Model X Towing&Camping

[Rossy]

Tonught we are about ~20 mi from our house doing another camp out with the Dog and Frank Moses(RED Model X)
The last two photos were our weekend camping trip. Hornings Hide-Away, The first photo is at Stuart Stubs State Park (tonight) At the first I had to charge at 110V tonight 14-50! But don't really need to charge here. Just doing it for practice.
Compared to our old VolcoXC60 it's taking some getting used to..but this second trip was longer and I'm settling in. Miss the Volvo but the X is going to be OK. Not sure yet if it's better, but as good is my feeling at the moment.

I'll add to this thread as we expand our Towing in Oregon.

 

[NeverFollow]

Your little trailer is very cute.
Can you show some inside pictures.
What model is it and who is the maker.

 

[Rossy]

Will do. It's a Riverside Retro 155 (15-5") empty weight around 1600#. We are planning on getting a larger trailer now. Our old tow vehicle was a Volvo XC60 with 3500# gross weight but limited 290# tongue weight. The Model X can tow 5000#.

 

[ecarfan]

@Rossy, thanks for your post and the photos! That is a nice low profile trailer. Can you please post data about your wH/mi energy usage while towing on a level road in moderate temps with no headwind at a steady speed? Please let us know the speed during that test.

As you may have read in other threads on TMC about towing with an X, range is typically cut in half while towing a 15-20 ft camper trailer. But it varies quite a bit depending on the trailer shape, speed, road conditions, etc.

What is the height and width of your trailer? Looking at the various models of that trailer shown at Retro Travel Trailers | Riverside RV I do not see a "155" model so I assume that it has been discontinued.

Thanks!

 

[ecarfan]

@Rossy, thanks for your post and the photos! That is a nice low profile trailer. Can you please post data about your wH/mi energy usage while towing on a level road in moderate temps with no headwind at a steady speed? Please let us know the speed during that test.

As you may have read in other threads on TMC about towing with an X, range is typically cut in half while towing a 15-20 ft camper trailer. But it varies quite a bit depending on the trailer shape, speed, road conditions, etc.

What is the height and width of your trailer? Looking at the various models of that trailer shown at Retro Travel Trailers | Riverside RV I do not see a "155" model so I assume that it has been discontinued.

The currently available 166 model has a floor plan very similar to the Safari Condo Alto F7143 trailer that I will be taking delivery of next February. Safari Condo

Thanks!

 

[ecarfan]

We are planning on getting a larger trailer now. Our old tow vehicle was a Volvo XC60 with 3500# gross weight but limited 290# tongue weight. The Model X can tow 5000#.

What larger trailer are you planning on purchasing?

Be aware that @ohmman towing an Airstream Sport 22FB (dry weight 3,634) has had issues with the stock Model X hitch loosening up and he has replaced it with a DrawTite. There is a thread about it.

While Tesla rates the Model X for towing at 5,000 lbs I have a question as to just how realistic that is.

 

[roscoe]

Exciting! Following this thread for future posts.

 

[ohmman]

@Rossy, so glad to read your experiences.

To expand on @ecarfan comment, I think the Model X drivetrain is more than qualified to tow 5000 lbs (well more), but do not think the stock hitch is the best choice at that weight. I can’t speak to the ability of the X chassis, either. I just know we climbed difficult passes with plenty of power reserve.

 

[Rossy]

What larger trailer are you planning on purchasing?

Be aware that @ohmman towing an Airstream Sport 22FB (dry weight 3,634) has had issues with the stock Model X hitch loosening up and he has replaced it with a DrawTite. There is a thread about it.

While Tesla rates the Model X for towing at 5,000 lbs I have a question as to just how realistic that is.

I'm aware of the Draw-tite solution and will eventually switch to it if I ever need a weight distribution hitch set up. I believe the added torque of that hitch is more than the stock system was designed for. Although if you look closely at the Model X reveal tow setup I recall seeing a weight distributing hitch setup the first time we saw a Model X towing.

 

[Rossy]

I'm aware of the Draw-tite solution and will eventually switch to it if I ever need a weight distribution hitch set up. I believe the added torque of that hitch is more than the stock system was designed for. Although if you look closely at the Model X reveal tow setup I recall seeing a weight distributing hitch setup the first time we saw a Model X towing.

What larger trailer are you planning on purchasing?

Be aware that @ohmman towing an Airstream Sport 22FB (dry weight 3,634) has had issues with the stock Model X hitch loosening up and he has replaced it with a DrawTite. There is a thread about it.

While Tesla rates the Model X for towing at 5,000 lbs I have a question as to just how realistic that is.

Regarding larger trailer, I want an airstream 23' or something with a rear hatch so I can slide two kayaks in since the falcon wings kill Kayak+camping which is what my wife and I were planning to do. Toy haulers have huge drag issues.
The Model X can tow our 1600# trailer as if there isn't anything there, but the drag (wind resistance) causes consumption to average 640 at 75mph.
My wife likes the Sonic 168 which looks great but is like pulling a billboard as far as drag. My guess is range would drop to 100 miles with it.

 

[Rossy]

@Rossy, thanks for your post and the photos! That is a nice low profile trailer. Can you please post data about your wH/mi energy usage while towing on a level road in moderate temps with no headwind at a steady speed? Please let us know the speed during that test.

As you may have read in other threads on TMC about towing with an X, range is typically cut in half while towing a 15-20 ft camper trailer. But it varies quite a bit depending on the trailer shape, speed, road conditions, etc.

What is the height and width of your trailer? Looking at the various models of that trailer shown at Retro Travel Trailers | Riverside RV I do not see a "155" model so I assume that it has been discontinued.

Thanks!

We were at our Retro dealer yesterday, the 155 has been discontinued. It's pretty cramped inside. For us, it's the wet bathroom that is the killer, we want a real shower.
I'll post pictures. They have a 160 now which is 1' taller. The selling point of the 155 was that you could park it in a garage.
I'll take interior photos once it's cleaned up.

 

[Rossy]

So we took our first >100 mile trip towing. First leg was ~90 miles From our house to a KOA campground to drop trailer then visit son at Oregon State and take kids to dinner.
Plenty of range we dropped trailer and had ~100 miles of driving around range without trailer. (50 with trailer).
Full charge overnight to 90%, then topped off to 100% before a big day. Drive 40 mi to Eugene, run errands (w trailer in tow) then head up to SE Portland ~120mi, w/trailer, then drop trailer and run more errands.
First Full hour at a supercharger in Springfield, OR to top off 100% before heading back. Then HUGE downpour on I-5 NB bad enough that only radar could see car in front. We pulled off the road to wait it out. No issues accelerating from shoulder to 65mph.
I tried to stay at 65mph on the return trip. Hot dogging outbound at 75mph in rain consumes a lot of energy.
I don't have hard data. Took some photos.
The 557 wh/mi was from our house to my wife's office. 55mph-65mph hwy 80%. Going 75mph I recall ending with a 30 mi average consumption of 640wh/mi. But I don't have documentation. Highest consumption was ~800wh/mi.

I had purchased an after market dog barrier, but it doesn't stay up. The Volvo XC60 had hard points in the ceiling for the pet barrier and crash tested them. Tesla...not so much.
Will be engineering a new solution. Wife has images of Bjorn Nyland's Falcon wing slicing test video, and fears dog will get decapitated if his head is out and the door loses on it. Barrier, when it was up, prevented it. So far he hasn't eaten the Vegan Cream seats yet. But Husky Fir. Got to love Huskys.

The wavy bar Charge screen is odd. Happens at high charge rates it appears. Interaction between camera CCD sensor scan and touchscreen interesting. Goes away at lower charge rates.

Two shots of Springfield OR supercharger. Got an hour of discussion from my wife about how waiting to charge is not going to work for long haul trips. She DID like the Wilsonville charger. Hint, Springfield SC is a long walk from useful destructions.

 

[ohmman]

75mph?!

 

[Rossy]

Wanted to add that I had 2 SC stops today, one from ~50% to full, and a second stop from about %38% to 70%. Something like from 100 to 200mi non towing range.
At the Woodburn SC stop, had to drop trailer to charge. Wife later suggested a cone to keep someone from blocking trailer so we can re hitch after charging. Neither of us thought about how I had dropped the trailer where someone in an ice car wanting to spend an hour at the restraint wouldn't pull in just as we were unplugging. My bad.
Didn't happen. Oh and yes it was raining off and on during hitch/unhitching...but light drizzle. It's Oregon after all.

We only needed ~10 min of rapid charge ~50 mi ended up getting over 100 miles in the time it took to get Red Robin burgers.
I stopped charging as I had dropped the trailer where someone could park and block us. So we could have gotten to 100% eating in car. (Note to self...dog barrier or don't bring dog...can eat inside restaurant).

So thinking an app that takes SC charging rate curves should shorten charge times. I don't need full, but need enough to be above 20 miles at destination if I'm towing.
Lowest state of charge this trip was 38%.
I'm driving the 100D.
Often we buy gas at 1/2 full cause in two days we don't want to run to the gas station, but we only immediately need 20-30 miles of gas to get home with plenty of margin.

So yea towing with the Model X is a bit extra work. But not bad. I was thinking 65-70 miles towing to campgrounds are no brainers. Now I'm thinking 120 mile trips (1/2 rated non towing charge) are going to be as well.

I'm a pilot, it's against federal regulations to run out of gas when flying. You need 30-45 minutes reserve. I'm thinking the same rule handy for towing w/MX. 30 min at 55mph is ~27 mi. I think I was using 40-50 mi today.

I didn't need the second 20 min SC session today, but it was a fast way to pick up 100 miles of range (50 miles towing) I didn't need.

 

[BerTX]

75mph?!

Agree. OP might want to check the tires on the trailer. Most are rated at 65 mph max, and they WILL overheat and blow out. There are higher speed rated tires if you feel the need to go fast. Still probably not safe, but at least less unsafe.

 

[Rossy]

Thx, hadn't considered the trailer tire rating. Note to self, keep the speeds down below 65.
Our trailer is 1680# empty wt #3500 max, we load it about 2200# I think last time I was at the scales with more than 10% on the tongue, but the Volvo hitch likely isn't at the same height as the Tesla. Assuming 10% tongue, I'm guessing the trailer load was 1880# on the axle (or less), so that's 940# per tire loading (static). The tires are rated 1610# properly inflated so about 60% of rated load. From reading trailer tires have stiffer sidewalls to mitigate trailer sway, so if I had to guess the speed restriction would have something to do with sidewall flexing at higher speeds generating more heat leading to sidewall/tread failure...but I'm making all that up as I go.
But it's just another good reason to keep the speeds below 65mph besides drag.