Can the Tesla Cybertruck Go Off-Roading?

[P3dStealth]

ya apologies I misread "Its not amazing. It has no differentials which is normally the low point of your Jeep." as "Its not amazing. It has no differentials {full stop}."

Ha no worries,

I have no doubt that the three motor setup will be better than a locking differential. You could even allow the driver to select how power is distributed if you want. They should make it an option on the screen like in an off-road menu

 

[CyberlandBound]

We think someone needs to follow up on this with extensive testing in the real world! So - we've organized a team of reservation holders to drive an independent convoy of cybertrucks across the United States off road on the TransAmerica Trail. A link to our intro video is here: YouTube Introduction. Looking forward to getting out there! Maybe we’ll see some of you out on the trail.

 

[ThomasD]

Are you going to run any offroad trails in Colorado Cascade Creek or Devil's punch bowel. Visit the old mining towns. That would be some awesome videos.

 

[CyberlandBound]

Are you going to run any offroad trails in Colorado Cascade Creek or Devil's punch bowel. Visit the old mining towns. That would be some awesome videos.

Thanks for the heads up! We are going to be gathering ideas for the next couple of years, so we'll put yours on the list. Already looking forward to getting some footage of these trucks out in the wild!

 

[ThomasD]

Would suspension travel be severely limited with the suspension in the high position Will the truck keep the suspension at the setting you have it at It will suck if I have the truck at a high setting and the truck lowers on a hard item like some rocks and punctures the battery

 

[ricohman]

Would suspension travel be severely limited with the suspension in the high position Will the truck keep the suspension at the setting you have it at It will suck if I have the truck at a high setting and the truck lowers on a hard item like some rocks and punctures the battery

Suspension travel will be limited because its IFS IRS. The CV joints articulate only so far.

 

[MassPlay]

When you get high centered, you can just raise your suspension and drive off (that is assuming you are not driving at highest setting to begin with)

With a flat bottom and no catch points, it should easily slide off most rocks.

Believe that the long wheel base will be it's biggest issue for rock crawling. On tighter trails you will need to make 3 point assents and decent.

If the 3 motored PLAID version is chosen, perhaps it can mitigate this by doing tank like pivots. One rear wheel going forward and the other in reverse. Could really be a game changer for off roaders.

Skid plates under the battery pack would def be required; any kind of a scratch in the battery pack deeper than a few mm is resulting in cars getting totaled out by insurance as Tesla says the pack is "compromised". So you don't want that exposed at all.

3 motors isn't enough for a tank turn, you need 4 like the Rivian (all the wheels on one side have to rotate in the same direction and you need them under power to get them to pivot). Otherwise the front will hang up and you'll just end up digging two holes with the rears...

 

[ThomasD]

Don't forget recovery equipment Spare tires Food water and safety kits, Can you field repair items like the air suspension or steering components Even though it is electric you still may have to do field repairs. Cooling lines for the battery can get damaged Can you repair them in the field?

 

[KBowden]

Has anyone actually confirmed that the 2 motors in the rear of the Tri-motor individually drive the rear wheels, or is that just pure conjecture?

 

[KBowden]

Don't forget recovery equipment Spare tires Food water and safety kits, Can you field repair items like the air suspension or steering components Even though it is electric you still may have to do field repairs. Cooling lines for the battery can get damaged Can you repair them in the field?

I am basing this off of what little I know from youtube videos, but the lines are pretty tucked up and out of the way so not likely to get damaged. When off-roading I have seen damaged radiator, power steering, and brake lines. Most of the time we have been able to do rudimentary repairs to at least get to the trail head to tow home. Repairing will depend on accessibility and type of damage. Having to drop a pack on the trail would make for a long day.

 

[Saghost]

Has anyone actually confirmed that the 2 motors in the rear of the Tri-motor individually drive the rear wheels, or is that just pure conjecture?

I think there have been enough statements to be reasonably confident that the Plaid powertrain is a motor driving each rear wheel.

I don’t think we know anything definite about the Cybertruck configuration, but the theory that it is basically the Plaid power train seems like a reasonable guess.

 

[CyberlandBound]

We posted a new video showing the proposed off-road route of our little team. It's going to be a long two years to wait...assuming Cybertruck production stays on schedule. Always looking for ideas of the best places to stop in while we make our way across the country!

 

[Saghost]

I am basing this off of what little I know from youtube videos, but the lines are pretty tucked up and out of the way so not likely to get damaged. When off-roading I have seen damaged radiator, power steering, and brake lines. Most of the time we have been able to do rudimentary repairs to at least get to the trail head to tow home. Repairing will depend on accessibility and type of damage. Having to drop a pack on the trail would make for a long day.

This is potentially a big benefit of the Cybertruck or similar EVs offroading in most conditions.

Unless you're running around on a very hot day or doing crazy baha style driving, you really don't need powertrain or battery cooling while off-roading - low speeds and power outputs don't generate much heat.

So while dumping coolant all over everything certainly wouldn't be a good thing, it isn't necessarily disabling like it would be for an ICE (though I thinking there are a few modern V6s ad V8s that claim to be able to run without coolant at low power levels, alternating cylinder usage as an emergency get home measure. Not sure how realistic that claim is.)

With electric power steering, there is no steering fluid. And with modern inverter driven AC motors, you can brake just fine for most conditions without using the hydraulic brakes at all (though I really wouldn't want to count on that very much.)

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Will the traction battery be able to keep the 12 volt from discharging under long hard winching?. Ice vehicle have the engine to keep the battery charged. Are those bumpers strong enough to use a High Lift jack for lifting the truck?

With a firmware upgrade, you won't need a highlight jack, each wheel could be lifted by the air suspension for flat changes.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

We think someone needs to follow up on this with extensive testing in the real world! So - we've organized a team of reservation holders to drive an independent convoy of cybertrucks across the United States off road on the TransAmerica Trail. A link to our intro video is here: YouTube Introduction. Looking forward to getting out there! Maybe we’ll see some of you out on the trail.

My Triples reservations (one for me, and one for my wife) will make our 4th and 5th Tesla vehicles. I'm in....

They should plan to go from Baja California to Tierra del Fuego. I'm in if they are looking for volunteers. I have overlanded in Sudan (3 years), Afghanistan (4.5 years), Panama (1 year), Pakistan (30 days), Iran (30 days), and most of the eastern US.

 

[KBowden]

This is potentially a big benefit of the Cybertruck or similar EVs offroading in most conditions.

Unless you're running around on a very hot day or doing crazy baha style driving, you really don't need powertrain or battery cooling while off-roading - low speeds and power outputs don't generate much heat.

So while dumping coolant all over everything certainly wouldn't be a good thing, it isn't necessarily disabling like it would be for an ICE (though I thinking there are a few modern V6s ad V8s that claim to be able to run without coolant at low power levels, alternating cylinder usage as an emergency get home measure. Not sure how realistic that claim is.)

With electric power steering, there is no steering fluid. And with modern inverter driven AC motors, you can brake just fine for most conditions without using the hydraulic brakes at all (though I really wouldn't want to count on that very much.)

You would probably be surprised about the power draw that slow will have even at low power levels. Climbing rocks with precision power will crank up the power on top of that. We will know when I get mine we are starting to get data on our vehicles for different off road levels.

Our F-150 4x4 v8 gets 15mpg on a level 1 trail, we haven't measured the Jeep yet, but it gets approx 1mpg (approx 1 gallon per hour) on a level 6 which is beyond what I would want to take a Cybertruck.

 

[Saghost]

You would probably be surprised about the power draw that slow will have even at low power levels. Climbing rocks with precision power will crank up the power on top of that. We will know when I get mine we are starting to get data on our vehicles for different off road levels.

Our F-150 4x4 v8 gets 15mpg on a level 1 trail, we haven't measured the Jeep yet, but it gets approx 1mpg (approx 1 gallon per hour) on a level 6 which is beyond what I would want to take a Cybertruck.

Yeah, but most of that fuel is either going to idling the engine or getting dissipated in the clutch/torque converter - or in the brakes coming back down.

You need a lot of torque to climb steep hills, but not a lot of power because it happens slowly (well, you might need a lot of power if you charge up the hill at high speeds...)

Did you ever notice that the power bar doesn’t go straight to the top when you floor it from a stop?

It starts maybe 10% of the way up, then increases linearly with speed until somewhere between 25 and 50 mph (depending on the exact Tesla model,) then stays pegged at max.

That’s because even at maximum torque, the motors are not capable of consuming that much power at low rpm.

 

[ThomasD]

These trails look awesome