Towing what with your future Scout? -- Using Traveler or Terra?

[Foobar]

I specifically put a reservation in for the Terra Harvester because I need a capable tow vehicle that can go the distance. I currently pull an Airstream Trade Wind 25FBT with my Rivian R1T Quad/Large and that means I stop every 120-150 miles to charge up. The Rivian only has a 400v system and it has less than ideal thermal management which means the charging gets derated after a while. That all adds up to not being a great time for long trips. The Terra with the range extender and 800v charging system is going to make pulling the Airstream a much more friendly experience (aside from the less than ideal charge port location being in the rear instead of the front which means I'll have to drop the trailer when charging unless I block multiple charging spaces.)

Anyone else looking at a Scout for similar reasons?

 

[ocnsvl]

I too have placed an order for the Terra Harvester. We pull an enclosed car trailer which checks in at about 8500 pounds when fully loaded for endurance races. Almost always being constrained for travel times makes frequent stops for charging a non-starter, so the gas engine charrging system is a must if we go the EV truck route. Needing to drop the trailer for charging will be a big negative but most charging stations are not properly configured for folks towing trailers. The one thing that is not clear to me is what are the various storage spots in the Terra, excluding the Frunk. I find the Rambox system on our current Ram 1500 to be a great place for hitch ball mounts, tow straps etc. I am also curious about what towing/trailer technology will be included or available. Supporting trailer cameras and TMPS are things that should be included.

 

[Foobar]

Agreed that most charging stations aren't properly configured for trailers, but I'm pleasantly surprised with how I fared on two recent long trips: Long Island NY to Orlando FL and back, and Long Island NY to Sedalia MO and back. On both trips, I only had to drop the trailer a couple of times with my Rivian. I charged mostly at Tesla Superchargers (I have the NACS adapter) and I would either pull up sideways on the left of the Tesla charging spaces and take up one charging stall and a bunch of empty parking spaces to the left, or on an angle on the right most charging stall and blocking some empty parking spaces on the right. In some parking lots that had a lot of space, I could just pull straight up into one of the Tesla spaces and just leave the entire trailer hanging out the back and other cars had no problems getting around me.

In some stations with pull-through capabilities, it was a breeze - just like gas station islands, pull up on either side and Bob's your uncle.

For the few times I had to drop the trailer, it's because there weren't available spaces to block.

With the Scout's port on the rear and the trailer still in tow, I'll only be able to pull in sideways from the left, and I'll have to block two charging stalls so that the rear clears it to the left-most charger with the front of the truck blocking the second as well. Not ideal.

That all said, I'm hoping that I can just fill up with gas for those times that an easy charge session isn't available and I can keep on trekking without augmenting with a DC charge, but time will tell if that's actually feasible.

 

[Mousehunter]

I occasionally tow heavy trailers - so I will not be giving up my F250. Those are gooseneck trailers and I have no clue if even the Terra will be rated for a gooseneck. Likewise, I doubt the Scout would really enjoy towing my RV (abet it is probably within the spec for the Terra).

That said, I also have lighter trailers. I have 2 3 boat trailers, both are probably rated at 3k (abet one is probably only weighing in at 2k - the 3rd is much lighter rated). I also have a 3 or 3.5k utility trailer that I use quite often (towing a 1500lb lawnmower). In a pinch, I probably could tow my light horse trailer (7k) - abet it would not be to shows, but to the local vet. Last thing I would want to do is need to recharge an EV towing a horse trailer with 2 or 3 horses in it. That said, I really do not like using that horse trailer - because it is light, it does not ride nearly as smoothly for the horses, and I have had multiple injuries in it. My horse was lame for 6 months due to an injury during an emergency vet visit (the horse had a minor injury, but was stressed and it injured itself much worse on the way to the vet).

I technically have a 2.5 ton trailer. While the Traveler could in theory tow it - I don't know if it could be hitched correctly as it is an offroad trailer with an extreme hitch height (not to mention a pintle hitch that requires more clearance above it - pretty sure it would hit the tire. But I will most likely try to see if it fits... I have not built it out yet - but I got it cheap with the plans to make an offroad mini camper on it.

 

[MnLakeBum]

I have 3 boats all between 23 and 28 feet that with trailer are between 6,500 and 8,000 lbs. but I only tow each of them a couple of times each year. The two in MN stay in the water all summer and the Whaler we have in FL stays in the water year round other than maIntenance. When I’m towing any of them it’s normally not more than 10 miles. Same goes for our two Sea Doos that only get towed twice each year.

I did tow the Whaler the 1,900 miles from FL to Minnesota in the spring of 2023 but I now leave it in FL.

The pontoon with trailer weighs almost 8,000 lbs and has a beam of 9’6” so is illegal to tow without a special permit.

 

[jhscout]

My ski boat! It is a 165 mile one way trip to the lake house for the summer. Then we have a small private ski lake about 20 miles away for spring/fall skiing. Super excited to have the range extender option! We don’t have any charge spots along the route.

 

[Roush]

Tow with Traveler Harvester, bench seat.

 

[Foobar]

Here's a picture of my Rivian R1T with the Airstream Trade Wind in its natural habitat...

I hope to not spend as much time doing this with the Scout Terra Harvester!

 

[Donnie]

I tow my 23 ft bay boat to gulf and inland waterways. Usually 50 miles less one way. I pull a 18 ft tandem pipe trailer and will be buying a travel trailer soon thinking around 28ft atc trailer

 

[antwon412]

Put a deposit in Traveler Harvester. Thinking something like this would be perfect my girlfriend and I to travel around & visit the National Parks and beautiful areas of the different states.

 

[pwrofgrayskull]

Can I first say that I really hope an integrated brake controller is on the menu for Scout?

Definitely looking to tow here as well. Have had trailers in the past topping between 10k and 11k pounds loaded (toy hauler just under 30ft end to end). Currently I'd be looking to tow a 3k lb loaded flatbed, 6k-8k lb loaded flatbed, and 4500 lb RV with the Scout. Although the tow capacity of these things could open up more options for our family (could get back into a toy hauler) if they end up living up to what was presented in the reveal. Charging while towing is a big concern for me as I've seen people unhitching at Tesla chargers before and I wonder how quickly that would become tiresome and how much it'd slow down (or limit or eliminate) our trips. The Harvester range extender would be a must for our family for multiple reasons. Can't wait to see how it all plays out.

 

[Foobar]

it would be a step backwards for Scout not to have an integrated brake controller - if they’re using Rivian software anyway, let’s hope that includes their implementation of the brake controller. It uses the right side steering wheel scroll wheel (press in to engage) and it works well. The towing configuration screen is pretty good as well.

 

[justinjas]

Our Safari Condo Alto R1726.

It’s a 2000 lb retractable roof travel trailer we’ve had a couple years now. Should be a breeze for the Terra Harvester but I’d want to get a new tow vehicle that could tow an airstream or something later. Originally we were looking at the Ramcharger until the Terra came out.

I’m curious if any of you are concerned about the power from the harvester. Since they haven’t said the engine or the battery to gas range split it’s really hard to tell how or if this thing will work towing long distances where you are just topping off gas. Some of the other threads I’ve been in people are concerned it won’t even be able to keep up highway speeds by itself let alone towing anything. I think they’ll surely pick an engine that can handle its own weight fine off just gas and no battery charging but I am concerned about towing with just gas. If I have to charge and fill up it would defeat the purpose of getting the harvester all together and I would probably just go back to the Ramcharger.

 

[Foobar]

I’m curious if any of you are concerned about the power from the harvester. Since they haven’t said the engine or the battery to gas range split it’s really hard to tell how or if this thing will work towing long distances where you are just topping off gas. Some of the other threads I’ve been in people are concerned it won’t even be able to keep up highway speeds by itself let alone towing anything. I think they’ll surely pick an engine that can handle its own weight fine off just gas and no battery charging but I am concerned about towing with just gas. If I have to charge and fill up it would defeat the purpose of getting the harvester all together and I would probably just go back to the Ramcharger.

I am, in fact, very concerned about this. If I'm not able to tow with the harvester without charging frequently, then I may decide against going with the Scout and just keep my Rivian. As it stands, I already stop every 2 hours for half an hour of charging with the Rivian+Airstream combo. I need to see something significantly better than that either with a larger battery pack, a range extender that can sustain the towing, or a faster charging capability. The Scout with Harvester, in theory, should get me two of those. In practice, I'll need to see what it actually equates to in real-world performance. I'm hoping that Scout recognizes this use-case and is aiming to address it.

 

[underkuver]

I am, in fact, very concerned about this. If I'm not able to tow with the harvester without charging frequently, then I may decide against going with the Scout and just keep my Rivian. As it stands, I already stop every 2 hours for half an hour of charging with the Rivian+Airstream combo. I need to see something significantly better than that either with a larger battery pack, a range extender that can sustain the towing, or a faster charging capability. The Scout with Harvester, in theory, should get me two of those. In practice, I'll need to see what it actually equates to in real-world performance. I'm hoping that Scout recognizes this use-case and is aiming to address it.

Also curious about Harvester details as they emerge. Another consideration is what type of battery system will make its way into the Scout 4-years from now. VW inked a deal with QuantumScape for future EVs which will be solid state. Seems the current Scout specs are a point-in-time as if they were being produced today. I expect longer range and significantly shorter charge times in 2028.

Before the Rivian/s, I had a BMW i3 REX. Similar generator as the Harvester will be. One thing that I noticed was how limited the i3 was while charging via the generator. We live on the top of a mountain and the i3 was severely limited in speed climbing the mountain once the battery was drained and generator on. Same thing when you expect that EV torque off the line or while passing. You can forget that if the generator was your only option.

I may switch to the Harvester as delivery nears but under heavy towing conditions in steep terrain, the Scout Harvester might be stuck in the slow lane limited to however fast the load depletes the incoming generator charge.

That said, I ordered both the Terra and the Traveler in EV only trims.