Use mi/kWh first.
A 141 kWh pack at 1.24 mi/kWh is 175 miles. Change the efficiency and the whole trip plan changes with it.
EV towing efficiency
The tow range story starts with mi/kWh.
Battery size tells you how much energy you brought. Efficiency tells you what the road, the air, and the trailer did with it. This page turns our tow ledger into the conditions that actually move range.
- Weighted tow average
- 1.24 mi/kWh
- Measured towing miles
- 5,262 mi
- Max Pack range basis
- 175 mi
Interactive ledger
Slice the tow data by the thing that matters today.
Switch from efficiency to estimated range, grade, or segment length. Filter by wind to see why a normal-looking tow day can feel so different from the driver's seat.
mi/kWh Segments in trip order
Tailwind Headwind Crosswind Calm
Same rig, different day.
Each row is weighted by measured miles and kWh, not a simple average of dashboard screenshots. That keeps a short weird segment from overpowering a full tow leg.
| Factor | Measured buckets | Best | Worst | Planning takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind | Tailwind: 1.40Crosswind: 1.18Calm / light: 1.26Headwind: 1.10 | 1.40 mi/kWh | 1.10 mi/kWh | 42 miles of full-pack range between tailwind and headwind buckets. |
| Grade | Rolling / flat: 1.24Net climb: 1.07 | 1.24 mi/kWh | 1.07 mi/kWh | 24 miles of full-pack range between the best and worst grade buckets. |
| Temperature | Cool (<70°F): 1.16Mild (70–85°F): 1.25Hot (>85°F): 1.02 | 1.25 mi/kWh | 1.02 mi/kWh | 32 miles of full-pack range between the best and worst temperature buckets. |
The range envelope is visible in the ledger.
Best long tow
Bryce Canyon City Supercharger to La Verkin Supercharger (Zion gateway)
1.88 mi/kWh
110.1 miles, 265 mile full-pack pace.
Middle long towErick OK Electrify America to OKC RAN (west OKC)
1.20 mi/kWh
136.7 miles, close to the real planning middle of the dataset.
Hardest long towGreen River RAN to Thousand Lakes RV Park (Torrey)
0.92 mi/kWh
108.1 miles, 130 mile full-pack pace.
How we turn efficiency into a tow day.
Plan from the charger window.
The useful road-trip window is often 10 to 80 percent, about 123 miles at our average, before weather and detours.
Spend the buffer on bad air.
Headwind is the silent tax. If the forecast is ugly, we shorten the hop before the truck has to prove a point.
Want the live math? Open the EV towing range calculator built from this dataset.
FAQ
EV towing efficiency, answered
What a good towing mi/kWh is, how much wind and grade move it, and how to plan around it.
What is a good EV towing efficiency for a travel trailer?
Our Rivian R1T Tri-Motor Max Pack and 23-foot Airstream average 1.24 mi/kWh across 5,262 measured towing miles. A good number depends on trailer shape, speed, wind, temperature, and grade, but the useful benchmark is measured mi/kWh with the trailer attached.
How much does wind affect EV towing efficiency?
In the Wattreach tow ledger, wind currently changes the full-pack estimate by about 42 miles between tailwind and headwind buckets.
Should EV towing range be planned from the average or the worst segment?
Use the average to understand the rig, but plan road legs with a conservative buffer. We usually plan 100 to 120 mile tow hops because charger layout, headwind, climbs, and the 10 to 80 percent fast-charge window matter more than the full-pack maximum.
EV towing library
More EV towing stories
Field reports, truck comparisons, and the measured data, all in one place.
Take the data
Use the numbers. Link the source.
Plain-text citation
Wattreach. Real-world EV towing dataset: Rivian R1T Tri-Motor Max Pack towing a 23-foot Airstream International. 5,262 measured towing miles, 51 tow segments, 1.24 mi/kWh weighted average. https://wattreach.com/the-rig/