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towing with a Tesla

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
Hi all,

https://youtu.be/FX5lzqzZ2Do

a ten minute video.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
28 REPLIES 28

Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Explorer
Lantley wrote:
In the same way 26 gallon fuel tanks are a deal breaker when towing. Stopping every 2 hours to charge would also be a deal breaker.
Sure I could deal with it for a one time trip, but being limited to 2 hour travel intervals would not be practical for me.


Lets do a little math for a real comparison.

We learn from this site that the biggest battery you can get in a Tesla 3 is 85kwh.

We also learn from this site that 33.7kwh is equivalent to 1 gallon of gasoline.

So, with the biggest battery you can get in a M3 you have the equivalent of 3 gallons of gas on board.

Electric motors are "around" twice as efficient as a gasoline engine so now we have around 6 gallons of gas on board in our "electric car."

Now, a low profile car is going to get better mileage and so is the Airstream over a truck and a box.

So lets be generous and say our electric car has a 8 gallon tank. How far do you think you will get on an 8 gallon tank towing that trailer?

They are called the "LAWS" of physic's for a reason. They are not suggestions. They are laws.

BTW I would love to see that guy do 600 mile in a day with that setup.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~


"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"

"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."- Abraham Lincoln

valhalla360
Nomad III
Nomad III
Lantley wrote:
In the same way 26 gallon fuel tanks are a deal breaker when towing. Stopping every 2 hours to charge would also be a deal breaker.
Sure I could deal with it for a one time trip, but being limited to 2 hour travel intervals would not be practical for me.


26 gal tank would be good for 4-5 hr of driving for us pulling a 7500lb trailer.

Also wonder how the drivetrain and suspension would hold up with a heavier trailer. It's not uncommon for folks to try and max out a crossover SUV (aka: Unibody station wagon). They have plenty of HP but the rest of the drivetrain and suspension are overloaded.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
Love the timeliness of these silly posts.
For the โ€œrest of the worldโ€ that doesnโ€™t take a 30min break every 2 hours while driving, towing with a EV is horribly unjustifiableโ€ฆ..
Taking off on a road trip tomorrow, unfortunately. If it added 6 hours to the trip to charge my truck, Iโ€™d lose my freakin mind!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
In the same way 26 gallon fuel tanks are a deal breaker when towing. Stopping every 2 hours to charge would also be a deal breaker.
Sure I could deal with it for a one time trip, but being limited to 2 hour travel intervals would not be practical for me.
19'Duramax w/hips, 2022 Alliance Paradigm 390MP >BD3,r,22" Blackstone
r,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
BakFlip,RVLock,Prog.50A surge ,Hughes autoformer
Porta Bote 8.0 Nissan, Sailun S637

Reisender
Nomad
Nomad
rjstractor wrote:
Power and weight not an issue, as the car weighs close to 4000 lbs. For me the real deal breaker is a travel cycle of 2 hours driving and 1 hour stopped to charge, and that's with removing the A/C from the roof of the Airstream to improve aerodynamics. 200 miles on a charge towing would be livable, but many, many towing videos I've watched show that reality is more like 100 miles per charge.


Charging at a V3 supercharger would be typically 20 to 30 minutes. At least thatโ€™s our experience. And yep, when towing we charge every couple hoursโ€ฆor sooner if thatโ€™s where the supercharger is. Kinda depends on supercharger spacing. Not a big issue for us as we just build lunch breaks or chihuahua walk breaks around it.

rjstractor
Nomad
Nomad
Power and weight not an issue, as the car weighs close to 4000 lbs. For me the real deal breaker is a travel cycle of 2 hours driving and 1 hour stopped to charge, and that's with removing the A/C from the roof of the Airstream to improve aerodynamics. 200 miles on a charge towing would be livable, but many, many towing videos I've watched show that reality is more like 100 miles per charge.
2017 VW Golf Alltrack
2000 Ford F250 7.3

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
Regardless of its 'ability' to tow, it's still a pretty lightweight vehicle for the job. I'll take a hard pass on that one.


base model 3,582 lbs.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

time2roll
Nomad
Nomad
RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
Regardless of its 'ability' to tow, it's still a pretty lightweight vehicle for the job. I'll take a hard pass on that one.
The video does mention the EV is relatively heavy for the size with a low center of gravity that really helps with handling as it tows.

RetiredRealtorR
Explorer
Explorer
Regardless of its 'ability' to tow, it's still a pretty lightweight vehicle for the job. I'll take a hard pass on that one.
. . . never confuse education with intelligence, nor motion with progress

time2roll
Nomad
Nomad
pianotuna wrote:
Hi all,

https://youtu.be/FX5lzqzZ2Do

a ten minute video.
Can Am in Canada has long been famous for setting up unconventional vehicles that tow really well.
I believe this guy really knows what he is doing. Far more than most dealers even if he pushes the limits.

Reisender
Nomad
Nomad
free radical wrote:
That Airstream is bit too large
Something like this drop top would be my choice


https://youtu.be/zcni_Rp7csA


Kinda cool. Obviously a work in progress but should be interesting.

Thanks for posting.

Reisender
Nomad
Nomad
Thatโ€™s a big trailer. Iโ€™m thinkin that would be outa my comfort zone but he seems to be making it work.

Iโ€™ll stick to our little tear drop. :).

Thanks for posting Don.

free_radical
Explorer
Explorer
That Airstream is bit too large
Something like this drop top would be my choice


https://youtu.be/zcni_Rp7csA

ramyankee
Explorer
Explorer
A few of his explanations make zero sense...

I will stick with my gas hungry 8.1...
Rick and Patti ๐Ÿ™‚
2 Proud Christian CONSERVATIVES ๐Ÿ™‚
2002 Chevy Silverado, 8.1, Crew, LB, 3.73, 4X4
2020 Mesa Ridge 291rls
Now living in North Idaho (formerly Northeastern California) ... but the heart is with MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY