- A Rivian R1T helped a truck driver get his big rig unstuck.
- The electric pickup was hooked up to the rear of the trailer.
- It only took a few seconds to get the semi-truck back on the road.
One of the great things about electric cars is that they offer all their torque from a standstill, as opposed to combustion engines that have to be in a specific rev range to give everything they have. Couple that with the manufacturers’ ability to fit up to four electric motors on a single vehicle, and you have a great recipe for an EV that can move big things with little to no effort.
Here’s where the Rivian R1T enters the conversation. It’s one of the best all-rounder electric pickups out there, with up to four electric motors, a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, great on-road handling and a bunch of well-thought-out features like the lockable Gear Tunnel that acts as a sort of trunk.
So with that in mind, the owner of a Rivian R1T decided to save the day by rescuing a semi-truck that was stuck in the mud and was blocking a street outside his home. Ken Kring, who used to work at Rivian, said in a post on LinkedIn that the towing company that was called to sort things out couldn’t assist and the driver of the big rig was out of options.
Kring decided to get out his freshly unpacked recovery gear, hook up the R1T to the back of the trailer and gently pull it out of the mud. And it worked like a treat, as you can see in the video embedded below.
It’s worth mentioning that the truck driver could have separated the trailer from the cab to make it easier to get out of the mud, but in the end it was easier and faster to just use the Rivian R1T as the recovery weapon of choice.
“This moment isn’t just about towing—it’s about what EVs are capable of today,” Kring said. “Vehicles like mine, built with care and precision by the amazing team at Rivian in Normal, IL, are proving their value in the real world every day. From towing to road trips to winter weather, these trucks can do it all—and then some.“
