The Ris comfortable with the work required before setting off. Retirement was approaching, and with it the prospect of months on the road, including Canada and Alaska. The truck he loved was beginning to have too much say over where he could go
In his September 7 update on Ri023 R1T for a gasoline pickup. He still praised the Rice towing was remarkably free of bitterness:
“It works – it’s just not its best use case.”
A tow vehicle has to earn its place on the trips ahead, however good the trips behind it were. Kevin’s decision becomes much easier to understand when you follow him back to the point where he was still trying to keep a Ri
He was looking for a few more miles
On July 4, Kevin reported 130 to 150
On July 4, Kevin reported 130 to 150 miles of towing range on familiar trips and asked whether a second-generation R1T would help in South Dakota and Wyoming. His lease ended the following year. An upgrade was a possibility, and even a small improvement might make the awkward stretches more comfortable.
His proposed journey had a shape: west along Interstate 90, through the Badlands and Black Hills, then toward Devils Tower and Rock Springs. He had four nights booked at Blue Bell Campground in Custer. These were places he wanted to spend his retirement, rather than interchangeable stops on the way to a distant finish line.
That is the weakness in telling a traveler to simply take another route. A detour can solve the charging problem while quietly replacing part of the vacation. Sometimes that is a happy discovery. Sometimes it means driving past the reason you came.
Kevin was already planning three- to four-hour driving
Kevin was already planning three- to four-hour driving days. The usual advice to slow down and enjoy retirement therefore misses something: he had allowed time for the journey. He wanted confidence that the truck would fit it.
The same tension runs through another Ri a practical problem at the point where it restricts the next usable stop. More battery helps, but a dependable charger in the right place can give an existing truck a much larger useful map
A charger in Murdo would have mattered
Murdo, South Dakota, puts the problem in miniature. A charging stop there could help break up the difficult stretch between Chamberlain and Wall. The public records, however, offer several different versions of reassurance.
South Dakota’s 2024 submission of its fiscal-year 2025
South Dakota’s 2024 submission of its fiscal-year 2025 charging deployment plan listed Tesla charging in Murdo and a RED E location at 602 5th Street. The PlugShare listing for Pioneer Country Mart at that address, checked for this article, was marked “Under Repair,” with repeated failed-charging reports. A station in an inventory is not necessarily a station you can build tomorrow’s drive around.
PlugShare’s community reports are a warning to verify service, not an operator-confirmed repair diagnosis. For trip planning, that distinction is enough to matter. A driver approaching with a trailer and a shrinking reserve needs firmer reassurance than an old listing.
Tesla’s official Murdo page lists four Superchargers rated up to 120 kW. Tesla also explains that some Superchargers are restricted to Teslas while others serve additional makes. A Rithe truck. The familiar red-and-white hardware does not settle that question
There is the trailer
Then there is the trailer. The argument over trailer-friendly Superchargers concerns an ordinary piece of towing life: arriving with something large still attached. Finding a place to leave it, unhitching, charging, and collecting it again can turn a charging break into a small operation.
Gas stations can be awkward, too. A TorqueNews reader responding to that debate described dropping a trailer to reach a gasoline pump. The fair comparison is how often that maneuver is necessary and what alternatives are reachable. With the towing range Kevin reported, a badly placed charging stop can be hard to skip.
The network earns a driver’s confidence when it offers choices. One reachable charger can make a leg possible; a second usable option can make it comfortable. That difference matters more with a travel trailer than a broad national count of charging plugs.
Nineteen hours, and the value of choosing the stop
Kevin reported five extra hours one way
Kevin reported five extra hours one way on an Ohio-to-Florida trip. For the proposed western round trip, he projected more than 19 hours. The western figure remains his estimate: the published account does not contain enough itinerary and charging detail to reproduce it independently.
There is no useful argument to be won by treating every minute plugged in as a minute stolen from the vacation. A charge that finishes while everyone eats lunch may add little to the day. There is equally little sense in assuming a family can eat, rest, and use the bathroom on demand at every charging stop. People do not always want lunch where the battery needs lunch.
Readers make both objections. In a Reddit discussion of a separate Riile others described much smaller delays or defended a leisurely pace. The disagreement was partly about different journeys and partly about what their owners considered a good day on the road. Neither side’s preference supplies Kevin’s missing stopwatch data
His route planner suggested going through Pierre
His route planner suggested going through Pierre to charge. That may be a reasonable way across South Dakota, but it should be judged against the places he meant to visit. Reaching the western end of a map is a different achievement from having the Badlands trip you planned.
The familiar advice that retirees have plenty of time can be oddly dismissive. Free time still belongs to the person who earned it. Someone may happily spend an afternoon sightseeing and dislike spending the same afternoon arranging a charging workaround. The hours are equal; the experiences are not.
That is a stronger reason to take Kevin seriously than pretending his 19-hour projection is a result every R1T owner would reproduce. He was deciding how much control over his days he wanted to exchange for the pleasure of driving this truck.
The campground socket was part of the problem
Overnight charging ought to be an electric tow
Overnight charging ought to be an electric tow vehicle’s great advantage. Park, have dinner, sleep, and recover energy without making a special stop. For a traveler moving in short daily stages, that can transform the usefulness of the truck.
Kevin described one campground that prohibited charging and another where the pedestal kept tripping until he reduced the current so far that he would not regain enough charge overnight. The reassuring phrase “electric hookup” had not answered the question he needed answered.
KOA’s published EV policy says most of its campground pedestals were designed for RV use and are unsuitable for the continuous load of EV charging. It directs guests to locations offering charging solutions. That is a policy and infrastructure constraint within KOA’s network, rather than evidence that every RV park has the same limitations.
There was an option in his own plan
There was an option in his own plan. KOA lists Badlands / White River among its charging locations, and Kevin already knew it allowed charging. His concern was reaching it, which he said presented much the same stretch as Wall. A welcoming socket at the destination does little for a truck that cannot comfortably get there.
Another R1T owner’s Prescott camper trip illustrates the other possibility: a public charger can rescue the plan after a campground refuses charging. The comments on that story pushed for clear policies and reasonable extra fees. That is a sensible expectation. A campground should be able to charge for a service it can safely provide, and a guest should know the terms before booking.
Permission to charge still has to be backed by suitable equipment and enough time to replenish the truck. Paying extra cannot make an inadequate connection deliver more energy overnight.
Gen 2 has to buy back a useful choice
Kevin’s upgrade question deserves more than an unloaded
Kevin’s upgrade question deserves more than an unloaded range number. “Gen 2” does not identify a battery, motor configuration, wheel-and-tire package, or result with his Airstream. Buying a newer truck on the assumption that it will solve a particular towing leg is an expensive way to leave the important question unanswered.
Riefficiency and range while towing, and explains that trailer mass and aerodynamics affect the estimates. The useful comparison begins with the combination actually being driven. The separate account of an R1S towing a 4,000-pound Airstream through mountains also makes speed part of that conversation
There is a good case for additional range when it comfortably connects two dependable stations. There is a weaker case when it merely reduces the anxiety of arriving at the same unreliable one. The practical test for an upgrade is what it lets the owner do differently: reach a preferred campground, skip an awkward station, or retain a sensible reserve on the difficult leg.
That is why a small gain could matter
That is why a small gain could matter to Kevin without settling the larger decision. It could improve one stretch of South Dakota while leaving months of remote travel full of the same negotiations. A better truck and a better fit are related questions, but they require different answers.
Gasoline did not need to win every argument
Kevin said a Carvana offer let him leave the lease early with positive equity. He also expected gasoline to cost less than fast charging on the western trip. He supplied no financial breakdown, so the account cannot establish his total savings from switching.
The distinction is straightforward. Sale proceeds and a lease payoff determine what it costs to leave the old truck. The replacement’s purchase price and running costs determine what comes next. A favorable offer can make a move easier without making it free.
Months away from home also change the electricity
Months away from home also change the electricity bill. The rate that makes an EV appealing in the driveway may have little influence on a trip funded mainly by public charging. A fair comparison follows the actual stops and the gasoline truck’s towing consumption, rather than choosing the cheapest home electricity or the most expensive roadside receipt.
For perspective, the Government of Yukon announced public fast-charging fees of C$0.57 per kWh and Level 2 fees of C$0.50 per kWh from March 1, 2026. Those rates apply to government-owned chargers. They give a northern traveler something concrete to budget with; deciding which truck is cheaper still requires the costs for the whole trip.
Money was also buying conveniences. Kevin liked the new truck’s towing mirrors, backup assistance, and trailer blind-spot monitoring, even as he missed the Rie vehicle that makes an ordinary Tuesday more enjoyable can lose to the one that makes a long towing season less demanding
He did not need gasoline to be superior
He did not need gasoline to be superior at everything. He needed the replacement to be better at the work that was about to occupy much more of his life.
Before giving up a truck you like
- Plan the hardest leg again with its key charger unavailable. Check whether the fallback is reachable with your trailer and a sensible reserve. If it costs you a booked destination, fix that part of the itinerary before making further reservations.
- Ask the campground to put EV-charging permission, fees and any reserved connection in your booking confirmation. Save the reply offline so you can resolve conflicting instructions before arrival, rather than negotiate after parking the trailer.
- On your next representative towing day, record the extra minutes spent on detours, queues and unhitching, plus any charging that outlasts your planned break. Use that total to judge future itineraries against your own tolerance for delays.
Another retired owner in the original discussion offered the strongest counterpoint, describing trips with a 28-foot Airstream between Vancouver Island and Tucson. Sightseeing consumed more time than charging, and an extra five hours over a long journey did not trouble him.
That is a credible reason to keep an R1T. If the stops fit the places you want to visit, overnight charging is dependable, and the towing experience is a pleasure, the truck can suit retirement beautifully. Treating a slower journey as a failure would be as foolish as telling every retiree to enjoy it.
Nor is the North an empty charging map
Nor is the North an empty charging map. Travel Yukon’s official directory lists locations including Watson Lake, Teslin, Haines Junction, and Beaver Creek. A particular truck-and-trailer itinerary still needs reachable stops and workable alternatives, but the existence of those locations matters. Kevin’s choice does not establish that everybody heading toward Alaska should sell an EV.
His account instead exposes a reasonable limit to the patience buyers owe a vehicle. Owners can accept a compromise for years and then decide that their next chapter deserves something else. A successful earlier trip creates useful experience, not an obligation to repeat the arrangement indefinitely.
Kevin left open the possibility of returning as remote charging, trailer access and charging speed improve. That is a practical invitation to Ri would answer more of his concerns than another demonstration that an electric pickup has plenty of pulling power
He already knew how well the R1T could
He already knew how well the R1T could pull his Airstream. Retirement made him choose how much of the rest of the journey he wanted to plan around it.
Noah Washington is a young automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia, covering sports cars, luxury vehicles, electric vehicles, and the ownership realities behind them. His reporting for Torque News connects engineering and design with what drivers experience, from towing and charging to reliability and the character that makes a car worth caring about.
His work includes interviews withJaguar F-TYPE designer Matt Beaven andformer Lucid Gravity chief engineer Zach Walker, plus firsthand reviews of theNissan Z Nismo andMitsubishi Mirage G4.
A BMW E36 M3 owner and former Miata owner, Noah has written for TopSpeed, HotCars, and Cointelegraph. He is a member of the Southeast Region Automotive Media Association (SERAMA) and theInternational Motor Press Association (IMPA). His favorite car remains the Fiat 500 Abarth.
Follow Noah on X andLinkedIn for his latest reporting and to share story tips.
