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Many will laugh this off, but, I'm beginning to think it may be a valid question....
Now that we have pickups coming to market that are capable of towing, got me thinking, could you just take two Rivian's, tow one to charge it with regenerative braking and switch back and forth?
I've had EV's for 9+ years. Always noticed how much range I got back on a long steep downward sloping hillside from regenerative braking. While I don't have scientific stats, the range gained over a 4 mile down hill run was significant. Certainly more than the 4 miles travelled.
Tried searching the internet and found where someone towed a Model 3 around a 1.4 mile track and gained more than 1.4 miles in range. Was closer to 3.5 miles gained. Hence, regenerative braking seems to charge much faster than the distance travelled.
The question would be, how much range loss would you experience from towing? If you can gain 3.5 miles in range by towing over a 1.4 mile distance, or more simply put, gain 2.5 miles by towing 1 mile, so long as your range doesn't decline by that much from towing, seems like you could just switch off and never have to charge?
Rivian has 314 miles in range. Towing we know drastically lowers that range.
Based on the Tesla towing test, Towing 100 miles would theoretically add 250 miles in range to the other Rivian. Could be more or less depending on the actual regenerative power, which in my test drive of the Rivian felt stronger than a Tesla. But, it was only a 1 mile drive, so no clue how much actual range I was gaining. But theoretically, If I can gain 250 miles of range in 100 miles, that means that, you'd only have to accomplish a range of 100 miles from the 300 mile range battery to be net zero. Seems possible, no??
Get a tow-bar to attach the two vehicles together. Would have to have a driver in each vehicle with both vehicles on and shifted in to "Drive". If the Rivian's regen is equal to the Tesla and really will add 2.5 miles in range for every 1 mile driven, then simply towing a second Rivian would theoretically give you endless range? Assuming you can get 100 miles in range out of the battery while towing the other Rivian.
May not be the greatest on the motors and charging system, but the question being, "could it be done?". Not "should" it be done. In a pinch, could be useful. Keep the speeds reasonable. The Tesla test was at about 30 miles per hour, so not that fast.
Anyway, just a thought for fun, but that thought , when thinking further, seems like it could actually be a reality. Until now, there were no EV's practically capable of towing. Now, with the Ford, Hummer & Rivian, there is. Will be interesting to see if someone tests this out. Seems like it could work. Your batteries and drivetrain may not last as long as a result, but that's not the point to the question. If you ended up in the middle of a desert somewhere, 1,000 miles from the nearest charger, and had one charged up Rivian and one on empty, could you get to the that charger 1,000 miles away by connecting the two vehicles together?
I do see that Ford filed a patent for recharging by towing. So, clearly they've thought of it. The only question is, how far could you tow versus how much range is gained on the second vehicle from the regenerative power? Seems like 100 miles is certainly possible, especially at just 30 MPH. In this scenario, with a solid enough tow bar, rather than switching back and forth, the Rivian behind could just push the Rivian in front once it runs out, which would be the same as towing and recharge the front Rivian while it's being pushed, instead of towed. I remember, even in my Chevy Volt years ago, coasting down the grapevine gave me several miles of range back, far more in that short distance than I ever got from plugging in the car over the same amount of time.
I don't know. Thinking it might be possible. Maybe not practical, but certainly possible?
Now that we have pickups coming to market that are capable of towing, got me thinking, could you just take two Rivian's, tow one to charge it with regenerative braking and switch back and forth?
I've had EV's for 9+ years. Always noticed how much range I got back on a long steep downward sloping hillside from regenerative braking. While I don't have scientific stats, the range gained over a 4 mile down hill run was significant. Certainly more than the 4 miles travelled.
Tried searching the internet and found where someone towed a Model 3 around a 1.4 mile track and gained more than 1.4 miles in range. Was closer to 3.5 miles gained. Hence, regenerative braking seems to charge much faster than the distance travelled.
The question would be, how much range loss would you experience from towing? If you can gain 3.5 miles in range by towing over a 1.4 mile distance, or more simply put, gain 2.5 miles by towing 1 mile, so long as your range doesn't decline by that much from towing, seems like you could just switch off and never have to charge?
Rivian has 314 miles in range. Towing we know drastically lowers that range.
Based on the Tesla towing test, Towing 100 miles would theoretically add 250 miles in range to the other Rivian. Could be more or less depending on the actual regenerative power, which in my test drive of the Rivian felt stronger than a Tesla. But, it was only a 1 mile drive, so no clue how much actual range I was gaining. But theoretically, If I can gain 250 miles of range in 100 miles, that means that, you'd only have to accomplish a range of 100 miles from the 300 mile range battery to be net zero. Seems possible, no??
Get a tow-bar to attach the two vehicles together. Would have to have a driver in each vehicle with both vehicles on and shifted in to "Drive". If the Rivian's regen is equal to the Tesla and really will add 2.5 miles in range for every 1 mile driven, then simply towing a second Rivian would theoretically give you endless range? Assuming you can get 100 miles in range out of the battery while towing the other Rivian.
May not be the greatest on the motors and charging system, but the question being, "could it be done?". Not "should" it be done. In a pinch, could be useful. Keep the speeds reasonable. The Tesla test was at about 30 miles per hour, so not that fast.
Anyway, just a thought for fun, but that thought , when thinking further, seems like it could actually be a reality. Until now, there were no EV's practically capable of towing. Now, with the Ford, Hummer & Rivian, there is. Will be interesting to see if someone tests this out. Seems like it could work. Your batteries and drivetrain may not last as long as a result, but that's not the point to the question. If you ended up in the middle of a desert somewhere, 1,000 miles from the nearest charger, and had one charged up Rivian and one on empty, could you get to the that charger 1,000 miles away by connecting the two vehicles together?
I do see that Ford filed a patent for recharging by towing. So, clearly they've thought of it. The only question is, how far could you tow versus how much range is gained on the second vehicle from the regenerative power? Seems like 100 miles is certainly possible, especially at just 30 MPH. In this scenario, with a solid enough tow bar, rather than switching back and forth, the Rivian behind could just push the Rivian in front once it runs out, which would be the same as towing and recharge the front Rivian while it's being pushed, instead of towed. I remember, even in my Chevy Volt years ago, coasting down the grapevine gave me several miles of range back, far more in that short distance than I ever got from plugging in the car over the same amount of time.
I don't know. Thinking it might be possible. Maybe not practical, but certainly possible?