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

[RCMAN46]

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.

[Reisender]

Sjm9911 wrote:

qtla9111 wrote:
Funny how this thread isn't getting the response like the Tesla Semi thread. I guess it's because we now know that a Tesla can indeed tow a travel trailer albeit not quite yet like a fossil fuel powered vehicle. It won't be long.

I dont see this happining anytime soon. All manafatures have diffrent charging stations. So , they will be propatary to there brand. Until its streamlined and they have the ability to charge all electric vehicals along with the infrastructure to do it, i dont see people racing to get electric TVs.

Sort of. Other than Tesla no manufacturer has their own charging standard. Tesla did theirs because at the time there was no standard that came anywhere close to the 250 KW that Tesla wanted. Chademo was on 50 kw and CCS didn’t exist.

Now every EV truck being developed is CCS compatible. Tesla is still TESLA but has adapters that make their vehicles compatible with CCS or Chademo depending on the region of the world you live. All public stations have both CCS and Chademo plugs. Some dealerships have only CCS or Chademo but these are not considered public stations and in fact are mostly locked up after hours. Many don’t work at all.

So no. Proprietary charging is not an obstacle to EV growth. The amount of fast charging stations still is but that is changing fast.

[Sjm9911]

qtla9111 wrote:
Funny how this thread isn't getting the response like the Tesla Semi thread. I guess it's because we now know that a Tesla can indeed tow a travel trailer albeit not quite yet like a fossil fuel powered vehicle. It won't be long.

I dont see this happining anytime soon. All manafatures have diffrent charging stations. So , they will be propatary to there brand. Until its streamlined and they have the ability to charge all electric vehicals along with the infrastructure to do it, i dont see people racing to get electric TVs.

[Reisender]

Me Again wrote:
Where did they dump the kid???? She is in the first leg and then gone!!!

It’s in the narrative. They dumped her at grandmas house for the night. 🙂

[time2roll]

qtla9111 wrote:
Funny how this thread isn't getting the response like the Tesla Semi thread. I guess it's because we now know that a Tesla can indeed tow a travel trailer albeit not quite yet like a fossil fuel powered vehicle. It won't be long.

Yes the journalism to sensationalize an EV running out of power has become a bore. The likes of Broder from the NYT and even the TFL guys deliberately coming up short just does not tell the real truth. Sure EVs have limitations however it is far more realistic to focus on the capabilities than demonstrating certain downfall and failure.

[Me_Again]

Where did they dump the kid???? She is in the first leg and then gone!!!

[Reisender]

qtla9111 wrote:
Funny how this thread isn't getting the response like the Tesla Semi thread. I guess it's because we now know that a Tesla can indeed tow a travel trailer albeit not quite yet like a fossil fuel powered vehicle. It won't be long.

Right now the EV’s that tow weren’t really designed with towing as their prime function. Really the model X Tesla is the only one that comes close. The next crop of EV trucks and SUV’s will be more suitable for towing as they will have optional larger batteries for those who plan to tow. For those just towing the boat to the lake or maybe camping at local lakes or campgrounds can opt for cheaper versions like the 40,000 dollar Tesla truck will be an option.

It will be interesting to see how GM and Ford deal with the battery shortage for their E-trucks. . Dodge has no serious plans of getting into E trucks so they’ll probably just fade away as selling anything with a tail pipe will just get harder and harder due to regulations and public health standards.

I’m willing to bet that it will be 2022 before any serious E-truck production happens. But when it does it will be devastating to the gas half ton truck industry. 3/4 ton and 1 ton diesel trucks will be safe for awhile as they tend to be used for towing more.

Jmho

[qtla9111]

Funny how this thread isn't getting the response like the Tesla Semi thread. I guess it's because we now know that a Tesla can indeed tow a travel trailer albeit not quite yet like a fossil fuel powered vehicle. It won't be long.

[Reisender]

time2roll wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Most seem to be set up like this which would require unhooking. Ugh

Yes and maybe knock that center divider down on a couple slots for pull through trailers. Then add a signal light to indicate red unless all others are in use to reserve slots for trailers.

And of course I can't wait for that line of trucks in the background to be Tesla Semi charging.

Right now when navigating to a Supercharger the car lets you know how many sites are available etc. One improvement might be indicating if any are available for pull thru charging. Reservations might be difficult as car thruput on long weekends can already be an issue in some locations. V3 sites will help this a lot but at 1500 new Tesla’s on the road every day it will be a challenge for Tesla just to keep up with Supercharger capacity. Access to non Tesla Chademo sites with the Chademo adapter is helping but I think access to the CCS network is going to be necessary in North American. They made it happen for Europe. I’m sure it can happen here. Non Tesla EV trucks will depend on it as they can’t access Tesla Superchargers.

Interesting times.

[time2roll]

Reisender wrote:
Most seem to be set up like this which would require unhooking. Ugh

Yes and maybe knock that center divider down on a couple slots for pull through trailers. Then add a signal light to indicate red unless all others are in use to reserve slots for trailers.

And of course I can't wait for that line of trucks in the background to be Tesla Semi charging.

[Grit_dog]

I’d actually buy a Tesla for my wife around town commuting. If I couldn’t buy another great vehicle, and any maint repairs and ALL the gas for years for less than the same amount of money. And I’m talking old used Tesla’s. Just not in the habit of pissing away money though.

[Grit_dog]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
This may not be correct but, it seemed like they could drive for 1-1.5 hours at an average speed of 65-70 and the battery was down to 10%-15% SOC. Recharging took 30-60 minutes.

Or 3 hours at avg 40 mph. They literally were holding up traffic just to get across the Midwest!
I’m sure Sam and the other Tesla chest pounders will be by to say how cool it was....
Yeah pay 100% more for a suv and make it 33% as far and take 1000% longer to “fuel” up.

Where can I sign up for this deal?? Take
My money now!

[Reisender]

Sjm9911 wrote:
The main problem is lack of superchargers. And around holiday times you have lines to charge up. So , for now i dont see it as a good tow vehical. And if you cant find a supercharger, it takes a bit to charge it.

Yah. Trudat. It will get better though. Both Superchargers and their non Tesla fast charger cousins are increasing in numbers pretty quick. I think it will be a couple or three years before long day cross country trailer touring is a reality with EV’s as tow vehicles. Until then it will be local camping destinations. Or travel without a trailer, which is what we do now in our Tesla.

[Sjm9911]

The main problem is lack of superchargers. And around holiday times you have lines to charge up. So , for now i dont see it as a good tow vehical. And if you cant find a supercharger, it takes a bit to charge it.

[Reisender]

qtla9111 wrote:
I wonder how it would tow with something like an Aliner Expedition that weighs 3500 GVWR and a height of 68 inches and the Tesla with a height of 56 inches?

The Model Y or the the model X.

The new model X has a longer range than the ones from a couple years ago. The model Y not so much but it is half the price...ish.

Looking at the specs for the expedition looks like it comes in around 1850 pounds, so maybe 2500 loaded. That and it is much more streamlined than the trailer these folks used. I don't know. Maybe 300 km real world towing range with some reserve for the model X. With the model Y maybe around 250 KM towing range with some reserve.

Having said that until very recently the model Y and model 3 both charge faster than the model x. The other thing that is improving right now is all the new Superchargers going in are V3 so instead of 150 kw max charging it is 250 kw max charging. This doesn't make too much of a difference when the battery is over 60 percent charged but does when it is lower.

Anyway. Things will change a lot in the next year or two. The cybertruck will be built for towing. Not so much the Tesla cars.

The most we could tow with our model 3 would be something like this at 900 pounds. Hey its got a bathroom and a sink and a bed. What else do you need. LOL. 🙂