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Towing a 7,000-lb Trailer With a Rivian R1T More Than Halves the Range, It's Great News

Rivian has ramped up production and a lot of people are getting their brand-new all-electric trucks. The R1S SUV is just around the corner as well. Naturally, everyone’s testing the capabilities of their new vehicles. This test, however, confirms something most of us knew, but also brings some good news.
2022 R1T Towing a 7,000-lb Trailer 6 photos
Photo: Dana Vaughn Covell on Facebook
Rivian R1T Towing a 7,000-lb TrailerRivian R1T Towing a 7,000-lb TrailerRivian R1T vs. Toyota Tundra: How Far Can Each Truck Tow On A Single 'Fill-Up'?Rivian R1T vs. Toyota Tundra: How Far Can Each Truck Tow On A Single 'Fill-Up'?Rivian R1T vs. Toyota Tundra: How Far Can Each Truck Tow On A Single 'Fill-Up'?
An R1T owner hooked up a 7,000-lb aluminum frame travel trailer to his pickup truck and made a short weekend run with it in the San Diego area. The short trip was a good excuse to see what a load like this would mean for the total range. The results they’ve got are impressive, even though they might look discouraging at a first glance.

The R1T pickup truck is tow rated for up to 11,000 lb and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the range can go from 314 miles (505 km) to 135 miles (217 km) when there’s an extra load attached.

That might seem exaggerated, but according to a post on a dedicated forum, hitching a boxy, heavy trailer will translate into exactly what the EPA said – a halved total range. This is partly because we can’t change physics, and partly thanks to the fact that batteries aren’t as great as people want them to be yet.

This owner confirmed they got a median result of 0.96 miles per kWh for a 2022 Rivian R1T fitted with a standard 135-kWh battery pack. That’s almost precisely what the EPA said the all-electric Rivian truck would do when towing.

Sure, filling up an internal combustion engine vehicle is way easier, but we can see now that if fast charging options are available, using an EV truck would be much more convenient and cheaper. Plus, let's not forget that an F-150 will also halve your range while towing a similar road.

Moreover, the owner said the instant torque was of much more use when maneuvering the heavy trailer. The simple drivetrain allows for no struggle. You just press the acceleration and there it goes.

It might not seem so, but this is a win for this Rivian mid-sized pickup truck. It shows strength and potential for even better results on longer towing journeys.

The only thing that remains to be tested now is how the 180-kWh battery (the max pack) would perform in a similar scenario or in a colder climate.
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Editor's note: The article has been updated for better clarity.

About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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