We just completed our second 3800 mile multi-month trip towing our 28’ Airstream (8000 lbs) with our Performance Dual Motor Max Pack R1T. CO, NM, MS, LA, TX, AZ, CA, OR, WA, UT. Certainly some areas (LA, MS) are lagging in infrastructure, but a bit of planning makes it work. We do one, maybe two fast charging stops during a days drive (easy time for a cup and a snack) and recharge overnight in campgrounds. EA has been very satisfactory for us, only one failure thus far. I enjoy the conversations at charging stops. People who think towing with a EV is impractical simply lack experience with a suitable EV.
I pick up my 22’ Bambi tomorrow! I have a 2023 R1S quad large pack. I can’t WAIT to get in the road. I have an adapter for Tesla SC network. Do you have any tips for drive modes or anything that would help helpful while towing, other than getting behind a big truck and drafting? 🤣
When I had my TT, I too kept it at Ramblin Pines; also, the VW ID4s with the SK batteries can charge at 198 kwh, so when I'm below 20% SOC, if a 350 charger is available, I use it.
Thanks for the stats while towing. We have a trailer that's very similar but a bit smaller so it's good to see what to expect when we get our R1S next year!
That's awesome! Congrats on the R1S reservation! Rivian has a big software update coming this month with a lot of great towing improvements! We plan to release a video on that in the coming weeks once we have a chance to test it on the trucks.
Thank you. Yes, but now we have access to the Tesla superchargers so this trip should be much better. No more 3 hour charging sessions due to a super slow charger. Plus more options on that route as well.
Last I spoke to Rivian they said they aimed to have all adapters shipped by July. That's obviously not happening. Only the earliest reservation holders have received official adapters at this point. They are at Tesla's mercy for adapter supply. With that said, I do have links for discounts on both the A2Z unit as well as the Lectron.
Yeah 500 kwh would be awesome. The Silverado EV has about 215 kwh which equates to about 225 mi towing range from 100 to 0 and it has an 800v battery which is needed for such large battery packs (faster charging). Only downside is the charge port location in most cases will require unhitching the trailer unless you can find a pull through charger. Nice thing about rivian is the charge port location is right on the front.
@@ElectrifiedOutdoors That is the reason 500kw is the number because if you need to charge 20% to 100% on a 500kw battery it will take several hours so 500kW will give you chance of reaching your destination w/o having to charge or if you go farther , it will give you a good day of towing then you charge overnight and can continue the next day.... But for that the price of the battery needs to fall to 10% what it is today...
Agree. took a recent road trip from Mt Airy, MD to Boston, MA and drove it through PA. A route not previously feasible in a non-Tesla EV. I used Tesla superchargers exclusively and it was very painless.
Had a little sway coming down but that's because my ball was too high causing the trailer to pitch up. I made some adjustments in hilton head. Put my hitch in the drop position and lowered the ball all the way down. Drove much much better on the way back and on our recent tow to Urbanna, VA.
As someone who takes several long road trips a year 2,000ish miles per trip, unfortunately an EV is not an option. I love the Rivian's (R1T & R1S) but, 3-4 charging stops compared to 1 fuel stop, that's a huge con. Once fast charging can cut down 10% to 100% in under 30 mins, its a regretful no for me.
Yeah, EVs aren't too bad for towing shorter range but if your taking really long trips its not practical at all. For towing, larger and faster charging battery tech is needed to make it practical in the future.
Of course one can do a long road trip in an EV. I’ve done two 3800 mi trips towing our 28’ Airstream with our R1T. A bit of planning, a bit of patience, and a whole lot of fun and satisfaction. It’s actually very practical.
@josephdonnaway5755 whats the year and weight of your airstream currently renovating a 1973 airstream 28 foot and considering the r1t for my truck option. Not planning to tow all the time this is a tiny home that will make a trip or two a year.
I am curious if you know the total cost of your energy for the trip. I am an EV owner and I understand that the cost may be more than the cost of fuel for an ICE, but that is the sacrifice we make in order to enjoy the much lower running costs when we are not on a road trip and towing. One mile per kWh on the Tesla super chargers would be an average cost of about $.37 / mile in that area of the country (as a guesstimate).
Great question. I did the calculations at the time and it was comparable. Perhaps slightly less than a gasoline truck that got 8-10 mpg. Two of the charges were done at a campground on level 2 overnight charging so that helped. It's a combination of high energy use and much higher public charging costs. I had an EA pass plus membership so I was paying $0.36 per kwh. It costs me about $0.13 per kwh to charge at home.
@@ElectrifiedOutdoors About once per year, I make a roadtrip from upstate NY (Lake George area) to Myrtle Beach for a family visit. At night, my home electricity in NY is anywhere from $.035 to $.07 per kWh, so when I make the trip if just feels like I'm being raked over the coals. LOL. This year's visit was a total of 1825 miles of driving and a total cost of $141.01 with about 65kWh that was provided by my family in Myrtle Beach. Total energy used was 533kWh which would have cost only ~$32 at home. I didn't track the gasoline prices in the areas I drove through, but I assume that my costs were similar to gas or cheaper. It's been a few years now, but I remember filling up at gas stations for $35-40 each stop (way back in 2020). I think you did a great job of tracking the analytics during your trip. Does Rivian have any third parties like TeslaFi or Tessie, which collect the data from the car constantly to create reports and graphs for you?
Sounds like a cool trip and thank you. Yes public charging is on par with gas currently...if gets gets more expensive it becomes cheaper. There isn't much savings for folks if they have to reply 100% on public charging. Yes, the development of TeslaFi have a product in Beta call ElectraFi which support Rivian. Last I checked it was free for 60 days. It's still a work in progress but good to see. I would really like to see something like Tesla mate. Ported for the Rivian that would allow self-hosting of the data and I really liked the graphs in TeslaMate too.
I just found the spreadsheet for the charging costs for this trip! Here they are! The campground charging was free and is not included in the costs. TOTALS 1025.6 $383.26 KWH Consumed Charging Cost
@@ElectrifiedOutdoors Thanks for the great info. That's so close to my guesstimate that it's scary. $.374 per kWh. So, it's very similar to gasoline costs for the same trip. That's not bad at all, when it's the most expensive energy that you buy all year, and all other times are generally much cheaper. The only thing you loose is a little bit of your time.
