Rivian Towing Experience: R1T Handled It Like a Champ

Rivian Blue · 2025-04-01T08:59:34+00:00

Ever since I got my R1S, I've noticed that the battery range estimation hasn't been the best. Driving a Tesla for the last 3 years, it never had this kind of issue. During my last trip, the driver display shows 255mi remaining. My total trip (including 2 destinations) is 160mi so I believed I should be able to make it easily with a nice cushion. But the center display showed that I would arrive at first destination with 4mi remaining, and run out before the second destination! I knew this was false so I made the drive anyway, and arrived at second destination with 50mi remaining. If I understand correctly, the driver display range is simply the total rated range multiplied by SOC. That makes sense here, since my vehicle is rated for 370mi, 255mi is 68.9%. Coming from Tesla, I expect the number shown in the center display should account for factors like elevation, wind, traffic speed, etc. It's sad that my own mental estimation is better than Rivian's.

Vincent

Active Wheeler

Feb 14, 2025

I helped a friend the other day to tow a short vehicle with his R1T while he was out of town and thought I should share the experience.

Vehicle is a 2024 R1T dual motor large pack. Weather was surprisingly nice, a pleasant 38 degrees almost the whole time. I picked up a u-haul vehicle trailer, took the highway and averaged about 1.5 miles per kw. The Rivian estimated the weight at 1500-2000 lbs, and I was averaging between 65 and 70mph.

Along the road, I picked up a 2004 Buick LeSabre and towed it about 70 miles back. Estimated weight was 4500 lbs according to the Rivian. I decided to stay off the highway this time and I took side roads (45-55 mph average). It was about 30 mins of a longer route, but I averaged about 1.8 mi/kw on the way back. I had way more battery left when I got back and I was a little surprised.

In total I did a total of 150 miles of towing, and used about 65% of battery in total. Not nearly as bad as I thought I was going to use. Just in case you ask, I couldn't even tell I was towing anything. This truck handled the weight like a champ.