Finally: The All-Electric Rivian R1T Takes On The World's Toughest Towing Test!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
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( tfl-studios.com/ ) Check out our new spot to find ALL our content, from news to videos and our podcasts! We know you've been waiting for it, and now we've finally gotten to do it. In this video, Andre and Tommy put the electric Rivian R1T up against the Ike Gauntlet, the World's Toughest Towing Test. Here's how it performed!
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#Rivian #IkeGauntlet #Towing
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
0:58 Trailer Setup
4:15 On Our Way
7:12 Energy Level @ the Ike Gauntlet
8:34 Rivian R1T vs. Ike: Downhill
9:56 More on What We're Towing
10:07 Downhill Wrap-up
13:17 Let's Charge
17:41 Rivian R1T vs. Ike: Uphill
21:21 Heading Home
23:37 Verdict - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Thanks to Gen-Y Hitch for sponsoring this video! Head to www.genyhitch.com to see their full line of hitches.
Extremely tested the Gen Y hitch when ya tried to pull it off the Rivian using the Orange Ford.
I was referring to the rate of accelerating when they began Ike. Andre got the unit to 60mph before the end of the on ramp. Quite sure the chains make have been stretched.
People talk about towing these electric trucks can do. But no one talks about if they can be towed when it breaks down. Will it damage the motors? Do they have a “in tow” mode?
B&w hitches ftw
@@ramgabe1027 great question I wonder if they can be towed behind a motorhome and generate power
A Rivian employee did this months ago. He towed his Mustang GT with the truck cross country. He said in the 2700 miles, he barely got 100 miles per charge. He said it took him 2 weeks to make it to California.
Maybe he should have put a tow hitch on his Mustang and switch places on the trailer. It would have been a faster trip.
Well to be fair it was 100miles cause distance between charge stations pretty much made it so he had to stop every 100mi's else he could run outta juice before the next station. Still though 300+ mile range and you lose so much ever towing a light trailer is not a good look for EV's.
@@arbiter1 No, the guy said he expected to between 150 and 200 miles per charge but he was barely getting 100 miles per charge. And he is a Rivian employee.
@@guardrail2897 k Ko
@@christianc2118 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I cannot imagine towing and stopping every 100miles on a cross country road trip….omg!! Thanks gents for keeping things real.
Charging speed is the only problem. Most ICE cars don’t get more than half their normal range when towing 8,000 lbs which puts most vehicles in the 150 to 175 mile range.
@@yolo_burrito it’s all about having the right tool for the job but you are very correct.
@@yolo_burrito that's still more range than an ev though. Not to mention you can just bring gas cans, and fill up time is less than 5 minutes.
In Alaska, it’s difficult not to go at least 100 miles one way for a camping or road trip.
@@roboteen to be fair, a large portion of the trip was up the mountain, right? Won't range be better on less of an incline? Assuming your road trip isn't all up mountains, you'll probably get more range. Plus, how often do people do this?
The fact that you have a technology in it's infancy or at most toddler stage and it's performing against a modern streamlined truck, That's rather impressive!
electric cars....have been around for as long as ICE was around. Its not new technology.
Infancy? Are you kidding? Ev has been on the market since 1890. I hardly consider 143 year old technology in its infancy when it's older than ice vehicles. And let's not forget how many recharge stops you have to make at 100 miles or less towing.
Hi TFL members I think the trailer brake was breaking too harshly preventing you from regenerating so that’s probably why you only gain 2% would be good to see if you had the trailer brake turned onto its lowest setting and then check regenerative braking…
Good point!
Thank you TFL for this real case scenario test. This has shown me for our usage in Colorado that an EV truck will only add anxiety not enjoyment when towing our 5k travel trailer. Have a Lightning on order and seriously rethinking just keeping one EV for around town driving and getting an ICE truck for our weekend warrior activities. Valuable information indeed!
This is exactly what we do (we are in Colorado too). We use the EV for almost all of our in-town uses. But we use the truck for all road trips and towing (obviously).
Agreed, we will keep the Model 3 and trade in other vehicle for an ICE truck. This test has proven that EVs are not ready yet for towing.
If you watch there last towing video the ICE trucks lost 50% at towing and that was a standard hwy test. But they refill a lot faster.
@@ZzHasbrozZ also a full tank of fuel is much more energy dense than a fully charged battery, we have a 37' Grand Design fifth wheel and my 2019 Duramax can tow it at 75mph for 300 miles. There's no way an EV can tow even a small bumper pull camper 300 miles on a full charge.
Since EVs are much more efficient, they are also more affected by external elements such as weather and towing.
Can we just talk about how we are even REVIEWING an electric truck towing 4000lbs through the mountains? 15 years ago this was completely inconceivable. Amazing how far the technology has come in that time. Great video guys!
That's 8100 lbs
Thank you TFLT for doing real world tests. This is the best car channel for reviews on TH-cam!
Thanks glad it performed as expected, looking forward to more tests.
Andre: "This is definitely a miscalculation" Rivian employee responsible for calculation: "It was a pleasure working with you all, I'll just go collect my things"
Probably the same guy that let marketing talk him into leaving out the trip meter function.
Not a miscalculation - its obviously using recent energy/mile and if you continued downhill indefinitely.....
@@Cataclysm1 I hear the road to hell is downhill and paved with good intentions...
@@Cataclysm1 exactly. The truck is correct in that you have another 330+ miles of downhill range ;)
/sarcasm off, they definitely need som sanity bounds/clamping in their algo
😂😂😂😂
For normal running around, EV's are just fine. For actual work such as hauling or towing ICE trucks are still the way to go.
I agree completely. I will keep my 2021 Ram 3500 Cummins HO for all of my trailer towing duties...
For now, once Battery tech actually catches up EV's will definitely be the way to go, that's the biggest limiting factor right now Battery tech which in tern effects range and "refuel" time, in every other way EV's are better which is kinda cool if you think about it.
The sweet spot for the time being is a plug in hybrid, or a full EV with a small engine as a range extender. Ford has a patent for a generator that goes into the bed and functions as a range extender, I'm excited to see if it makes its way into the Lightning.
Most people, even with a truck, don't drive very much on a day to day basis. The occasional road trip could use a range extender, while day to day use would be perfectly fine as an EV. Obviously, people who are towing consistently on long stretches are still better off with an internal combustion engine or plug in hybrid.
@Mike graphene batteries are the real way but its super expensive. With this tech you dont need the chemicals and rare earth metals etc. They offer faster charging and higher density able to be lighter and much slimmer but hybrid batteries are only achievable right now until they refine it but google its benefits.
This truck while it may have the capability that's not really the intent. Majority of folks with trucks never do anything but drive to work and to dinner. Even Home Depot trips for mulch are rare. You do it once every few years, and it ain't 10,000 lbs. But compared to ICE it really did just fine. Towing on the Ike the F-150 Power boost Hybrid, Andre's personal truck, with the exact same trailer in the summer, got 3.8 MPG. 3.8!! And it can only be had with a 30.6 gallon tank. Running it dry, let's do the math folks, that's 116 miles of range. And it took almost two minutes longer than the Rivian, and obviously for that time couldn't maintain the speed limit.
Nice video! I'm going to stay with my f250 for towing. To many factors for me to worry about in my towing trips in winter months that exceed 250 miles one way.
I appreciate so much the fact you guys do these real world unfiltered tests. God Bless your efforts to protect the little guy....
"neat" that electric has come this far - However, proof that diesel (even Gas) for towing is still a significantly better option. I think we're at least a decade away before electric trucks become more Cost effective than diesel trucks. Could you guys do a Cost Per Mile operating expense based on date from the rivian - compared to a similar sized pickup - gas or diesel? Great content as always!
When it comes to towing with a truck, we’re more than a decade away. This video shows that we are any even close. Nobody is going to want to stop every 100 miles and spend an hour recharging. We’re going to need a completely new tech for electric to even be an option for towing
@@lesterparker1594 I'd agree...After I wrote that I figured 10 years was quite aggressive. haha.
I think the best thing for trucks is to either continue perfecting hybrid technology or switch them (and semi's) to hydrogen.
@@AveryExcavating what bothers me is the politicians whining about how we have to be 100% EV in like 10 years. They think everybody lives in big cities like they do. They don’t even consider us country folks that tow and live out in the boonies. It’s just not even an option for us
Using data from the R1T 20 to 80% charge video, the rivian equates to 0.16 $/mile
A ram Ecodiesel for comparison is 0.13 $/mi and it is a less expensive vehicle.
After testing the model X and the Rivian on the Ike I think we can say that current gen batteries are not built for towing at all. Maybe this is why we don't hear anything about the Tesla semi-truck.
Hopefully graphene and solid state batteries will help with the situation.
Three things must improve for towing to be viable:
1) Lighter weight of the entire pack.
2) More KW charge in the same package
3) Faster charging tech at the station with less charge "dips" during the process.
I would like to add to your list. Pull through charging stations.
It is likely that the battery in the Rivian was too warm after the downhill regen, which is why it throttled the charge.
Pull through chargers too.
We haven’t seen the tried and true manufactures been tested just yet. ford and GM are up to bat. Let’s see how they do before jumping to conclusions.
Also realize that the two car brands they tested thus far cater to the people who think imagine dragons are heavy metal bands and that hauling 4 bags of mulch are are reasons to buy the Rivian and Model X
I forgot which university found a way to supercharge in 2-3 minutes, what use to take 20-60mins to charge. They upgraded the cable. It's not ready for commercial but the tech has already been created. Transferring academic completion to industrial commercial application is happening now
@@x505xMRxFLACOxLCx the cable isn't the limit...it's the batteries. The fastest charging EVs are the Lucid and Taycan. They can't max out an Electrify America 350kW charger. They peak at 300 and 270kW, respectively. But this charging speed is fast enough if the vehicle has enough battery for towing. It's enough for 200 miles in under 20 minutes. Now we just need vehicles that can do 200 miles while towing.
Always enjoy these videos. I don't think there are too many people out there buying a Rivian so they can tow 8000 lbs around, though lol. But good to know you can make it up a big hill if you absolutely HAD to. My guess is portable power packs that sit on the trailer are next.
us horse people will
@@nb4ag I haul big toys. I'll buy a Rivian once they can do that reliably.
This is awesome actually seeing what these trucks can do in real life.
My2006 F250 with a V10 gets about 7-8 mpg when towing a similar amount of weight, but my trailer has more frontal area. My truck has nowhere near the power or torque of the Rivian, but a 30 -gallon tank of fuel will get me around 200 miles while towing and can be easily filled in 10 minutes. Gas stations are found in every small town and I can carry spare gas if go into the back country. Until battery technology gets drastically more efficient, I see these trucks as local use only or towing for short distances. Most people will love the power, quietness and smoothness, but would not like to recharge every 1.5 -2 hours for at least 45 minutes to one hour several times a day when travelling with a trailer. Not ready for heavy-duty prime-time yet.
I agree, or if someone makes chargers for a portable gas generator you can store in the bed and charge as you drive
@@MegaBronco91 Bingo!
Don’t worry, battery tech will Surpass ICE within the next 5-10 years
Not to mention the value of the 06 f250 vs the 22 rivian at $80k
@@MegaBronco91 The point is you can still choose the source of energy when you are not towing 5000lbs...
I see you guys around town enjoying the Rivian - it's a great looking truck !!
Hey guys I just wanted to THANK YOU for this video. As every truck owner who tows and is interested in electric trucks, the range while towing is a big concern. Because of this video I canceled my order for the new Ford Lightning and will be sticking with my 2017 3.5 ecoboost F-150. As someone who tows alot long distances and frequently from Montana to Texas (1,670 miles) it just cant compete with gas/diesel engines. So thank you again y''all just saved me 75k! And alot of frustration.
You guys just proved that electric trucks won't work for us here in Colorado.How can we tow our snowmobiles up to Vail or Steamboat Springs?Thank you TFL,you just saved a lot of us from making a huge and expensive mistake.
I guess only a 800 V platform with faster charging can improve the pain of towing and frequent charging but today’s batteries are not yet ready for heavy towing in the mountains.
The charger size is irrelevant if the battery thermals out from 75 miles use.
Not yet…. Such short term thinking.
@@Bigbillyrayfan Agree!
@@Bigbillyrayfan All that matters is right now. He can’t buy a truck tomorrow that comes out in 20 years. Your point makes zero sense. If, in twenty years, a viable electric truck is available he may buy it, but thus grocery getter ain’t it! Not even close. I feel the same way. This is kind of embarrassing for a $75,000 truck. Who the hell is hanging out at a Walmart for hours during a vacation?
I think this just confirms what we all know already. This is more of an adventure vehicle but would do well with short tows like when I put my boat in the water for the season, or pulling a 3,500 lb trailer for a moderate distance. Thanks for the entertainment!
Still the best looking electric vehicle on the streets in my humble opinion!
Agree.. also considering the fact that Rivian has just started deliveries is a new fresh vehicle give it few more years just like Tesla after that they'r charging network will also spread, then the only other true rival full electric truck would soon be the ''GMC Hummer ev''.. (that is until Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck will spun out).. ;0)
@@poplaurentiu4148 The government really needs to step in and standardize charging interfaces. I was hoping all the different companies would come to a consensus on their own, but they haven't.
Can you imagine if gas stations only supported Chevy and not Ford, for example? That's totally something ICE companies could do if they wanted. All gas + diesel spigots are standardized for a reason, I'd love to see the same with EV.
100 years ago we didn't have gas stations everywhere. Hell we didn't even have an interstate. Everything was transported by coal burning trains, and rail wasn't around 100 years before then. We had to rely on steamboats + canals, but 100 years before that we didn't have canals and it was all horse drawn over the continent.
I don't know if battery powered electric will take over all applications that ICE currently does. In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't. What I do know is the landscape of transportation will change again, battery powered electric will work for the vast majority of use cases, and the infrastructure for BEVs is only going to get better with time. We'll still have trains, we'll still have Semis, we'll still have cargo ships, and we'll still have workhorses. So long as the energy density and refill is superior in ICE, we'll still have some ICE around for certain applications.
@@jameshughes6078 It's already standardized. Everybody is using CCS nowadays.
Granted it's protocol is shitty, but it's still used everywhere on every EV (even semi or buses).
What are you talking about?
@@xmtxx Are you in Europe? The EU passed Directive 2014/94/EU which mandates CCS compatibility.
This is absolutely not the case in the states.
@@jameshughes6078 Yeah I'm in europe.
But electrify America has CCS (2400 stations), pretty much all the new EV have CCS.
Tesla's are CCS.
What I meant was that the whole market is aiming toward CCS. It's a standard de facto. Passing it as law is unnecessary at this point.
I'm very impressed with how much it can tow and how fast it can run. I love your videos. Once they are able to get the batteries to maintain a higher range, it will be a great truck for everyday people. Probably won't be a great truck for professional work and professional towing.
Batteries basically can't get better unless they invent some magic new material
Probably do fine, in a local setting. Not long trips.
@@Iowagrown123 still not interested in buying one.
Ev rigs are for city folks... which is great but not gonna change the world.
@@Iowagrown123 I like to stop every two or three hours to stretch the legs, take care of “business,” and get something to eat. That’s an opportunity to charge up.
I totally agree with you saying it should have towing mirrors. That's something I would have suggested, too. Spot on!
Excellent review guys. No one else does these types of rugged tests and I love seeing real world tough tests on vehicles. It does seem that the R1T is a great truck. Note that weight will kill ALL EV's so the lack of mileage with pulling heavy weight as you already knew is not exclusive to just the Rivian.
Don't believe elevation does anything to a battery.
@@techs1smh13 who said anything about elevation?
Yeah well I think that's the whole idea of a truck. "EV" is alright as an option for cars I suppose but why would you choose a truck configuration of you don't intend on loading it up?
I use multiple trucks daily in my business and I don't want to be forced to try to use something like this to do what I do. I don't see this truck as a viable option for my idea of a truck for the foreseeable future.
This sounds like very stressful camping trip and probably triples travel time at the least. No thank you Rivian. 😄
@Vern Bybee excuses for crap
Imagine having to refuel before you even get to do the test lol
Really cool test. Seeing that dip around low 40's and then a ramp up is really weird. I would imagine much like Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, etc, as more data comes in they will tune charging curves, etc. As a first EV truck, I am really interested to see where things go from here.
The first time I've seen an ev anything lower its range when towing anything. Interesting to see for sure and will definitely make it a mission for people looking to tow toys or other things when traveling.
The traffic block is typical. You could have 10 outlets for a space, if you block one, everyone exiting will want to exit at the blocked one
The solution is to drop the trailer in the parking lot in a visible space, then pull in to charge. Then put it back on the hitch and go off.
@@catharticcathexis4527 That adds another 15-20 minutes to your 30-60 fill.... Why not make pull through charging stations, similar to gas stations? Given the infancy of the EV market, we are just stuffing these charging stations in the back corner of parking lots with no real forethought for high volume use.. Sure, the local walmart, several miles form the interstate, not so bad... charge while you shop.... but by the interstate, its going to be travelers that are just trying to get in, and out, and gone... often with trailers.
It's like people WANT to wait longer lol
Regarding regen, you might need to much reduce the trailer brake gain, or else the trailer brakes might steal a big portion of the energy to be regained.
He said the truck wasn’t using friction brakes. Unless the trailer had a surge brake the trailer brakes didn’t hamper the test. Regen is just more hype, unless the battery was thermaled out already, which would means there is little utility (70ish miles) in this entire system.
He said he wasn't touching the brake pedal on the way down, so the trailer brakes weren't engaging.
They did say the truck brakes lights were activating during heavy regen braking. I wonder if the trailer brake controller was activating during those events as well.
@@JohnJones-ty6fj
The problem is the Rivian has an internal trailer brake controller. The truck could have been sending messages to the trailer to tap the brakes possibly for maintaining control.
Would be interesting to take the gain down to zero and see if there's any difference at all.
You would think however though that if it was applying trailer brakes at the brake lights would it would have gone on more consistently.
I was very surprised by this I've seen some other EVs do a tow charging test.
With pretty significant results. I believe it was out of spec motoring or engineering explained they did a collaboration. They took a pickup truck and towed a model 3 around a racetrack at a constant speed to see how much power was regened over what distance. And I'm pretty sure for every mile they regen towed they got 2 mi of actual range back.
Maybe the Rivian just doesn't have that much regen or it's not that efficient at putting the power back into the battery pack.
It's interesting because the Chevrolet Bolt EV which can only DC charge at about 52 or 54 kW max. Can actually do regen up to 75 kW.
If you put it in the L mode and tap the regen paddle on the back of the steering wheel you'll get 75 kW.
@@kens97sto171 I view that as part of the trucks system then, and if it requires it to operate as the manufacturer intended, then it is a viable part of the test and the results are still hold. Those would be counted as brake applications against any other platform, so the loss of regen caused by this system, if any, should be considered as a minus against the truck.
I’m pretty sure getting 2 miles of regen for every mile of energy spent isn’t going to be possible, especially on a flat surface like a racetrack with little gravity to input energy back into the system. They have found perpetual energy in surplus if that is the case.
I'm going to be excitedly awaiting the same test with other electric pickups as they become available. The Hummer would be a good one! (Apparently the electric Silverado will be the same platform)
That was very informative……great episode
I can’t remember a time when I anticipated a TH-cam video I was expecting as much as this one. And… it lived up to my expectations and then some. Nice work! Some great info in this one. I’ll be re-watching to get more details.
Id be ashamed…
Can’t get more real world than that. Great job guys
Superb video! 👍 The best part was 17:41 Rivian R1T vs. Ike: Uphill driving impression as it gives actually an experience then explaining the concept in greater details....But in my opinion we still have a long way to go with EV motor before we can trust it to tow for longer distances like crossing 100 miles! The real question is if it would work without charging...?
Thanks for this. I'm waiting on my Lightning & Cybertruck reservation.
Finally, it actually happened!😄 Good job guys.
Yes and while applauding realize we might be a minute before electric towing is a thing. I'll give the Rivian an E, I'll give the Ike and TFL a B+.👍
I would have liked to see the dB rating as there still is tire/wind noise, etc. Certainly capable but the charging still requires inordinate planning as opposed to liquid fuel (but certainly a good effort).
They do a db rating in another video. Unlike gas or diesel, loading has negligible effect on sound. Charging time and towing range is a limiting factor for me.
Yes but the db test would need to be performed while your passenger is asking "wtf are we going to do if we run out of juice pulling this damn trailer!?!"
Yeah I think they were too focused on Range anxiety to be concerned about the decibel rating.😉
@@jaydee5156 what was the rating?
@@outinnowhere7693 It's more fun watching the video like I did.
Great review guys
thank you so much. please do more Rivian tests! And I hope you give them feedback! We need more charging stations and then I am sold as a recreational horse short and hope to be medium range traveler
It really is amazing what they can do with electric vehicles. Besides range, I think the biggest problem is long term ownership. Some people don't like to live in permanent debt. I keep my trucks for close to 15 years. Who wants a 15 year old electric vehicle. Batteries, computers, range, everything will be so insanely outdated in a vehicle like that it will be like a 1990's cell phone.
Who wants a 15 year old ICE vehicle for that matter. Last test I saw showed a 10 year old Tesla only down to 88%. These things may end up going a lot further than we think.
@@deahelkcunklaer2180 My 20yr old Tacoma still runs like a clock and will outlast this overpriced EV garbage
My truck is extremely simple, easy to work on, and parts are very cheap.
@@deahelkcunklaer2180 hundreds of thousands people have ICE vehicles that are 15+ years old. I have an Expedition that is going to be 19 years old and its been very reliable with nothing but oil changes and normal wear and tear items all vehicles have like tires and brakes. I plan on keeping it at least another 5+ years as there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and its very comfortable on long trips. It also tows a whole lot better than any EV on the market. It pulls our 4,500 lb boat 300+ miles on a tank.
Yeah like a DeLorean. Nobody wants one right?
I can totally see your points. My only objective thought is that there may be continuous updates available for these EVs. I'm writing this on a 13 year old iMac that I restored by swapping in a new hard drive and upgrading the memory in order to handle the most recent Apple operating system. I know that computers and vehicles are very different, but with so much technology packed these things, I don't see why they can't engineer them to be upgraded over time to extend the usable life of the vehicle.
I work in the forklift industry, we adopted batteries much sooner. Regen braking will not net you the gains people expect, and range anxiety sounds like a huge headache with these Electric trucks. I'll keep my Combustion Engine.
I get huge regen going down a mountain with my Tesla. So much so that when I go skiing at Snowshoe, I only charge to 90% at the top of the mountain and it takes me about 17-20 miles to get back down to 90% after coming off the mountain.
Great video!! like the other Bolt owner commented it would be interesting to see the same test done in warm weather. you may have also been able to see in the software how much energy went to climate controls and battery conditioning due to the cold weather.
Turning off the creature comforts to get home? Hahaha not gonna fly with most people
This was definitely a cold weather issue, and the tech on rivians using battery to heat itself
Strong work!
Not gonna lie. Sitting out in the freezing weather waiting over an hour or more for a charge would blow balls.
Waiting is not fun. You can use heater or ac while charging though, it doesn't use much energy relative to the battery size so you can head/cool without worrying about impact on charging.
I heard that it being cold affects EV range, take this with a grain of salt cause I might be wrong
I was thinking the same thing, or like being at that random sketchy gas station late at night and glad to get out of there in 5min or less.
I think the bigger issue is that you are stopping for 45-60 minutes every hour and a half.
For those that have not owned an EV, they are surprised to hear that range will drop by 10-15% by driving 70 versus 60. My results showed that 74 mph would consume 20% more power than 60 mph. Also range will drop 15-20% when the outside air temperature is 30° f vs. 60°f. So driving 60 mph when it is 60° outside, your range could be 300 miles, but driving 74 mph when it is 30° may limit range to 200 miles. These were my results in a S70D in 2019.
@@speterbilt Why would cold or rain affect you when you can sit in the vehicle with the HVAC on while it charges?
This truck would be great for DD, in town towing, short trips to a lake with a boat, hauling bikes/boards/skis and so on. That's its purpose and it'll be great for it. Not what you want for towing your 8000 lb travel trailer cross country. Nice to see the test!
Exactly. People think If it doesn’t meet THEIR truck/towing needs than it’s useful. Obviously for many this wouldn’t work. And there are tons of gas and diesel options for those people. For many this would handle everything they need to do.
You said that very well sir and described my thoughts perfectly🤙
@@joshtavenner3073 But I thought everyone drives 1,000 miles per day in the mountains during winter, therefore eliminating all EVs since they can't drive more than 250 miles on a charge!n
So would a gas truck half the price.
@@TeslaManuals A standard truck can do all this just fine for half the price. This thing couldn't even complete the test all regular trucks have done. Overpriced novelty truck that offers no real world advantages at all.
You guys put out some great videos. I always find you entertaining. From my experience what your seeing between 35-40% SOC is a thermal throttle. Once pack temps come down it will ramp back up. The big step downs in the curve happen at 60% and 80%. Also, Rivian limits regen... I suspect to prevent temps from spiking... Which would require both Regen and torque to be limited. On long sustained downhill runs... Especially when towing... You may be able to recapture more energy in the normal Regen setting vs high regen.
That tow hitch really had some massive flex on it when the weight of the trailer was placed on it
I'm glad you guys do tests like these and are the first ones to really put an electric truck to the test, not just up a tiny hill but one of the steepest grades in the US. This is a very interesting test, and I'm honestly surprised how well it did (and how Rivian was like "yeah, yeah, yeah, you can go take it up Ike")
EV technology still has a ways to go before we can really trust it towing for longer distances, but this is a great way to compare electric trucks now to electric trucks maybe 15 years later when the technology gets better.
I agree, and when the technology gets there, I'll truly consider going EV. But for now, I'll keep my gas powered Silverado !!
Great review. The power this thing has and the speed at towing is incredible.
Awesome to see the torture test. You should do the MPG loop “empty” compared to five of you guys and a load of camping gear for everyone, so no towing, but realistically fully loaded.
This was a great test thank you Gents for putting it together. This is very worrisome that the regenerative braking did not perceptibly bring the charge back?
The regenerative braking is only going to get back the energy used to get the truck up to speed, at best. All the energy used to keep the truck moving is lost keeping the truck moving.
Cool test. I also had very little Regen on my X when I towed a camper trailer. I think the wind resistance and rolling resistance of the trailers slow the vehicle making less Regen available
Right. If they went 35 mph, there'd be more total regen.
i was wondering during the video, the regen might not have been great, but the miles traveled during regen are free miles that need to be added to your total as well no? say you regen 2 miles after 10 miles descent, that means you won 12 miles of range right?
Personally, I suspect it's the heat in the battery from towing that stopped the truck from regening more power into the battery. Something weird was definitely happening to the battery during that tow test. I was kind of surprised/glad the battery didn't blow up. I'm reading about things like that happening all over the place, nothing to do with towing. Just regular EV use.
@@lapamful if Regen is being diverted or unavailable, the dash screen indicates that is the case and you can tell the vehicle coast farther.
@@Teslavangelist I doubt your experience is conclusive.
Thank you for conducting this test. I think it does confirm a hybrid is a better choice for towing, but it doesn't detract from Rivian at all. I still think it's an awesome truck and a lot of people don't tow at all. Still the best guys out there for real world tests.
This is my next steep for in the Bahamas. love it.
Wonderful video! Love the videos! I expected nothing less from the electric truck. I will keep my 6.7 cummins. I saw alot of excuses for the electric truck because it was cold, but the cold doesn't bother my cummins.
Keep up the good work guys!
My cummins works just fine .
That test kinda went the way I thought it would. I was hoping for better results but either way, thanks for showing us what it can do! I don't think an EV truck is in my future anytime soon.
It's definitely not for everyone. It seems like everyone in the comments is arguing about one being better than the other, but tbh they both have their place. For someone who tows a lot, this would be a horrible purchase. But for someone who just needs the bed and to do light towing, this might be the better option. I personally don't really do any towing, so I would likely opt for the Rivian if I were to buy a new truck. But my father in law does a lot of towing, and I can't imagine him ever buying an electric pickup
@@Slothifications I couldn't agree more. They really are for different parts of the markets. As someone who camps I was hoping it would tick those boxes better but honestly I feel like it misses the mark for the type of camping I do. For a KOA or state park camping, around town and even on the road road trips, it would be great. Deep back trails, water crossings and deep snow, I'd much rather have something else. BUT we'll see where it goes and I hope these are a hit and prove me wrong. I wanted the bollenger but they shifted to commercial trucks only with no eta when they'll get back to consumer vehicles.
it would be great to see the same route done with the same stops with no towing for a comparison.
I was thinking the same thing! I was thinking the same thing. Also thought it would be great to se the same exact test at the same time with the truck that was following, at the same time to find out MPG, vs cost to charge the electric.
@Yup! Most people see right through you.
@Logical Mind Most electricity is not made from coal anymore.
It probably gets way more MPG. I live in the highest city in Colorado and take this drive often. They climbed like 5000 feet in 40 miles once they left Denver. It’s almost the altitude equivalent of driving from the beach to Denver. That’s a serious climb. When I go down to Denver that way it’s 80 miles and I only eat up like 1.5 gallons. When I come back my gauge drops very quickly. I’m in a 2.5 liter Mazda 3 lol. I’m impressed an EV actually towed that climb.
@@anthonymele4847 yea, we are on the front range, know the climb well.
Great video! it looks like we are a few years away from replacing fossil fuel in our trucks. We knew the torque would crazy and you proved that range is going to be the issue. Can you do another test with a quad or dirt bikes in the back to see what that does to the range. Thanks Again.
Very good test.
Excited to see range increase as the years go on. I have 46 gallons of gas on board my 05 silverado thanks to an additional fuel cell. Even in the worst of towing conditions (wind, cold, rain, etc) I can still go 300 miles plus. Definitely need to 3-4x increase range and 3-4x decrease charge time... in time
Man you need a tune up or something. My 2005 avalanche got 600 miles easy on 32-35 gallons or whatever it was highway. I can go almost 2000 miles in my 1998 Cummins with 80 gallons.
@@MrPland1992 300 mile range is while towing a camper that is fairly close to max tow capacity. It will do much more range than that empty!
Ev mileage is on flat ground 80 degree no AC or up hill.
@@MrPland1992 yeah I highly doubt you get anywhere near those numbers while towing.
@@MrPland1992 there's no such thing as a tune up on modern cars. they run on computers not carburetors
this test was great. it showed that evs really aren't good for towing out of town.
The current models definitely have shortcomings in this type of scenario.
Question, if you removed the trailer braking would that have increased the regen?
Each winter we tow our 13k 5th wheel from Nova Scotia to southern California where we spend 4 1/2 months. Watching this video lets me know that if we used electrical power to tow an RV 4,200 we'd arrive here just in time to turn around and head home, 3 months each way? no thank you
Pretty much as expected, seems like towing with EVs reliability cuts their range by 2/3s. I expect being very much a lifestyle pickup most Rivians will see little towing, and if they do it would be a small RV or teardrop trailer, the latter of which I believe it might do very well with due to their low weight and aerodynamics. But as always I appreciate the scientific nature of the Ike Gauntlet, its been pitted fairly against similarly rated vehicles, and I expect there will be plenty of data on those other payloads soon enough.
More like the range is reduced by 1/2 to 1/3. This had the AT tires which should provide a range of 282 to 267 miles according to Rivian. They got a range of 146 miles towing overall.
Nice, a vehicle marketed to do truck things, but once you try and do truck things it becomes so impractical it's on the verge of being useless.
@@jacobscheer2730 no they didn't, they charged at the bottom of the mountain before proceeding with the rest of the trip, and if you watched the video they were averaging 1%/mile before they even arrived at the mountain. They left out calculations at the end because rivian is sponsoring them...
@@motarted1735 Its not marketed as a tow vehicle at all. Besides, most americans don't use trucks for "truck things", they drive them because they think it makes them look tougher.
@@motarted1735 99.9% of pickup truck use is not towing another truck up a goddamn mountain. It does everything else better than any other truck. Buy a diesel if you want to tow. Wow. Miindblowing
At 60 mph wind resistance is very significant. You had 2 trucks worth of wind resistance so it's not surprising that there was not much energy left for regeneration back to the battery.
It would also be interesting to see how it went doing the same trip without the trailer.
Doing the trip without the trailer is pointless. What would it prove! It can do the same thing a Honda civic can? It's a truck advertised as a tow vehicle.
yeah i want to see the dry test too. how much battery will be eaten up.
Imagine how much weight and wind resistance the electric semis will have.
@@korndawggy1801 exactly that's why trucking companies aren't standing in line to buy them.
@@trx420fm1 Trucking companies aren't lining up to buy little consumer vehicles. They buy class 5 to class 8.
You made a great video
thats a beautiful truck :O
Thank you for pointing out that the brake lights do light up during strong regen. I’ve seen a lot of EV reviews, and none have pointed this out on other EVs.
An EV initiating a strong regen in front of other vehicle without applying the break lights can be a safety hazard. I’ve been behind a Nissan Leaf and it suddenly slowed rapidly without any break lights on.
Don’t know about other EVs like teslas but it can be very surprising. I was paying attention and had no problem adjusting but It can definitely see this causing a lot of accidents with most driver not being attentive.
My volt uses the brake lights.
When my Spark EV was shifted into "L", and you took your foot off the "gas", the brake lights came on.
All EVs brake lights are activated at a specific deceleration, I have no idea what you are talking about.
@Zoltrix77 All? It didn't apply to the Nissan Leaf that rapidly decelerate I'm front of me. Don't assume without facts. When was this basis knowledge?
Teslas all show brake lights continously as soon as you take your foot off the go pedal.
Yikes at the Ike! 81% down already! Good thing you have a plan “B” with the Ram and a nearby charging station! Tommy’s earlier review hauling logs got me really interested in this truck. Definitely a first in EV truck testing! Great review as always!
Surprised they didn’t break out the hybrid f150
This was insane. I HAD to watch it. It did better than I thought. Still needs a lot of improvement.
I gained a lot more energy back from regen on that route during the summer in my VW ID.4. HOWEVER, I was going 75 mph and I've noticed that once the car is really going downhill the regen generates a lot more than if I was only going 60 mph.
Happy to finally see how this truck truly does! You guys are the best!
Great video! I make this same run several times per year in my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV. A couple of thoughts/observations: Range falls off quickly when it's cold. In my car, I lose about 15% of estimated range to heating the cabin and, more importantly, the battery, which must be maintained in the 60-70 degree range, as I recall. Also, coming from the west, the drop in altitude between the Eisenhower tunnel down to Golden is much more gradual, and the regen works better in that direction due to lower charge rate (which is why you did so much better on the way back to Boulder). I remember one time getting to the top of the Ike with 20 miles of estimated range, and gained back around 50 miles of estimated range by the time I reached Golden, but, then again, I wasn't towing anything.
On my Gen II Volt I pick up 9 miles of battery range consistently going to Florida through the Chattanooga, Tennessee area on the grades there.
I just use the regen paddles and never once have I had to touch the brakes.
Why you guys didn’t go with a Prius? Does the Volt have any advantages over the Prius?
Also how far can you both go on a full tank? Is the both the Volts just electric or Hybrid with gas engine?
@@Mr.Beastforpresident
Plug in electric. You can run pure EV until the battery is depleted, about 50 miles. Then run the engine which nets 40 - 45 mpg.
Overall range is electric/gas slightly north of 400 miles.
Or you can elect to run it like a hybrid if you want. As a Hybrid, however it is not as efficient as a Prius. Mpg's in the 40's versus in the 50's for the Prius.
Having said that depending on your ability to run pure EV and charge for most trips it is much more efficient than a Prius.
For example my wife's Volt has 44k miles on the clock. Her lifetime mpg over that distance is 200 mpg. My Volt has 55k miles on it, and my lifetime mileage over that distance is 123 mpg. But I have made several cross country trips with that car.
I walk through a large parking lot with hundreds of cars where I work.
I wouldn't trade anyone even up for any car in that lot over my Gen II Volt.
@@Mr.Beastforpresident we have the Bolt, which is the EV. After a lifetime working on ICEs, I no longer want to work on the engine/support systems of the ICE. EVs are incredibly simpler mechanically; just look at drones; don''t see many gas models anymore for the same reason. Also, the Bolt has 0-60 of just over 6 seconds, Prius just under 10, and you can feel the difference. Finally, no more trips to the gas station, and electricity to run the same number of miles is MUCH less.
Super informative for the EV Evolution. Thanks Guys
Great review. Hey question. What year and model is that ford you’re towing? Very cool
This shows me that Gas/Diesel is way better and are here to stay for a lot longer than y'all think😎
Gas ain't going anywhere anytime soon
Goverment and the industry is pushing the EV forward. In 15 years a gas/diesel station will be as rare as a EV charging station is today.
@@scottgardiner7418 maybe in america but most of the world is far far away from ev
@@scottgardiner7418 can't see this happening this fast🤷🏻♂️
@@scottgardiner7418 Keep dreaming
I feel that internal combustion is still the way to go. Just the range and lack of charging stations would make it difficult to take road trips. In addition the cost of power vs fuel is about the same based on a weekly driving amount.
ICE cars beat EVs hands down in towing and road trips. EVs win for daily commuting, running errands, and day trips if you can charge overnight at home. They are a great second car for two car families that can charge at home. If it's your only car, I'd recommend renting a vehicle for occasional road trips.
Who cares. Environment is doomed anyway. Flickering has started.
@@lanceareadbhar EVs don't even make sense as daily commuters. For the price of the cheapest EV on the market, you can buy an ICE car and still have $15,000 left for fueling.
I wonder how long the cost equality equation is going to remain similar?
@@lanceareadbhar So what happens when ICEs are no more and all the rentals are EV? "just rent" wont be an option once ICEs are outlawed.
Thanks for share, the suv and pick-up has a elegant design and has good heights for a secure drive in bad roads. Would be interesting a competition in off road with for example the Range Rover or Jeep Grand Cherokee/Wagoneer for know about it's capabilities. In a quick view promises a lot.
Excellent video! Everyone wants to see how electric trucks tow.
On top of the range issues, nobody's being done any favors if all the makers use proprietary chargers. I can go to any gas station and stick the nozzle in my tank. I don't have to look for a certain shape nozzle.
Only one company uses proprietary chargers, Tesla. Everyone else uses the CCS standard.
Indeed, you can blame stubbornness on why. Chademo was out first but is very limited in total c rate. So it was never going to reach the speeds needed for decently fast dcfc that would make ev road trips doable.
The tesla standard came next because ccs didn't exist back in 2012. Then the automakers didn't want to work with the tesla plug.
So they developed the ccs standard. Which up until 2020 couldn't even match the tesla standard per kwh.
And now ccs has a different standard depending on what country you are in. So even though tesla and others now offer adapters so you can use just about any one of the various plugs. The adapters cost a decent amount each, need to be carried with you and they slow down the acceptable charging speeds plus waste even more energy. 😶
@@4literv6 Exactly. It's not Tesla's fault, the legacy OEM's just didn't want to use the Tesla plug.
Great video fellas! For the dry flat mpg loop please consider towing Andre’s boat. Id be extremely interested to see the results of that
Love the video/test. I worked at the Colorado Continental Divide for more that 20 years. The grade from Silverthorne to the Eisenhower Tunnel on I70 is the best test I could imagine. As a tech dude, I am watching electric cars get better and better, but at some point the physics, engineering, and ecofriendliness get outweighed by fossil fuel raw power. My weekend camper pulling tow vehicle is a Cummins diesel, but I must say the hybrids are doing better and better, respect to the sedans. Pickups, such as the Rivian are making amazing strides, keep it up. If I lived in Denver or other flatland places, a Rivian would be awesome! Keep it up Fast Lane!
look up how much water it takes to extract 1 ton of lithium and the child slaves that mine the cobalt and the birth defect epidemic in the mining areas. EV's are super Eco.... Destructive.
I'll stick to my 2500HD gasser for now. I've pulled a trailer several times through the Ike from Grand Junction to Colorado Springs before topping it back off.
Thanks for doing this guys, you rock. Just as you guys got with the Model X, 1% per mile when towing. I love my model 3 for driving around town. But keep in my RAM for towing my travel trailer!
Lol careful there are a lot of idiots that can’t fathom having multiple vehicles. These guys want one vehicle to satisfy all their needs 😂
@@seanmoore10 very good point! My Tesla and RAM combined cost less than this Rivian...
@@JoshLanners 😯 shocked. They may need to go back to the drawing board.
@@seanmoore10 Or perhaps their buyers won't tow perhaps?
@@zoltrix7779 that’s my point. People are allowed to want a truck even if they don’t have any need to tow. It’s spacious and can load a bunch of stuff in the bed. A lot of people on this channel are dismissing the truck for its lack of tow distance (with 8,100lbs on the Ike gauntlet 8% grade at high altitude). The back to drawing board comment refers to the OP explaining he owns a ram for towing/hauling and a Tesla model 3 which combined is still less money than this truck.
This real world test was so good! Thanks for testing battery performance in the worst possible condition!
I could think of much worse conditions. Like my ill fated deer hunting trip this past fall.
Great job guys on an excellent view of the EV truck and it’s future.
It performed as expected. A beast of torque when accelerating, even with the truck being towed.
Very little range with a load behind it. Having to charge before you even started the climb was unacceptable as a truck owner on multiple levels. What many missed was the time it took to recharge. The phone images gave it away. Nearly 35 minutes and not fully charged. Can you imagine waiting for a charger while another top charges? So, an hour time to get back on the road to travel another 100 miles.
It’s not just range, it’s the time to recharge. Real life experience in this video shows that an EV truck used for towing is not an option. I always knew this. Thanks for proving me right!keep up the great work.
I think the key is to have an electric vehicle with a range extender option (not hybrid)
i'd be curious if there's any towing efficiency gain when using the 21in street wheels.
When you can barely get to the Ike and back just to do a test I’d say electric trucks are definitely not there yet in order to be viable tow vehicles. That’s laughable amount of mileage.
Agreed. Don't get this truck if you want it for towing outside of your city. It's cool and a good first step for EV trucks.
Agreed. I was hoping for better, but I had a slow day yesterday towing my trailer and still pulled it 112mi. My ecoboost is only getting like 11mpg with my trailer, but I have a 36 gallon tank and can tow all day long on 1 tank.
@@enigma9789 I will give rivian a tip of the hat tho. They added a bunch of stuff to the truck that is totally new and I’d buy if it had a normal ICE. The way they added features that no other brand has definitely sets them apart. Just a little short in the practicality department. I certainly wish them success and maybe in the future with solid state batteries this will become one of the new big brands.
All of a sudden my 14mpg towing seems amazing 🤣
This was a good test on how it does in winter! Range anxiety ouch! I wonder how it will do in summer towing? Wonder how much regen Tommy could put back pulling andrea?
Love watching this as I've always said the electric truck is a long way off of being a real tow or haul unit. So I love the concept but I'll keep my diesel.
Electric cars are stupid and ought to be abandoned completely
@Josh lower welp they have their following but do I thing it's the only way no. It's just another option. But to compete with internal combustion engine not even close.
@@joshlower1 Funny you say this, I'm sure the people who saw automobiles for the first time over a hundred years ago said the same thing about gasoline-powered horseless carriages.
@@eksentrysyti if they were so great why didn’t the market choose them years ago? Why does the government feel the need to drive up fuel prices to make EVs competitive? I’m open to buying an EV but there is way to many unknowns at this time, and the cost of a new EV is crazy…I’ll keep my diesel for work for now
Great video! What was the dollar amount of energy used? How much $ per mile?
Great job guys. The more test you put the R1T into, the more i love that truck.
Thanks for the real-world test! In 2010, a compact electric (Nissan Leaf) in good conditions could achieve 73 miles. In 2022, a mid-sized pickup towing 8000lb in extreme conditions can get 137 miles. Battery technology isn't there yet for all use cases, but the improvements are impressive (and still continuing). Just think of what an ICE could do if it had improved at that rate for the last 12 years!
A Leaf would 550 miles with a battery the size of the R1T's. Leaf => 24 kWh (3 miles per kWh). R1T (towing) => 180 kWh (1.3 miles per kWh). Just back of the envelope math here.
Holly f you brave pulling 8k In something like a ranger
@@Gig-th3er internal combustion engine
@@Gig-th3er Internal combustion engine. That is, gas or diesel vehicle..
You picked the worst electric car to compare to, especially as those batteries were known for degradation. Modern electric vehicles will all perform much better. Mine included.
Helpful video! I am amazed, no real issues from a ground up new design on a torture test! How great is it that you can buy an 835HP truck that is also useful. Stunning.
Interesting it may not have the range but still pretty impressive with the power to pull away up hill maybe they will overcome the range hurdle in the near future.
The larger battery pack will be available later this year or next. It will be 1/3 larger, which should increase towing range to around 175 miles on a full charge, or about 2.5 hours of towing. A lighter and more aerodynamic load like a 4,000-5,000 pound camper might enable it to squeeze out 3 hours on a charge. I don’t know about most of you all, but at my age, I have to make a “pit stop” every two or three hours anyway, so that would give me a good excuse to pull into a charging station, hook it up, and take care of me and perhaps enjoy lunch before hitting the road again.
I would suggest the Cruise Control acts as an engine brake and not necessarily regenerative braking. And most definitely a trailer brake will detract from regenerative braking.
If you have the juevos, run the trip without the towing function engaged.
There is no such thing as an engine brake without regen in an EV.
I know that LET0001 is talking about. My Volt does the same thing I’m pretty sure. When you’re using cruise control, it isn’t ONLY using regenerative brakes when going down steep hills, it seems to also mix in a bit of friction braking to keep the handling better balanced. If you want to maximize regen braking going down hill for this test, I’d suggest leaving the cruise control out of it and just maintaining your speed with the gas pedal alone and maximum regen, and potentially turning off the trailer brake (although for safety, I’m not so sure about this one on a public highway).
This.
I'd love to see how often the trailer brake is activated on the downhill, I'd say it would be the most stable braking method in that situation = hence why it would be used.
Thermocouple near the friction brakes would get rid of any guesses or marketing lies.
Exactly
My gas tank hit 1/4 the other day. Took like 2 minutes to fill up and get on my way. Can't imagine spending 2 hours in a Walmart parking lot like that.
Great test. Can't wait to see what the Ford & GM can do since they are full size trucks. For $70+ thousand dollars, I think I will keep my $45k 5.0 V8 4x4 F-150. I have a 500 mile range with that.
F-150 16mpg @ $3 per gallon is about .19 cents per mile, vs .31 cents per mile with the Rivian. Obviously the Rivian will do much better without the tow weight. Would have been interesting to do the Ike both with towing and without to compare the two
Hey Guys, Excellent video. Compared to gas/diesel trucks, how much was the fuel cost in $$?