Hi Kirk:
I love your post! I’m also a science nerd, but my college education is marine bio, not physics. Looking at your numbers your additional is off by 1000lbs. Should be 14,600lbs, not 13,600lbs-right? But, what’s really interesting if your power conversion calculation for the elevation gain-which is so cool. I need to do the math too, but in California, we are mostly flat through the central valley until we hit the California Sierra - its not a linear progression from sea level to 6200’. There are several small passes that will eat your battery. If you look on a map, Monterey CA & Sacramento CA, have less than 100ft of elevation difference.
To be honest, my R1T battery was impacted substantially between Monterey and San Jose,CA. There is no way to sugar coat this. I pulled out of my driveway with 167 miles of range and it dropped to 110 miles within 15 mins. I had to charge 100 miles later in San Jose. Reality set in and I altered my charging plans from 3 to 5 stops in order to reach Lake Tahoe from Monterey Bay. But, these were not full charging stops. I would charge for 30 mins and then get going again. In Rocklin CA I went to 90% charge because I wanted a full battery heading into the Sierra. What you need to know is that in the final 75+ miles there is serious elevation gain. Most of the 6200ft is in the last 70 miles and you actually drive over a pass at 7000’. It will eat your fuel, or battery-doesn’t matter.
I know this sound like a major hassle, but I’m OK with it. Yes, it was brutal stopping 5 times (unhooked my boat 4 times) to charge, but I’m not doing this every week. I spent less than $70 bucks charging during my trip. If I had used my Ram 1500 it would have been over $350 in fuel.
In addition, I drove home from Tahoe last week and I can drive home without the boat on one charge-very cool!
Lastly, I’ve realized during my three weeks of ownership that I really, really, love this truck. If my towing description has anyone scarred, please keep in mind that there is so much more to love here. This is an amazing truck with a lot more to offer than towing. If you haven’t taken delivery yet, you will be blown away. Towing heavy loads uphill is only a small metric for the capability for the R1T.