Towing an empty 6'x4' box trailer 100 miles

[Jays200]

Now that we've got our first Supercharger at Eaton in Western Australia, I thought I should do a little tow test. The drive south from Perth to just north of Bunbury is 160kms. The trip down was 172kms as I dropped my wife and son at work and school, respectively. It was in the low teens and climate was set at 24 Celsius with range mode off, trailer mode on.
The maximum speed limit for towing here in Western Australia is 100kph

Weather was poor. An approaching cold front as follows:

Forecast for the rest of Monday
Summary

Max 20
Showers. Becoming windy.
Possible rainfall: 5 to 10 mm
Chance of any rain: 100%

Perth area
Cloudy. Very high (near 100%) chance of showers. Gusty winds during this afternoon and evening. Winds northerly 20 to 30 km/h tending northwesterly 35 to 50 km/h in the morning then tending westerly 25 to 35 km/h in the late evening.

Galvanised steel box trailer with a tare of 225kgs and tyres at 35psi consumed 309Wh/km over the 172.6 trip south

The return trip north consumed 327Wh/km over 160.2kms.

Rough average is 320Wh/km combined which is about 70 over my standard 110kph highway trip average of around 250.

Trailer mode does not activate automatically with this trailer or my bike rack with lights. Maybe something to do with LED lights. Problem is unless you remember to turn it on you can use autopilot but none of your trailer lights work. You need to be stopped to activate trailer mode. PITB

Obviously it was very windy today and on the left front nose coming home. Rain and rough road adds too so any other day should be better. There would be a lot of wind resistance inside the trailer and the trailer track is slightly narrower than the MX so more water to push out the way.

I'm in contact with Tesla parts for a brake controller patch lead (surprisingly in stock) and a 12 pin flat plug. Long story so won't bore you with that one. When they come together might give my Dads 22' Jayco Sterling caravan a shot.

BTW, for those that don't know, I sourced a 2" square hitch from Tesla in the USA and had family post it out.

 

[Racerx22b]

You don’t have the trailer software so trailer mode will never activate. You only have this software if your car is spec’d w the trailer pkg from factory.

You’ll need to get the service center to add this software to your car. You may have to pay the full upgrade fee to get it.

 

[Jays200]

Appreciate your reply but my MX is spec'd with tow from new, hence I have trailer mode to be able to select it.

Here's a snip from my car config diagnostic screen. Tow Package : Default

 

[Yinn]

Appreciate your reply but my MX is spec'd with tow from new, hence I have trailer mode to be able to select it.

Here's a snip from my car config diagnostic screen. Tow Package : Default

View attachment 254232

How do you get to that screen?

 

[Jays200]

You can't "normally" get to it. Occasionally it's possible to have access to it for 24-48hrs and then it's gone

When it was available I took a heap of screen shots so I have a little archive.

 

[Solarman004]

You can't "normally" get to it. Occasionally it's possible to have access to it for 24-48hrs and then it's gone

When it was available I took a heap of screen shots so I have a little archive.

Yes, but when it is available, how did you access it?

 

[Racerx22b]

BTW, for those that don't know, I sourced a 2" square hitch from Tesla in the USA and had family post it out.

If your X came with the trailer package then why did you need to have a hitch sent to you from USA?

Jason

 

[vandacca]

If your X came with the trailer package then why did you need to have a hitch sent to you from USA?

Jason

Probably because the Bosal removable hitch receiver is only available in North America. In other countries like Australia and UK, they get a Tow hook instead, which is less flexible.
For North America:

For Other Countries, something like this:

 

[Yinn]

Probably because the Bosal removable hitch receiver is only available in North America. In other countries like Australia and UK, they get a Tow hook instead, which is less flexible.
For North America:

For Other Countries, something like this:

I just noticed that the ball height seems much taller in the all in one hitch. Since the Bosal 2" hitch is so restrictive, I wonder what the height of the ball is on the international hooks.

 

[Jays200]

I just noticed that the ball height seems much taller in the all in one hitch. Since the Bosal 2" hitch is so restrictive, I wonder what the height of the ball is on the international hooks.

European spec cars (ie UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand) all get the Euro spec hitch which is the one my car was delivered with. Another name for it is a "Swan neck". There is another less polite name. Because the cars are homologated in there respective countries with the swan neck neck, apparently, Tesla are unable to supply the square hitch. That's why I sourced one from the US and had it sent out.

This article is not a discussion on whether I have the tow package or the 2" hitch. I have both. I even have a spare Swan Neck which I will never use. In Australia it is a hot topic as to why Tesla can't/won't supply the 2" hitch as it is a standard here as it is in the US.

The height of the ball is similar with the Swan Neck, however, the 2" hitch allows you to buy a different drop tongue to suit your application. You can't do that with the European Swan Neck as it's a one piece forged item and cannot be cut or welded. There are some accessories that are designed to clamp on to the ball of the Euro hitch but it is not as versatile as the 2" hitch.

 

[Yinn]

The height of the ball is similar with the Swan Neck, however, the 2" hitch allows you to buy a different drop tongue to suit your application. You can't do that with the European Swan Neck as it's a one piece forged item and cannot be cut or welded. There are some accessories that are designed to clamp on to the ball of the Euro hitch but it is not as versatile as the 2" hitch.

Is the height the exact same though? The US 2" hitch has a .75" lift restriction. The overall height of a hitch + 0.75" rise then is rather low at around 14" So I'm wondering if the swan neck allows for a larger rise somehow. It would be more restrictive, but potentially allow more options for trailers due (larger tires, more capacity, etc.) due to the height.

Heck if it is, I may consider doing the reverse of you and picking up a swan neck.

 

[Jays200]

You can have mine. If you're "behind you" then freight will be almost nothing