If you happen to be a company in the business of making pickup trucks, then you know towing capacity is one of the things buyers are looking for the most when choosing their next workhorse. And the place to go for you to prove the numbers in the spec sheet are backed by the real world is called Davis Dam grade.
The stretch of road is located 90 miles (144 km) south of Las Vegas. Starting at 550 feet above sea level (167 meters) it climbs to 3,500 feet (about 1 km) in a little over 11 miles (18 km). This makes it the ideal for truck company’s to test their latest products, and Rivian is no exception.
It’s not that long now until the R1T will hit the market (the summer of next year is the date when we should see it in customer hands), so the team behind it is hard at work trying to tie up any last loose ends.
This week, Rivian published a new video of how the testing is going (available below), this time showing the R1T taking on the Davis Dam grade with a big trailer in tow.
Rivian says the electric pickup truck is capable of towing 11,000 pounds (that's about five tons), and this is how heavy the trailer behind it was. The truck, we’re told, had no problems pulling all that weight behind it, and it did so while being driven in temperatures of up to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius).
You can see how all the testing went in the video attached below, but if you want a bigger dose of Rivian electric pickups, you should better go over to Apple TV+. This past Friday, the Long Way Up kicked off, showing the adventures of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on the backs of electric Harley-Davidson LiveWires.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News