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

[qtla9111]

Not sure if this has been posted yet.

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

[qtla9111]

qtla9111 wrote:

8.1 Van wrote:
Here is what you will be able to tow next year with a Tesla .;)






Tesla Semi: the electric semi truck is going to be built in Texas

Do you have a link to this fifth wheel? Man that thing is huge!

I can barely get my 24 ft into the driveway! 🙂

[time2roll]

I assume it is a spacecraft

https://spacecraftmfg.com/products/semi-trailers/

[Reisender]

qtla9111 wrote:

8.1 Van wrote:
Here is what you will be able to tow next year with a Tesla .;)






Tesla Semi: the electric semi truck is going to be built in Texas

Do you have a link to this fifth wheel? Man that thing is huge!

I’m counting 4 slides....just on one side. Sorry Chris. From what I remember I don’t think it will fit in your driveway dude. :).

[qtla9111]

8.1 Van wrote:
Here is what you will be able to tow next year with a Tesla .;)






Tesla Semi: the electric semi truck is going to be built in Texas

Do you have a link to this fifth wheel? Man that thing is huge!

[Reisender]

8.1 Van wrote:
Here is what you will be able to tow next year with a Tesla .;)






Tesla Semi: the electric semi truck is going to be built in Texas

Nice.

[8_1_Van]

Here is what you will be able to tow next year with a Tesla .;)






Tesla Semi: the electric semi truck is going to be built in Texas

[Reisender]

qtla9111 wrote:
Let's hope that all of this is not just about cost per mile but a change in the way we live. Maybe one day, my great-grandkids can enjoy clean air and a fossil fuel free world. I know we're not there yet and it may take another 100 years, but it's worth it.

Like most things us humans do, we'll wait until it's all used up and then find a solution. Just like Covid, before you know it, we'll have a vaccine only because it's affecting the economy.

Two thumbs up.

[qtla9111]

Let's hope that all of this is not just about cost per mile but a change in the way we live. Maybe one day, my great-grandkids can enjoy clean air and a fossil fuel free world. I know we're not there yet and it may take another 100 years, but it's worth it.

Like most things us humans do, we'll wait until it's all used up and then find a solution. Just like Covid, before you know it, we'll have a vaccine only because it's affecting the economy.

[Reisender]

rjstractor wrote:

RCMAN46 wrote:
I did my post as I was impressed with the Tesla.

I compared it to my Outback to show the Tesla was getting about the equivalent of 22 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer at 60-70 mph average.

Not sure if a diesel pick-up will do any better with a 5000 lb trailer.

Range is the major problem but as they put in larger batteries the economy will suffer due to the extra weight. Unlike diesel or gas the weight does not decrease as the miles add up on a trip.

The "fuel economy" of EVs is great, even after factoring the higher initial cost.

A diesel pickup won't get 22 mpg empty, the exception being the newer 150/1500 series diesels. Some claim to get that kind of mpg with their 2500/3500 diesels empty, but I call "shenanigans". At a steady 60 mph empty I can get 20 with my 7.3 Ford diesel. 17-18 is more typical.

Towing a trailer like that one the Tesla was pulling, 12-15 mpg would be expected for a diesel, and 8-12 for a gas engine. I once got 7 mpg towing a 4000 lb ultralite travel trailer with a Ford Expedition. Again, some will claim better, but the single best way to improve mpg is to simply lie about it.

The newer EVs on the market have terrific performance towing. The couple in the video stated that their Tesla did not strain at all on grades, and I believe it. The main Achilles' heel for towing an RV a significant distance with an EV is range, and it will take significant improvements in battery capacity and charging infrastructure to overcome it.

I'm interested to hear what Elon says on sept 22 at Battery day. Apparently next gen battery info coming. 10 years ago EV's had max 110 KM range The packaging of batteries and generally efficiency of EV's seems to have gotten better as they are routinely over 500 km of range with some with 600 km's of range (model S) . Battery warranties north of 192000 km. Trucks have a little more leeway for battery room just because of the sheer size of the vehicle. They will have to package 200 kwh of battery (or more) to get the range they need to be competitive. Having said that, for the next 5 years I seem the various manufacturers only going after the half ton market. Charging infrastructure is falling into place both on the Supercharger side of life and the non Tesla fast charger world. Teslas advantage is that Tesla owners can use both the Supercharger network and the Chademo chargers. The non Tesla truck manufacturers will be at a disadvantage in that area for awhile a they are not able to charge at Superchargers...unless they accept Teslas invitation to invest in the Supercharger network and get access.

[rjstractor]

RCMAN46 wrote:
I did my post as I was impressed with the Tesla.

I compared it to my Outback to show the Tesla was getting about the equivalent of 22 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer at 60-70 mph average.

Not sure if a diesel pick-up will do any better with a 5000 lb trailer.

Range is the major problem but as they put in larger batteries the economy will suffer due to the extra weight. Unlike diesel or gas the weight does not decrease as the miles add up on a trip.

The "fuel economy" of EVs is great, even after factoring the higher initial cost.

A diesel pickup won't get 22 mpg empty, the exception being the newer 150/1500 series diesels. Some claim to get that kind of mpg with their 2500/3500 diesels empty, but I call "shenanigans". At a steady 60 mph empty I can get 20 with my 7.3 Ford diesel. 17-18 is more typical.

Towing a trailer like that one the Tesla was pulling, 12-15 mpg would be expected for a diesel, and 8-12 for a gas engine. I once got 7 mpg towing a 4000 lb ultralite travel trailer with a Ford Expedition. Again, some will claim better, but the single best way to improve mpg is to simply lie about it.

The newer EVs on the market have terrific performance towing. The couple in the video stated that their Tesla did not strain at all on grades, and I believe it. The main Achilles' heel for towing an RV a significant distance with an EV is range, and it will take significant improvements in battery capacity and charging infrastructure to overcome it.

[Reisender]

RCMAN46 wrote:
I did my post as I was impressed with the Tesla.

I compared it to my Outback to show the Tesla was getting about the equivalent of 22 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer at 60-70 mph average.

Not sure if a diesel pick-up will do any better with a 5000 lb trailer.

Range is the major problem but as they put in larger batteries the economy will suffer due to the extra weight. Unlike diesel or gas the weight does not decrease as the miles add up on a trip.

I’m not up on the science much but I think diesel does inherently better because there is more energy in a gallon of diesel than a gallon of gas. Our Ford dualiy powerstroke got better mileage than out GMC 3/4 ton gasser 350.

Yep. Range costs weight on EV’s. Kind of a vicious circle. It will be interesting to see the specs on the various manufacturers of E-trucks as they come out. I think they’ll be heavy. Our model 3 Tesla is almost 4000 pounds for a 5 passenger car. Crazy fast though so you get something in the tradeoff. Zero to sixty in 4 seconds flat. Woohoo. :). Model 3’s are extremely limited in towing though. 900 ish kg or about 2000 pounds. Model Y is better suited to towing at 3500 pounds. Also has a hatchback so lots of room like your outback. I’m not in love with the looks of the model Y though. And wife wanted a sport sedan soooo. She picked the colours. Now she’s a Tesla freak. :). She's even making Tesla rock jewelry. Meh. Happy wife...............

[RCMAN46]

I did my post as I was impressed with the Tesla.

I compared it to my Outback to show the Tesla was getting about the equivalent of 22 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer at 60-70 mph average.

Not sure if a diesel pick-up will do any better with a 5000 lb trailer.

Range is the major problem but as they put in larger batteries the economy will suffer due to the extra weight. Unlike diesel or gas the weight does not decrease as the miles add up on a trip.

[Reisender]

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.

Still. 28 mpg at 75 - 80 mpg in an outback with a 6 cylinder motor is great.

[RCMAN46]

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.

[Reisender]

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?