[ERivTruck]

All,
So after I read the glowing article about the R1T from Motor Trend, an interesting tidbit caught my eye. They said (paraphrasing here) that drive modes can be changed to Conservative which equates to running the vehicle in 2WD configuration (FWD). I was unaware that the R1T had the ability to shift between FWD and 4WD. With that said, I am wondering in anyone knows if the quote 300 miles on a charge would be in the FWD config only, or was it quoted in the 4WD mode?

Thanks

 

[Angus]

Any knowledge on this would be entirely speculation. Rivian has yet to come out with any formal figures and the EPA has not released any figures.

 

[RITVT]

They are out (as of today)

 

[Angus]

They are out (as of today)

Thanks, just saw them on Twitter. Awesome.

 

[Obiefox]

EPA testing process appears to use the "default" mode of the vehicle in question. Does anyone know the default mode of the RT1? FWD or AWD? I believe the Taycan is a good example of where the default is a performance setting and consequently the EPA estimate was lower than actual experience in a more conservative highway setting.

 

[eHauler]

EPA testing process appears to use the "default" mode of the vehicle in question. Does anyone know the default mode of the RT1? FWD or AWD? I believe the Taycan is a good example of where the default is a performance setting and consequently the EPA estimate was lower than actual experience in a more conservative highway setting.

Welcome to the forum @Obiefox

How did you spec your Rivian?

From what I read here it seems like our Rivians will default to AWD via the All-Purpose mode:

"The standard on-road drive mode is aptly called All-Purpose, and if you never switched the Rivian R1T out of this default setting, you'd still find it to be remarkably swift and sure-footed. The R1T jets away from traffic lights, rides comfortably, and holds a quick, steady line through sweeping curves. If you're worried about stretching the limits of the R1T's 300-mile estimated range (there's a 400-mile battery pack coming, too), the R1T can be switched to two-wheel drive—only the front wheels are powered, making it front-wheel drive—to conserve power in a drive mode aptly dubbed "Conserve."

 

[Yossarian]

I wonder if it will be possible to use the FWD mode while towing to extend range. Quite a few potential Rivian owners will be hauling something, in my case a larger teardrop camper (~ 2,000 lbs wet) and will be heading to somewhat remote locations. Until the charging network is more robust, range will be a limiting factor, and every extra mile helps.

My range anxiety is great enough that I'm willing to hand over the extra $10k for the Max pack, but even that won't allow for much more than about 125 miles while towing (assuming a 50% decrease and using 80/20 SOC parameters). In hot or cold weather, range could easily drop to well under 100 miles.

I'm going contact Rivian on the question about two-wheel drive while towing and will post the response.

 

[Wandering42D]

Welcome to the forum @Obiefox

How did you spec your Rivian?

From what I read here it seems like our Rivians will default to AWD via the All-Purpose mode:

"The standard on-road drive mode is aptly called All-Purpose, and if you never switched the Rivian R1T out of this default setting, you'd still find it to be remarkably swift and sure-footed. The R1T jets away from traffic lights, rides comfortably, and holds a quick, steady line through sweeping curves. If you're worried about stretching the limits of the R1T's 300-mile estimated range (there's a 400-mile battery pack coming, too), the R1T can be switched to two-wheel drive—only the front wheels are powered, making it front-wheel drive—to conserve power in a drive mode aptly dubbed "Conserve."

This makes it seem like the “default” driving mode is AWD and so 315mi in AWD.

 

[Obiefox]

Welcome to the forum @Obiefox

How did you spec your Rivian?

From what I read here it seems like our Rivians will default to AWD via the All-Purpose mode:

"The standard on-road drive mode is aptly called All-Purpose, and if you never switched the Rivian R1T out of this default setting, you'd still find it to be remarkably swift and sure-footed. The R1T jets away from traffic lights, rides comfortably, and holds a quick, steady line through sweeping curves. If you're worried about stretching the limits of the R1T's 300-mile estimated range (there's a 400-mile battery pack coming, too), the R1T can be switched to two-wheel drive—only the front wheels are powered, making it front-wheel drive—to conserve power in a drive mode aptly dubbed "Conserve."

Thanks for the welcome! I ordered Adventure along with a spare and the floor mats. IF standard mode is AWD, then I think we will be pleasantly surprised about the real world range we will see on the highway in the optional FWD conserve mode. The EPA also uses 55% highway and 45% city driving for their range testing. Personally, I'm most interested in highway only mileage in the conserve setting for longer road trips. Around town range at home means very little to me and that will all be AWD and 0-60 in 3 sec sprints for me... lol.

 

[TOCBoston]

Very intrigued by conserve mode. My X was 315 new, 306 now, so it lost the expected 3% and has stayed there pretty consistently and accurately for 25K. I do a regular 355 mile trip and the 306 is fine with a 10-15 minute stop which isn’t much longer than previous ICE Highlander for gas and stretch (dead of winter excluded). I do this stop when I’m down to 60-80 remaining range miles to ensure fastest charge.
The main issue is for me going to be availability of fast charging up into Maine and over to the maritimes of Canada. All Rivian owners, especially ex-Tesla owners, should be concerned about this nationwide but it’s an early adopting choice.
For me, any extra range is beneficial only to open up options for different charging stations. If the 2/3 drive stop is full/broken, I need to have confidence I can get to the next one. Therefore an extra 20-30 might come in handy.
As much as range anxiety is overhyped, a broken or poor performing charger can be a real problem…unless you’re driving a Tesla on the interstate with what now feels like endless chargers. I hope to balance my Rivian range anxiety with a mix of speed and various options the vehicle allows since there will be FAR fewer chargers at my disposal.

 

[Denim]

I wonder if it will be possible to use the FWD mode while towing to extend range. Quite a few potential Rivian owners will be hauling something, in my case a larger teardrop camper (~ 2,000 lbs wet) and will be heading to somewhat remote locations. Until the charging network is more robust, range will be a limiting factor, and every extra mile helps.

My range anxiety is great enough that I'm willing to hand over the extra $10k for the Max pack, but even that won't allow for much more than about 125 miles while towing (assuming a 50% decrease and using 80/20 SOC parameters). In hot or cold weather, range could easily drop to well under 100 miles.

I'm going contact Rivian on the question about two-wheel drive while towing and will post the response.

Good questions, I am curious on the range difference between 2wd &4wd myself.

 

[kizamybute']

Very intrigued by conserve mode. My X was 315 new, 306 now, so it lost the expected 3% and has stayed there pretty consistently and accurately for 25K. I do a regular 355 mile trip and the 306 is fine with a 10-15 minute stop which isn’t much longer than previous ICE Highlander for gas and stretch (dead of winter excluded). I do this stop when I’m down to 60-80 remaining range miles to ensure fastest charge.
The main issue is for me going to be availability of fast charging up into Maine and over to the maritimes of Canada. All Rivian owners, especially ex-Tesla owners, should be concerned about this nationwide but it’s an early adopting choice.
For me, any extra range is beneficial only to open up options for different charging stations. If the 2/3 drive stop is full/broken, I need to have confidence I can get to the next one. Therefore an extra 20-30 might come in handy.
As much as range anxiety is overhyped, a broken or poor performing charger can be a real problem…unless you’re driving a Tesla on the interstate with what now feels like endless chargers. I hope to balance my Rivian range anxiety with a mix of speed and various options the vehicle allows since there will be FAR fewer chargers at my disposal.

Looks like Maine is a little scarce, but ElectrifyAmerica is making progress pretty fast at providing chargers across the country. And this doesn't include chargers from other providers. Maybe not in Maine or the Dakotas yet, but everywhere else, would feel pretty good about long distance travel in the US with just what is available today. Come next year, with so many of the manufacturers contributing to it, as well as Rivian planning to add their own network, within a year, the network will easily exceed Tesla's.

 

[Yossarian]

I wonder if it will be possible to use the FWD mode while towing to extend range. . .

I'm going contact Rivian on the question about two-wheel drive while towing and will post the response.

While it's not possible to contact Customer Support until tomorrow, I did discover that one of the driving modes on the R1T is "Towing" - it's referenced briefly in Motor Trend's 31 Aug review of the truck's interior. That doesn't necessarily rule out using the Conservative (FWD) mode while towing and I'm curious to see what what Rivian CS has to say on the question.

 

[Yossarian]

Looks like Maine is a little scarce, but ElectrifyAmerica is making progress pretty fast at providing chargers across the country. And this doesn't include chargers from other providers. Maybe not in Maine or the Dakotas yet, but everywhere else, would feel pretty good about long distance travel in the US with just what is available today. Come next year, with so many of the manufacturers contributing to it, as well as Rivian planning to add their own network, within a year, the network will easily exceed Tesla's.

View attachment 2894

I wonder how long it will be before the charging gaps are filled in. I drive from PA to both MT and WY in the winter, and based on this map, I would likely need to head west to SLC and then north to get to places like Big Sky and Grand Targhee. And given the dearth of chargers in southern TX, it looks like it will be a while before I can haul my [email protected] to Big Bend in the spring.

The other good news is that it looks like the Tesla charging network will soon also be available.

 

[TOCBoston]

Looks like Maine is a little scarce, but ElectrifyAmerica is making progress pretty fast at providing chargers across the country. And this doesn't include chargers from other providers. Maybe not in Maine or the Dakotas yet, but everywhere else, would feel pretty good about long distance travel in the US with just what is available today. Come next year, with so many of the manufacturers contributing to it, as well as Rivian planning to add their own network, within a year, the network will easily exceed Tesla's.

View attachment 2894

I’m hopeful that you’re correct about this. Seems a little optimistic but maybe not off by much. It’ll also be interesting to see what each station’s availability is like since all non Tesla manufacturers will be using the same pedestals. More manufactures = less options initially. In time all of this gets resolved and support from the Biden administration will certainly help. It’s the slack time duration in between now and then that is a bit hard to predict.
My experience is that anything under 400 miles is completely manageable. It’s when I need a second charge for a longer trip that having an EV can get a little tedious. The thing that makes it most problematic is whether or not the final destination has useful charging. It’s become very clear to me that leaving with 100% is really beneficial and I’m not always able to do that on the return leg from a trip. This makes even a 400 mile trip require two stops or one lengthy one. It’s this situation where having a slow/broken highway charger has bit me, albeit infrequently.
Clearly it’s not dissuading me from buying another EV and selling my X, but it’s also a real world experience and something that I’m looking forward to improving as the network catches up.

 

[MCRNGR]

While it's not possible to contact Customer Support until tomorrow, I did discover that one of the driving modes on the R1T is "Towing" - it's referenced briefly in Motor Trend's 31 Aug review of the truck's interior. That doesn't necessarily rule out using the Conservative (FWD) mode while towing and I'm curious to see what what Rivian CS has to say on the question.

If it has a towing mode, which would be the default mode (e.g., FWD) when “towing,” maybe Rivian is already accounting for that when they say a 40-50% range reduction at max capacity?

 

[Yossarian]

Interesting flow chart from Car & Driver. The magazine is fervently pro-EV, but this chart tells those of us who use our vehicles in cold temps (it's been less than -35F on multiple occasions on some of our trips), to stick with ICE vehicles:

 

[MCRNGR]

Disagree. Nothing new here. Plainly suggests EVs aren’t for folks who are constantly on the road (e.g., commercial use), in all weather, and have no interest in longer charging times. I think the vast majority don’t fall into that niche and will be just fine with the 300+ let alone the max pack….

 

[Yossarian]

Pretty sure the C&D flowchart was done with tongue planted more than a bit in cheek . . .

 

[lgtrent]

Very intrigued by conserve mode. My X was 315 new, 306 now, so it lost the expected 3% and has stayed there pretty consistently and accurately for 25K. I do a regular 355 mile trip and the 306 is fine with a 10-15 minute stop which isn’t much longer than previous ICE Highlander for gas and stretch (dead of winter excluded). I do this stop when I’m down to 60-80 remaining range miles to ensure fastest charge.
The main issue is for me going to be availability of fast charging up into Maine and over to the maritimes of Canada. All Rivian owners, especially ex-Tesla owners, should be concerned about this nationwide but it’s an early adopting choice.
For me, any extra range is beneficial only to open up options for different charging stations. If the 2/3 drive stop is full/broken, I need to have confidence I can get to the next one. Therefore an extra 20-30 might come in handy.
As much as range anxiety is overhyped, a broken or poor performing charger can be a real problem…unless you’re driving a Tesla on the interstate with what now feels like endless chargers. I hope to balance my Rivian range anxiety with a mix of speed and various options the vehicle allows since there will be FAR fewer chargers at my disposal.

Though admittedly I started paying close attention a little too late, I did notice quite a few charging stations along the way when going from southern Maine to Halifax, NS this past week (moving my son to college)...I was encouraged...What I saw wasn't Tesla superchargers either, so hopefully compatible...?