting. Took me 2 3/4 years of my 3 year lease to figure out that "low" on the gear shifter was technically just more regen, so I never used it. Was my first EV and we all still had a lot to learn about EV's at that time. GM didn't do a very good job at educating people. I remember though, just coming down the Grapevine on the 5 freeway, I'd always gain more than 1 kwh of charge back, just driving it (not towing it). That's what gave me the idea of towing it.

I guess the question is, why would you want to take the i3 with you when you already have the Rivian? Or, since you said you might just drive the i3 instead, why do you need the Rivian with you? Do you need two cars at your vacation spot?

Putting it with all 4 wheels on the ground would tuck it even lower behind the Rivian to probably eliminate all aero impact. If you decide to try it, would either tint the windows really dark or put up side window shades so nobody can see in!

 

[mikehmb]

I have towed 2 vehicles with my truck. Once for 200 miles and once for 40 miles. With towing a vehicle that size you will experience a drop of about 35 percent. I went up over a small mountain pass with it also. Nice thing is the regen on the way back down.

I will say I find satisfaction in a crazy road trips with an EV. My son bought a Mini SE (95 mile range in winter) and drove it from Portland back to Salt Lake. So either way have fun with it. Make it an adventure. Let us know how it goes.

Note: this mini was not the SE
And I removed my racks for the longer trip for better aerodynamics

This is super useful, thank you. I was thinking 35% would be about on target vs. 50 given size and aero.

 

[mikehmb]

Being that the i3 only has 150 miles in range, it might run out sooner than the Rivian, but if that's the case, just have the driver leave the i3 on and tow charge it for short distances, by taking his / her foot off the accelerator to allow it to regen the battery. Tow charge adds range far faster than any charger. Might not be the best for the i3, but if you do it in short spurts, probably wouldn't hurt anything. Thus, rather than letting the battery run all the way down, maybe have it assist the Rivian for 5 miles, then tow it for 2.5 miles and repeat. Being that the range is half that of the Rivian, any 2 to 1 ratio would likely balance out the range. So could assist for 2 miles and tow for 1 mile.

This is the kind of insane idea I was hoping for. I love this. Of course, I’m not sure I’ll actually try it, but it’s weird and dangerous and wonderful. Thanks!

 

[HA-Opec]

I have towed 2 vehicles with my truck. Once for 200 miles and once for 40 miles. With towing a vehicle that size you will experience a drop of about 35 percent. I went up over a small mountain pass with it also. Nice thing is the regen on the way back down.

I will say I find satisfaction in a crazy road trips with an EV. My son bought a Mini SE (95 mile range in winter) and drove it from Portland back to Salt Lake. So either way have fun with it. Make it an adventure. Let us know how it goes.

Note: this mini was not the SE
And I removed my racks for the longer trip for better aerodynamics

This!
I lost about 25% range, but was towing my MS to it new owner

 

[kylealden]

This!
I lost about 25% range, but was towing my MS to it new owner

A Model S is pretty close to the most aerodynamic load you can possibly tow - i3 will probably be a bit worse.

Honeslty I'm a little nuts so I'd probably tow it just for fun, especially if there are pull through chargers on your route. But the smart things to do is just drive the i3 with the range extender - you'll spend less time charging, no time fussing with trailers, and spend less on electrons.

 

[Blackhatch]

If you do it, try not to embarrass a Raptor too bad if you have to pass one on the way.

New one is quick. Better race him from a dig vs. roll.

 

[mindstormsguy]

About half the range is right.

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