What kind of range can I expect when towing a closed box trailer with a 100D? Can I make it supercharger to supercharger at full highway speeds?
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JimVandegriff
Member
I think you will need experimentation on your part to make certain. We don't know what your wh/m rate will be, but if you want to travel at full highway speeds with a box trailer my guess is that your tow range will be in the neighborhood of 40% of rated range of the X alone. A lot depends on your speed, the weight of the trailer, its aerodynamics, the terrain you are covering, and how far apart those superchargers actually are. Let us know what your average wh/m figures are when you try it out. It will be an adventure. Perhaps some other trailer towing folks will chime in with their own observations.
JHWJR
Member
Like Jim said, there are too many variables for a simple answer here, but towing a box at high speeds is going to suck energy like crazy.
Keep in mind, the X is actually about as efficient on EPA tests as my Volt was, despite being 30% heavier and 20% larger in every direction. Tesla managed that by making the car seriously slippery for its size. As a result, the percentage change a trailer makes in energy per mile will be much larger than it would be on a typical SUV - closer to the impact towing it with a small compact car would have.
Slowing down or going with a more aerodynamic trailer will make things better, of course.
Keep in mind, the X is actually about as efficient on EPA tests as my Volt was, despite being 30% heavier and 20% larger in every direction. Tesla managed that by making the car seriously slippery for its size. As a result, the percentage change a trailer makes in energy per mile will be much larger than it would be on a typical SUV - closer to the impact towing it with a small compact car would have.
Slowing down or going with a more aerodynamic trailer will make things better, of course.
... then there is your definition of "highway speeds" to filter out. Some states allow trailers to go any speed, and some limit the speed. Almost all trailer tires are limited to a 65 mph max speed rating.
Most people towing substantial trailers with a MX are towing in the 50-55 mph range. You might have to decide what your definition of "highway speeds" is, then maybe they can extrapolate and get you an estimate.
Most people towing substantial trailers with a MX are towing in the 50-55 mph range. You might have to decide what your definition of "highway speeds" is, then maybe they can extrapolate and get you an estimate.
As others have said, towing a trailer can cut your range in half but there are many variables. Can you provide more information such as the dimensions of the trailer? A photo would be helpful.
If you search the Model X forums for "towing" you will find many threads about towing with an X.
Evil.Labrat
Member
I have towed a number of parachutes, er I mean box trailers with an XP100D and it wasn't uncommon to be in the 800Wh/mi range. On one leg with outdoor temperature around 55F and a little elevation gain, I went from 98% to 1% even drafting behind a semi for a fair portion of the leg before I lost him to a rest area. The range calculations quickly deteriorated after that which caused me to divert to a different supercharger.
You might need to slow down or do a lot of drafting depending on your route and supercharging spacing.
You might need to slow down or do a lot of drafting depending on your route and supercharging spacing.
I just used the trailer for the first time. I towed a 2700 lb water ski boat for 100 km. I kept the speed at about 90km/hr and used about 370 Wh/km instead of the usual 200 Wh/km.
One strange thing while towing...
As I reversed the boat on the trailer down the ramp, I went quite slowly. The car kept beeping that I was going to hit something which I assume was just the sensors reading the trailer. However, as I got slower, it kept jumping into park and stopping suddenly.
Am I doing something wrong? I was in trailer mode the whole time.
Thanks.
As I reversed the boat on the trailer down the ramp, I went quite slowly. The car kept beeping that I was going to hit something which I assume was just the sensors reading the trailer. However, as I got slower, it kept jumping into park and stopping suddenly.
Am I doing something wrong? I was in trailer mode the whole time.
Thanks.
Buckle your seatbelt or make sure you are firmly seated. Sounds like the usual shift into park when the seat sensor doesn't detect a driver.
As do ICE vehicles, based on what I've read online. They also can see their MPG figure cut in half while towing. But it is common knowledge that is the penalty for towing and they just stop and fill up their gas tank more often.
hill
high fiber member
It'd be great if Tesla could lay out a chart like they have on line. Ok, it's puffed way up .... giving crazy examples of range if you're going only 40mph on a 90° day w/ no AC running. Still, it'd be helpful to show a trailer weighing 2K Lb or 3K Lb or 4K Lb ... going a constant 60mph on flat ground, varying temps etc ... to give folks SOME idea what to expect. Most folks get it - if your trailer is pulling a grade, and/or is extra boxy it's going to have greater drag.
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It would be nice if Tesla could give numbers to give some idea if towing range, but, unfortunately, owners would take those numbers as a "promise" and sue them when they got anything less.
There are just too many variables with trailer weight, shape and drag. It is difficult enough to estimate range accurately without a towed load, much less with something trailing behind that is guaranteed to be different than whatever you want to tow.
JHWJR
Member
Indeed.
Indeed. Perhaps one should rely more heavily on the energy chart that attempts to reflect how many miles are left based upon how things have been going over the last 5/15/30 miles. And perhaps SuperCharger calculations could be updated at the user's option to reflect how things are really going.
As animorph said, a number of folks have come across this behavior while backing up - mostly people that turn and look over their shoulder to do it.
The car uses a seat occupancy sensor to decide when you're in it and automatically shifts to park when you aren't. If you shift your weight up enough while twisting around to see as you back up, it happens then too. If you stay firmly in the seat (and use mirrors and camera to judge what's happening, if that's adequate?) this won't happen.
In my opinion its not reasonable to expect Tesla to do that. The primary factory effecting towing energy usage is the shape of the trailer, not the weight.
As I said upthread, EV towing energy usage is similar to ICE towing energy usage: expect to use approximately twice as much energy for a given distance compared to not towing.
So really nothing new. People have been towing with with ICE vehicles for over a century. The same lessons apply to EVs.
I have some numbers. I towed two different loads and recorded numbers along the way in a 100d. First up was my tractor and some misc stuff on a flat bed trailer. My guess is it was at 4500lbs, nothing other than the roll bar above the X and driving 60-65 along the california coast, with one larger hill of about 3 miles. Total trip was 83 miles, used 65.9kwh and that was with an average consumption of 795wh/mi. The second was my boat, its a yamaha AR230 and sits high on the trailer, weighs in at 5000lbs on the trailer. I towed it to the local lake through the mountains and some freeway. Freeway I did 65 and in the hills I kept it about 45-50, there are some big hills including one at 10% that my diesel used to slow down on. That trip was 71.2 miles used 64.7kwh, of battery and a consumption of 909wh/mi, it was in the 90's during this tow and the a/c was on a bit while cleaning the boat and waiting to launch on the busy holiday weekend.
As fas as handling the loads, it was not a problem, you do get a lot of looks, I had 20 people at the launch ramp all with cameras out, I think waiting for me do do something stupid, but my wife and I can launch a boat in about 2 minutes with out any drama. Ill keep my eye out for pictures or videos. One thing I don't know if I would do is try to travel a long distance with it. It may not be too much fun when you have to disconnect, charge to almost full, and then reconnect at every charger. For me it was perfect, drive form one house to another, charge over night and then tow the boat, charge again over night and tow home.
I will try and post some pictures soon.
As fas as handling the loads, it was not a problem, you do get a lot of looks, I had 20 people at the launch ramp all with cameras out, I think waiting for me do do something stupid, but my wife and I can launch a boat in about 2 minutes with out any drama. Ill keep my eye out for pictures or videos. One thing I don't know if I would do is try to travel a long distance with it. It may not be too much fun when you have to disconnect, charge to almost full, and then reconnect at every charger. For me it was perfect, drive form one house to another, charge over night and then tow the boat, charge again over night and tow home.
I will try and post some pictures soon.
