Rivian R1T had better towing capacity than Ford F-150 Lighting in Edmunds test

Popular auto resource Edmunds took the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning electric vehicle pickup trucks and wanted to test their actual towing capacity. During the test at Truck Mania in Sacramento, California, the test involved a pull of a 30,000-pound sled.

During the test, the driver seemed impressed with the results from each drive, even though there is clearly some work left to do later down the road.

The Rivian R1T has 835 horsepower with 908 lb-ft of torque and quad electric motors, while the F-150 Lightning has 580 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque with its dual electric motors. The Rivian has a max towing capacity of 11,000 pounds max tow capacity and the F-150 Lightning has a 100,000 max tow capacity.

The Rivian R1T electric truck pulled the sled 246 feet, while the Ford F-150 Lightning achieved a pull of 231 feet.

During the pre-event dry runs, the R1T had a range loss of < 0 miles during the first test and a range loss of < 1 mile after the second run. Meanwhile, the F-150 Lightning struggled in its first test run and then had a range loss of < 1 mile in the second test.

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Here is the full video of the test:

Although both EV trucks were unable to meet stock trucks or stock diesel models, there is plenty to look forward to in the future.

Speaking of the F-150 Lightning, it was recently confirmed the electric truck has a faster 0-60 mph time, able to reach the speed in less than 4 seconds. Even with speed and improving range, there is constant concern regarding what EV trucks can tow - and how that will impact towing range. Obviously, the weight Edmunds used for its trial is well above each maximum towing weight for either truck - so continued towing of normal weights will yield different results.