Anyone switching to a Rivian R1T after watching reviews?

[ArchEtech]

If you can actually ever get one the Rivian looks great!

 

[scottf200]

Sorry if this is a repeat post. I missed this review.

Rivian R1T Off-Road: The Good and The Bad - Nov 28, 2021
Doug DeMuro - 4.22M subscribers

 

[rhumbliner]

Pulling 7K of dead weight with a 90% unladen operational efficiency vehicle vs a 30% unladen operational efficiency vehicle will most certainly produce different results. The 90% efficiency vehicle (EV) cannot apply it's efficiency advantage to the 7K of dead weight. Zero advantage. That 7K requires a specific amount of energy to move it and it will have far greater impact to the 4 gallon equivalency battery pack than it will to the 20-40 gal tank of the ICE.

First, I admit I’m not following your argument. As you point out, EV’s are 90% efficient at applying their energy while properly tuned ICE’s are, at best, around 30%. Are you then implying that ICE’s have some sort of energy reserve that they can call upon when towing a trailer? As I pointed out in my post, ICE trucks have the advantage of a large fuel tank that EV’s don’t have, yet, but the 50% range loss still applies regardless of tank size.

I pull a 30’ Airstream with my RAM equipped with a 30-gal diesel tank. Unladen, my vehicle range estimate is over 600 miles but drops to just over 300 miles when towing the Airstream. Admittedly, I generally travel at freeway speeds — 75 mph — which really hurts my range.

 

[dazedNconfuzed]

He's observing (I think) that bulk of a gas engine's energy use (wasted energy) is not affected by towed load. A 50% tow-load hit on a 90% efficient vehicle is (colloquially speaking) will run 0.5*90+10 = 55% of normal/unloaded, while a 50% hit on a 30% efficient vehicle will run 0.5*30+70 = 85% of normal/unloaded. Ergo heavy towing has a much more apparent impact on range per fuel unit for EV vs ICE.

 

[Zorg]

He's observing (I think) that bulk of a gas engine's energy use (wasted energy) is not affected by towed load. A 50% tow-load hit on a 90% efficient vehicle is (colloquially speaking) will run 0.5*90+10 = 55% of normal/unloaded, while a 50% hit on a 30% efficient vehicle will run 0.5*30+70 = 85% of normal/unloaded. Ergo heavy towing has a much more apparent impact on range per fuel unit for EV vs ICE.

I don't think that the math is right. Energy consumed doubles in both cases, and efficiency remains the same. The difference is that an ICE truck starts with at least double the range.

 

[rhumbliner]

A 50% tow-load hit on a 90% efficient vehicle is (colloquially speaking) will run 0.5*90+10 = 55% of normal/unloaded, while a 50% hit on a 30% efficient vehicle will run 0.5*30+70 = 85% of normal/unloaded.

This is starting to make my head hurt.

It still seems to me you’re treating the lost 70% of the ICE as an energy reserve, but I admit I can’t come up with a convincing argument.

Hopefully an automotive engineer will weigh in on this.

 

[NY_Rob]

ICE efficiency increases under load. So even though it takes more HP and more fuel is consumed while towing w/an ICE.. it's efficiency is higher than at low (no trailer) load conditions.

The most efficient state for an ICE is- low rpm under heavy load.

 

[Zorg]

So the R1T picks up the Truck of the year award from MotorTrend. Well done, and nice to see an EV winning.

 

[mark95476]

....Hmmmm.... No heat-pump in the Rivian for cold weather efficiency.

 

[Merrill]

So the R1T picks up the Truck of the year award from MotorTrend. Well done, and nice to see an EV winning.

Maybe they will start producing enough so people can take delivery.

 

[NY_Rob]

Maybe they will start producing enough so people can take delivery.

What a novel idea

 

[hridge2020]

 

[Zer0t]

Maybe they will start producing enough so people can take delivery.

I thought some have been delivered?

 

[Merrill]

I thought some have been delivered?

I think most of those went to employees and other company people.

 

[Alset Srotom]

I think most of those went to employees and other company people.

Ummm, I think you're wrong. Someone local to me (east coast) took delivery this week & posted details in our local Tesla group

 

[Merrill]

Ummm, I think you're wrong. Someone local to me (east coast) took delivery this week & posted details in our local Tesla group

Yes, I heard that some have been delivered but not sure how many.

 

[bill-dub-ya]

There is no denying that the R1T is a good looking truck (inside & out), with many nice features. It will be interesting to see how the electric truck market plays out. IMO, many of these offerings are simply priced too high for the regular truck buyer. Hoping that the CT pricing doesn't go up too much, or I will have to admire them from a distance.

 

[KJD]

The Rivian does look promising, but they need to produce more than 2 vehicles per day to find out where the market is. They have also delayed the 400 mile version for at least a year, so my interest is starting to fade on this one.

I hope they get their act together soon. Does anyone know how many R1T's they produced in December ?

 

[Zorg]

Reality is that we're years away from mass market EV trucks. Ford is sold out through sometime in 2024. CT is sold out for probably 2 years of production. Rivian is old out through 2023. GM offering is out of reach for most of us and won't come out until 2023. At this rate, mass market trucks won't happen til 2025. Seems like a really long time.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

The Rivian does look promising, but they need to produce more than 2 vehicles per day to find out where the market is. They have also delayed the 400 mile version for at least a year, so my interest is starting to fade on this one.

I hope they get their act together soon. Does anyone know how many R1T's they produced in December ?

given that the R1T is rated 314 miles EPA ... what other truck is coming in the near future with a better range? F150 Lightning maxes out 300 miles EPA and the Cybertruck AWD was last quoted at ~300 miles. The 400 miles Silverado EV likely won't come until late 2023/early 2024 and initially is only available for $105k+ ... and by the Rivian should have the large 400 miles battery ready.