Rivian Towing Log

[ScottnAZ]

Towing with a Rivian R1T from Chandler, AZ to Encinitas, CA (383 miles). Memorial weekend, low 90’s temp on route.

The Rivian is a joy to drive and towing is no different. The truck is smooth, quiet, and has plenty of power. No high-revving engine to listen to going up hills. I could have raced up the mountains, but would have suffered the mileage consequences.

Cliffs-notes summary:
* 5.5 hour drive in gas vehicle without trailer
* 6.25 hour drive in Rivian without trailer
* 12 hour drive in Rivian towing 23’ Airstream (6000 lb trailer + 500 lbs in bed of truck + 350 lb passengers and another 300-350 lbs of misc stuff in the frunk & gear tunnel = ~7200 lbs). Empty water tanks because we were headed to a full hookup site in CA.



I have the Quad motor R1T which specs 11,000 lbs towing capacity when using a weight distribution hitch or 5000 lbs without. We’re using a Pro Pride 3. We will have to un-hitch the trailer each time to charge. That in itself will add some time to the trip.

I’m a native of the Phoenix, AZ area, with family in CA, so I’ve likely made the drive to San Diego (or Los Angeles) areas 250+ times in my lifetime. I know the routes well.

We’ve towed the trailer, with the Rivian, to Sedona several times, but this is our 1st ‘long trip’ with this combo. To Sedona, we can make it without having to stop for charging along the route, so there’s no real data to collect there.

So on to the San Diego Adventure……

Start off with 100% charge at home ($9), hookup the trailer, set it to towing mode, and we’ve got 150 miles of assumed range. (Btw, how great is it the screen shows an Airstream!!)





I mapped the route on A Better Route Planner, and it is suggesting stops in Dateland, AZ (127 miles from home), and then a stop in El Centro, CA (130 miles from Dateland).



I also mapped the route using the Rivian navigation, and it is suggesting stops in Yuma, AZ (183 miles from home), and El Cajon, CA (155 miles from Yuma). Well Houston……. we have a problem. Not sure how we will cover 183 miles with 150 miles of range, but we set out following Rivian’s navigation. I figured we try for Yuma, and we have the Dateland charger along the route as a safety net of sorts.



Off we went, traveling along Highway 8 at an average speed of 65-70 mph (posted speed is 75 most of the way). Because we’ve towed up to Sedona several times, I know not to push it through the mountains and typically just sit behind a semi going 50-55 or so up the hills. Throw on the hazards and just get comfortable for awhile.

As we cruised along it became obvious the Rivian navigation was incorrect and there’d be no way to make it to Yuma, so we had to divert to our safety stop in Dateland (as originally suggested by ABRP). The truck made it appear like we’d make it to Yuma with 15 miles to spare; cutting it way to close for my liking.



When we were 10 miles or so from Dateland, I deleted the route in the Rivian navigation, and re-input the details of the route and this time Rivian said we wouldn’t make it to Yuma, so we diverted.



We arrived in Dateland with 72 miles of range left, or 36 if towing. For reference, the two cities are 72 miles apart. We had to unhitch the trailer, then began the charging adventure.



Electrify America charger #1 was occupied, charger #2 was open, charger #3 was occupied. We tried charger #4….. no-go. It wouldn’t connect in the app, or manually. So we moved over to #2, which started up nicely and was giving us a great charge, so in we went to the little store to hit the restroom. We came back out after 5-10 minutes and the charger had stopped working. Unplug and try again. Going again, but at a very slow speed so I called EA. They of course said it was a problem with the truck, so I called Rivian support, and they of course said it was a problem with the charger……. 🤷*♂️ By this time, charger #1 was freed up, so I moved to it. It was giving a decent (not great) charge, so we let it continue.



There are 4 charging spots in Dateland for basically every electric vehicle that’s not a Tesla. Across the lot, however, there was a beautiful covered parking area and 40 open Tesla chargers. (Not available to anyone but Tesla at this point). Dateland charging ($14.90). Not sure why this one was so cheap.



We charged to 86% in Dateland, and the Rivian said we’d make it to El Centro with 75 miles to spare, so I felt okay. This was a mistake on my part, and I realized it about 30 miles after we had left to continue the journey. Remember, Dateland to El Centro is 130 miles and the trucks range is approx. 150 miles when towing, and I didn’t charge to 100%. So, I kept the speed around 60 mph. We would be passing chargers in Yuma, and the truck claimed we’d still make it to El Centro. Couple that with the fact 2 people charging in Dateland said they were planning to stop in Yuma, and another Rivian passed us and headed up the exit to the charger in Yuma, so we figured those chargers would be a busy mess and continued on to El Centro. It was a slow and stressful leg of the trip.

Both Lorrie and I couldn’t take our eyes off the screens as the mileage range went down, and our expected ‘reserve’ was dwindling at a fast pace. About 15 miles from El Centro the truck starting flashing messages to “charge immediately”, but also said we had 40 miles of range left, then 35, then 30. Very confusing. We were 3 miles from the exit for the chargers, and the truck claimed 20 miles of range left, so I decided to jump off the highway and take side streets at a much slower speed. We trecked through neighborhoods in El Centro at 20 mph for the final few miles to the charger. We made it with 17 miles of range left. Which I’m speculating was actually 8.5 miles towing range. Whatever, we made it, and we were both an anxious mess as we unhitched and plugged the truck in.



Electrify America chargers again. The first charger we plugged in wouldn’t connect to the vehicle, so after 3-4 attempts I decided to move to a different one. This one connected nicely and charging began.

I jumped on Apple Maps to find something to eat around us, and found a burger & beer joint around the corner. A cold beer was exactly what we needed to calm our nerves.



After this experience, we decided we needed to charge as close to 100% as possible each time, so we sat around for 1.5 hours to charge to 97%. Which according to ABRP would safely get us to our destination in Encinitas, CA with 15% left. Charging was complete, so we hooked back up and got back on the road. El Centro charging ($45.72).



We hadn’t picked up groceries for the trip yet, because we figured we’d be charging near a grocery store or at a Walmart along the route. As we went through the mountain ranges of Jacumba, we decided to not push our luck and looked up an EA charger bank in El Cajon at a Walmart. We got there after long, un-hitched, plugged in, and went in for groceries. El Cajon charging ($28.08)



After 12 hours on the road, we pulled in to the campground at 9:30 pm, found our spot and got setup for our 4 nights at this location. Exhausted, I didn’t take a picture of how much range we had left at arrival, but we spent the next 2 days exploring Encinitas and drove down to San Diego and back to see our graduating niece. I charged on the 50 amp circuit overnight at the campsite on our 3rd night (we’ll say free since I’m paying for the site anyway).

Tomorrow we’re leaving Encinitas and towing down to San Diego for 4 nights. (GPS says 18 miles, but 45 minutes…., typical California). After visiting with my sister in Carlsbad this evening, the truck is sitting with 210 miles of range (105 towing). Plenty to make the 18 mile trip down to San Diego in the morning, but I think I’ll add a little juice overnight, just because once we get setup in SD we’ll be out and about to graduation parties for our niece, and I don’t want to have to stress trying to squeeze in a charge.

For the journey back home, I’m thinking we’ll make several shorter charging stops instead of sitting for long stops.

EV charging is most efficient up to about 75% charged, then begins slowing down. So I’d like to see if it’s a faster trip if we stop more times to charge and plan to stop every 75-80 miles or so and charge to 70-75% instead of sitting around to charge up to 100% and hope for 130-140 miles of travel.

Charging up to 75% should take less than 30 minutes vs 1.5 hours to obtain 100%. Doing 4 stops @ 30 minutes should, key word should, add 2 hours of charging to the trip instead of the 6 hours added with our journey out. Add on a little time for hitching, and I’m hopeful we can make it home in 8.5 hours.

I’ll let y’all know how things go on the way home after the holiday.

[propchef]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

[Troutboy]

Thanks for sharing, interested in your overall view of the experience and whether the charging and stress it seems it can create is worth the upsides..

[rideair]

I'm glad it's folks like you paving the way for the holdouts like me. I take my hat off to yeah for doing something which made the trip twice as long, having to hitch, un-hitch a couple of times, nerves needing a beer, etc.. But, this is real world and the only way to truly learn how well the EV's will do when it comes to towing. I complain with using my daughters F-250 SD with the 29 gallon fuel tank about having to stop all the time. Though I'm not saying it was the best tow rig ever made, it makes me feel good about my 2000 Excursion 7.3 diesel with a 44 gallon tank and about 450 miles of range (towing) between fill-ups. I personally like to get a minimum of about 250 miles down the road before having to stop and stretch (and you know)

I wish you nothing but the best of luck and enjoyment on your trip with a new towing process, look forward to reading about the rest of your trip. "Charge Often, Charge Early".

Good Luck,

[Wayne&Sam]

Good report. From what I've been reading more frequent, shorter charging stops is the way to go.

Expecting our R1S in August or September!

[Hans627]

Thanks for a honest real world experience!

[idoco]

Good info. Few comments (we've towed at least 25k miles electric).

ABRP is pretty good if you can give it provide it with accurate "baseline" consumption numbers for your tow combo.

Speed kills range. Especially over 55mph. When towing I rarely go over 62mph unless it's a really short leg of the trip.

We try to pull into chargers with no less that 15% SOC. Partly for emergency reserve. Partly for charging speed (see below).

We try to start off the day with a full tank (100% SOC). Once on the road try to stay between 15%-80% SOC when charging. It takes more time to charge that last 20% than it does the 65% in the middle.

Try to use real time energy consumption when you can. Instead of driving by speed, drive by consumption.

For example...if you have a 100 mile leg and 50 kWh "in the tank", drive at whatever speed would give you an average energy consumption of 500wH/mile (two miles per kWh). We usually use the average of last 5-15 miles of driving for the energy consumption. Depending on terrain and weather this may be slower than the speed limit, at the speed limit, or even faster than the speed limit.

[moosetags]

Wow, Scott, That is one of the best trip logs I have ever seen. Thank you for taking the trouble to do this. I know that's a lot of extra work. Thank you so much for doing this. Having our own R1T, this is of particular interest.

I did notice that your R1T payload is 1527#. Ours shows 1711#. I guessing that yours has the off-road underbody shield, accounting for the difference.

We are considering venturing out with the Rivian tow vehicle pulling Lucy. Our plan is not quite as daring as yours. We are considering going over to Mobile (150 miles) for a few days, an on to Biloxi (75 more miles) for a few days.

Brian

[ScottnAZ]

I didn’t have it in me to make another long post last night, but here is the report from our journey home.

Time to head home: San Diego to Chandler (356 miles)

Unfortunately, we did not have a 50 amp outlet on the campsite pedestal during this leg of the trip; so we juiced up a little last night. I didn’t want to leave the truck sitting overnight @ 100%, so I charged the batteries to 88%. For the trip home, my goal is to charge more frequently, and hopefully only up to 75%-80%. I’m also planning to map each segment of the trip on A Better Route Planner as we go. On our way out for the trip, it was apparent ABRP proved to be closer to reality as compared to the Rivian navigation system. Again, I’m planning 60-65 mph on flats and 50-55 through mountings/hills.

All loaded up, and ready to go this morning. Truck is charged to 87% (after a little overnight vampire drain). The initial leg of the trip was uneventful; really just a trek through the San Diego area to the last charger on the edge of town. We arrived here with 66% charge.

Charge #1 is at the same Walmart we stopped at when we rolled in to town 8 days ago. We plugged in and ran inside to find a restroom and donut for breakfast (chocolate long John)



While charging, I mapped the next segment on ABRP. Looks like if we charge to 85%, we’ll get to the EL Centro charger with 31% to spare.



Charged up to 86%, and we’re ready to hook the trailer back up and get on our way. ($9.71)



Here again is the ABRP Map, but also the Rivian navigation for this segment. This is where Rivian needs some work…. Looking at the Riv nav; the route is 94 miles and it claims we’ll arrive with another 135 miles of reserve. The math says I’ll need 229 miles of charge, but I’ll remind you we only have roughly 150 miles of juice when towing and charged to 100%. See the problem here? On this trip, the Rivian really showed the shortcoming with the nav system when calculating for towing, when in the “tow mode”.





We arrived in El Centro for charging stop #2 with 33% battery charge. (ABRP predicted it would be 31%). Un-hitched the trailer, and we plugged in.



I kinda had to block some of the parking lot path because of the location of the charging port on the truck, as compared to how far the cord would reach.



Looks like ABRP is suggesting we charge to at least 50% to get us to the next stop with 14% reserve. A little too close for my comfort, so I decided we’d charge to 65%; which would get us 30% reserve.





Charged up, hitched back up, and we’re off to Yuma (easy 63 miles. Easy drive, and we arrived with 24% reserve. I’ll admit, I drove 70 on this segment. It was flat and I knew I had some extra juice.



Un-hitched and plugged in.



And here’s where our plans changed….. At some point during our trip, Rivian activated a new charger location on their network in Gila Bend, AZ. Couple that with it being lunchtime, we decided we’d charge longer in Yuma and try to leapfrog the Dateland stop we had trouble with on our trip out. ABRP suggests we charge to 90% to arrive in Gila Bend with 20% reserve.



So we’re gonna charge from 24% to 90%, and that’s going to take a while; likely 60-70 minutes. Hungry, we decided we had time to walk 15 minutes to the In n’ Out Burger down the street. 15 walk there, 30 to order and eat, 15 walk back and we should be ready to roll. Easy enough.

Once we eat, I open the Rivian app to see how we’re charging, and as I’m watching the app, it changes to say the truck has stopped charging. Crap, I’m a 15 minute walk away. When I get to the truck, there’s a dude trying to figure out how to charge his Mustang. In his frustration he tells me he tried to remove the charger plug from my truck, then pushed the cancel button on the machine to try and release the cord that was charging my truck. Like what the actual F…….??

We were only charged to 85% at this point, and toyed with the idea of just getting on the road and stopping in Dateland, but I wanted to geek out and stop at the new Rivian chargers, so I restarted the session and we sat around for another 15 minutes to get us to the 90% target. ($30.59)

ABRP prediction for this 116 mile leg from Yuma, AZ to Gila Bend, AZ.



For some reason, I was stressed about this leg. Or, maybe just a little anxious because we veered from the ‘more stops’ plan. I played the math game in my head as I drove along and realized we started with 135 miles of range (90%) for a 116 mile trip segment. So here we are again, in a potential situation; just like the segment on our way out a week ago. I was sure to keep the speed in check; to reserve as much juice as I could. We did get the ‘charge soon’ warnings, but arrived safely with 12% reserve (17 miles towing).



This charge stop was at the new Rivian charging bank, and they’ve been adding a pull-through charger where they can. We didn’t have to un-hitch at this stop!! Not to mention, for now, free charging!





At this point, we’re only 63 miles from home, so it was a pretty boring stop. Only had to charge up to 50% to safely get us home with 18% to spare.



Arrived home safely with 15% reserve. The trip home was 9.5 hours, as compared to 12 hrs going out. So the idea to hit charging stops more frequently vs longer charging stops, saved us quite a bit of time. Had we started with 100% charge, we could have saved some time, and I’m sure had we decided against the long charge in Yuma we could have saved 30-40 minutes. Overall, I feel like we could’ve done it in 8.5 hours. Still not great time for a drive from PHX to SD, but it’s doable, and traveling in an EV is just a little different anyway, and definitely requires some patience.

This adventure didn’t scare us away from towing with the Riv, but we’re certainly not planning to tow with the Rivian through the Rocky Mountains for our trip to Denver this summer. We’re not ready for that just yet.

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

Thanks for sharing, interested in your overall view of the experience and whether the charging and stress it seems it can create is worth the upsides..

I’d do it again. We were both amazed at how quiet the trip was in the Rivian. More frequent stops is definitely the way to go. I think it’ll take some time for improvements in towing range and charging network to make it a truly viable option for multi-state towing without making overnight stops, but overall it was a decent experience.

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by rideair

…,it makes me feel good about my 2000 Excursion 7.3 diesel with a 44 gallon tank and about 450 miles of range (towing) between fill-ups. I personally like to get a minimum of about 250 miles down the road before having to stop and stretch (and you know)

450 miles of range , wow that would be a luxury for sure

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Expecting our R1S in August or September!

The R1S looks to be another badass vehicle from Rivian. Looking forward to hearing your experience once it arrives. Have you had an EV before?

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by idoco

Good info. Few comments (we've towed at least 25k miles electric).

Tesla? Good tips for next time, thank you.

Before the Riv, I had a Model X. We made several road trips out to CA with it, and the key was definitely only sit and charge long enough to get you to the next stop. Never towed with the X however.

I never used ABRP with the Tesla, and the navigation was pretty spot on. The Tesla would also give tips along the drive, like; “drive below 75 to make it to your destination”. The Rivian had nothing like that, simply a message that said “hey dumb dumb, you’re screwed, good luck”

Speaking of ABRP, I haven’t figured out the consumption rate figures yet, but I did add 8500 lbs of extra weight in the settings.

Personally, I’d prefer to see Rivian modify their infotainment system to be more accurate when towing. When initially hitching-up, the Riv would show 150 towing miles, but then as we motored along it seemed to change to non-towing range. Surely there’s a software update that could keep it set at towing range when in towing mode.

[xpcdoojk]

Great report.

I am happy to stick to gas.

JC

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by moosetags

I know that's a lot of extra work. Having our own R1T, this is of particular interest.

I did notice that your R1T payload is 1527#. Ours shows 1711#.

We are considering venturing out with the Rivian tow vehicle pulling Lucy. Our plan is not quite as daring as yours. We are considering going over to Mobile (150 miles) for a few days, an on to Biloxi (75 more miles) for a few days.

Brian

Not even kidding Brian, I was motivated to do it because of your great travel write-ups!

As for payload tag, my best guess would be I’m a low 7000 VIN, and quite a bit has been modified since I took delivery (and Munro got involved). I have the powered tonneau, I’m guessing you have none? I also have a full size 22” spare, you? No underbody shield for me. Not that it’s a lot of weight, but I also believe I have more outlets and 12v sockets than more recent builds.

Make the trip happen Brian! I’d assume you’ve got a fast charger along that 150 mile route, as a safety net? Although, I do think 150 is attainable if keeping speed and weight in check. I also feel like you travel on a lot more backroads than the major interstates we have here? Starting off with 100% also helps the anxiety getting the trip underway. I was disappointed we couldn’t on the way back. Keep us posted once you start planning the trip.

Electrify has opened up some chargers in areas close to where we boondock in the mountains up on the Rim (Payson & Showlow); so we’re considering a boondocking trip with the Rivian this summer. I’ve got to do some research on mileage and elevation change from town to boondocks 1st though,; to ensure we can make it from the charger to campsite and back. No safety net involved with that one.

Also, Rivian is opening a charger in Sedona, so that’s be great for our trips through that area.

[starlite29]

Thank you for posting this detailed trip report. You guys are on top of it and making it work, and I appreciate your enthusiasm. At the same time - I have owned cars with CCS and Tesla chargers and reading this, I think we are still so, so far from electric towing being an acceptable mainstream option.

CCS charging is, in my experience, totally unreliable. To the point that I sold my CCS commuter EV. Tesla is far better but Tesla does not have a TV offering and for the kind of camping we like to do, not even close to a broad enough charging network.

I think we’re likely going to need to wait for TVs with solid state batteries with 600+ mile range before this even approaches mainstream acceptability. A full-day’s drive with a TV, charge before leaving the interstate, and enough charge to explore off the grid without finding a charger. Still doesn’t approach gas, but acceptable.

I tell people asking about this to get a Tesla commuter, a big ol’ gas or diesel TV, and to donate to the Airstream/Nat’l Forest Foundation Caravan to Carbon Neutral program yearly.

[Mollysdad]

Thanks for the honest and through review. You're being the pioneer here.

I'd hate to unhook, then put the truck on charge and leave to go eat. I'd be paranoid that the trailer would be gone when I came back.
Also, for me, hooking up is a process, Wheel chocks, etc. If I go too fast I'll forget something. Like connecting the 7 way.
The solution is pull thru chargers, but that's a lot of real-estate to tie up.
Also, it seems chargers are like pay phones, they don't always work. (remember pay phones?)

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Good report. From what I've been reading more frequent, shorter charging stops is the way to go.

But if you're unhooking at every stop?

[field & stream]

Thanks for these incredibly detailed reports, they are highly educational. Also appreciated is the unvarnished and objective reporting.

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I'd hate to unhook, then put the truck on charge and leave to go eat. I'd be paranoid that the trailer would be gone when I came back.

Certainly a concern. Most people I’ve encountered in RV parks don’t know what the Pro Pride is, so I’m feeling a little confident some random person won’t figure out how to work around the PP on a whim they happen to find an Airstream sitting unattended. With just a standard ball mount, yes, I think I’d be inclined to take the extra step and add a lock, or extra security, before leaving.

And yes, I remember pay phones (would have to find one when my beeper would go off )

[ScottnAZ]

Originally Posted by starlite29

I think we are still so, so far from electric towing being an acceptable mainstream option.

I agree we’re in the infancy stages of towing with an EV. Heck, the 1st ever electric pickup didn’t even come off an assembly line until Sept. 2021 (Rivian). Now we’ve got several, several, manufactures working on pickups and largish SUV’s. (I realize people have been towing with Tesla’s well before Rivian began deliveries )

Things seem like they could happen fast and furious over the next several years. The current number of charger locations, and reliability of those chargers is waaay behind schedule, with exception of Tesla who seems to be flexing their muscles and adding chargers at an amazing rate. Even doubling and tripling down at current locations. But I suppose that’s all part of the plan, and they need those quantities to open up their network to others; without pissing off their own consumers.

But you’re right, charging infrastructure and range improvements will play an important role. Personally, I think I’d be comfortable if they can get above the 300 mile range for towing. But hey, it’s still doable now. Maybe not the quickest or easiest, but doable.

I think back to when I got my Tesla X in 2018, and at the time their charging network was pretty frustrating. Not long after, though, it got much much better and they seem to have it dialed in now. All I can do is hope the other networks improve at a good pace like Tesla did.