The Utah Ducati Run · Monday, June 29, 2026
San Diego Alpine, Utah
The Rivian R1T ran empty to Alpine, Utah to collect a 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 Tricolore off Bring a Trailer, then towed it home in a rented U-Haul 5x8 enclosed cargo trailer, about 1,400 pounds loaded. A far lighter, boxier trailer than the Airstream, and the return measured 1.57 mi/kWh against 2 empty on the same I-15.
The empty-truck baseline here is the control. See how the loaded Airstream reads in the 6,000-mile reality check and the rig-wide towing data.
Map loads with JavaScript. Each day page also lists every stop in text below.
A second trailer, on the same truck, for a clean comparison
Every other tow on this site is the 6,000-pound Airstream. This run flipped it: the Rivian R1T drove to Utah empty, then came home pulling a 2025 Ducati in a rented U-Haul 5x8 enclosed cargo trailer, about 1,400 pounds loaded, a ~1,000-pound empty trailer plus the ~400-pound bike. Same truck, same I-15, a fifth of the weight. The outbound legs above are the empty baseline, flat desert around 2 mi/kWh, 1.87 climbing into Utah, 3.38 on the descent. The towed return ran the same corridor at about 1.57 mi/kWh, and that gap is the real-world cost of the trailer, mostly aerodynamic since the load is so light.
The run, as it logs.
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Day 01 · Monday, Jun 29
San Diego to Las Vegas: 332 desert miles on an empty bed
Day one of the Utah Ducati Run ends at Southpoint. Three Rivian Adventure Network charges, all free, and a clean empty-R1T baseline just over 2 mi/kWh across the desert.
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Day 02 · Tuesday, Jun 30
Las Vegas to Salt Lake City: 491 miles up into Utah
Day two of the Utah Ducati Run. Las Vegas to the Salt Lake City area via the Virgin River Gorge, Beaver, and Park City, the empty-truck baseline before the Ducati goes on the trailer.
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Day 03 · Wednesday, Jul 1
The trailer goes on: the first towed miles, at 1.6 mi/kWh
Day three of the Utah Ducati Run. The U-Haul trailer and Ducati onto the hitch in the Salt Lake Valley, then the first towed leg south to Beaver, Utah. The empty baseline meets the enclosed-trailer reality.
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Day 04 · Thursday, Jul 2
The towed run home: off the high desert, across the Mojave, down to the coast
Day four of the Utah Ducati Run. Out of Mesquite at dawn, a paid Tesla splash at Moapa, a free Rivian fill in Las Vegas, then across the Mojave into California, still towing the Ducati in the enclosed U-Haul through the July heat.
FAQ
The Utah Ducati Run, answered
What the run is, the empty-truck numbers, and when the towing comparison starts.
What is the Utah Ducati Run?
A road trip from San Diego to the Salt Lake City area to pick up a 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 Tricolore bought on Bring a Trailer. The Rivian R1T drives out empty (no trailer), then tows the motorcycle home on a rented U-Haul trailer, so the return is a controlled comparison of empty vs towed efficiency on the same I-15 corridor.
How efficient is the Rivian R1T without a trailer?
On this run the empty R1T held right around 2 mi/kWh across the flat desert (2.06 to 2.11 mi/kWh), dropped to 1.87 mi/kWh climbing over the Virgin River Gorge into Utah, and hit 3.38 mi/kWh on the descent into Salt Lake from regenerative braking. That spread is the baseline the towed return is measured against.
Are you towing on this trip?
Not on the way out. The outbound legs are empty, a clean efficiency baseline. The towing, with the Ducati on a U-Haul trailer, starts on the return so the trailer impact can be isolated.
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