Towing + Efficiency: Please post your experience!

[Redmond Chad]

Thanks for posting about your A2124. Hubby and I are looking to purchase. Currently, the soonest delivery would be March 2025 (2026 model). Look forward to hearing more about your adventures.

[EDIT: minor number updates to reflect a new trip on June 7 2024]

We have now taken 6 trips towing the Safari Condo A2124 totaling over 950 miles. Generally cruise is set at 60mph on freeways, though typically a lot of backroads are involved too. We don't take it when temperatures are near freezing, and so far they've rarely just topped 70 degrees when towing.

We have a solid 1.5 mi/kWh average; the car claims a 196 mile range while towing. The range shown while towing has been surprisingly accurate. It's just too bad we can only see those numbers while the trailer is hooked up - it would be nice to be able to do some planning beforehand.

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[Epicloop]

We have now taken 5 trips towing the Safari Condo A2124 totaling over 800 miles. Generally cruise is set at 60mph on freeways, though typically a lot of backroads are involved too. We don't take it when temperatures are near freezing, and so far I don't think they've topped 70 degrees when towing either.

We have a solid 1.5 mi/kWh average; the car claims a 194 mile range while towing.

It would probably get another .1-.2m/kwh if it had rounded edges.
I've seen reports of rounded edge flat front cargo trailers being more efficient than square edged V-nose cargo trailers.

 

[VandalSibs]

It would probably get another .1-.2m/kwh if it had rounded edges.
I've seen reports of rounded edge flat front cargo trailers being more efficient than square edged V-nose cargo trailers.

I was looking at the Safari Condo line a few years ago, and one thing about them compared to trailers of similar size is that they are quite a bit lighter, looking at dry weight. Yeah, aero is a bigger factor, but being light does help for sure. For example, my16 foot inTech Sol Dawn (a more aero dynamic trailer) is 2,700lbs dry, while the closest sized Safari Condo trailer (the F1743) is 1,800lbs dry. That's got to be a factor for sure...

Reason we went with our inTech was just plain availability. The Safari Condo line is a good three-year waiting list if you are buying new...

 

[VSG]

It would probably get another .1-.2m/kwh if it had rounded edges.
I've seen reports of rounded edge flat front cargo trailers being more efficient than square edged V-nose cargo trailers.

I frankly don't know of any travel trailer company who has put as much effort into aerodynamics as Safari Condo did with the A2124.

So what you're saying is that you know better than the design team that did aerodynamic modeling and testing on that trailer to make it as aerodynamic as possible (within constraints)?

It's already 47% more aerodynamic than an other trailer its size - what make you think a simpleminded change like "rounded edges" would be better or make a significant difference here?

Equating this design with a "V-nose cargo trailer" is just wrong and misses all the things they did to reduce the drag on this trailer.

 

[Epicloop]

For example, my16 foot inTech Sol Dawn (a more aero dynamic trailer) is 2,700lbs dry, while the closest sized Safari Condo trailer (the F1743) is 1,800lbs dry. That's got to be a factor for sure...

Yes the reduced weight will certainly make a difference especially under acceleration & with climbing efficiency.
It is however well documented that aerodynamics is more important than weight when it comes to efficiency.

I frankly don't know of any travel trailer company who has put as much effort into aerodynamics as Safari Condo did with the A2124.

So what you're saying is that you know better than the design team that did aerodynamic modeling and testing on that trailer to make it as aerodynamic as possible (within constraints)?

It's already 47% more aerodynamic than an other trailer its size - what make you think a simpleminded change like "rounded edges" would be better or make a significant difference here?

Equating this design with a "V-nose cargo trailer" is just wrong and misses all the things they did to reduce the drag on this trailer.

Airstream, Lightship, Pebble, Bowlus, Earhbound, Evergreen Element to name a few.
Yes they have a creative design & its great what they have accomplished with what is essentially a reverse V-nose trailer. I would like to see a cargo trailer of the same design. I am however willing to bet with certainty that the same shape with say a rounded fibreglass unit would have less aerodynamic drag.
Look at the CT vs R1T which one has a lower Cd?
There are no sharp leading edges as a drop of water falls to the ground.
Nothing simpleminded about it just the facts.

 

[MoreTrout]

When a belt broke on my riding mower at my camp, I had already decided that I wasn't putting another dime into it, even though it was an easy fix. And I was getting even more agitated pushing my 20 in Kobalt mower back and forth on my close to 1 acre at home for 3 hours twice a week. So I finally pulled the trigger and bought an Ego zero turn for both locations. I knew this also meant getting a trailer to haul it the ~185-200 miles back and forth a couple of trips a month. I had the extra charging stops mapped out along a couple of route options. But boy was I pleasantly surprised at the efficiency on the maiden voyage. I did charge on the way and didn't pay close attention to the exact number, but could have made the trip up without charging and made it somewhere in the mid to high 20% range. Coming back was even better. Starting with 100% I made the 185 mile trip home without a stop and still had 32%. I had suspected I could probably make it without stopping, but never expected to see over 2 mi/kWh. It's about 60/40 highway to single lane roads, but other than about a 25 mile stretch of 65 mph the highways are all 55 mph.

 

[neva6]

TLDR: With 21ft 2850lb popup camper, ABRP settings 1.8mi/kwh and 3500lbs 'extra weight', planning was accurate and reliable to use. Rivian estimated 216mi at 100% with 21" road wheels and 1.7mi/kwh after 350miles towing.
---------------

First real towing trip done and dusted with our R1S and Rockwood Popup. Here are some numbers to help others! I used ABRP and with reference consumption set at 1.8m/kwh and added 3500lbs to vehicle weight. With this setting, ABRP NAILED the range estimates along the way (like dead on % or within 1%). The Rivian estimate with trailer was quite accurate as well. Gave me 216mi at 100%.

Trailer weight dry is 2850lbs so I assumed about 3500 to be extra conservative.
Our route was about 2hours going south thru Denver to Colorado Springs, and then ~1hour west up into the mountains. I ABRP had us charging in south denver at 65%->85% but I decided to skip once I realized how accurate the estimate was as I drove past the charger right at 65%. In CO springs I tried to charge at a "180w" charger at a car dealer but was thwarted by one that was out of service and another only gave me 87kw. This was frustrating and my NACS adapter can't come soon enough.

I charged back up to 75% and we arrived at our campsite at 47% which again, ABRP estimated exactly, even with the elevation change. We left the campsite 2 days later at 43% and drove to south denver to charge. Again, ABRP had us within 1% arrival (10%). Quickly charged at a public spot at 140kw up to 33%. The estimate home seemed a bit aggressive so I added a few more minutes charging. I was right and we needed a bit more than the estimate from my phone (4% off), but when I rechecked ABRP's estimate on my computer once I got home, it was accurate. Not sure why the discrepancy there...

Anyway, I would easily trust ABRP now with these settings and towing with the R1S is a dream! Cheers

 

[AbhorViolence]

I was looking at the Safari Condo line a few years ago, and one thing about them compared to trailers of similar size is that they are quite a bit lighter, looking at dry weight. Yeah, aero is a bigger factor, but being light does help for sure. For example, my16 foot inTech Sol Dawn (a more aero dynamic trailer) is 2,700lbs dry, while the closest sized Safari Condo trailer (the F1743) is 1,800lbs dry. That's got to be a factor for sure...

Reason we went with our inTech was just plain availability. The Safari Condo line is a good three-year waiting list if you are buying new...

I have the slightly larger 19' Sol Horizon, around 3300lb dry. I haven't towed with it yet. I'm excited to see what efficiency you get with yours, and to compare that with what I end up getting. Do you have any data?

 

[VandalSibs]

I have the slightly larger 19' Sol Horizon, around 3300lb dry. I haven't towed with it yet. I'm excited to see what efficiency you get with yours, and to compare that with what I end up getting. Do you have any data?

I started a thread detailing my travels with it and my R1T a little while ago:

R1T towing an inTech Sol Dawn

I also towed it for a year with a Model Y.

This reminded me that I need to update that thread with the camping trip I took two week ago...

 

[Epicloop]

When a belt broke on my riding mower at my camp, I had already decided that I wasn't putting another dime into it, even though it was an easy fix. And I was getting even more agitated pushing my 20 in Kobalt mower back and forth on my close to 1 acre at home for 3 hours twice a week. So I finally pulled the trigger and bought an Ego zero turn for both locations. I knew this also meant getting a trailer to haul it the ~185-200 miles back and forth a couple of trips a month. I had the extra charging stops mapped out along a couple of route options. But boy was I pleasantly surprised at the efficiency on the maiden voyage. I did charge on the way and didn't pay close attention to the exact number, but could have made the trip up without charging and made it somewhere in the mid to high 20% range. Coming back was even better. Starting with 100% I made the 185 mile trip home without a stop and still had 32%. I had suspected I could probably make it without stopping, but never expected to see over 2 mi/kWh. It's about 60/40 highway to single lane roads, but other than about a 25 mile stretch of 65 mph the highways are all 55 mph.

I am surprised at your efficiency, I had heard that those grated tailgate ramps kill efficiency.

 

[Riviot]

A lot of data points here. What's the consensus on the most efficient type/size of camper? Trail Manor seems to be a great compact low aero profile, but Airstreams are literally streamlined. Pop-ups are low too but I want a hard-sided option with shower and a blackwater tank

 

[Marchin_MTB]

A lot of data points here. What's the consensus on the most efficient type/size of camper? Trail Manor seems to be a great compact low aero profile, but Airstreams are literally streamlined. Pop-ups are low too but I want a hard-sided option with shower and a blackwater tank

How much the camper protrudes beyond the frontal cross section of the tow vehicle seems to be the big driver for efficiency. The trail manor sees over 1.6mi/kwh because it doesn’t protrude vertically. The HCT gets over 1.6 mi/kwh because it doesn’t protrude horizontally and is also not very tall. Both have black tanks but the HCT is small. If that bothers you, or if you are over 6’ tall, HCT (or similar small fiberglass trailer) probably isn’t your choice. While the airstreams are streamlined, so are a lot of fiberglass trailers. The airstreams do have a larger cross section and I suspect their Cd x A product is higher than the examples above. That’s just my take.

 

[HyperionMark]

We have a teardrop but it is also the biggest teardrop you can get. Most of the efficiencies of teardrops go out the window when it's so big.

 

[JeremyP]

We got our R1S max pack 2 weeks ago and took our trailer camping last weekend so I got to experience how nice it is to tow with the Rivian. Our trailer is 7' wide, 22' long and around 5000lbs. It was about 90 miles each way and 2500' of elevation gain on the way there. I went mostly 60 on the way there and got 1mpk, and 70 on the way home and got 1.2mpk because of the elevation loss. I was able to gain enough charge from the tt30 plug at our site using an adapter to make it home without stopping to charge which was great.

 

[DeafPug]

First off, it's great having friends and neighbors that share and help you out.

I had a 45' willow tree get snapped off in some high wind about two weeks ago. Luckily, it just fell into an apple tree instead of on the garage or onto the power lines that feed the neighborhood. Nextdoor neighbor just had back surgery, so couldn't help with the cleanup, but directed me to another neighbor that had a tandem axle dump trailer. I had never met the neighbor, but he happily let me borrow the trailer once the weather was good for that. Called a friend to help cut the tree up on Sunday morning. Used the EGO chainsaw and made relatively quick work of the willow tree making my friend reconsider the need to mix oil/gas for chainsaws. Since I had the dump trailer already and it was only filled to the rails, we also took out a 25' pine tree that was dying from a beetle infestation.

Took everything to the local landfill today and got asked by the folks in weigh station there all the normal questions about the Rivian: "who makes it?" "how far does it go?" "how long to charge it?" etc...

Landfill Arrival weight: 14,060 pounds
Departure weight: 12,000 pounds
Empty trailer weight: approximately 4,500 pounds
Rivian estimate of loaded trailer weight: 6,500 pounds

Efficiency towing the trailer for the 30 miles to/from the landfill was 1.30 mi/kWh. With my AT tires, I normally get something like 1.95 mi/kWh. Route to the landfill was at 30-40 mph on the side roads and returned home on the highway at 65 mph.

As others have said, couldn't even really tell that the trailer was back there other than the lower efficiency.

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