Camping Trailer Selection for Model X

[AltoGrayhound]

Posted on twitter: Back from a 7,559 miles road trip; 316wh/km or 509wh/mi at 55mph; 5 ton CO2 saved; thousands of on route viewers ; Over 100 thumbs up; 3 fingers; 3 coal-rolling; 15 states; 2 provinces; 30 days; 22 camping; 52 SC Stops; 3 highlights: meet Greta Thunberg at SC Lansing MI in Arnold white M3; Tesla factory visit; people ignorance about

A long trip with all conditions gives us a realistic image of the caravan aerodynamic.If you look at the itinerary posted you will see that the A2124 is a great caravan solution. Most of the time in West direction I had good front wind 15-30km/hr Went in Rocky Mountain NP, Death Valley NP, From Denver to Grand Junction via Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,158 feet.

I have all the detail day by day on an Excel sheet. The best section I got was in Salt Lake City on a flat 50km without wind I got 245wh/km or 394wh/mi.

 

[NHK X]

Anyone have experience with Chesapeake lightcrafts tear drop? Any more efficient than the usual tear drop?

 

[ohmman]

Anyone have experience with Chesapeake lightcrafts tear drop? Any more efficient than the usual tear drop?

I don't. But FWIW, most teardrops are not efficient aerodynamically. They taper too quickly and create suction at the rear. To have a reasonable aerodynamic shape, one needs radius edges and a long, tapered tail. The Bowlus Road Chief is probably the best aerodynamic example of a travel trailer. Airstreams don't have a tapered tail, but they do have radius edges which help a lot.

 

[ecarfan]

Anyone have experience with Chesapeake lightcrafts tear drop? Any more efficient than the usual tear drop?

Are you referring to the Chesapeake Light Craft Teardrop Camper as shown on this page? Build-your-own Teardrop Camper Kit and Plans

With frontal dimensions of roughly 65”x65” and a total weight of no more than 600 lbs (according to that web page) that is a very small trailer. The curved roof and angled front corners are helpful in reducing drag, but it’s really the tiny size and low weight that is going to result in only a relatively modest increase in energy usage when towing. I can’t say what your Wh/mi number will be at 55mph, but I’m confident that an X100D can tow that trailer over 150 miles on a full charge, and you might get 200 miles.

I agree with @ohmman about the myth of teardrop aerodynamic efficiency.

 

[NHK X]

Are you referring to the Chesapeake Light Craft Teardrop Camper as shown on this page? Build-your-own Teardrop Camper Kit and Plans

With frontal dimensions of roughly 65”x65” and a total weight of no more than 600 lbs (according to that web page) that is a very small trailer. The curved roof and angled front corners are helpful in reducing drag, but it’s really the tiny size and low weight that is going to result in only a relatively modest increase in energy usage when towing. I can’t say what your Wh/mi number will be at 55mph, but I’m confident that an X100D can tow that trailer over 150 miles on a full charge, and you might get 200 miles.

I agree with @ohmman about the myth of teardrop aerodynamic efficiency.

Yeah that one.

Awesome thanks, I do remember a while ago having that myth busted by his explanation on these forums. This teardrop seemed to have a lighter/lower design so was hoping it would be more gentle on efficiency. Appreciate the thoughts.

 

[bob_p]

The performance Cybertruck tows 14000 pounds with a 500+ mile rated range (which would clearly be much less if towing 14K pounds).

Even with a larger battery pack an X will likely be limited to around 5000 pounds.

Put down a $100 refundable deposit for the Cybertruck, just in case we decide to get a travel trailer in the new few years...

 

[AltoGrayhound]

With the Cybertruck launch everybody was focusing at the futuristic and the aerodynamic look. Safari Condo had a similar vision with the new A2124. I have a reservation for the new CYBRTRK here is a view of it with my new CYBRTRK-A2124 duo. Looking forward to see the efficiency. I am not sure that the numbers will be so different from MX with a similar pack. With the 500 miles model will be able to travel longer and do off road camping with the 100V and 220V outlet.

 

[AltoGrayhound]

To make a good caravan choice you have an opportunity to visit the Alto A2124. I will be an exibitor with the Alto A2124 and the Tesla X at the FullyCharged Show in Austin Texas February 1st and 2nd. It is a good time to see the A2124 if you are around and get EV info from the best known Youtuber and EV specialist. https://fullycharged.show/events/fully-charged-live-north-america/ Come and see me a in the paddock section.

 

[AidedAchiever]

Hello! By way of background I’ll say that I’ve been follow this and several of the related “tow a trailer with a Model X” threads for a year or so. My family and I are contemplating trying something new, and taking a year to tour sounds very appealing. I’m toying with the idea of a Bowlus, if we can make that happen.

That brings me to my question: can we turn this discussion around? I’ve seen lots of conversations about efficiency and range data for various trailers, but what about the tow vehicle? The long range Model X get ~50 more rated miles (351 vs 305) than performance as of Tesla’s website today. But what about towing? Would we also expect the long range to get a few dozen extra miles of range towing a trailer? Or would the extra power (and stronger regen?) of the performance model yield more range?

Please pardon me if I should’ve started a new thread. I looked all over and couldn’t find this question posed elsewhere, and thought it might add to the “best trailer to tow” discussion.

Cheers!

 

[Misterbee]

Hello! By way of background I’ll say that I’ve been follow this and several of the related “tow a trailer with a Model X” threads for a year or so. My family and I are contemplating trying something new, and taking a year to tour sounds very appealing. I’m toying with the idea of a Bowlus, if we can make that happen.

That brings me to my question: can we turn this discussion around? I’ve seen lots of conversations about efficiency and range data for various trailers, but what about the tow vehicle? The long range Model X get ~50 more rated miles (351 vs 305) than performance as of Tesla’s website today. But what about towing? Would we also expect the long range to get a few dozen extra miles of range towing a trailer? Or would the extra power (and stronger regen?) of the performance model yield more range?

Please pardon me if I should’ve started a new thread. I looked all over and couldn’t find this question posed elsewhere, and thought it might add to the “best trailer to tow” discussion.

Cheers!

I would expect that the Long Range X would get a bit more range when towing than the Performance, if for no other reason than that the LR is optimized for efficiency.

IMO, the greatest factor is speed. Speed cuts down on range, and even more so when towing. There are a lot of posts in in the thread by people who find that the slower they tow, the farther they go.

 

[ecarfan]

That brings me to my question: can we turn this discussion around? I’ve seen lots of conversations about efficiency and range data for various trailers, but what about the tow vehicle? The long range Model X get ~50 more rated miles (351 vs 305) than performance as of Tesla’s website today. But what about towing? Would we also expect the long range to get a few dozen extra miles of range towing a trailer? Or would the extra power (and stronger regen?) of the performance model yield more range?

Please go to the Model X Driving Dynamics subforum and search for “Towing energy”. You will find multiple threads about the topic of towing range and energy usage. It has been extensively discussed. Here is the principle one Model X Travel Trailer Consumption Analysis

 

[idoco]

...but what about the tow vehicle?

As @Misterbee said above...speed and trailer aerodynamics are the biggest factors. The faster you go the more energy you use. The worse the trailer aerodynamics (large frontal area, large gap between tow vehicle and trailer, non-rounded edges, non-tapered back, etc) the more energy you use.

As for the tow vehicle, I would think the efficiency of the LR vs Performance is encapsulated by the rated range. And any real life relative difference between the two would be minimal, whether towing or not.

As a general rule of thumb just use the rated range of the tow vehicle and multiply by the factor below to get the towing range. These are the real life ranges that are published on this forum (@55mph on a flat drive, no headwinds, temp 50-80 degrees, no rain):
Airstream (single axle): .50 to .55
Bowlus: .65 to .70
Alto(A2124): .65 +/-

 

[ThomasD]

You also have to consider the hitch weight. If the cybertruck can only support a hitch weight of 600 pounds it is not going to matter if the GVWR of the trailer is 8,000 pounds If the hitch weight of the trailer is 700 LBS you can't tow it.

 

[Nilnoc]

Feeling imprisoned, we have once again indulged our RV fantasies. I think we'll actually get a trailer.

In July 2019 we drove our Model X100D to Quebec City for a visit to the old town and Safari Condo. It was a very scenic trip up through NY State and back down Vermont's Rt 100. At Safari Condo, we got quality sitting time in the fixed roof 17 foot and both 21 foot models. The smaller trailer felt too small for us and occasional grandkids. So did the front dining area on the more aerodynamic A2124 model. So the F2114 felt most right, even though there is a real penalty on range when towing with the Model X. Still, we were not moved to buy a travel trailer last summer.

Last fall we were fortunate to meet forum member idoco, his wife, three poodles and 24 foot Bowlus Road Chief trailer at the Hagerstown, Maryland Supercharger. We liked all of them and the Bowlus, a most impressive, very high quality, Tesla-towable rig.

Last week we were moved to contact Helena at Bowlus and get a video tour of the 26 foot Endless Highways model. We were actually more interested in the 24 foot Bowlus that Idoco has because that is fine for us and at least $40,000 cheaper. Turns out, Bowlus is no longer producing its 24 foot model, only the two foot longer model. And, it turns out, they are not actually producing the 'base' $190,000 version. Only the $225,000 Performance Edition of the Endless Highways model. For the extra $35k, you get double the battery power, a more powerful inverter, two skylights, and an exterior propane and electrical outlet. Helena said that all their recent customers have wanted the $225k trailer, and all the scheduled production until 4thquarter 2021 will be that model. Additionally, we learned that you have to have your Bowlus delivered to you, which in our case would involve an extra $4200 charge to tow it from Las Vegas to near Baltimore. Anyway, we are no longer in the market for a Bowlus.

So we want to order the Alto F2114. I'm in a discussion with François Laforest at Safari Condo.

 

[gigawatt1010]

Glad I stumbled on this thread. My wife and I are starting to seriously look at Airstreams lately and I know folks here like @ohmman and others tow them regularly. What is the general consensus on which Airstream works best? 16 or 20 footers? Obviously keep the weight under 5k, but I'm a complete newbie with this.

I'm not an engineer but if money was no object, I'd like to hire someone to rig a Tesla 100D battery pack on the floor of an airstream and somehow link it to the MX battery for more range. And since we're dreaming here, maybe even throw a solar panel or two on top of the Airstream and mount a Powerwall to power the whole thing while in camping mode.

Although with new battery technology coming out soon, range concerns would probably be a thing of the past. But it's nice to dream.

 

[ohmman]

What is the general consensus on which Airstream works best? 16 or 20 footers? Obviously keep the weight under 5k, but I'm a complete newbie with this.

The new Airstreams are all at least 8' wide now. This will add aerodynamic drag. Previously, the 22' Sport was the narrowest Airstream with the original Airstream width at 7'3". That's what I tow. GVWR is 4500, but I don't think we've ever loaded it over 4200. Tongue weight is reasonable.

You'd probably get similar range with a 16', because it's wider (8') but lighter. I did not want a wet bath and we have four, so we went with the 22' Sport. Range is better on the X now than when I started, so as long as you stay within the tongue and trailer weight restrictions of the vehicle, you'll likely be able to work around the range issues. It just takes a little logistical planning.

 

[Gwgan]

I'd like to hire someone to rig a Tesla 100D battery pack on the floor of an airstream and somehow link it to the MX battery for more range

 

[ecarfan]

So the F2114 felt most right, even though there is a real penalty on range when towing with the Model X

I’ve been trying to track Wh/mi numbers that X owners get for the various Alto models. I am not convinced that there is much difference in energy usage between my F1743 and the “aerodynamic” A2124 model.

The F2114 is basically a 4’ longer stretched version of my Alto. I suspect that at highway towing speeds (55-60) you will get about the same Wh/mi numbers as I do.

Yes, when towing a trailer with an EV your range can drop 30 to 50%. But those of us who tow with an X manage just fine. Let us know what you decide and hope you can pick up an Alto soon!

 

[ecarfan]

Turns out, Bowlus is no longer producing its 24 foot model, only the two foot longer model. And, it turns out, they are not actually producing the 'base' $190,000 version. Only the $225,000 Performance Edition of the Endless Highways model. For the extra $35k, you get double the battery power, a more powerful inverter, two skylights, and an exterior propane and electrical outlet. Helena said that all their recent customers have wanted the $225k trailer, and all the scheduled production until 4thquarter 2021 will be that model.

That’s surprising. I can remember when I first learned about the Bowlus several years ago I thought the base 24’ version was about $125K, and now they aren’t selling anything below $225K. Wow.

 

[Seattle Tom]

I really like the Alto A2124 as it seems the most aerodynamic option available at reasonable prices (I’m talking about you, Bowlus!).

I’ll have to browse through Model X Travel Trailer Consumption Analysis thread linked above because I’ve always felt the “missing link” to solve for improving range was the pocket between the X and trailer. Wouldn’t the air flow in there cost significant range?

Unfortunately, I have to believe that if that were true, someone would have invented a plastic pop-up cover to connect the towing vehicle and trailer to minimize that flow. Kind of like the super advanced schematic I added to @AltoGrayhound pic below. (This drawing is patent pending copyrighted trademarked something rather.)

This would minimize the drag to occur mostly when air exits the trailer, rather than having drag occur twice. It would have to be that semi-stiff, light, pop-up plastic material that holds a defined shape like the collapsible plastic ad signs (see below).

I guess it probably won’t work at highway speeds because any air entering the plastic area would act like a parachute, but it seems like a big problem area worth solving.