Model Y Towing - Experiences Post here

[rvatornate]

Curious about the MPG hit the Subie took when you towed same trailer with it....

Good question!
65 mph on a flat highway without the trailer was right around 30mpg. With that trailer about 16. So about the same as what the Y was doing give or take a factor for human error.
Now, if the camping destination involved climbing westbound on I-70, I can tell you the subie never went up that 1st hill at 65. 55-60 was more like it. The Y will be making the climb much quicker unless I discover I can't reach the next charge or campground at that silly speed.

Nate

 

[DanDi58]

Good question!
65 mph on a flat highway without the trailer was right around 30mpg. With that trailer about 16. So about the same as what the Y was doing give or take a factor for human error.
Now, if the camping destination involved climbing westbound on I-70, I can tell you the subie never went up that 1st hill at 65. 55-60 was more like it. The Y will be making the climb much quicker unless I discover I can't reach the next charge or campground at that silly speed.

Nate

Perfect, good info, thanks!

 

[poorpilot]

I just rented a travel trailer today to see what kind of numbers I would get here in Arizona. It was a small travel lite falcon F14. About 1700 pounds. I was pretty surprised by the consumption. I drove a 40 mile stretch on I-10 south of Phoenix to some super chargers and then back. Pretty flat with maybe some minor elevation charges at 55 mph. I averaged 641 Wh/mi down and 589 back. My next try is to rental a pop up style or a tear drop style and see how that compares.

 

[STBR0510]

I'm about to embark on a trip from Virginia to Minnesota. Unfortunately I couldn't fit everything inside the car so I have to take a UHaul trailer. Gonna be interesting....
I'll try to take some data points and post it here.

Completed my approximate 1300 mile trip from Alexandria, VA to Minnesota about 2 weeks ago. Towed a 4x8 UHaul trailer loaded up. My Model Y towed it no problem tons of power and tracked smoothly. No rattling from the receiver. Average temp on the trip was about 9 degrees. It snowed for part of the trip and I drove into a headwind until I got to Indiana. I forgot to log consumption numbers but it was usually from 450 to 550 WH/mile.
I had to stop every 100 to 150 miles for charging. I would only charge to about 85 to 90% and would run it down to about 10% to be safe, though a couple stops I pulled in with 5% remaining. I did not unhook for charging, and had no problems getting it into position. Heat in the cold temps was a non-issue, the heat pump is magic. It's been between -30 and -15 for a week or so here and general heating and driving with no trailer has been really great. Range impact from the cold has not been a concern.
With the trailer I figured range is about a 60% decrease in the cold. Likely summer will provide much less of an impact due to less dense air and a happier battery.

 

[D Bouton]

Completed my approximate 1300 mile trip from Alexandria, VA to Minnesota about 2 weeks ago. Towed a 4x8 UHaul trailer loaded up. My Model Y towed it no problem tons of power and tracked smoothly. No rattling from the receiver. Average temp on the trip was about 9 degrees. It snowed for part of the trip and I drove into a headwind until I got to Indiana. I forgot to log consumption numbers but it was usually from 450 to 550 WH/mile.
I had to stop every 100 to 150 miles for charging. I would only charge to about 85 to 90% and would run it down to about 10% to be safe, though a couple stops I pulled in with 5% remaining. I did not unhook for charging, and had no problems getting it into position. Heat in the cold temps was a non-issue, the heat pump is magic. It's been between -30 and -15 for a week or so here and general heating and driving with no trailer has been really great. Range impact from the cold has not been a concern.
With the trailer I figured range is about a 60% decrease in the cold. Likely summer will provide much less of an impact due to less dense air and a happier battery.

View attachment 638089

 

[D Bouton]

What would you guess the weight of the trailer was? I am amazed that with those low temps that you did so well and had good heat. I was of the understanding that battery heaters kick in which would of course have an impact on range too. The super charge stations that I have seen usually only have one set that does not require backing in, is that what you experienced?

 

[MikeHolliday]

That Trailer is 900 lbs. empty and has a gross weight of 2,700 lbs. which would make it ideal to tow behind the Model Y... Thanks for the data, it is nice to see someone who does not hate Tesla do a real road trip towing behind the Model Y.

 

[MikeHolliday]

That Trailer is 900 lbs. empty and has a gross weight of 2,700 lbs. which would make it ideal to tow behind the Model Y...

I just rented a travel trailer today to see what kind of numbers I would get here in Arizona. It was a small travel lite falcon F14. About 1700 pounds. I was pretty surprised by the consumption. I drove a 40 mile stretch on I-10 south of Phoenix to some super chargers and then back. Pretty flat with maybe some minor elevation charges at 55 mph. I averaged 641 Wh/mi down and 589 back. My next try is to rental a pop up style or a tear drop style and see how that compares. View attachment 631069View attachment 631070View attachment 631071

That does not surprise me at all. Towing a camping trailer (big brick) on a highway is going to make a huge range difference compared to towing a utility trailer that is barely taller than the car, even if they weighed the same.

 

[peterfbird]

Completed my approximate 1300 mile trip from Alexandria, VA to Minnesota about 2 weeks ago. Towed a 4x8 UHaul trailer loaded up. My Model Y towed it no problem tons of power and tracked smoothly. No rattling from the receiver. Average temp on the trip was about 9 degrees. It snowed for part of the trip and I drove into a headwind until I got to Indiana. I forgot to log consumption numbers but it was usually from 450 to 550 WH/mile.
I had to stop every 100 to 150 miles for charging. I would only charge to about 85 to 90% and would run it down to about 10% to be safe, though a couple stops I pulled in with 5% remaining. I did not unhook for charging, and had no problems getting it into position. Heat in the cold temps was a non-issue, the heat pump is magic. It's been between -30 and -15 for a week or so here and general heating and driving with no trailer has been really great. Range impact from the cold has not been a concern.
With the trailer I figured range is about a 60% decrease in the cold. Likely summer will provide much less of an impact due to less dense air and a happier battery.

View attachment 638089

Thanks for this. As a newbie owner, I appreciate seeing the photos of your hook-up to power on the road. That's been a source of some anxiety for me as I begin planning a road trip from Nashville, TN, to Seaside, FL.

 

[Stack151]

Completed my approximate 1300 mile trip from Alexandria, VA to Minnesota about 2 weeks ago. Towed a 4x8 UHaul trailer loaded up. My Model Y towed it no problem tons of power and tracked smoothly. No rattling from the receiver. Average temp on the trip was about 9 degrees. It snowed for part of the trip and I drove into a headwind until I got to Indiana. I forgot to log consumption numbers but it was usually from 450 to 550 WH/mile.
I had to stop every 100 to 150 miles for charging. I would only charge to about 85 to 90% and would run it down to about 10% to be safe, though a couple stops I pulled in with 5% remaining. I did not unhook for charging, and had no problems getting it into position. Heat in the cold temps was a non-issue, the heat pump is magic. It's been between -30 and -15 for a week or so here and general heating and driving with no trailer has been really great. Range impact from the cold has not been a concern.
With the trailer I figured range is about a 60% decrease in the cold. Likely summer will provide much less of an impact due to less dense air and a happier battery.

View attachment 638089

This is a great post and it's refreshing to see something positive towards Tesla. I think the car is significantly more capable than many want to give it credit for. The other parallel that no one wants to talk about is that ICE vehicles pulling trailers also have bad range, so when you compare apples to apples, the Tesla's aren't all that much more limited other than maybe having to charge longer. Good stuff!

 

[Stack151]

That does not surprise me at all. Towing a camping trailer (big brick) on a highway is going to make a huge range difference compared to towing a utility trailer that is barely taller than the car, even if they weighed the same.

Great point and by the looks of that picture, the airflow should have gone over that trailer, so there would have been minimal drag as compared to a camper.

 

[MikeHolliday]

Before retiring 2 years ago, I would find myself towing trailers with my pickup truck from Columbus, Ohio to Indianapolis, IN. When I made these trips I could literally watch the fuel gauge go down. On this round trip I would typically get 5-6 miles per gallon. It was painful...

 

[STBR0510]

What would you guess the weight of the trailer was? I am amazed that with those low temps that you did so well and had good heat. I was of the understanding that battery heaters kick in which would of course have an impact on range too. The super charge stations that I have seen usually only have one set that does not require backing in, is that what you experienced?

Mike is right on the weights. My guess is the trailer was just under 2000lbs fully loaded.
With heat I had no problems at all, the only time I noticed it cold was for a few seconds under really hard acceleration. The heat pump really does wonders.
Supercharging stations typically have one that I was able to pull directly in but mostly I had to pull sideways up to an end unit so wouldn't block more than a couple. People were really nice and would switch chargers if they saw me waiting for a while.

 

[MikeHolliday]

I have a Model Y that I have owned for 8 months. I have made 2 cold weather 1,200 mile trips in the last 3 months. The only issue that I had was with the London, Kentucky Supercharger where is took me where it took one and a half hours for only 52 kilowatts, roughly from a 20 to a 90 percent SOC.

 

[limmerguy]

About how fast were you going? I'm doing a 1,400 mile move with the same U-Haul trailer. California speed limit is 55mph while towing which I'm hoping gets me at least ~450whpm.

Also, how did you handle overnight rests? The trailer coupler doesn't have a lock which I'm a little nervous about. Thanks!

 

[HyperionMark]

Anyone used the bluetooth Curt Echo brake controller yet? Looking at getting one and want to hear if they work with the Y or X. Thanks!

 

[Jamezam]

After a bunch of research and YouTube videos, I'd decided to buy an Armadillo trailer in Canada. https://www.armadillotrailers.ca The unloaded vehicle weight is1,800 lbs. and hitch weight is 180 lbs. I'd have to drive up to Canada, but with Covid, I believe the border is closed. Anyway, these are amazing trailers, if you get a chance check them out.

 

[Flybuddy]

Here's another one to consider that is well within the MY tow capability. Made in U.S., standard queen (not RV) bed, full size fridge and full bath, power awning, power jack and reasonable pricing.

 

[Darmie]

Here's another one to consider that is well within the MY tow capability. Made in U.S., standard queen (not RV) bed, full size fridge and full bath, power awning, power jack and reasonable pricing.

Wow, these campers are really looking nice. Love the 12V compressor on the fridge.

 

[STBR0510]

I have a Model Y that I have owned for 8 months. I have made 2 cold weather 1,200 mile trips in the last 3 months. The only issue that I had was with the London, Kentucky Supercharger where is took me where it took one and a half hours for only 52 kilowatts, roughly from a 20 to a 90 percent SOC.

That's a good point I did have one charging stop that took longer than expected because the batter was cold soaked from sitting over night. Charging rate was reduced so it took about 20min longer.