Electric trucks—how much can they tow? And how far?

The trucks are electric. Truck drivers have questions. Tow truck is one of the biggest. The range figures for the trucks don't include a trailer. Several recent tests have been done to see what pulling a load does to an electric truck's range.

Let's take a closer look.

The best-selling type of vehicle in America is trucks. SUVs were bought more by Americans than cars and trucks. The top three best-selling vehicles are all full-size trucks.

Most of the manufacturers are planning to sell heavily electric lineups in the future.

To meet their goals, they will need to build electric pickup trucks.

The first few are on the road. The GM Hummer EV is an off-road-oriented luxury truck. Rivian began shipping its pickup to buyers late last year.

There are more on the way. The Ford F-150 Lightning will likely be the first electric truck many Americans encounter. Ram plans to build an electric truck. The vehicle has been delayed, but it has more than one million reservations.

But can they tow?

Tow ratings for EV trucks are respectable. Rivian says the R1T can pull 11,000 pounds. Ford says the F-150 Lighting can tow 10,000.

They don't say how far the trucks can go.

Test No. 1

The Fast Lane Truck decided to find out. A Rivian R1T and a Toyota Tundra were towed by a camping trailer. The crew tested how far each truck could get on the energy they could store, with a full battery for the Rivian and a full gas tank for the Tundra.

The R1T is available with up to 314 miles. TFLT pulled a camping trailer and got 153 miles out of it. They stopped when the truck's battery was 9%.

At the same time, the Tundra had used just 32% of its fuel. It could triple the Rivian range.

I left my job at age 65 and I don't want to retire, what's next?

Test No. 2

Motor Trend ran a test with the Rivian. They used a model with the full 314-mile range and came near its maximum towing weight. The truck was able to accelerate to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds.

It would take something to relieve Americans of electric vehicle range anxiety.

But range? The truck's computer estimated it could pull the load for 123 miles. When they hit the 123-mile limit, they had 47 miles of range left. They did not push any further.

The tester found that the truck could tow for a short distance, but it was very efficient. The R1T always has more power than it needs to get the job done, even if it leaves a stop, passes a slower truck or goes up a hill. The performance of the towing was unaffected by altitude.

What it means

Can the first generation of electric trucks replace gasoline-powered trucks for those who tow frequently? Probably not. The range penalty for hitching up a trailer is extreme. If you pulled that camping trailer to a campsite, you wouldn't likely find a charging point waiting for you there, because truck owners often tow their loads to places where you can easily charge an EV.

The Hummer is compared to the Ford Lightning.

Electric trucks can be used for short distances and meet the needs of drivers who don't tow often. Before electric tow vehicles become a common sight, battery technology needs to improve. If you're buying a truck for general purposes, an electric one might save you money on gas and emissions. If you are buying a tow vehicle, odds are good that EV technology is not ready to meet your needs.

The story ran on the website.