Major Flaw - No Charge Port in Front (towing)

[Brian23693]

The Cybertruck does not appear to have a charging port in the front. For those of us who pull trailers regularly, this is a problem. We need the ability to pull straight into a super charger stall (can't back in with trailer and reach the rear charging port). I am very disappointed.

 

[Lasairfion]

I'd be interested in you telling me where the charge port is. I didn't see hide nor hair of it.

 

[Brian23693]

I'd be interested in you telling me where the charge port is. I didn't see hide nor hair of it.

I'm guessing it's right here:

 

[ecarfan]

The Cybertruck does not appear to have a charging port in the front. For those of us who pull trailers regularly, this is a problem. We need the ability to pull straight into a super charger stall (can't back in with trailer and reach the rear charging port). I am very disappointed.

I tow a trailer with my X. Not sure I agree with you. If you had a charge point in the front, and you are hitched up and pull into a stall that is the back-in style your trailer will completely block traffic. If the stall is designed so that you are supposed to park head-in, and you are hitched up, a charge port in the front won’t help you because the charger cable won’t reach it. Maybe I am not understanding your point.

The Superchargers are designed for vehicles with the charge port in the location that all S/X/3 have.

I'd be interested in you telling me where the charge port is. I didn't see hide nor hair of it.

The images show what appears to be a port Just behind the left rear wheel near the top of the fender arch.

 

[wycolo]

Many SCs have a single station for drive-in use. Some such as Cheyenne WY are all that way.
--

 

[deonb]

Why not just visit a MegaCharger instead of a SuperCharger when towing? There will be plenty of them by the time the CyberTruck ships.

I have a F350 today with a 45' tow vehicle, and there's no way I can visit a normal gas station either. I just go to a truck stop - it's no big deal.

 

[diver110]

What about charging it at home? Will the truck be too long for the typical garage? Of course, could leave garage door open while charging. I wonder why it has so much more range. Is it as simple as a bigger battery?

 

[Brian23693]

I tow a trailer with my X. Not sure I agree with you. If you had a charge point in the front, and you are hitched up and pull into a stall that is the back-in style your trailer will completely block traffic. If the stall is designed so that you are supposed to park head-in, and you are hitched up, a charge port in the front won’t help you because the charger cable won’t reach it. Maybe I am not understanding your point.

The Superchargers are designed for vehicles with the charge port in the location that all S/X/3 have.

The images show what appears to be a port Just behind the left rear wheel near the top of the fender arch.

About once a month, I tow an 18' trailer (with 3 Polaris SxS's) up to the mountains of West Virginia. The Superchargers along my route do not have pull-through stalls (only back in). That means I would have to unhook my trailer at every SC so that I can "back into" the stall. I realize that if I were to pull straight into the stall (with the trailer attached) that my rig would be sticking out quite far, however, I would try and choose the outermost stalls (the end stalls) to minimize disruption to others. And many times, due to the large amount of room around the SC stalls in my area, my long rig wouldn't be an issue anyway.

 

[Brian23693]

Why not just visit a MegaCharger instead of a SuperCharger when towing? There will be plenty of them by the time the CyberTruck ships.

I have a F350 today with a 45' tow vehicle, and there's no way I can visit a normal gas station either. I just go to a truck stop - it's no big deal.

What is a mega charger? Are they along my route from the east coast of VA to the mountains of West Virginia??

 

[deonb]

What is a mega charger? Are they along my route from the east coast of VA to the mountains of West Virginia??

The charging stations for the Tesla Semi. Yes, they will be plentiful by the time the CyberTruck is released.

 

[user212_nr]

About once a month, I tow an 18' trailer (with 3 Polaris SxS's) up to the mountains of West Virginia. The Superchargers along my route do not have pull-through stalls (only back in). That means I would have to unhook my trailer at every SC so that I can "back into" the stall. I realize that if I were to pull straight into the stall (with the trailer attached) that my rig would be sticking out quite far, however, I would try and choose the outermost stalls (the end stalls) to minimize disruption to others. And many times, due to the large amount of room around the SC stalls in my area, my long rig wouldn't be an issue anyway.

You also can't pull in forwards and let the trailer block traffic. Most SC sites are similar in layout to regular parking lots, not super-jumbo walmart lots (the ones I've seen so far at least). They'll either need to add special pickup w/ trailer sites or you'll need to pull in sideways and block several parking spaces, if space allows.

Definitely, it might not be the truck for you, however. Making these infrastructure updates is expensive, so better for them to ignore this type of market for the short-term.

 

[pmifsud]

You also can't pull in forwards and let the trailer block traffic. Most SC sites are similar in layout to regular parking lots, not super-jumbo walmart lots (the ones I've seen so far at least). They'll either need to add special pickup w/ trailer sites or you'll need to pull in sideways and block several parking spaces, if space allows.

Definitely, it might not be the truck for you, however. Making these infrastructure updates is expensive, so better for them to ignore this type of market for the short-term.

Not sure ignoring the trailer hauler market for cybertruck is an answer if Tesla is serious about the truck market. Many pickup owners (not all) pull toys or utility trailers at some point and further the demand to charge while hauling on the road will be high. Just saying.

 

[sparcs]

About once a month, I tow an 18' trailer (with 3 Polaris SxS's) up to the mountains of West Virginia. The Superchargers along my route do not have pull-through stalls (only back in). That means I would have to unhook my trailer at every SC so that I can "back into" the stall. I realize that if I were to pull straight into the stall (with the trailer attached) that my rig would be sticking out quite far, however, I would try and choose the outermost stalls (the end stalls) to minimize disruption to others. And many times, due to the large amount of room around the SC stalls in my area, my long rig wouldn't be an issue anyway.

luckily they have two years to add more of those pull through stalls. cybertruck owners will be forcing that dynamic via their purchases. Hopefully they roll it out sooner in your area.

 

[ohmman]

I generally agree with @ecarfan, based on a few thousand miles of towing with my X+Airstream. I almost always choose to unhitch rather than obstruct the area around a Supercharger. There are some exceptions where the chargers are remote in the lot, or have double pull-throughs where I get away without it, but I tow a narrow body camper. People will be towing larger campers with this truck, no doubt, which means that they won't fit between Supercharger stalls anyway.

Unhitching for me is a few minute affair, as is rehitching. It hasn't been an issue, but I have traveled almost exclusively in excellent weather (summers out West). If it were pouring rain or worse, I'd probably feel differently. Also, if the Cybertruck allows for 5th wheels, unhitching in a parking lot is not going to be convenient.

 

[Blup85]

Maybe they will offer a charge port adapter from the mega charger plug to the standard Tesla plug? Seems they need to make the megacharger available to the towing folk on major corridors like I5 in Ca.

CybrTrk, greater than 250kw Supercharging?

 

[user212_nr]

Maybe they will offer a charge port adapter from the mega charger plug to the standard Tesla plug? Seems they need to make the megacharger available to the towing folk on major corridors like I5 in Ca.

CybrTrk, greater than 250kw Supercharging?

Issue isn't with the charge rate, but rather with the layout of the stations. There are no locations suitable for a trailer in most sites that I've seen.

But charging trucks with trailers on the mega charger network is a good idea.

 

[user212_nr]

Not sure ignoring the trailer hauler market for cybertruck is an answer if Tesla is serious about the truck market. Many pickup owners (not all) pull toys or utility trailers at some point and further the demand to charge while hauling on the road will be high. Just saying.

Neither is not answering people's phone calls good for their car business... Tesla is a different kind of company than we are used to, for better or for worse.

I'd also like them to do things faster.

 

[cwerdna]

The below have some visual aids of the challenges that Edmunds faced when trying to Supercharge while towing with an X (e.g. having to unhook the trailer, parking sideways, blocking an aisle, etc.)

Tow Test Recap - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test
Range and Charging While Towing a Trailer - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test

 

[dhrivnak]

The Cybertruck does not appear to have a charging port in the front. For those of us who pull trailers regularly, this is a problem. We need the ability to pull straight into a super charger stall (can't back in with trailer and reach the rear charging port). I am very disappointed.

I fully agree! Ideally they will have two ports. Or at least sell an "extension cord". Yes I know it will be BIG, but I would rather handle a 20 lb cord than have to hitch and unhitch for each charging session.

 

[Zorg]

I fully agree! Ideally they will have two ports. Or at least sell an "extension cord". Yes I know it will be BIG, but I would rather handle a 20 lb cord than have to hitch and unhitch for each charging session.

Front and rear ports would be ideal.