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We like it. We toured over 15200 kilometres across Canada and extensively in BC last season. Great trip. We have lots more planned for this year. This is a 2022 which has a little lighter hitch weight than the 2023’s. (No front bunk). It’s just the two of us and the chihuahua so it’s a good fit for us. Home sweet home on the road.
No.
You should purchase the brake controller kit from tesla or get one of the fancy Bluetooth brake controllers.
VandalSibs
I am One with the Force, and the Force is with me
To elaborate more for Mr. buckets, the brake controller has its own pin on a 7-way connector. It is not reliant on the 12v aux line/pin if you are using a normal, non-wireless brake controller.
Great thread to catch up for someone new to towing with our Model Y - thanks to all who posted before - I learned a lot!
I just replaced our Model 3 with a Model Y and as a result it became our primary tow vehicle. We tow a nuCamp T@B 320 S Boondock, which dry is about 2100 pounds.
We just completed our first camping trip and have to say I was pleasantly surprised! I knew we would have range impact but we did better than I thought - 450-500 Wh/mi. We kept it to no more than 60 mph and size / shape of the trailer probably helped too. This meant stopping every 100-120 miles which is actually what we usually do anyway - we like to take frequent breaks.
Supercharging experience was more of an issue than range in that although every stop had at least one pull-in spot - they were always occupied even with plenty of empty back-in spots!! Fortunately in three out of fours cases the folks were present and willing (with a few grumbles) to move so we could pull-in without unhitching. Sadly, the fourth spot was abandoned so we had to improvise. My wife made a fair point that “well maybe these folks just don’t know” and I agree that Tesla should put up signs at these pull-in spots to say “Reserve for vehicles with occupied hitches unless all spots are full.” So Tesla owners who don’t hitch up please save these spots if possible! And Tesla definitely needs more pull-in and pull-through SC sites!
As for the towing capability of the Model Y - all I can say is wow! I never could tell the trailer was back there. That said it would be nice to have more trailer friendly software - I mean tow mode doesn’t really do much. Would be nice to maybe get some backup assist features for example.
Any tips or tactics for when you do have to unhitch? Is there a list somewhere of trailer friendly SCs? PlugShare has a pull-in / pull-through filter which helps some but not completely accurate. It also seems other networks like EA may have more pull through sites. I have a CCS adapter just in case for now, but I hate to have to deal with those networks.
Thanks!
I just replaced our Model 3 with a Model Y and as a result it became our primary tow vehicle. We tow a nuCamp T@B 320 S Boondock, which dry is about 2100 pounds.
We just completed our first camping trip and have to say I was pleasantly surprised! I knew we would have range impact but we did better than I thought - 450-500 Wh/mi. We kept it to no more than 60 mph and size / shape of the trailer probably helped too. This meant stopping every 100-120 miles which is actually what we usually do anyway - we like to take frequent breaks.
Supercharging experience was more of an issue than range in that although every stop had at least one pull-in spot - they were always occupied even with plenty of empty back-in spots!! Fortunately in three out of fours cases the folks were present and willing (with a few grumbles) to move so we could pull-in without unhitching. Sadly, the fourth spot was abandoned so we had to improvise. My wife made a fair point that “well maybe these folks just don’t know” and I agree that Tesla should put up signs at these pull-in spots to say “Reserve for vehicles with occupied hitches unless all spots are full.” So Tesla owners who don’t hitch up please save these spots if possible! And Tesla definitely needs more pull-in and pull-through SC sites!
As for the towing capability of the Model Y - all I can say is wow! I never could tell the trailer was back there. That said it would be nice to have more trailer friendly software - I mean tow mode doesn’t really do much. Would be nice to maybe get some backup assist features for example.
Any tips or tactics for when you do have to unhitch? Is there a list somewhere of trailer friendly SCs? PlugShare has a pull-in / pull-through filter which helps some but not completely accurate. It also seems other networks like EA may have more pull through sites. I have a CCS adapter just in case for now, but I hate to have to deal with those networks.
Thanks!
Hi Flybone and congrats on the T@B. Fellow T@B puller here.
Re-unhitching. We have an unhitch down to 1 minute and a hitch up to a minute and a half and that includes a second person checking.
So first thing to do when un-hooking is make sure your wheels are chocked. It’s embarrassing unhooking the trailer and then chasing it down the street as it rolls away. Then just be methodical and get it done. We replace the front tounge wheel with a foot so it is more stable. Easy to swap them out as needed.
After hooking back up count to five when checking it over. And have your second person do the same. Here is your count. Touch each item as you do it and count out loud. Then have the second person do the same thing.
1. Hitch closed and locked
2. Safety chain 1
3. Safety chain 2
4. Seven pin closed
5. Emergency breakaway connected AT BOTH ENDS.
Then pick up your chocks, do a quick light check, roll forward a few feet with the other person watching from outside and then off you go.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
I tow a Safari Condo Alto F1743 which weighs less than your T@B but is a bit larger dimensionally. My Model X uses about the same energy when towing as you do. Glad to hear the Y is working out well for you!
Tesla says that Tow Mode can detect trailer sway and attempt to control it through selectively applying the brakes.
Don’t see how Tesla could apply “backup assist features” when hitched to a trailer that blocks the car’s rear view camera.
@Webeevdrivers post is an excellent guide.
There is a thread on TMC about trailer friendly Superchargers. Try using the site search function.
Happy towing!
gtae07
Member
Sadly I'd bet at least some of them are margially competent at best when it comes to backing in, and will go for a nose-in spot whenever possible. I can easily see my wife doing that.
Pull-through spots would be great but they take up more room per stall.
Typically 320 to 380 watt hours per kilometre. Depending on conditions. We travel at max 90 kmh.
Plugshare is a great resource but, being 100% crowd sourced, it is only as good as the crowd makes it. This feature will only be maintained by those who use it so it is important that you make edits if there are accuracy problems.
Smart move not to charge to 100% before starting a long downhill (I know that highway, long and steep!).
However, if you had gained enough energy going down to get very close to or at 100% you would have lost regen braking which would not be optimal. I suspect the Tesla BMS might deliberately not allow regen to bring the battery up to 100% so as not to stress it unnecessarily. But I’m just speculating.
Plugshare has a "Submit Feedback" option. I haven't used it since EVgo acquired the site but they used to respond fairly quickly.
There's very little chance of this data ever being reliable, thus useful. When only 1 out of 20 stalls are "pull in" (which is often the case), how will you even know it is available when you get there?
Luckily, Supercharging is fast. The average charge is about 30 minutes so that's about the longest you would have to wait for a particular stall with an average wait closer to probably about 25 minutes.
I guess the question is whether you spend your 25 minutes unhitching and charging or waiting for the 1 pull-in stall. Dragging a trailer, you're not doing any cannonball run anyway so speed may not be too critical.
It takes very little effort to unhitch and hitch up again. I can unhitch in 2 minutes and hitch up in less than 3. I don’t like to wait for one stall that lets me avoid spending that 5 minutes.
I dealt with that a fair amount with my Y. Often I didn't mind, but when it was a rainy day or bad weather, it was a real PITA. I got soaked enough times to know I really wanted a better way to find usable chargers when towing.
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