Ohmman's Airstream Adventures

[Tedkidd]

I think the early X's are starting to have this problem.
Bjorn (on YouTube) just got his founders X back and they're doing a refurb.

If it happens every 100k do you really want to mess with your towing setup?
Isn't it just wear and tear?

I suppose this is as good a place as any to make this note. On the return from our October Utah trip, we had developed severe front end shudder. It persisted even without the trailer (though not as intense) and eventually seemed to settle into a less obvious but easily reproducible range. On subsequent towing trips, I've started to tow with my suspension set to Low in an attempt to stave off more warping/vibration, and my observation is that it has worked.

There are a few drawbacks to doing this. First, clearance is always a concern when approaching campsites. Second, lowering the X exposes slightly more of the Airstream, increasing the effective frontal area a touch. So there may be some aerodynamic disadvantage, measurable or not. And finally, since I use weight distribution, moving suspension changes the calibration of the weight distribution friction/torsion bars and has to be considered.

This past week, I had Tesla Service replace the half-shafts in the X which fixed the problem. My plan is to tow only on Low, despite Tesla's guidance to tow on Standard. Anything I can do to keep the shudder from reappearing..

 

[mspohr]

Interesting concept

After pushing against a strong headwind for part of the trip, the E-Tron and trailer reached the destination with 82 kwh used by the E-Tron and 74 kwh used by the trailer. The E.Home Caravan prototype has two battery modules, each with about 40 kwh, with one in front of the axle and the other behind it. The trailer can also provide power out for other camping needs, or support solar cells on the roof. It can be charged at up to 7.2 kw on AC, and it’s compatible with 50-kw DC fast-charging.

Towing with an EV: Are electric trailers the future?

A German travel trailer prototype provides its own electric propulsion and effectively doubles the batteries—meaning that there might be no drop in range from towing.

www.greencarreports.com

 

[dmurphy]

I think the early X's are starting to have this problem.
Bjorn (on YouTube) just got his founders X back and they're doing a refurb.

If it happens every 100k do you really want to mess with your towing setup?
Isn't it just wear and tear?

My 2020 LR+ is now on its third set of halfshafts. The first shuddered, the second shuddered worse. The third set, so far, is smooth as silk. I’m very hopeful that this is the “permanent” fix.

 

[ohmman]

Well, I'm back from our trip to the Sierras. Sadly, we had to cut it short due to heavy smoke from the Dixie Fire. The good news is that we did have a couple of nice days and a great hike in Desolation Wilderness.

Regarding the half-shafts - they performed admirably while towing. I towed on low and was careful not to be aggressive with the pedal. I don't think I notice anything after the trip, though it's possible there's some very light vibration. But that could just be my brain and how I expect it to happen.

One interesting side note is that we charged in Placerville to about 92% in order to make it up the hill and have a nice reserve at the campground. The temperature was 103°F during Supercharging, and in the last 10-15 minutes I ran the AC in the car while we waited. Once I unplugged and began driving, the AC compressor started humming aggressively, full tilt, where you can feel the vibration in the accelerator. Leaving Placerville, we were straight on an incline and the compressor didn't stop until at least 70% of the way to our destination. Climbing, towing, hot temperatures, just completed Supercharging session - I guess it was a bad combo. My range was getting demolished rapidly. We still had enough reserve, but I used 90 miles of range to go 18 miles at one point. Ouch!

Twin Lakes in Desolation.

 

[Tedkidd]

For you folks in fire territory:

comparetto cube - Google Search

 

[mspohr]

For you folks in fire territory:

comparetto cube - Google Search

Thanks. I was about to do something like this but was in Costco and they had a Winix air filter. Four stage (dust, charcoal, hepa, plasma) so I bought it. Works great. Very quiet.

 

[ToddS]

The FC would exceed the tongue weight limitation of the Model X. 550 lbs dry means more like 650-700 loaded. I would only try this with the draw-tite hitch modification.

ohmman , JimVandegriff, steilkurve, or anyone else,

We are looking at a 23 ft Flying Cloud with a corner bed (the 19 Bambi really doesn’t work as well for us). All the 23 FCs come in at 6,000lbs, but the queen bed 23 FC comes in at 467lbs tongue weight, while the corner bed comes in at 654lbs TW. (See attached photo). I am guessing that is because of the queen bed vs. dinette/couch being up front.

After we do the Draw Tite mod and use a weight distribution/sway bar system, do you think the overage will be an issue? It seems that the DT would allow for additional weight, but obviously the weight tolerance is not just a function of the hitch used. I have read where Ford truck’s tongue weight limit increases with a weight distribution hitch. Or do you think we can dial in the tongue weight to get it closer to the 500 weight limit (that is recommended with a Bosal - to be clear, we will be doing the DT modification)?

 

[steilkurve]

ohmman , JimVandegriff, steilkurve, or anyone else,

We are looking at a 23 ft Flying Cloud with a corner bed (the 19 Bambi really doesn’t work as well for us). All the 23 FCs come in at 6,000lbs, but the queen bed 23 FC comes in at 467lbs tongue weight, while the corner bed comes in at 654lbs TW. (See attached photo). I am guessing that is because of the queen bed vs. dinette/couch being up front.

After we do the Draw Tite mod and use a weight distribution/sway bar system, do you think the overage will be an issue? It seems that the DT would allow for additional weight, but obviously the weight tolerance is not just a function of the hitch used. I have read where Ford truck’s tongue weight limit increases with a weight distribution hitch. Or do you think we can dial in the tongue weight to get it closer to the 500 weight limit with a Bosal?

I’d be worried about suspension wear and tear if I ever mustered the courage to exceed the limits by that much. Trailer weight is one thing but keep in mind your tongue weight will likely be higher than 467 unless you pull weight out (lighter batteries, less LP, etc.). Related to towing or not, I spent a pretty penny replacing my X’s leaking front air chocks. Maybe the cause was the chocks fighting WD pushing them down all the time? Don’t for sure know but reasonable to thing all this adds stress.

So, personally, I would not do it. I’m ok using WD despite Tesla not recoing it, but to also exceed weight ratings to that extent is likely pushing the machine a bit too much. That’s just my comfort level with risk. Others may be ok with it though.

 

[dmurphy]

ohmman , JimVandegriff, steilkurve, or anyone else,

We are looking at a 23 ft Flying Cloud with a corner bed (the 19 Bambi really doesn’t work as well for us). All the 23 FCs come in at 6,000lbs, but the queen bed 23 FC comes in at 467lbs tongue weight, while the corner bed comes in at 654lbs TW. (See attached photo). I am guessing that is because of the queen bed vs. dinette/couch being up front.

After we do the Draw Tite mod and use a weight distribution/sway bar system, do you think the overage will be an issue? It seems that the DT would allow for additional weight, but obviously the weight tolerance is not just a function of the hitch used. I have read where Ford truck’s tongue weight limit increases with a weight distribution hitch. Or do you think we can dial in the tongue weight to get it closer to the 500 weight limit with a Bosal?

So, as "anyone else", I'll give you my $0.02 .... worth exactly what you paid for it.

Technically, the DrawTite isn't rated for weight distribution. At all. In fact, eTrailer specifically calls it out as:

• Not rated for use with weight distribution systems

Now that said .... several of us DO use it with a weight distribution hitch, and haven't run into any issues. Doesn't mean I'd offer it as a recommendation to others, though. That's a decision you'd have to make yourself - whether to ignore the manual or not.

The DT does say it's rated for a 750lb tongue weight, but still 5000lbs gross trailer weight. So you'd be overweight - both for the hitch AND the vehicle, technically - with a 23FC right off the hop, whether you have a queen bed or dinette up front.

And even if you assume the DrawTite can handle a 750lb tongue weight, you still need to be cognizant of the payload capacity of the Model X. My 2020 says it's got a maximum load capacity of 1254lbs. Subtracting your 654lb tongue weight, that's 600lbs total for the people + cargo inside the Model X. Could be cutting it close.

So yeah - you're skating on the rated limits both for tongue weight *and* trailer weight.

My $0.02 is that I'd consider the Bosal out of the question, straight out. Whether you want to do this with a DrawTite or not is a decision you'd have to make for yourself, knowing you'll be overweight on the trailer and really close if not over to tongue weight. That's advice I can't speak for you on ... but I'll say my Surveyor 19BHLE, with a 3700lbs dry weight/400lbs empty tongue weight was about as much as I was willing to do. But that's based on my workload and my plans.... yours may be different!

 

[Kacey Green]

Both. But the towing really accelerated it.

My X was delivered in always low, at 77k miles we're still on the 2nd set of tires (first was replaced at 50k) and wears even, all my towing so far was done at Standard but there were a few short runs at low because I forgot to raise it first.

 

[pdxjess]

Hi, all! We just took delivery of our '23 Model X and are so excited to begin towing our 16' Bambi Airstream. I just came back inside from our first test drive with the trailer hooked up to the X, and experienced significant clunking and some mild lurching. It made me very nervous and we only traveled at low speeds around the neighborhood. I'm curious if anyone has experienced something like this. We had previously been borrowing a family member's large ICE truck to tow, and didn't experience either of these things. So, I'm curious if this is normal with an X, or if something is off. I really don't want to hurt the new car, and want to make sure we are property configured for our first trip in a few weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions for towing a 16RB with an X? Do I need a special hitch? We currently just have a basic hitch, since the trailer is so small, but would be open to finding a better solution if necessary. Thank you in advance for helping this newbie.

 

[dmurphy]

Hi, all! We just took delivery of our '23 Model X and are so excited to begin towing our 16' Bambi Airstream. I just came back inside from our first test drive with the trailer hooked up to the X, and experienced significant clunking and some mild lurching. It made me very nervous and we only traveled at low speeds around the neighborhood. I'm curious if anyone has experienced something like this. We had previously been borrowing a family member's large ICE truck to tow, and didn't experience either of these things. So, I'm curious if this is normal with an X, or if something is off. I really don't want to hurt the new car, and want to make sure we are property configured for our first trip in a few weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions for towing a 16RB with an X? Do I need a special hitch? We currently just have a basic hitch, since the trailer is so small, but would be open to finding a better solution if necessary. Thank you in advance for helping this newbie.

What hitch are you using in the receiver? Ours clanked like crazy until I used an anti-rattle pin. Wasn't a big deal.

 

[pdxjess]

What hitch are you using in the receiver? Ours clanked like crazy until I used an anti-rattle pin. Wasn't a big deal.

it is a standard hitch that we grabbed at a local shop. Nothing fancy. I was wondering if it was the pin. Interesting. Is there a particular hitch set up that we should get for this combination. I'm concerned about the rise issue, now that I see some conversations happening about that.

 

[ecarfan]

Does anyone have any suggestions for towing a 16RB with an X?

I have never towed an Airstream Bambi with my X; my Alto F1743 is about the same length but over 1,000 lbs lighter. But some thoughts regarding your post:

The Bambi empty weight is around 3,000 lbs which is well over half the weight of a Model X, so a weight distribution hitch is recommended. But the lack of such a hitch would not explain the “significant clunking and some mild lurching” you described in your post.

When you were hitched up did the X drivers display show the blue tow icon indicating that the car was properly connected to your Airstream? See Model X Owner's Manual | Tesla

I assume you have installed a brake controller in your X.

What hitch ball are you using? Make sure the ball height is within the Bosal hitch specs.

 

[dmurphy]

it is a standard hitch that we grabbed at a local shop. Nothing fancy. I was wondering if it was the pin. Interesting. Is there a particular hitch set up that we should get for this combination. I'm concerned about the rise issue, now that I see some conversations happening about that.

Yes - the rise is a concern. We replaced our factory Bosal with the Draw-Tite hitch for exactly that purpose.

The hitch you're using matters - quite a bit, actually. Is it a weight distributing hitch as @ecarfan mentioned? Heck, even double check and make sure the ball is the right size. Not sure about the Airstream, but our Surveyor had a 2 5/16" coupler; I believe Airstream uses the same.

Many off-the-shelf hitches have a 2" ball. That would absolutely cause a lot of clunking and lurching.

So let's start with the hitch components and go from there ... probably the best course of action.

 

[pdxjess]

Yes - the rise is a concern. We replaced our factory Bosal with the Draw-Tite hitch for exactly that purpose.

The hitch you're using matters - quite a bit, actually. Is it a weight distributing hitch as @ecarfan mentioned? Heck, even double check and make sure the ball is the right size. Not sure about the Airstream, but our Surveyor had a 2 5/16" coupler; I believe Airstream uses the same.

Many off-the-shelf hitches have a 2" ball. That would absolutely cause a lot of clunking and lurching.

So let's start with the hitch components and go from there ... probably the best course of action.

This is very helpful. Thank you. I guess I had just assumed that it was set up to tow an Airstream since when the car debuted it drove out on stage pulling an Airstream, and is rated to tow significantly more than the weight and tongue weight of our tiny Bambi 16'. oof. Anyone else remember this?

. We will for sure get a weight distributing hitch. Man, the factory hitch issue is really frustrating. Are there any workarounds that allow for more rise with that hitch? What would be the problem with a taller rise for a light trailer, like ours?

 

[pdxjess]

I have never towed an Airstream Bambi with my X; my Alto F1743 is about the same length but over 1,000 lbs lighter. But some thoughts regarding your post:

The Bambi empty weight is around 3,000 lbs which is well over half the weight of a Model X, so a weight distribution hitch is recommended. But the lack of such a hitch would not explain the “significant clunking and some mild lurching” you described in your post.

When you were hitched up did the X drivers display show the blue tow icon indicating that the car was properly connected to your Airstream? See Model X Owner's Manual | Tesla

View attachment 893419

I assume you have installed a brake controller in your X.

What hitch ball are you using? Make sure the ball height is within the Bosal hitch specs.

View attachment 893415

Thank you. We will be upgrading to a weight distribution hitch after hearing form you all. The trailer icon was blue when we did our little drive. These visuals are very helpful. I do know that our ball was the correct measurements. I didn't realize that we'd need a brake controller with the trailer brakes and trailer mode in the car. oof. So much to learn! I was told that the model X was ready to tow an Airstream when I bought it. Apparently not.

 

[ecarfan]

I guess I had just assumed that it was set up to tow an Airstream since when the car debuted it drove out on stage pulling an Airstream, and is rated to tow significantly more than the weight and tongue weight of our tiny Bambi 16'. oof. Anyone else remember this?

Yes I remember that very well. The X was the first model that Tesla offered an optional hitch on, and frankly I think that at that time the company didn’t really understand much about towing RVs.

hitch issue is really frustrating. Are there any workarounds that allow for more rise with that hitch? What would be the problem with a taller rise for a light trailer, like ours?

I think the rise limitation is defined by Bosal, the company Tesla buys the that hitch from. If you set your ball to a taller rise you risk putting too much stress on the hitch receiver. The Bosal is not a typical hitch in that the hitch receiver is detachable.

Is your trailer level when hitched up to your X?

 

[ecarfan]

What hitch are you using in the receiver? Ours clanked like crazy until I used an anti-rattle pin.

I know you are addressing your question to @pdxjess but just as a point of reference, I use a Weigh Safe hitch (inverted) and like it. See https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/weigh-safe-drop-hitch/

 

[Webeevdrivers]

I’m my opinion there is no need for a weight distribution hitch and I believe tesla recommends against them.

The clunking is just the ball mount moving in the receiver. It will clunk every time you leave a stop light or stop sign…and probably when you stop. You can put up with it or just get rid of it with something like this.

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Anti-Rattle/Roadmaster/RM-061.html

We have over 15200 kilometers towing our trailer and have never needed a weight distribution hitch. Just pack properly, weigh your hitch weight and keep it under your max.