Rivian Towing Capacity – How Much Load Can The R1T Tow?

by Conner Mckay

Are you planning on purchasing a Rivian model and do you want to learn what is the Rivian towing capacity? Well, if this is the case, then you are at the right place because there will be a lot to cover on this topic where we are going to discuss all about the specs of the Rivian models that are on the market right now.

Doing the proper research before you go out there and purchase a vehicle is really important. Why I’m saying this? Well, because it is true. You need to find a vehicle that will meet all of your demands.

Some people want more from their cars while some of them only want to take them from point A to point B. If you are one of those people who want to squeeze everything from their vehicles, this article is for you. Since we are going to cover everything you need to know when it comes to the specs of this model and especially we will put a big reference on the Rivian towing capacity since this aspect is probably what you are most interested in.

First, we are going to cover Rivian and their history and we will also learn why they are one of the hottest topics nowadays. Then we will dive into the two Rivian models. We are going to discuss more about the specs they have and also more about the Rivian towing capacity. So, if you want to learn more, please follow along.

What Is Rivian

Now before we start discussing the Rivian towing capacity, let’s first learn more about what is Rivian in general. The first thing you need to do is to familiarize yourself with the company that is building this car. This way you will know how they work and if they deliver or not. So, let’s learn more about the history of Rivian.

What is important for you to know is that even though Rivian might seem to you like a new company, they are actually not. This company was formed in 2009. So, they are 13 years out there designing and building electric vehicles.

Everything started from an idea by the founder of Rivian, Robert RJ Scaringe. He founded this company in 2009 and called it Mainstream Motors. Then this company was renamed again into Avera Automotive. And lastly into Rivian. Now you might be asking what Rivian means, right?

The word Rivian is a wordplay from the Indian River. This is a big lagoon in Florida, the place where the founder of the company grew up. So, he took this as an inspiration.

Nevertheless, the Rivian name was given to the company in 2011 and still stands to this day. Their first car was the R1. This car was a hybrid coupe prototype that was never put into production. The main work in Rivian shifted towards electric vehicles in 2015. And investments started to roll in.

Then they purchased a former Mitsubishi Motors plant and opened a ton of research facilities across the country focusing on developing components for their future electric vehicles.

They introduced two models in 2017 and they started producing them recently. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that in a bit.

Why Do They Attract So Much Attention?

Before we start discussing more about the Rivian towing capacity, let’s take a look at why Rivian attracts so much attention. Rivian nowadays is one of the hot topics and let’s elaborate on why this is the case.

Well, this is the case because Rivian is the first “serious” start-up company to become a mass producer of electric cars since Tesla.

There were a handful of companies that promised a lot and showed working prototypes but these products were nowhere near finish or production. They quickly fell apart or were purchased by another company.

But that was not entirely the case with Rivian. This company has so far delivered the products they promised to the public, their products are really good. Granted, its public launch wasn’t as smooth as most may hope.

 

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Still, they have a long way to go because they are still fresh when it comes to producing vehicles and have a lot more to learn. But the important thing is that their products are real and you can purchase them.

You just go to the Rivian website and you spec out the Rivian model that you dream of. It is that easy to do. You are only a few clicks away from your new electric pickup or SUV.

Another thing to add is that they are quite similar to Tesla since they do not have a dealership. Maybe in the future, this will change when the company starts growing but for now, everything is done online.

What is important to note is that there are two Rivian models, the R1T and the R1S, and more on their specs we are going to cover next as well as the Rivian towing capacity.

Rivian Specs

As we covered the basics of Rivian and learned about his company and its history. We think that now it is time to start discussing their models. Namely, the R1T and the R1S. What is worth noting is that the R1T is their pickup truck. While the R1S is the SUV.

We are going to cover everything you need to know, the dimensions and weight, as well as the electric motors and the battery pack size used in these vehicles. And on top of that, we are going to cover the Rivian towing capacity as well as the price to purchase new. So, if you want to learn more, follow along.

Rivian Electric Truck Specs

Now let’s dive into the specs of the Rivian including the Rivian towing capacity. In the following chapters, we are going to focus primarily on the Rivian R1T which is also known as the Rivian electric truck.

In fact, this was the first model that Rivian introduced into the market. This model’s prototype debuted in 2018 but it was not until recently that this model was put into mass production. The 2022 model year is the first production year of this model.

What is also worth noting is that this model is assembled in Normal, Illinois in the former Mitsubishi Motors factory in this town.

Nevertheless, this is a 4-door crew cab truck that falls into the upper mid-size category. This means that this truck is a mid-size truck, a bit smaller than your standard F-150 or RAM 1500.

The model is based on Rivian’s own platform that is shared with the R1S which is the SUV variant. What is good with this truck is that it is very off-road capable because of its high-performing electric motors that are able to tackle any terrain out there. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? We will get to that in a moment.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #1: Dimensions & Size

Now before we discuss more on the Rivian towing capacity, let’s take a look at the dimensions of this truck and learn more about the package size that this truck some with.

The wheelbase of this truck is about 135.9 inches which is quite long. The overall length is 217.1 inches and the width is 81.8 inches. The R1T is 75.7 inches tall and the ground clearance is 14.9 inches, perfect for off-road duties.

The Rivian weight is 7,148lbs. Which is really heavy in comparison to other trucks in this class. But this is understandable because this is an electric vehicle and the battery packs are very heavy. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that we are going to cover in a bit.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #2: Electric Motors & Transmission

Another topic that we would like to cover before we discuss more about the Rivian towing capacity is the electric motors and transmission used in the R1T.

This is an all-electric vehicle as you probably know and there are four AC motors installed on each wheel. Each of these motors produces a ton of power. But more on the power numbers later on.

What is important when it comes to electric motors is that you don’t have a transmission. The R1T implements direct-drive transaxles that travel directly mounted to the four motors.

Everything on the R1T is computerized, so whenever there is a loss of traction, the computer will notice and you will never lose traction. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that we are going to cover in a moment. Let’s first discuss the power numbers.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #3: Rivian Horsepower

The front electric motors are producing about 415hp and 413lb-ft of torque, while the rear two motors produce 420hp and 495lb-ft of torque. Which is plenty to propel the vehicle from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds.

And frankly, for a pickup truck that weighs more than seven thousand pounds, this is really impressive. In addition to this, this truck can cover a quarter mile in only 11.7 seconds at speed of 111 mph. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on the towing we are going to cover in a bit after we finish with the rest of the specs that this model has.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #4: Rivian Battery Size

Now let’s discuss the battery size before we dive into the towing numbers. The R1T implements a single battery pack also known as a “Large Pack” which is a 135 kWh pack. And from 2023, there will be an optional “Max Pack”. The Max Pack will be rated at 180 kWh. More than any other vehicle out there on the market.

Each of the 135 kWh battery packs consists of 7,776 cells assembled in nine separate modules. The cells are made by Samsung. The modules and the assembly of the battery packs are done in Normal, Illinois.

All these batteries should give you a range of 400 miles if you drive normally. If you drive off-road and you tow a lot, you can expect this range to quickly degrade.

What is good though is that this model can charge up to 225 kW. So, in other words, it supports fast charging. But what about the towing capacity? We will get to that next.

Rivian R1T Towing Capacity

Now let’s discuss more about the Rivian storage capacity and the Rivian towing capacity. The R1T has a 4.5ft bed, which is not huge by any means considering the beds on other trucks are 6.5ft on average.

But luckily, you have a small storage compartment under the bed that you can use to store some camping equipment or some golf equipment.

In the front, there is a compartment that is known as a frunk. Since there is no engine this space can be used as a cargo area. And there you have about 11 cubic ft of cargo space as well as 12V DC outlets as well as 15A/120V AC outlets that you can use.

When it comes to towing, this truck can tow a lot. The Rivian towing capacity is rated at 11,000lbs. So, when it comes to towing you shouldn’t worry much. But there is a downside that a lot of electric vehicles have when they tow heavy stuff. And that is the range.

The range starts to suffer when fully loaded. So, you can expect it to deplete by a third or even more in some cases under heavy load.

Price

We covered the Rivian towing capacity, now let’s take a look at the price. How much can you expect to pay in order to get one for yourself?

The starting price for the Rivian is $67,500 according to the official website. But after options, this price can go up quite significantly. So, be prepared for that. Now let’s move on to the next model, which is the Rivian R1S SUV.

Rivian Electric SUV Specs

Now let’s discuss the second vehicle produced by Rivian before we discuss the Rivian towing capacity and that is the R1S.

The R1S is Rivian’s offering in the SUV segment. This full-size SUV is expected to be introduced on the market pretty soon from the point we write this article.

What is good about this model is that it shares a lot with its brother the R1T that we covered previously. Almost everything in front of the B pillar is practically the same. The only difference is in the rear of the car where you don’t have a bed but you have seats to accommodate passengers. As sources claim, this model shares about 91% of the components with the R1T model.

The design of this SUV is very modern and has all the modern design cues with the front LED bar and the vertical headlights.

This is basically a full-size vehicle intended for off-road. And frankly, it is built that way. The first prototype was introduced in 2018 and since then, a ton of people who pre-ordered this model are expecting their sample to enjoy.

Nevertheless, if you want you can still make a preorder for one of these vehicles. There are three trims in total. The Explore, the Adventure, and the Launch Edition models. All of them have different styling cues that differentiate one from the other. The Explore is basically the lowest trim. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that we are going to cover in a bit after we discuss more about the specs of this model.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #1: Dimensions & Size

This is a 4-door 7-passenger SUV, so we can say that it will be quite large with a total length of 201 inches and a wheelbase of 121.1 inches.

This model will be 72 inches tall and 82 inches wide. What bad though is that it will be really heavy. Similar to the R1T, the Rivian weight for the R1S will be more than 7,000lbs.

This is much heavier in comparison to your standard Chevy Tahoe which weighs only 5,723lbs. That’s 1700+lbs difference but you probably won’t even notice it since it is going to be really fast. Except when it comes to tire life. We can assume that tire life will be bad on this SUV because of the weight. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that we are going to cover in a bit.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #2: Electric Motors & Transmission

The R1S basically has the same powertrain as the R1T. There are four electric motors. One motor per wheel which is then connected through a transaxle.

There is no transmission on the R1S similar to the pickup model. All work is done by the computer and through software.

So, the computer basically studies the surface through the motion of the wheels and then decides how much power to deliver to every wheel on the car. Pretty ingenious technology if you are asking me. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? We will get to that in a moment, another topic that we would like to discuss is the horsepower that this model makes.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #3: Rivian Horsepower

The R1S is expected to be powerful as the pickup variant, more precisely 835hp in total. For an SUV we think that it’s plenty.

This will also give the R1S and unmatched speed on the road. Rumors say that this model will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in only 3 seconds. More than anything out there in this category. Even the TRX with the Hellcat engine does not accelerate this fast.

And all this is possible because of the smart power delivery to the wheels. As we mentioned, everything is done by the computer. So, the car knows at every moment which wheel should get the power. But what about the Rivian towing capacity? More on that we are going to cover in a bit.

Rivian Towing Capacity And Other Specifications #4: Rivian Battery Size

Now before we dive into the Rivian towing capacity, let’s discuss the battery size. And the battery size for this model will really depend on the pack you are after.

 

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It is rumored that there will be three packs in total. 105 kWh, 135 kWh, and 180 kWh battery packs. The bigger the pack, the more miles you will have to drive.

We think for this vehicle, the sweet spot will be the 135 kWh battery. With this battery pack, you can expect a range of 316 miles. A bit slower than the truck.

Rivian R1S Towing Capacity

The Rivian R1S has a reduced towing capacity since it is a bit heavier than the standard R1T. Supposedly when this model is released, it will be able to tow about 7,700lbs.

But if you decide to tow this much, then this will probably get a toll on the battery life. So, if you want to use a vehicle primarily for towing, I would advise you to get a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle.

Price

The price for the R1S is expected to start at $72,000 for the Explore trim level. The Adventure trim will be a bit more expensive, costing about $78,000. And the most expensive will be the launch edition, costing a whopping $90,000.

Rivian R1T Towing Range Facts:

  1. The Rivian R1T pickup truck has a towing capacity of 11,000 lbs, making it one of the highest in its class.
  2. Towing with the R1T significantly affects its range, and it is essential to factor in the weight of the load being towed when planning a road trip.
  3. All-Electric Family took their R1T on a 500-mile road trip, pulling a 7,000 lbs Airstream.
  4. Throughout the first leg of the trip, the R1T’s consumption figures ranged between 1.02 and 1.07 mi/kWh, with an estimated range of 137-144 miles per charge when towing.
  5. The R1T’s range when towing is approximately 45% of its EPA range of 314 miles.
  6. When driving up a mountain with a 7,000 lbs Airstream in tow, the R1T’s consumption dropped to 0.66 mi/kWh, and the projected range was just under 90 miles.
  7. The R1T is equipped with advanced technology and has impressive performance levels, making it a highly sought-after vehicle.
  8. The R1T’s towing capacity makes it an excellent choice for those who need to haul heavy loads regularly.
  9. Planning a road trip with an R1T requires careful consideration of its range and towing capacity, especially when driving in challenging terrain.
  10. Despite the range reduction when towing, the R1T’s capabilities and features make it an appealing option for those looking for an electric pickup truck.

Conclusion To Rivian Towing Capacity

In this article, we have covered quite a bit about the Rivian brand. First, we learned what are they and more about their history.

Then we covered the two models that they released and plan to release. Namely, the R1T and the R1S. We covered their main specs and features as well as the Rivian towing capacity.

F.A.Qs To Rivian Towing Capacity

Now let’s answer some frequently asked questions.

What Is A Rivian

Rivian is a car manufacturer from the US. They are currently producing the Rivian R1T pickup truck and are planning to produce the R1S SUV in the near future.

How Much Is A Rivian Truck

The starting price for the R1T pickup truck is about $67,500. But this is the starting MSRP, the real price after options can easily go over $70,000.

How Much Does A Rivian Truck Cost

The MRSP for a new Rivian R1T pickup truck is about $67,500. What is worth noting is that this is the price before all of the options that you can add which cost more money. So, a well-optioned R1T could cost you more than $75,000.

Are Rivian Trucks For Sale

Yes, they are for sale, you can order one anytime. You just go to their website and make an order for your new truck. What is worth noting is that Rivian does not have dealerships so this is the only way to order a truck from them.

How To Buy A Rivian Truck

You just go online and visit their website. There you will have all the necessary steps that you need to follow in order to make an order for a new truck. Waiting time is big but if you really want one, it is worth it.

How Many Vehicles Has Rivian Sold

In 2021, they produced roughly about 1,200 vehicles. But for 2022 they hope that they could reach the 20,000 units sold. So, we strongly hope that this will be the case and they will come in strong and become a really popular brand.

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