Tesla Motors Club
See Dethleffs puts a new spin on towing with an electric camping trailer that nearly drives itself
I haven’t found much information about this trailer other than the minimal amount that is in that English language article (there are number of German articles about it as well). It appears that concept is that there are two 40kW motors (powered by an 80kWh battery pack in the floor of the trailer!) to drive the trailer wheels so that the trailer can be towed by small cars with small engines that wouldn’t have enough torque to tow a trailer of that size. Of course the Model X has more than enough torque to handle that trailer, which looks to be about 15 ft and 2,000 lbs.
The question that comes to mind is, will those two motors in the trailer result in a greater range when towing with an X? I would say the effect would be minimal, since the primary factor reducing X range is the aerodynamic range of the trailer. But those two trailer motors might have some modest positive effect on X range when towing.
The article offers almost no technical details about the trailer. It has solar panels on the roof but their capacity is not specified. There is nothing about what the trailer battery charge rate is. I doubt that the trailer solar panels could charge up the battery in a day if it was very low.
Still, an interesting concept, and I’d like to know more and would like to see interior photos.
I haven’t found much information about this trailer other than the minimal amount that is in that English language article (there are number of German articles about it as well). It appears that concept is that there are two 40kW motors (powered by an 80kWh battery pack in the floor of the trailer!) to drive the trailer wheels so that the trailer can be towed by small cars with small engines that wouldn’t have enough torque to tow a trailer of that size. Of course the Model X has more than enough torque to handle that trailer, which looks to be about 15 ft and 2,000 lbs.
The question that comes to mind is, will those two motors in the trailer result in a greater range when towing with an X? I would say the effect would be minimal, since the primary factor reducing X range is the aerodynamic range of the trailer. But those two trailer motors might have some modest positive effect on X range when towing.
The article offers almost no technical details about the trailer. It has solar panels on the roof but their capacity is not specified. There is nothing about what the trailer battery charge rate is. I doubt that the trailer solar panels could charge up the battery in a day if it was very low.
Still, an interesting concept, and I’d like to know more and would like to see interior photos.