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jebinc
Well-Known Member
All sizes - “out of stock”…
The GVWR for a Bambi 16 is 3500lbs so you will want to keep your actual total weight below that. A WD hitch is recommended (by the experts, which I am not) if what you are towing is more than 50% of the weight of the tow vehicle (see just below). Therefore you should have a WD hitch installed. See the Model X forums for posts by @ohmman about doing that on an X, the same principles apply to the Y.
Read this page https://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx
QUOTE:
Even if you are within the towing limits set by your equipment, vehicle manufacturer, etc., there are other indicators that you may benefit from a weight distribution hitch, including:
- Your trailer weight (GTW) is more than 50% of your vehicle's weight (GVWR)
I hope that your Y does not have the Performance Wheels. If you do, replace them with the standard wheels.
Airstreams are reasonably well streamlined. His range will be cut in half at 55-60mph. You can call that “abysmal”, I call it usable. I’ve been towing for years, for tens of thousands of miles,with my X with my range cut almost in half and it’s fine. The Supercharger network is now so extensive that it is much easier than it used to be
True. Which I have no problem with. It takes me about two minutes to unhitch and three minutes to hitch up.
Only a very small fraction of all Supercharger stations are configured so you can charge without unhitching and not blocking a lot of the other stalls.
Tesla is not going to change the location of the charge port. And even if they did that would not help with charging while hitched up since the trailer would completely block the lane in front of the other chargers and you likely could not turn sharply enough to get the car into the stall while hitched.
You will learn to unhitch and hitch quickly.
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Thanks for posting that link, I was not aware of that new product. Only the 14ft length can be used with a Supercharger. This would occasionally be useful for Supercharging while hitched up, but many Supercharger stations have narrow lanes, are in parking lots, or even in parking garages so you have to unhitch.
I’m not saying it would not have some utility but the reality is that usually you have to unhitch while Supercharging because otherwise you will block others from accessing Supercharger stalls.
I've seen a few where you can pull straight into a back in stall, then "skillfully" back out and be on your way without unhitching
Hi Pinenut,
Yes, quite often we have to unhook the trailer to Supercharge. We haven’t found this to be as inconvenient as we imagined it would be. We don’t have a load leveling hitch or an anti sway bar on our little trailer. Out of curiosity we timed ourselves and, without rushing, we can be unhooked or hooked in less than two minutes. On our recent trip we did find a number of Superchargers where we could just pull straight in forward and charge with plenty of room behind the trailer to not be a bother for anyone. Even though it’s not a big deal to drop the trailer we‘re hoping to see more and more of these types of locations as new stations are built out.
An additional little note. I created a driver profile named ”Backing”. In this I have the mirrors adjusted very high so when I put the car in reverse they adjust down to look right down the sides of the trailer like traditional, non-moving mirrors. As this Is how I learned to back trailers I find this helpful.
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I’ve used at least 50 different Supercharger locations in the Western US and have found a few like that, most notably Petaluma CA. But they are uncommon.
That is brilliant. I am adopting your idea!
First, ecarfan, thanks for all the super helpful posts. We’re very early in our Tesla pulling career and learning lots.
We’re located in the middle of the U.S. on the “Plains States” where there’s lots of room. This likely contributed to us finding a higher number of towing friendly Superchargers. I went back over our recent trip. There were 3 stations we could pull straight into without dropping the trailer. Oklahoma City would have made it 4 if the single forward pull in spot hadn’t already been taken by a non towing car. Percy, OK is entirely pull in spots and would have made it #5 on the trip if it had only been up at the time.
You’re welcome. We’re all here to give each other a hand. We have a big trip planned this summer out to your neck of the woods with the trailer. Lots of planning and research going on so we go into this with appropriate expectations and hopefully experience a little less drama than would otherwise be the case.
WECinNC
Member
Now that you have towed and used the Alto, can you post about your experience and efficiency stats? Thanks.
Another situation it might come in handy is when the Supercharger is on an island. If the island is narrow enough you can pull up on the "non-supercharger" side and not take up multiple spaces. While hopefully not blocking traffic.
We've tried this a few times, but only have found one island narrow enough where the cord would reach. A longer cord would definitely open up more possibilities.
Here's a picture of the SC at Seabrook NH. With a longer cord you could park parallel to the curb on the right and use the empty charger. The road on the right is pretty wide and out of the way so blocking traffic isn't an issue.
If you use the TMC site search function and search for posts by @ElectroCat you will see that in this thread he has stated his energy usage has ranged from about 262 to 310Wh/k depending on speed and conditions.
Note: that is per kilometer, not per mile. One kilometer = 0.6 miles.
Took delivery of a new Bambi 16RB on Saturday,
Things to do next:
Things to do next:
- Get Gemini tires as the Inductions seems like they are going wear quick
- Install Sway Bar
- Learn how to back it up and park...Had some difficulty
jebinc
Well-Known Member
Inductions also have a way lower load rating! Not for towing.Took delivery of a new Bambi 16RB on Saturday,
Things to do next:
- Get Gemini tires as the Inductions seems like they are going wear quick
- Install Sway Bar
- Learn how to back it up and park...Had some difficulty
View attachment 777667
Did you get the Draw-Tite weight distribution hitch installed, as we discussed upthread?
I look forward to hearing about your towing experience and Wh/mi energy usage numbers while towing.
I did get the Draw-Tite hitch installed. Am not going with Weight Distribution yet though as both the hitch and Tesla manual say not to use weight distribution. So am going to try a sway control bar and focus on preventing that. We were able to reduce the tongue weigh some by moving the batteries and also can go with a single propane tank.
Thanks for your reply. Please help me understand what you’re doing; you are adding an anti-sway bar to the Model Y suspension? At the rear or the front?
Good plan; so what is your tongue weight now?
So an Anti-sway bar like this: Reese Friction Sway Control Kit. They are well reviewed everywhere and while there is no weight distribution they work well to control sway (according to all the reviews). They also detach quickly which is a plus for re-charging stops.
I have to re-weigh but think I am at <350 lbs. I have a hitch ball with a built-in scale I can use and was close to 400 lbs but that was before we had removed one of the propane tanks and before loading anything in the rear compartment. So it should be good but will reweigh with the hitch ball scale and also check by a truck stop in the near future.
Also working on getting a set of Gemini's and will get them installed before going any long distances
We have a trailer with similar weight metrics, and our camper dealer also told us that weight distribution hitches were not needed with our setup, only sway bars. We’ve towed for several thousand miles now with our Y and have not experienced any sway or rear sagging. I do drive extremely cautiously when towing however.
Thank you for posting that link. I watched the video on that page to understand how that product works.
Keeping in mind that I am not an expert it is my understanding that if the trailer weight is more than half the tow vehicle weight a weight distribution hitch should be used and the reason for that is as stated on this page :
Quote: “The purpose of a weight distribution hitch is to create a bridge between the trailer and the tow vehicle. It forces them to act as one unit instead of two, producing an improved connection and safer drive. As the spring arms are installed onto the L-brackets or hooks, the trailer is leveled and restores the weight lost from the front axle. This process restores braking, steering, and handling characteristics to safer levels.”
The purpose of such a hitch is not simply to reduce and control trailer sway, though a rigid WD hitch also provides sway control. As the Etrailer.com website puts it:
Quote: “To understand why a weight distribution hitch works, it's important to understand what happens to your vehicle when you tow a heavy trailer behind it. When you tow a trailer with a standard, rear-mounted hitch, your trailer's tongue weight is transferred to the rear axle of your tow vehicle. This can weigh down your vehicle's back end and cause the front end to point upward, especially on vehicles that have suspension designed for everyday comfort.If this happens, your vehicle's rear axle will bear the weight of not only the trailer, but much of your tow vehicle's weight as well. What's more, the lessened weight on the vehicle's front axle can diminish your steering, traction, and stopping power.”
The Reese product does not provide all the functionality that a WD hitch provides in cases where the trailer weight is significantly more than half the tow vehicle weight.
Yes, I 100% agree with everything you said and that has exactly been my thought process here.
I don't think there is a good answer honestly as all of the info on the need for a WD hitch is also counterbalanced by both Tesla and Draw-tight (and any other receiver I have seen for Model Y) all saying to not use Weight Distribution hitches. I have also read many people saying they just use a ball hitch and are fine but that seems to be more risk to me. So I was looking at the Reese Sway Control as a middle ground to focus on sway. It was also a lower cost solution - not that it drove the decision but I can always go to a WD hitch in the future (and would also have to move some propane lines and the brake controller so was a lot more work).
Wish there was a clear answer - will report back on how it performs when take her out this weekend (and an updated tongue weight)
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