Towing + Efficiency: Please post your experience!

[Thedude]

I tow my trailer twice a week between my work week spot and my weekend spot. It weighs about 7000lbs and the R1T pulls it better than any other vehicle I’ve used including a 2500HD diesel. The 11 mile drive is up hill one way and down on the return trip and my average is 1.15mi/kw.

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[emoore]

I tow my trailer twice a week between my work week spot and my weekend spot. It weighs about 7000lbs and the R1T pulls it better than any other vehicle I’ve used including a 2500HD diesel. The 11 mile drive is up hill one way and down on the return trip and my average is 1.15mi/kw.

Nice. What tires? Looks like the 20s for the wheels but the tires look different.

 

[Thedude]

Nice. What tires? Looks like the 20s for the wheels but the tires look different.

They’re just the normal Pirelli Scorpions.

 

[Skirotica]

I tow my trailer twice a week between my work week spot and my weekend spot. It weighs about 7000lbs and the R1T pulls it better than any other vehicle I’ve used including a 2500HD diesel. The 11 mile drive is up hill one way and down on the return trip and my average is 1.15mi/kw.

quick math says you got 1/2 range with a 7000lbs trailer. I think the EPA estimate is 65% for a 10,000 trailer. So you're not quite getting the right ratio. Does that have anything to do with your trailer or choice or you think the EPA estimate is just a fantasy? I"m hoping to tow a pop-up tent at about 3500 lbs (wet weight) and am really hoping to get closer to 1.3-1.4 m/kw. Am i living a fantasy?

 

[Thedude]

quick math says you got 1/2 range with a 7000lbs trailer. I think the EPA estimate is 65% for a 10,000 trailer. So you're not quite getting the right ratio. Does that have anything to do with your trailer or choice or you think the EPA estimate is just a fantasy? I"m hoping to tow a pop-up tent at about 3500 lbs (wet weight) and am really hoping to get closer to 1.3-1.4 m/kw. Am i living a fantasy?

My experience with ICE vehicles is that pop ups do much, much better for fuel economy due to the huge reduction in wind resistance. I’d imagine the same holds true for EVs as it’s simply a measure of energy required to move the trailer regardless of fuel source.

 

[Skirotica]

My experience with ICE vehicles is that pop ups do much, much better for fuel economy due to the huge reduction in wind resistance. I’d imagine the same holds true for EVs as it’s simply a measure of energy required to move the trailer regardless of fuel source.

I figure the same. But i haven't towed multiple trailers to compare.

 

[Thedude]

Does it count as increasing towing efficiency if I charge the truck using the towed trailer’s built in generator? Doing the math says a full propane tank would charge about 26kw charge over 18hrs.

 

[FNWY2004]

Mirroring what others have said, this truck pulls a trailer with zero issues except range. You can’t hear any struggle in the drive train and really wouldn’t know it was there without looking in the rear view or watching your battery percentage evaporate. Accelerating from a stop is effortless. Even driving into a headwind, there’s absolutely no struggle.

I just completed a 128 mile trip with my aluminum 30’+ yoke v nose car hauler loaded with 4 snowmobiles and gear est. 7,000lbs. I started with 100% charge and 50 degree weather at 180’ above sea level and climbed to around 600’. Speeds were between 25-75 with secondary roads and highways being about equal travel distance. I averaged just under 1kWh per mile. Stopped to charge at 88.7 miles with 23%/27 miles range left. Had an issue getting a supercharger to work so got stuck on a 50kW charger and made it back to 73% in an hour. That was enough to get me to my destination that was 38 miles further up through a 2000’ elevation and back down to around 580’. Dropped the trailer and took the 128 mile trip empty home. Long story short, looks like charging at 90-100 miles range with my setup is safe until the temps really drop.

 

[domoplaytime]

Does it count as increasing towing efficiency if I charge the truck using the towed trailer’s built in generator?

I like how some people are buying EVs for very different reasons than others. I just sold my much more efficient Tesla S, but I actually plan to take many more road trips with the R1T. My choices will make a lot more sense for the environment once I've got my solar + battery off grid setup complete.

 

[Jamuso]

First time towing our Rockville minilite (Approx 6500 lbs) Short trip, hilly but towed well. Never went faster than 45. Haven’t towed before so just getting my feet wet!

 

[RoadTripFan]

Have owned multiple EVs over the last four years (started out with the Audi e-tron hatchback 'suv' then to the fast back, followed by RS-GT and finally a Tesla model S plaid) - have been very much looking forward to my R1T as I wanted the space and utility of a real truck and also intend to return to camping after a two decade hiatus.
This thread and others like it are SUPER helpful in hearing what real life feels like with towing! Please keep it up and help someone who is essentially new to this learn faster!

 

[Goose]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum and I don't have a R1T yet (I haven't even placed an order). I have a question regarding towing efficiency with the R1T as that is pretty much my biggest hesitation right now, well apart from the price.

I live in Raleigh, NC and will need to tow a 3000lb boat/trailer to Carolina Beach (151 miles from my house to the in-laws beach house). There's only 1 CCS fast charger on I-40 heading that way at a BBQ restaurant and it's pretty much always in use according to plug share. Do those of you with your trucks think it's possible for me to make that trip on a single charge with the A/T tires (I like to drive on the beach and will be taking the truck on camping, hunting, and fishing trips so I need the A/T tires)? My boat (Egret Moccasin 210) is a really light bay boat on a single axle trailer, low-profile trailer. It should be pretty slippery when being towed based on the shape.

 

[Thedude]

It would be close. It’s more streamlined than a trailer but it still adds a significant amount of wind resistance and drag to the truck. Towing boats of that size/weight with gas trucks usually results in about a 35% decrease in efficiency in my experience.

 

[Goose]

It would be close. It’s more streamlined than a trailer but it still adds a significant amount of wind resistance and drag to the truck. Towing boats of that size/weight with gas trucks usually results in about a 35% decrease in efficiency in my experience.

Yeah, that's about my experience as well. Do you think the % reduction in efficiency will translate from my 4Runner to the R1T? I don't have my new boat yet (still waiting on an Outboard, supply chains are wonky) but would the range reduction be about the same? Would be a decent way to test without having access to an R1T.

 

[Redmond Chad]

Aside from aero interactions with the back of the truck, towing a boat with drag x on a set course of distance y should take a fixed amount of energy regardless of the tow vehicle.

Unfortunately that fixed amount of energy will be a higher percentage of the energy used to propel a more efficient truck than a less efficient one. Sorry.

I'm in the same "boat" - which is why I'm waiting until 2024 (sigh) for the Max Pack.

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