Cybertruck and towing

[viet658]

2/3 range reduction on Model X. Thoughts?

 

[Fishy Fish]

These guys were driving like idiots when towing. When doing the climb they said in a gas truck they could only do 50mph, but they were driving the X at 65. If you're towing anything, consumption is going to be way lower if you drive 50 or 55. For their road trip to Oregon they refused to drive lower than 70mph towing a fat ugly overlander trailer and gave up because they weren't able to accept that your behaviour has to change if you want to do anything with a totally new type of transport.

The world is in a crisis and we all have to change our behaviour and lifestyles. So it takes an hour or two longer to do a 1000 mile road trip to go play with your toys if you don't drive like a fool. The baby boomers world is coming to an end and we all have to make changes.

 

[JBee]

Yep. Need a geny powered electric hub motor powered trailer for long range. Need a extending trailer drawbar that pulls in close to the CT when going straight ahead, and out again when cornering. Then make the trailer streamlined to fit the CT slipstream. Probably need Tesla to do it...

Driving in sand and mud will have the same effect.

Maybe we'd be better off with a van and get rid of towing long range?

 

[ThomasD]

It all depends on speed, aerodynamics, terrain and weather. I wonder if Tesla will show the Truck towing different size trailers and weights over varying terrain in different weather. When I have towed various trailers with ICE vehicles I've had usually a 50 to 80 mile difference from non towing miles. So if the Cybertruck could average the same that would be a good thing.

 

[JBee]

It all depends on speed, aerodynamics, terrain and weather. I wonder if Tesla will show the Truck towing different size trailers and weights over varying terrain in different weather. When I have towed various trailers with ICE vehicles I've had usually a 50 to 80 mile difference from non towing miles. So if the Cybertruck could average the same that would be a good thing.

I think that will be unlikely as all Teslas are already highly optimized to achieve the ranges they get, which in turn increases their sensitivity to things that aren't, of which one is standard non-streamlined trailers. I expect less than half of the range with a standard box trailer just because of the energy required for the trailer, which is physics that is hard for the CT to improve. I think we'll see a Tesla trailer at some point if they really want to make a serious attempt at the towing thing. It's more likely we'd see a van beforehand though IMHO.

 

[Sbrentnall]

So it takes an hour or two longer to do a 1000 mile road trip to go play with your toys if you don't drive like a fool.

I agree with you in principle. However, for those of us pulling horse trailers, range while towing is important because we can't stop at a supercharger with horses on the trailer. I don't expect to go 1000 miles, but I do expect to go 300-400 while towing.

 

[outdoors]

Get me 350 miles I will be happy. What I get now towing. Get me 400+ I will do backflips. As I age I do less miles of towing per day. Lower speeds as well. Less of a hurry. So 400 miles would do me great on travel days. I also never really get much more than 60% of rated towing lbs. of need.

Many people overestimate the value of minor speed differences. 5-10 mph. Over long periods fine, speed wins. Shorter distances saves a small hill of beans. Safety is paramount for me while towing.

 

[Blup85]

I've been playing with a better route planner and its "Beta" Cybertruck profile. I'm curious what the thoughts are on the towing efficiency to plug in for a pretty typical travel trailer. I towed a 3200lb load on my Model Y (Flatbed) and @ 65 was getting around 640watts/mile. Even plugging in an average of 1000watts/mile gives the Cypertruck significant range which is pretty exciting!