Tesla Model X Towing 5,000-lb Camper: 600-Mile Road Trip

RCMAN46 wrote:

Reisender wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:
I did some math and for the first 510 miles of their trip they used 400 kWh of electricity. Average cost of electricity in USA is $0.1331 per kWh.
That works out to a cost of $0.103 per mile.

I have a 2012 Outback with the 3.6R engine. I tow a small utility trailer which probably weighs a little less than the one towed in this article. But after close to 10,000 miles of towing and hand calculated mpg I got an overall mpg of 22 mpg towing.

At $2.25 which is the price in my area right now my cost is $0.102 per mile.

That’s a stout little car. Towing 4000 ponds at 22 mpg. Impressive. What is the mileage when not towing?

My statement a little less was misleading. The trailer I tow comes in at 2500 lbs so about 1/2 of the Tesla. Towing is at 65 mph but most of my non towing is at 75-80 mph at 28 mpg. Speed makes a big difference as we find towing our 12,000 lb 5th wheels.

The major item when towing is wind resistance. My current 5th wheel is about 3000 lbs heavier than the previous but the mpg is very close to the same towing at the same speeds with the same diesel pick-up. The old trailer had a flat front the new one is more curved for wind resistance.