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Model X: Any issues with towing?

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Hello All,

I am trying to do some research, I am a travel registered nurse who recently took to RVing as a means to save on housing overpaying the high cost of living in hotels and Airbnb. Currently, I have been taking only assignments within 3 hours of my Tax Home so i could stay near home and drive back home on the long weekends. Recently i bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado 2.8L Diesel to tow a small Jayco 17RK travel trailer (2,890lbs) staying mostly in national parks or thousand trails sites near my assignments. On my last trip towing the Trailer, the engine suffered a catastrophic engine failure at 6,100 miles, so chevy put me in a Silverado loaner for 6 weeks until they decided to buy my truck back due to unable to acquire a replacement engine for me. While driving that loaner towing my RV to the next assignment, it only got 10.1mpg vr the 22ish mpg the 2.8L diesel got towing the trailer. So i am currently without a tow vehicle and was curious what the model x was like towing.. I had a chevy volt for the longest time, so i am not new to EV cars and kinda miss the instant torque and silence while driving.
 
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Hello All,

I am trying to do some research, I am a travel registered nurse who recently took to RVing as a means to save on housing overpaying the high cost of living in hotels and Airbnb. Currently, I have been taking only assignments within 3 hours of my Tax Home so i could stay near home and drive back home on the long weekends. Recently i bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado 2.8L Diesel to tow a small Jayco 17RK travel trailer (2,890lbs) staying mostly in national parks or thousand trails sites near my assignments. On my last trip towing the Trailer, the engine suffered a catastrophic engine failure at 6,100 miles, so chevy put me in a Silverado loaner for 6 weeks until they decided to buy my truck back due to unable to acquire a replacement engine for me. While driving that loaner towing my RV to the next assignment, it only got 10.1mpg vr the 22ish mpg the 2.8L diesel got towing the trailer. So i am currently without a tow vehicle and was curious what the model x was like towing.. I had a chevy volt for the longest time, so i am not new to EV cars and kinda miss the instant torque and silence while driving.
Others with experience will chime in, but from what I know, your range will be about half, depending on your speed, the limit is 5000lbs with 20 inch tires, 3500 with 22, and no autopilot while towing. I hear it’s got good power.
 
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While I'm interested in towing, I have a Model S and can't. I read about it a lot, but that is not the same thing...

My take on towing with Model X is that it can be wonderful in the right situation, but probably not so much in others. It is wonderful if you are not in a hurry, such as a retired person or on an extended vacation. It also works well on short trips (100 miles or so) for short weekend jaunts. Where the issues come in is where you have a short amount of time to go a long distance. With your big trucks, you just mash the go pedal harder and pay more at the pump. With the Model X, you have to slow down and plan, watch your consumption to make it to the next Supercharger. I don't know how these things fit in with your use plan.

Another factor is that many Supercharger locations are not set up to allow pulling in with a trailer. You will often need to park, unhitch, charge and rehitch several times a day. Travelling by yourself, that will no doubt be an issue, especially in inclement weather.

@ohmman and @ecarfan, among others, are experts in this area, and there are pretty extensive threads talking about their experiences.
 
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Others with experience will chime in, but from what I know, your range will be about half, depending on your speed, the limit is 5000lbs with 20 inch tires, 3500 with 22, and no autopilot while towing. I hear it’s got good power.

Hmm, dang i was really expecting autopilot to work because sometimes those multi-hour highway drives are boring...
 
If you camp at locations with hookups, then you can charge the X at your site. That saves charging time and fuel money.

It is really nice to be able to charge at your destination, as this allows you to arrive near "empty," rather than wasting time topping off at a Superchager.

You might want to wait and see, should be roughly two weeks, what the v3 software update does for the X. If a 100D can take 145kw to 60%, that changes the Supercharging picture to an extent.
 
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If you camp at locations with hookups, then you can charge the X at your site. That saves charging time and fuel money.

It is really nice to be able to charge at your destination, as this allows you to arrive near "empty," rather than wasting time topping off at a Superchager.

You might want to wait and see, should be roughly two weeks, what the v3 software update does for the X. If a 100D can take 145kw to 60%, that changes the Supercharging picture to an extent.

Is that like an upgrade to the charge rate?
 
Tesla has found a way to increase the charging speeds of both the Superchargers and also the capabilities of their cars. Upgrading the Superchargers to V3 is with hardware. Upgrading the cars is with software they will download to the fleet, when it is rolled out.
 
If you have your own company, as a traveling nurse, you will able to take advantage of significant tax breaks with the X. If you are a salaried employee...not so much.

The heavier, the faster and the more aerodynamic drag, the less range you will have with your Tesla.

A small trailer, traveling at 60 mph or slower will of course get better range than a full sized boxy trailer pulled at higher speeds.
 
Current speculation is that the new V3 supercharger will be able to push 145kw into the 100D ModelX. Right now limited to 120 (in reality 115 to 119).

FWIW, the Chevy Volt is not an EV, it is a gas/electric hybrid. Nothing at all like driving a Tesla.

I dont get how you say its not like a tesla... its a full electric car with a gas generator for when the battery runs low.....When i had mine i only bought gas like 2-3x a year total to drive, because i was able to drive everywhere within the range of the battery 99% of the time.
 
Tesla has found a way to increase the charging speeds of both the Superchargers and also the capabilities of their cars. Upgrading the Superchargers to V3 is with hardware. Upgrading the cars is with software they will download to the fleet, when it is rolled out.

ok, gotcha.

I really wish Tesla had a pickup out already, would benefit much more from a truck over an SUV, have a few toys that would just be easier to tote around in a pickup bed over a trailer.. honestly not a fan of trailers..
 
Hello All,

I am trying to do some research, I am a travel registered nurse who recently took to RVing as a means to save on housing overpaying the high cost of living in hotels and Airbnb. Currently, I have been taking only assignments within 3 hours of my Tax Home so i could stay near home and drive back home on the long weekends. Recently i bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado 2.8L Diesel to tow a small Jayco 17RK travel trailer (2,890lbs) staying mostly in national parks or thousand trails sites near my assignments. On my last trip towing the Trailer, the engine suffered a catastrophic engine failure at 6,100 miles, so chevy put me in a Silverado loaner for 6 weeks until they decided to buy my truck back due to unable to acquire a replacement engine for me. While driving that loaner towing my RV to the next assignment, it only got 10.1mpg vr the 22ish mpg the 2.8L diesel got towing the trailer. So i am currently without a tow vehicle and was curious what the model x was like towing.. I had a chevy volt for the longest time, so i am not new to EV cars and kinda miss the instant torque and silence while driving.

I tow a travel trailer with my X frequently and have pushed the range to the very limit. It tows incredibly well. Smooth and powerful. Autopilot will likely never work while towing due to the risk, liability and fringe case. The trailer blocks the rear view and rear ultrasonics and changes the driving and braking dynamics significantly.

Major challenge with towing with the Model X is range. Huge impact. 50% or more and supercharger network isn’t designed for that range impact and for charging with a trailer attached
 
I tow a travel trailer with my X frequently and have pushed the range to the very limit. It tows incredibly well. Smooth and powerful. Autopilot will likely never work while towing due to the risk, liability and fringe case. The trailer blocks the rear view and rear ultrasonics and changes the driving and braking dynamics significantly.

Major challenge with towing with the Model X is range. Huge impact. 50% or more and supercharger network isn’t designed for that range impact and for charging with a trailer attached

Thank you, I am doing my research... Many of my family is telling me to not buy another small engine truck, that i pushed the limits of that colorado.. which blows my mind, because when i had it weighed with all my stuff in the trailer, it came in just over 3,400lbs detached from the vehicle on the scale with the vehicle rated to tow up to 7,500lbs. I was doing the math to tow with a v8 pickup it would cost me roughly 32-35 cents a mile to tow in gas. I was crunching the numbers if i bought the Model X and was able to utilize the superchargers fully or charge free between camp sites or public charging, it would take roughly 185,000 miles to redeem the cost of the car. If i decide to continue to tow with a fuel vehicle it would cost me roughly $6,000 to $6,500/yr in fuel, so roughly 10 years of buying fuel would be the cost of the Model X. I am truly in support of electric cars, just wish there were more options that had towability.
 
Storx

Well I'm going to try towing with an X today. I'm just doing short runs towing a 2800 lb load. I tested with it last night and the range does look like it will be cut in half. I'm a bit nervous about trying it, but the locations I'm going all have superchargers within 5 miles of the stop. So this is a good test for me. It will also educate me towards the Tesla Pickup, if and when that ever comes out.

So far I have found a few issues with the X. First you need to buy a brake controller. That was a surprise for me given most every vehicle you buy with a towing package would come with it. I was pissed about that and spent $150.00 adding that in.:mad: Tesla doesn't even point out that it needs to be owner furnished. I found the answer on You tube after wasting my time with Tech support. Also when you go to insert the hitch. NOWHERE does it say you must pull the knob out after unlocking it to insert it. There 58 second video doesn't even point that out. :mad:
The safety chain hooks are no picnic to attach either. Not looking forward to unhooking at the SC's in the rain today. I'll really be pissed if i get iced.

Your best answers are on You Tube Not tesla support!!! I suffered through the owners manual and also found answers to the basics. Blue, Yellow and Red tow symbols.

I have towed this load about 100,000 miles with a 2500HD Duramax diesel truck 3/4 ton. NEVER broke down. I had a 1/2 ton pickup and or Denali SUV and cooked the transmissions, among other issues to say the least. I would not run a small truck at all. I had a friend who tried and he just was killing himself with terrible gas mileage and the repairs. I think I get around 18 MPG towing with the 2500HD, got ten with gas powered truck.
 
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Another factor is that many Supercharger locations are not set up to allow pulling in with a trailer. You will often need to park, unhitch, charge and rehitch several times a day. Travelling by yourself, that will no doubt be an issue, especially in inclement weather.
OP can take a look just at the pics of Range and Charging While Towing a Trailer - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test to see the possible issues.

I've seen plenty numerous SCs where you can only back in with no trailer attached. Otherwise, you either need to park sideways and block multiple spots and SCs or you need to detach the trailer first.