[Threeweight]

The guy changed his video settings so that you actually have to go to Youtube to watch the video. You can read about it here:

https://jalopnik.com/watch-rivian-ev-truck-pull-38-000-pound-semi-from-the-s-1850173242

Rvian + Factor55 recovery gear. Say what you will about range, a dedicated electric motor on each wheel = bonkers torque.

 

[Maverick Maxcat]

Torque to the wheels doesn't matter as long as it's enough to make'em spin. Any 4x4 pickup can use low range to spin all 4 on any type of surface. Being electric doesn't change physics. Max pull= vehicle weigh x coef of friction.

 

[joeer77]

Kinda cool. He had to get a running start to jerk it free. Then he spun the tires the whole time while pulling. I was expecting a slow controlled pull in 4 low on concrete.

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[Gern Blanston]

Impressive!

 

[Threeweight]

Torque to the wheels doesn't matter as long as it's enough to make'em spin. Any 4x4 pickup can use low range to spin all 4 on any type of surface. Being electric doesn't change physics. Max pull= vehicle weigh x coef of friction.

A Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine can spin a tire on icy pavement. It isn't going to overcome the static friction involved in dragging a 50,000 pound semi+trailer stuck in sand over a ditch and back onto the road on icy pavement.

No argument that EV's are magic, but I found that pretty darn impressive. Not a lot of vehicles out there that can apply 900 pound feet of torque split evenly to all 4 wheels, with no parasitic loss from the drive line, and control wheel spin well enough to bring a stuck semi back onto an icy road like that. The Rivian RT1 is the same size as a Toyota Tacoma (but a lot heavier).

 

[Threeweight]

Kinda cool. He had to get a running start to jerk it free. Then he spun the tires the whole time while pulling. I was expecting a slow controlled pull in 4 low on concrete.

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That's generally the approach needed for freeing a stuck vehicle in loose sand like that. In my 4x4 days, I always carried a "snatch strap" in my Toyota's. The Factor55 recovery gear he was using is basically a 30,000# test bungee cord (pricey, but way way stronger than the generic nylon straps sold at auto-parts stores.) Because it is stretchy, it reduces the risk of damage to the frame of the vehicle doing the pulling and the attachment point of the vehicle being pulled (it's pretty easy to rip the bumper or tow hitch off a stuck truck doing this.)

Getting a running start like that, he had the momentum of his truck (the Rivian's porky 7000# weight helped here) applied to overcoming the initial resistance of the semi having sunk into the sand. Once the semi's tires were out of the holes they had sank into, then the Rivian's torque + traction control was able to get them rolling and drag the whole thing back up the bank and onto the road.

If he had used the Rivian's low range emulation, he would most likely have just sat there and spun his tires, with the holes the semi's tires were sitting in acting like wheel chocks.

I do kinda wonder if he did any damage to the Rivian's frame doing this, though!

 

[Maverick Maxcat]

A Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine can spin a tire on icy pavement. It isn't going to overcome the static friction involved in dragging a 50,000 pound semi+trailer stuck in sand over a ditch and back onto the road on icy pavement.

No argument that EV's are magic, but I found that pretty darn impressive. Not a lot of vehicles out there that can apply 900 pound feet of torque split evenly to all 4 wheels, with no parasitic loss from the drive line, and control wheel spin well enough to bring a stuck semi back onto an icy road like that. The Rivian RT1 is the same size as a Toyota Tacoma (but a lot heavier).

I've had everything from a 1981 Toyota 4x4 pickup, with a 100 horse 4-banger. to a landcruiser wagon with a straight 6, to 600 hp Chev diesel duallies. Every single one of them could spin all 4 on dry pavement. The bungee strap is almost a miracle........all the energy contained in the momentum of the vehicle pulling is concentrated is a surge of force. I've pulled out thousands of vehicles, and used pickups to yard thousands of logs back in the day. A 10,000 lb duallie had no problem driving around with a 10,000 lb log dragging behind. Again, the torque to each wheel doesn't matter as long as it's enough. More is just wasted. That little '81 pickup pulled out innumerable F250's and F350's weighing double what the Toyota did. It's a pretty wild ride when you don't move'em though. I've had the stretch bounce me backwards 20-30' a few times.........

 

[Threeweight]

Good for you. Now lets see your 81'Toyota pickup pull a 50,000 pound semi out of a ditch on an icy road.

That is a loaded semi and trailer. The Dodge diesel you see in the beginning of the video had already tried to pull it out and failed.

 

[Maverick Maxcat]

Good for you. Now lets see your 81'Toyota pickup pull a 50,000 pound semi out of a ditch on an icy road.

That is a loaded semi and trailer. The Dodge diesel you see in the beginning of the video had already tried to pull it out and failed.

Weight is what matters, along with the right tow strap. If you think the Rivian is such hot stuff, go find one and we'll have a little pull-off with it against my diesel dually. What do ya want to wager?

 

[Starr]

That was impressive as heck. Now if their stock would just go up...

 

[Threeweight]

Weight is what matters, along with the right tow strap. If you think the Rivian is such hot stuff, go find one and we'll have a little pull-off with it against my diesel dually. What do ya want to wager?

I think I outgrew doing pull-offs around the time I turned 17 and bought my first truck with my own money (an 85' Toyota SR5 4x4, irnoically... last year with the solid front axle, first year w/ the fuel injected 22RE engine).

My tow rig today is a 2006 GMC 1 ton, w/ an LBZ Duramax. Been an awesome tow rig. But it isn't a magical beast that farts rainbows and drags loaded semi-trailers stuck in sand back onto icy roads. Maybe your truck is. But in any event, it is still pretty damn impressive to see an EV pickup truck do it.

Then again, stock Rivians (even with wimpy AT tires) have tackled Hell Gate in Moab, while also running 3.3 second 0-60 times. But I'm sure your rig has done that to!

 

[Threeweight]

That was impressive as heck. Now if their stock would just go up...

Say what you will about Elon Musk, his bombast and drama keep investors pouring money in. Rivian's low key tech bro approach doesn't quite excite the stock market in the same way. That and they squeeze so much crazy technology in the trucks that it eats into profits vs. something like a Ford Lightning, and they still have not been able to scale up production to anything close to matching demand.

My understanding of the latest beating their stock took is that Amazon got tired of waiting for production to scale op on the delivery vans, and has ended their exclusivity agreement w/ Rivian.

 

[Han Solo]

As far as torque from electric drive and torque from a smoker goes ... DC motors have a theoretical infinite amount of torque at zero speed. Which you may observe when you see the wheels turn under extreme load from a stop in a very short time.

A smoker will need a minimum engine RPM to generate rated torque. It is there from the first second with the electric drive. I had a chat with a Rivian owner recently. He had towed his boat from the Jacksonville Florida area to New Hampshire when he made that move. It was a 20' fiberglass boat. He stopped every 100 - 125 miles to recharge with a typical projected range of 150 miles. He said it was 20 plus stops and a pain in the butt. He also said it saved him a grip of money on fuel and not renting a truck to haul that boat.

I could make a 150 mile limit on towing work and it will only get better with time.

Yeah that same truck here in Oregon 6 months later. He was here to pick up something and take it back east.

 

[Sirfishalots]

Greta Thunberg will be so happy! 🙄

 

[Maverick Maxcat]

As far as torque from electric drive and torque from a smoker goes ... DC motors have a theoretical infinite amount of torque at zero speed. Which you may observe when you see the wheels turn under extreme load from a stop in a very short time.

A smoker will need a minimum engine RPM to generate rated torque. It is there from the first second with the electric drive. I had a chat with a Rivian owner recently. He had towed his boat from the Jacksonville Florida area to New Hampshire when he made that move. It was a 20' fiberglass boat. He stopped every 100 - 125 miles to recharge with a typical projected range of 150 miles. He said it was 20 plus stops and a pain in the butt. He also said it saved him a grip of money on fuel and not renting a truck to haul that boat.

I could make a 150 mile limit on towing work and it will only get better with time.

Yeah that same truck here in Oregon 6 months later. He was here to pick up something and take it back east.

I actually checked out my chukar hunting area, where I pull a 20,000# trailer to,,,,,no charging stations within 150 miles........so, with a 150 mile range I couldn't even get there, let alone get back to a charging station.......

 

[Maverick Maxcat]

I think I outgrew doing pull-offs around the time I turned 17 and bought my first truck with my own money (an 85' Toyota SR5 4x4, irnoically... last year with the solid front axle, first year w/ the fuel injected 22RE engine).

My tow rig today is a 2006 GMC 1 ton, w/ an LBZ Duramax. Been an awesome tow rig. But it isn't a magical beast that farts rainbows and drags loaded semi-trailers stuck in sand back onto icy roads. Maybe your truck is. But in any event, it is still pretty damn impressive to see an EV pickup truck do it.

Then again, stock Rivians (even with wimpy AT tires) have tackled Hell Gate in Moab, while also running 3.3 second 0-60 times. But I'm sure your rig has done that to!

Come to think of it, my Toyota actually did pull out several stuck log trucks, fully loaded to 80,000 lbs.

You may have outgrown pull-off's, or decided to quit loosing, but there is a whole sport, complete with televised competitions, devoted to pull-off's. Only one way to tell who's got the real goods and who's blowing smoke and unicorn farts. If pull-off's are beneath you, how about a 1000 mile race pulling a 20,000 lb trailer? I make that run several times a year in 20 hours or less total time. Get your Rivian and let's have at it!

 

[Threeweight]

Jesus man. Can you just admit that seeing an EV the size of a Tacoma pulling a stuck semi out of a ditch is kind of impressive?

 

[CaffeinatedWookie]

Modified the 2000 to about 350 hp, towed up to 20,000 lb, with no problems.

When I'm hauling hay it's 20,000# loads, total truck & trailer around 42,000 on the highway scales.

My boat actually hangs over the back of the truck! A 3"x6" tongue long enough to go past the truck corners would not be stiff enough to stabilize a 20,000#+ trailer, especially at freeway speeds.

I tow 20,000# (the Maverick) with an '03 Chev Duramax, LB7 motor, Allison........with a gooseneck hitch. Edge chip level 3, 430 RW horsepower on the dino. I also have an '05 Chev 1-ton dually, LLY motor, same setup, only 370 hp, and had an '02 1-ton dually, LB7 motor. All 4x4's.

I frequently tow up to 20,000# and used to run them as ranch trucks.....would run them 100k or so and trade them off. I just picked up a 2003 duallie crew 4x4 with a manual 6-speed, 120,000 miles, for $15,000.

It's pretty normal to go over 1000 miles in 4x4, on compact snow and ice, usually pulling a 44', 20,000# trailer.

Fully enclosed heated and insulated tanks, head, shower, chest freezer, standard RV fridge, 4 burner residential stove, double residential sink, microwave. 20,000 lbs loaded for 3 months on the road.

I commonly tow 20,000 lb plus trailers with cargo, boats, and living quarters, etc. 4000 lbs on the hitch is pretty standard, 8000 not unusual.

My SMALLEST onroad vehicle is a 3/4 ton Duramax crew cab 4x4. 20 mpg overall running empty isn't bad, and it can easily run off with a 20,000 lb trailer.

I actually checked out my chukar hunting area, where I pull a 20,000# trailer to,,

I don't think Maverick runs to the grocery store without his trusty 20,000 lb. trailer...

 

[CaffeinatedWookie]

Here is another fun video where some folks are making use of the up to 43.1" fording depth capability of the R1T:

 

[Alysium]

I've had everything from a 1981 Toyota 4x4 pickup, with a 100 horse 4-banger. to a landcruiser wagon with a straight 6, to 600 hp Chev diesel duallies. Every single one of them could spin all 4 on dry pavement.

What lockers are you using?