Towing + Efficiency: Please post your experience!

[greyboundary]

Took my track day setup out a few weeks ago: Futura Super Sport with a Lotus, loaded about 4,500lb. The rock guards on these are known to be great at killing efficiency. I headed out without any preconditioning, cool-ish 50F temps and did 70mph up a stretch of highway to see the range listed.

I'm quite satisfied with that. It's more than enough to get to the tracks I frequent, and one even has TT30 + onsite L2. In warm weather I should have even more buffer. I usually carry a ton more weight in other equipment and fuel jugs but it's all just additional weight out of the aero path.

As everyone else has said, these things tow incredibly well. Past Silverado rentals would be downshifting and making noises up hills where this just effortlessly glides through. The integrated brake controller is an amazing feature, having previously dealt with add-on controllers.

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[Fraslin]

Missed this thread so created a new post, will add it here for reference


Tow Vehicle: R1s
Trailer: 2025 Pottery Barn Airstream
Base Weight: 6825 (from spec)
Tow hitch: Andersen

From Rivian:
Range at 100%: 167 miles
Tow Weight: 7000-7500 (from Rivian screen and gave both numbers at times)
Efficiency: 1.41
Miles towed: 225

This was our first tow with the new trailer as we previously had a Bambi 16' (which is for sale, DM me if interested ). This was from LA to Palm Springs and fairly easy except for some headwinds coming back as there always seems to be. Am pretty happy with the results and efficiency. Some used to towing with an ICE truck may not be but our first tow vehicle was a Tesla Model Y so anything over 100 miles is great! Wouldn't tow cross country this way but for a 500-600 mile trip this would be doable for sure.

 

[Webleyaz]

I've towed all kinds of crap on my flatbed from empty to a golf cart up to a 3500 lb 8x8x16 container. Dragged a hideout travel trailer once, too. All of this is through Donner pass but never really bad weather. The first thing I learned is never pass up an opportunity to charge. Never. Had to ditch the hideout and draft a semi to Truckee then return for the trailer. Towing that thing up the mountain from Auburn yields less than 1 mile/kwh. Actually, it was less than 1 mile per percent of charge. Never pass up an opportunity to charge.

 

[Kheires]

Took my track day setup out a few weeks ago: Futura Super Sport with a Lotus, loaded about 4,500lb. The rock guards on these are known to be great at killing efficiency. I headed out without any preconditioning, cool-ish 50F temps and did 70mph up a stretch of highway to see the range listed.

I'm quite satisfied with that. It's more than enough to get to the tracks I frequent, and one even has TT30 + onsite L2. In warm weather I should have even more buffer. I usually carry a ton more weight in other equipment and fuel jugs but it's all just additional weight out of the aero path.

As everyone else has said, these things tow incredibly well. Past Silverado rentals would be downshifting and making noises up hills where this just effortlessly glides through. The integrated brake controller is an amazing feature, having previously dealt with add-on controllers.

Team Rivian + Futura

 

[350Industrial]

My turn: 250 miles each way from IL/WI border to Black River Falls, WI (proclaimed ATV capital of the world) in the fall of 2024.

Temps: 60 degrees outside
Trailer + Load: 4,000 lbs
Roads: Mainly highway, 70 MPH
Avg Efficiency: 0.8-0.9 mi/kWh

Huge aero load with my setup for sure, but still surprised at how much lower my efficiency was than a lot of people here towing similar rigs with even more weight.

Pics or it didn't happen:

 

[greyboundary]

Team Rivian + Futura

Nice, our setups are very similar, I’m actually even picking up AT dark wheels shortly. I also have the tire rack but removed it because I haven’t been carrying extra wheels and figured I might just use the truck bed anyway. I’ll have to see how that works out with all the other junk I carry.

 

[JonL]

Team Rivian + Futura

What was your mi/kWh? My Trailex with tire rack is taller than your Futura with tire rack. On it will be a Cayman S. Now that track season is coming, I'm thinking about towing with my R1S MaxPack but the track is 250mi away and I have a mountain pass to climb. I don't think I'll get anywhere close to @greyboundary's 1.46 mi/kWh. Was hoping for 1.1 mi/kWh

 

[kevinhanff]

Another experience/data point. Towed a 6x12 U-Haul from Midland, MI in single-digit temps over two days to Pensacola, FL. Hit ice storm in northern Ohio - several vehicles observed crashed on I-75, but R1T shrugged it off as if it was just another sunny day. Had to stop at least 18 times to charge. Proudest accomplishment - never had to unhook U-Haul even once. (Bought Harbor Freight bottle jack just-in-case - no way could I lift trailer tongue once trailer was loaded).

 

[Kheires]

What was your mi/kWh? My Trailex with tire rack is taller than your Futura with tire rack. On it will be a Cayman S. Now that track season is coming, I'm thinking about towing with my R1S MaxPack but the track is 250mi away and I have a mountain pass to climb. I don't think I'll get anywhere close to @greyboundary's 1.46 mi/kWh. Was hoping for 1.1 mi/kWh

yeah 1.1 with a mountain pass might be pushing it. i get about 130-150 miles with the trailer and truck loaded (wheels on top, air damn in place) with my large pack in flat ohio. granted i'm usually going 70-75 mph. the air damn really ruins the efficiency. when i had it off. i got up to 1.4 or so i think.

 

[zefram47]

Took my track day setup out a few weeks ago: Futura Super Sport with a Lotus, loaded about 4,500lb. The rock guards on these are known to be great at killing efficiency. I headed out without any preconditioning, cool-ish 50F temps and did 70mph up a stretch of highway to see the range listed.

I'm quite satisfied with that. It's more than enough to get to the tracks I frequent, and one even has TT30 + onsite L2. In warm weather I should have even more buffer. I usually carry a ton more weight in other equipment and fuel jugs but it's all just additional weight out of the aero path.

As everyone else has said, these things tow incredibly well. Past Silverado rentals would be downshifting and making noises up hills where this just effortlessly glides through. The integrated brake controller is an amazing feature, having previously dealt with add-on controllers.

Nice! Evora 400/GT was high on my list when I finally settled on the Alfa 4C instead. Any issues with the Futura and mid-engine car getting good balance / tongue weight with the wheels on the trailer being so far forward? I'm in the market for a trailer this year.

Team Rivian + Futura

Same question as above...any issues with getting proper tongue weight with a mid-engine car?

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Towed my Alfa Romeo 4C to SCCA Solo Nationals back in Sept 2024 using a borrowed 20ft Sundowner. Efficiency was as high as 1.44 mi/kWh at about 60-65 mph, but quickly fell to 1.0-1.2 mi/kWh at 75 mph. It was 1000 miles roundtrip and I wound up at 1.2 mi/kWh average. Towed like a dream, but boy do we need more trailer-friendly charging stalls. I had to drop the trailer at several stops. Not a huge deal, but still a PITA when I was trying to do 500 miles in a day and needed a couple deeper charges due to lack of infrastructure out here. I'm soon to be shopping around for my own trailer and will likely try to do a shorter rock guard if I can...I think Aluma offers a 24" option.

 

[greyboundary]

Nice! Evora 400/GT was high on my list when I finally settled on the Alfa 4C instead. Any issues with the Futura and mid-engine car getting good balance / tongue weight with the wheels on the trailer being so far forward? I'm in the market for a trailer this year.



Same question as above...any issues with getting proper tongue weight with a mid-engine car?

--------------------------------------

Towed my Alfa Romeo 4C to SCCA Solo Nationals back in Sept 2024 using a borrowed 20ft Sundowner. Efficiency was as high as 1.44 mi/kWh at about 60-65 mph, but quickly fell to 1.0-1.2 mi/kWh at 75 mph. It was 1000 miles roundtrip and I wound up at 1.2 mi/kWh average. Towed like a dream, but boy do we need more trailer-friendly charging stalls. I had to drop the trailer at several stops. Not a huge deal, but still a PITA when I was trying to do 500 miles in a day and needed a couple deeper charges due to lack of infrastructure out here. I'm soon to be shopping around for my own trailer and will likely try to do a shorter rock guard if I can...I think Aluma offers a 24" option.

Pulling the car forward has been super stable for me on the Super Sport, but I know some people back them in.

Also the rock guard IMO is overkill; it’s taller than it really needs to be. I’m actually looking at making a custom one that’s half height, or at least whatever gets me to a few inches shorter than the bed height. If you look at flow lines for typical pickups, it’s diverting air down directly into the guard. If it could at least flow over it and flow around the car, it should be a good bit less drag. I was thinking about doing a test run without the guard entirely just to see what I can possibly gain.

 

[Anna Kelly]

I'm planning a long trip with my 2025 R1S (large pack battery) this summer/fall, so I am reading all of these posts with interest. I'll be towing a 16' Airstream Caravel, approximately 4500#. From other EV-RV owners, I've heard that:
1) aerodynamics are as much a factor, if not more, than tow weight. So speed and wind make a huge difference. I'd be curious to see what the efficiencies might be for some of you if you dropped your average speed from 70 - 75 mph to 60 (plus you get to enjoy the scenery more! ). So please include your average speed, and wind speed and direction when posting your results.
2) I live in Colorado and drive quite a bit in the mountains. Since the regenerative braking charges the battery on the way down a hill, it is actually more important to calculate the overall difference in elevation from the starting point to the end point. The power drain on the battery going uphill is, in large part, made up for by the regeneration of power on the way down. This is especially noticeable with towing a large load. The Rivian app seems to do a pretty good job of calculating that in. If you're towing over a large elevation change, can you please include that in your post information?
3) On the subject of elevation, electric motors don't lose any efficiency at higher elevation like ICE motors - yay! But there may be some decline in efficiency if you're required to heat the cabin at 10,000 ft! Please post average temperatures and whether you needed to heat or air condition the cabin quite a bit.

 

[scottf200]

I'm planning a long trip with my 2025 R1S (large pack battery) this summer/fall, so I am reading all of these posts with interest. I'll be towing a 16' Airstream Caravel, approximately 4500#. From other EV-RV owners, I've heard that:
1) aerodynamics are as much a factor, if not more, than tow weight. So speed and wind make a huge difference. I'd be curious to see what the efficiencies might be for some of you if you dropped your average speed from 70 - 75 mph to 60 (plus you get to enjoy the scenery more! ). So please include your average speed, and wind speed and direction when posting your results.
2) I live in Colorado and drive quite a bit in the mountains. Since the regenerative braking charges the battery on the way down a hill, it is actually more important to calculate the overall difference in elevation from the starting point to the end point. The power drain on the battery going uphill is, in large part, made up for by the regeneration of power on the way down. This is especially noticeable with towing a large load. The Rivian app seems to do a pretty good job of calculating that in. If you're towing over a large elevation change, can you please include that in your post information?
3) On the subject of elevation, electric motors don't lose any efficiency at higher elevation like ICE motors - yay! But there may be some decline in efficiency if you're required to heat the cabin at 10,000 ft! Please post average temperatures and whether you needed to heat or air condition the cabin quite a bit.

Based on previous post, it seems like you need to use ABRP with 1.2 (833) or 1.3 (769) if you are most optimistic.

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https://www.airstream.com/travel-trailers/caravel/floorplans/16rb/

 

[paco180]

About the same 1.2

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