Thank you for sharing, especially the wh/m. Since the X package on your Basecamp includes a 3 inch lift, do you think foregoing that would improve mileage even further? Or is the 3 inch height difference negligible? (Still trying to understand all the factors that can affect range when towing!)
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The Adventures of Gray Matter + Soufflé
- Thread starter wreighven
- Start date
Not @wreighven, but I did a little look into this and may have addressed in this old thread: Model X Travel Trailer Consumption Analysis
That said, it matters most if the 3" rise increases the frontal area outside of the slipstream of the X. Most likely it does, since the airflow hugs the X pretty closely. Since the Basecamp X is 7' wide, it adds about an additional ~252 square inches of frontal area to the A in this formula:
Which means it has a linear proportional relationship to the drag force - whatever percentage of frontal area increase that represents, that's the percentage of drag force that you'll experience.
My Airstream 22' Sport is very low. It bottoms out regularly if I'm not extremely careful, and still bottoms out occasionally when I am extremely careful. I have resisted the lift kit on mine for this reason, though with my longer range X, I might be willing to take the hit now.
Thank you for the detailed response! I’m not 100% sold that the X package is worth the cost and potential reduction range hit but I’m excited to hear more of @wreighven adventures!
Rice&Curry
Member
yes, this is what is indicated based on actual measured data- with a Trailer GVWR of 4540 lbs and and a Tongue weight of 540 lbs, the the rated consumption was 2.7 to 3 times the normal consumption w/o the trailer. I could not find this info in the manual so it was helpful for me, YMMV.
Hi @ecarfan! I've loved your posts over the years as well. You guys all gave me inspiration! When I was charging Gray Matter via Soufflé, I was pulling the usual 117v / 12 amps or so. Bear in mind, on the BaseCamp those GFCI ports are ONLY active when the unit itself is plugged into "shore power" (in this instance, a 50 AMP / 240V circuit adapted down to 30 AMP / 120V. It runs straight off that power and does not involve the batteries or inverter in any way (in fact, the BaseCamps do not have inverters). I was getting about 4 mph charging rate.
I would assume that is heavily dependent on speed. I got much better than that at 60 mph. Never had to step down to 55, which IMO is a bad idea on I-35 here in Texas. As @ohmman mentioned in his advice, I started at the slower 60 mph and sped up towards then end if I had plenty of battery to arrive over 10% SoC.
I looked at it like "if you're spending a lot, you might as well get the options people will want in case you ever want to sell it." So X, solar, microwave, etc. That, and as I might have mentioned above, I lucked into this specific config. I don't see too many non-X package BaseCamps for sale these days.
So far I've liked the very aggressive off-road tires (and have taken it up several gravel roads already), and the serious approach and departure angles are comforting in those scenarios.
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I probably would get some negligibly better mileage without the X package, but the 3" lift and much better tires is for my peace of mind when towing and going slightly off-road or steep angles (much improved departure and approach angles).
Why not just plug the Tesla into one of the open outlets on the pedestal?
Generally when we have 50A/240V available we plug the trailer into the 30A/120V outlet and and the Tesla into the 50A/240V outlet. Since our trailer rarely draws over 10A, when not using A/C, we''ll adjust the Tesla charge rate to the 25-30A range. Even on a 30A/120V pedestal we can use the 15A for the trailer and the 30A for the Tesla (turned down to 15-20A).
I do exactly as @idoco says. Just manage the draw on the X to the minimum you need for tomorrow, and you'll be good. Note that the infrastructure in many campsites isn't set up for continuous 40A/240V draw. I've flipped a number of segment breakers before realizing I should always dial down as much as I possibly can. No need to upset RV park owners or campground hosts/managers with annoying issues that might sour them on future EV campers.
Why not? Because this site (my father-in-law's hangar) had no other outlets. We had installed a 14-50 plug for the Tesla outside, but nothing else (yet). Of course I would just use the pedestal if I was at an RV park or something. This just scratched the "can I do it?" itch.
No inverter? I did not realize that. So no microwave option? You are roughing it!
Looking forward to hearing more about your towing experiences and your Wh/mi figures. Thank you.
Closing the loop on this for now, the drive home was fairly uneventful. I charged at the Kyle and Waco superchargers and was able to juice up without unhitching (yay!). Charged up to about 95% or so battery and arrived home with about 20% left. Kept to 60-65 mph and was just fine. Will use the trip power consumption feature next time to give y’all better numbers…
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Rice&Curry
Member
I am glad that the trip went well- its is the overall experience that matters
Thanks for clarifying, now I understand. In my trailer I’m used to being able to use my microwave while off grid as I have a 3000W inverter and a lot of batteries.
At risk of going way off topic, can I ask what batteries you’re using? I’ve got a single Ohmmu 156Ah battery currently and thinking of adding another. No inverter yet but that’s coming, too. Just updated my solar controller to a Victron MPPT and will be adding another set of panels (4x 100W) next week-ish.
Not really sure why I’m so excited as we’re almost always on shore power but I love the idea of self sufficiency!
I am interested in batteries too. I will eventually go the Lithium / LifePo route + an inverter, so always interested in hearing what others have done in that area…
So as not to take this thread off topic, see my answer to your question at Towing an Alto F1743 trailer with a Model X
