I Thought Towing 5,000 Lbs. in the Rivian R1S Would KILL Its Range - Here's How It *Actually* Did! 

Check out the Gen-Y hitch we use here: ( genyhitch.com )

I don't think anyone towing long distances will use this as their sole vehicle. But people with toys, like boats and such, have multiple vehicles anyway. Personally, I could use it as an around town vehicle since I need the seats, and reserve my Expedition for towing. My neighbor has an R1T. It's a great first product and a good addition to the space. I hope Rivian can scale up and get the costs down. We need more manufacturing in the U.S.

Enjoying the Rivian content, great work Andre

Interesting results. Using my R1T I did some testing here in Los Angeles: about a 28-mile loop, mostly flat, keeping to 5mph over posted (so 70 on fwy without towing and 60 with a trailer) Trip 1 was unloaded and I got about 2.1mi/kwh - on the 20 offroad wheels. Trip 2 was towing an 1800-lb construction light tower, low profile so not much impact on wind resistance. This loop only saw about a 5% reduction in energy usage. Trip 3 was towing an 1100-lb road work flashing arrow sign, a mostly open frame trailer so again not much impact to wind resistance. I also loaded 600-lbs of traffic cones standing upright in the bed with the tonneau cover open. This trip saw about a 12% reduction over Trip 1. These tests indicate to me the same thing I see when cruising on the freeway, higher speeds equal greater wind resistance and that is the bigger factor on range reduction than just the base weight loading.

That’s actually pretty amazing towing range. Tech is getting better and better every day

Great review as always Andre!! $100k for any Vehicle these days is unimaginable! Hope one day these inflated prices cools down to a more affordable range

Great video! I think the next evolution of EV towing is having the trailers assist in vehicle traction and even adding battery capacity. This goes along with the braking that trailers do already. This would help greatly in moving the weight across the vehicle and trailer so all the load isn't on the vehicle. I know AirStream has a concept of this already but would be industry wide addition to trailers in general.

Love what you guys do!

Often overlooked with these tests is factoring the impact on range is more about the drag coefficient than the weight of both the tow vehicle and what is being towed.

Thank you for the good review, Andre :)

Nice work mate

I really like the Rivian trucks and SUVs. They're good looking, seem to be put together well, and once they get the quality control down, I see this being a really nice vehicle!

I think 100 miles of towing range is about real world for these trucks (and most EVs in general) anything more and you might be in trouble. After 100 miles you better be getting close to a fast charger. Having said that 100 miles is still a good distance if you are just running things around town/maybe short hops into the country. We ran a dual axle car trailer yesterday to pick up some lumber and total trip was under 50 miles. Now if you were doing that a few times a day..well you better plan on taking an hour lunch to charge.

Air Compressor Noise - The loud noise is not a characteristic of the R1S, it's an issue that needs to be fixed on this specific demo unit. My R1S does not have loud air compressor noise like that, and other R1S owners have said the same thing.

The trailed load mostly was in the ‘shadow’ of the R1S, so it was not quite the large parachute the other trailers used.

I’d love to have that trailer brake wheel be usable for regen braking power. One pedal FTW

How long will it take to manually activate the trailer brake in an emergency? I heard "activate this, scroll that, activate the brake" vs my current one that's "squeeze this bar"...

I've towed my race car with various towing rigs, and the best after EcoDiesel was the Durango R/T, which was a few MPG better than RAM 1500 or Ford F150 trucks with similar engines or power. It'd be amazing if you could compare towing consumption of R1T vs R1S in same conditions, and I bet the aero help of an SUV would make a significant difference.

Total capacity is 135, but usable is around 125 according to other people that have tested both the T and S.

175 miles is great! That trailer is almost like towing my boat. Now if you guys could do the same trailer setup and same video with the F150 lightning please? Another calculation I made is milage between 10% and 80%. About 123 miles. Still not to bad knowing its a 15 to 20 minute charge at a good fast charger?

Did anyone see the 22 nissan frontier pro4x towing a box truck on a 20ft trailer yesterday through Georgia on the interstate. I passed him several times id stop to eat bathroom gas. I must admit I was impressed with the frontier but scared at the same time for everyone driving around him on the interstate. The truck was crushed by the tongue weight.

Perhaps with more frequent stop and go the weight might make more difference. But the largest factor with EV efficiency on the highway is speed as it relates to aerodynamic drag. Adding drag is bad and adding more drag is worse, but the major factor is speed. The energy fighting the air is related to the cube of the speed. This is why drag makes more difference at 70mph than it does at 50mph.

Not certain you accounted for changes in altitude?? Overall, a good first review on towing. I still think I would go for the R1T or Ford Lightning unless 7 seats is essential. However, for long distance towing, the charging time difference between gas and EV and present availability of charging in remote areas still makes “gas/diesel” a better and typically less expensive option.

Good to see tumbleweed ranch in the video. Miss the taming tumbleweed series

Funny how people say it isn't a real truck/suv if it's front-wheel drive. But the Rivian is front-wheel drive in conserve mode. Which proves that any vehicle is a "real" truck/suv if it's badass enough when it needs to be. Nobody mentions that the Rivian isn't a real truck because it can off-road better than any other. Towing.... it's got some work to do. But I'd propose that it's a better tower than a gas truck over short distances for sure. The power and stability while towing is insane.

Thanks! Excellent…

Id like to see a comparison of different trailer shapes of the same weight, ie a box/flat with some cinder blocks vs a v-front vs big travel trailer to see how much of the loss is due to frontal area.

The Ford Frunk has a lower lift over point. Much better for safety. Also, as someone not 6 ft tall, I think Rivian is missing an opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Absolutely love what Rivian has done here.

Wait, was the unladen run going up in elevation and the towing run coming back down? That might explain part of the result.

I love my Rivian! Saved forever and it's the best vehicle I've owned.

I think this being an SUV made the drag caused by the trailer a lot less. The trailer is in more of a slip stream setup. And not being a giant camp trailer helps a lot too.

15% of the battery for only 26 miles. That’s crazy. I have an electric car but will not consider giving up my gas truck for towing. The range is just not there until batteries have faaaar more energy density.

Great review!

What is the name of the altimeter APP that Andre uses?

_Like I can’t not speed I’m sorry._ Things you don’t say to a traffic cop.😂

Great job Andre 👏👏 you too Alex, the camera ninja .......lol... Have a beautiful day Everyone ✌️

13:02 “Third row” is a marketing term more than anything else.

What is the name of the GPS app

Without watching the video first, I expect range will be reduced but not as bad as it would be with a box trailer or travel trailer as the wind resistance of the side by side is significantly less. Seeing the results I was quite surprised how much of a difference there was when towing what should have been a pretty easy load. Not far off double the energy for the same route. Still not as bad as a box type trailer but still pretty bad. Like I said with the Lightning, towing a flatbed to Home Depot for plywood or fencing would be fine. However trying to tow a camper and travel significant distance becomes problematic. Not just because your range is impacted significantly but also because most charging stations would be difficult to get to with a trailer on. It would take a 3 hour journey and make it a 5 to 7 hour journey. I think the answer for towing for a truck bed would be to have an additional battery pack that could be purchased or rented, would sit in the bed and triple your range. Without something like that it is too big of a compromise for a lot of people.

you always give great info. but not sold on the rivinan or any E V

My boss got the R1T truck a month ago and it's dead because of an error with the air suspension. Rivian says they can't work on it until May!

I love these American made and founded high end manufacturing and auto makers. Lookin good 🇺🇸

The Rivian R1T has a 125-kilowatt-hour-net battery pack, meaning only 125-kilowat-hour of its 135 kWh gross battery density is available

What's going on under the right leg of the R at 7:55?

175 miles and 4 hours to charge. At that rate from Reno to Olympia WA will only take me 2 days

Do the mirrors fold in when you lock it? ;) *ahem Roman test*

yes, without an aerodynamic component, any towing is gonna be much easier. i got 1mpg less on my Ram classic towing 5k lbs in a very similar scenario. so you can assume a boat or jet skis would be similar.

The return trip was downhill by 2000 ft of elevation benefitting from massive regen. Doesn't seem like a fair comparison unless done on a completely flat grade. Am I missing something? Granted the drive there was uphill, but unladen.

The sweetest mod would be the ability to add a generator on the trailer and charge the sub while driving. Turn it into a more useful hybrid.

Rivian needs to improve the sound performance of the air compressor , it’s too loins and needs a larger reservoir tank.

active 4 wheel steering and crabwalk could come to r1t and r1s

I have a Volvo xc90 with air suspension. The air compressor in the rivian is obnoxiously loud. I want one of these r1s real bad, but no way I’ll buy one until Rivian does something about the compressor noise

the justification for the rear hitch cover doesn’t make sense. When the hitch is hidden behind the cover the cover shouldn’t improve anything about your departure angle, maybe aerodynamics but being at the back it shouldn't affect it much if at all. Just seems like its only justification is looks and at that point why not advertise it can tow?

So why didn't you load it up like the f150 lighting to check the towing range. Are you trying to make it look better.

rivian R1S .. like the. short wheelbase over th R1T ute just wish there was a more lower price basic base model 2 row , is more of a adventure model , prices on resale market $129-$149 k. for the rich kids

Pricing is why it is so discouraging when thinking that an electric vehicle would be great to have. I like an all wheel or four wheel drive vehicle, in an SUV package. My current vehicle (2021 model) is that, with an internal combustion engine. My vehicle is almost as nicely equipped as that Rivian and cost close to $55,000.00 dollars less. Even if I had bought a fully equipped model of my vehicle I would have saved over $40,000.00! In fact, any electric vehicle that is comparable in class to mine cost about $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 more. And for where I live, and electric vehicle would probably be the best vehicle to have. But I can’t! Not at those prices.

$100k with a $100 Harbor Freight air compressor in the back. Nice.

Really waiting for an electic vehicle that can legit tow. Atleast a 100 miles

Good technical analysis, but a nearly 50% reduction in range w/5k trailer IS terrible. Go diesel and your range will be reduced by half of that; less than 25% loss of range from my real life experience.

So you are protecting a class 3 steel hitch with a piece of plastic? I'm confused.

26.2 miles is also a marathon

Do you have to fiddle with gadgets every time you hop in before go? I’m driving 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Hemi with 285,000 miles I just hop in start up, put seat belt on and off I go daily!!!!

In a roll over crash that glass roof will be great.

I’d like to know the affect of basic heat or air conditioning on an electric vehicle…

That's not accurate, you're avg driving speed was like 35mph, bring it up to 65 as in like avg hwy driving, which is what most people will be towing on and see where the energy consumption level, would be a more "real world" simulation.

Who’s only going 55 mph on the freeway? Had you went a more realistic speed like 65-75, it would further cut range significantly. Plus how many fast chargers currently exist in rural areas-ie where you’re most likely to tow things like ATVs, campers, boats, snowmobiles, etc? And even if there were, it’s still a pain to sit there waiting and waiting vs a quick fill up. EVs are here to stay and they certainly have advantages and serve a purpose-but legitimate towing is NOT one of them.

Now do that with a gas vehicle, maybe the new cheap Ram. Does it take a 40% efficiency hit?

My claustrophobic ass wouldn’t stay in that 3rd row🤣

They'll sell every one they build. And only a few will ever see any dirt. Great vehicle, but it was a greater vehicle at 80K.

The value proposition is just not there.....Why are the EV manufacturers continuing to focus on luxury & gadgetry... The American success recipe for car sales is a minivan, why not use that same formula for EV... Cloth seats, Big, Comfy, Goes long distance, < $50k

Loud air compressor, sounds like a soon to be broken air compressor. Other cars use this technology why is this one loud.

First to comment! Love the videos guys!

about 40k too rich for my blood, very nice though

For that amount of cash get sla ranger or colorado loaded and use the 50k plus left over for gas and maintenance

Beautiful EV truck. But at $100,000 and us slowing becoming a two class nation. It will be purchased by the ultra rich 😂

If it cost 30 grand I’d consider buying one but most likely would get something gas powered. Ev’s won’t be able to tow how some of us need in our lifetime and it’s clear

11kw to go 25 miles is quite poor to be honest.

Too rich for my blood....I'll keep towing my boat with my 1992 GMC.

make you fell like a trucker . LOL

It's 7000 pounds!?!?! Sheesh I can't wait for EV batteries to become lighter

It isn't range because gas or electric will consume more energy to tow weight. It is about refill/fill up times. 10 minutes to top off the tank vs 2 to 3 hours of charge tine.

🤣 Since when does TFL test towing at 65% of rated load? Looks like you had to wussify your tests to make it look acceptable.

These electric vehicles are only for rich people

I just want to tow not worry about only driving a 100 miles when I can get over 500 miles in my diesel these electric cars are a JOKE for the common man. If you live in the city and only do home owner projects and only drive 20 to 50 miles to your local home owner improvement store then drive the yuppie electric truck and leave the guys alone that drive real trucks and not these plastic toys with with questionable build quality.

FJB

Not worth what they are asking

Well done video but...the truck costs $100,000! What more do you need to know? Who the Heck is dumb enough to pay $100,000 for a truck?

You don’t want to speed. Because everyone else speeds is no excuse!😂😂 I would hear that crap all the time when I wrote tickets. Going with the flow doesn’t get you out of it. People fight the tickets by going to court and when the officer shows up the judge will ask the actual speed, as often tickets are written down, and almost always ups the ticket to the true speed. Peoples want for the law to be fair so the Judge makes it fair!!😂😂😂 If you are speeding, be honest and accept that you are speeding. If you are going to deliberately break the law, suck it up, be an adult, and live with the penalties. They are there for a reason.

The 3rd row isn't very pet friendly for large dogs. There's really no way for a 80+ pound dog to get themselves back there.

Buy a Tahoe and years of fuel for that price 😁

Unproven reliability and durability with questionable build quality. No thank you, I aint selling my Land Cruiser for no Rivian!

Great video Great review, $100,000 on something that has not been proven?? Absolutely no way. Then take in consideration of the time it takes to charge it back up. They've been experimenting with electric vehicles for over a hundred years & they were a failure then & in my opinion they'll be a failure now. As soon as we get the reign out of office that we have in now. Even a gas golf cart is better than a electric one.

thanks guys , you just keep proving how useless electric vehicles are , keep telling me how great it is but none of you own one .... ha ha ha

Overpriced questionable quality, and will catch fire if flooded no thanks.

evs are so ugly they are not for me I will take a big V8