I think parasitic drag will be the biggest factor here. Once you're out on the road I would monitor your energy graph (and estimated range) and adjust your speed accordingly but I think if you can stay around 80ish km/hr you will be fine. 110 km/hr will be considerably worse as drag increases exponentially with speed. Looking forward to seeing your results!
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Midnightsun
Active Member
Not gonna happen, this is the Trans Canada highway I will be on. Slowest speed I have ever seen anyone travel on this stretch is around 100kph. Literally tons of big rigs, actually more than cars and they travel about 105-107 kph. At 80KPH I would be a hazard to others and myself. Will give her a try at 110 and see how we fair, like I said, I do have several places on the way where I can pop in and grab some electrons if I see it is getting too close for comfort. I have a gut feeling I will be at 3 KM left when I get there.
There is an ONroute charging facility 64km before destination which is my plan if things drain too fast as we progress. A 10 minute charge on the 150kw CCS unit should be more than enough to get me there and then some. Luckily the trailer is easily removed and pushed by hand so not an issue either for charging.Fair enough! If temps are reasonable and no additional strong headwinds I think going 100-110 on the highway you will be close but still probably ok. Having the ONroute safety net will garuntee you get there too. Worst case you go 110 for a the majority of the way and if its looking tight to make it to the CCS you might have to slow down a little...or draft a big rigNot gonna happen, this is the Trans Canada highway I will be on. Slowest speed I have ever seen anyone travel on this stretch is around 100kph. Literally tons of big rigs, actually more than cars and they travel about 105-107 kph. At 80KPH I would be a hazard to others and myself. Will give her a try at 110 and see how we fair, like I said, I do have several places on the way where I can pop in and grab some electrons if I see it is getting too close for comfort. I have a gut feeling I will be at 3 KM left when I get there.
Make sure you report back with your stats! Curious to hear how it goes.
You can always put on your hazard lights.
We were towing on the TCH and hit unexpected bad weather. Combined with being a charging desert we had to drop below 80KPH for over an hour. Other than the occasional "angry honk" I didn't feel it was a safety issue.
Yah no problem. Weight of the trailer fully loaded for camping is about 3400 ish pounds. Steering and handling are great. We travel at max 90 kph. We have about 35 years of towing experience. Just hang out in the right lane. Our experience over the years taught us that short wheelbase combos coupled with tire ratings found on most trailers that speed should be limited to around 90 kph. Panic stops over that get kind of…hairy.Sorry @Webeevdrivers I had meant to also ask what the weight of your trailer is and how do you find it the Y generally handles it (Steering / braking etc) with that amount of squat. If it’s not too personal to ask, do you have any previous towing experience for comparison? Also if you could share any details about your ball mount that would be great too. It looks like it has a lift of an inch or so.
Sorry for the barrage of questions!it’s just nice to be able to ask someone with real world experience. Thanks!
. Here is a pic of the stinger. It’s a 2 inch rise but 1.5 would have done it. They just don’t make them.And heads up, running at 100 kph will cut your range by 20 percent from 90 kph.
Hope that helps.
Midnightsun
Active Member
Made it to the Marina no problem. Condition were OK at best, wet roads and lots of rain almost 1/2 the trip, temps around 16-18C. Left with 99% charge and arrived at destination with 23% left. On top of this I had brand new tires which apparently tend to consume more energy until broken in. Got into a traffic jam for about5 km and lost 25 minutes of my time.
Averaged 243 wh/km for the trip. Normally without the trailer I arrive at around 40% so it really only added 18% however I did keep her around 110kph when normally I am around 120-125.
The navigation estimate is horrible. Check this out. Sorry it's in French as the Y is my wife's and she prefers French.
This pictures shows I have 25km left to destination and will not make it yet the estimated km left is 165. The entire route was completely off as for estimates on arrival and consumption, not to be relied on at all.
Averaged 243 wh/km for the trip. Normally without the trailer I arrive at around 40% so it really only added 18% however I did keep her around 110kph when normally I am around 120-125.
The navigation estimate is horrible. Check this out. Sorry it's in French as the Y is my wife's and she prefers French.
This pictures shows I have 25km left to destination and will not make it yet the estimated km left is 165. The entire route was completely off as for estimates on arrival and consumption, not to be relied on at all.
Extremely helpful and appreciated, thank you @Webeevdrivers ! If the hitch was rated for WD I think the towing experience could objectively be a little smoother with less undulating over bumps and dips having the vehicle and trailer acting more as a single unit, but to your point, with this amount of weight it’s not required (or technically allowed).Yah no problem. Weight of the trailer fully loaded for camping is about 3400 ish pounds. Steering and handling are great. We travel at max 90 kph. We have about 35 years of towing experience. Just hang out in the right lane. Our experience over the years taught us that short wheelbase combos coupled with tire ratings found on most trailers that speed should be limited to around 90 kph. Panic stops over that get kind of…hairy.
And heads up, running at 100 kph will cut your range by 20 percent from 90 kph.
Hope that helps.
View attachment 819978
Thanks again for your input!
Hello All,
Been meaning to post this up for a bit. A week and a half ago made a 400 mile round trip out to Western Kansas. Both days super hot, 102 and 104 with big winds. Especially the return trip high 20's gusting into the 40's. We pull a little teardrop NuCamp Tag trailer, 13 feet long right at 1000 pounds dry. Of course it was to be expected but Wow, did we see some huge consumption. Both out and back we arrived at the Hays Supercharger at 2% SOC. We were trying to pull at about 63 mph on the interstate. I don't like to go much slower than that when the rest of the traffic is running about 80. At 63 our average was in the high 600's kW/mi. We ended up having to take the 2 lane to make it the rest of the way into Hays on the outbound trip. When we arrived home we had averaged 552 over the 397 miles. Almost half of that ended up being 2 lane and a bit more than we'd like to admit at 45 mph.
This isn't our first time out with the camper but with these kind of winds and heat the consumption were really something. Just kinda got our attention. We didn't seem to be the only ones having range issues that day. A few minutes after getting plugged in in Hays on the return trip a Model Y came in on a flatbed having run out of juice. We had friends returning from eastern Kansas that same day. They told us about passing a Tesla going real slow on the interstate shoulder with its 4 ways on a few miles east of the Salina Supercharger.
I guess the main reason I'm posting. We thought we had figured it out from our previous times pulling the camper. How fast we could go, what our consumption would be, what kind of buffer we could be comfortable with. These kinds of wind and temps really effected things. On the other hand we didn't get towed in.
We watched our remaining miles to destination and our remaining miles in the battery and adjusted. We looked at Plugshare and found other slower charging options if needed and did take advantage of one. We adjusted how we drove and were we drove to make it in.
Not a trip I'm looking to repeat but helped us build our confidence a bit as we have a much more ambitious trip planned starting next month.
Been meaning to post this up for a bit. A week and a half ago made a 400 mile round trip out to Western Kansas. Both days super hot, 102 and 104 with big winds. Especially the return trip high 20's gusting into the 40's. We pull a little teardrop NuCamp Tag trailer, 13 feet long right at 1000 pounds dry. Of course it was to be expected but Wow, did we see some huge consumption. Both out and back we arrived at the Hays Supercharger at 2% SOC. We were trying to pull at about 63 mph on the interstate. I don't like to go much slower than that when the rest of the traffic is running about 80. At 63 our average was in the high 600's kW/mi. We ended up having to take the 2 lane to make it the rest of the way into Hays on the outbound trip. When we arrived home we had averaged 552 over the 397 miles. Almost half of that ended up being 2 lane and a bit more than we'd like to admit at 45 mph.
This isn't our first time out with the camper but with these kind of winds and heat the consumption were really something. Just kinda got our attention. We didn't seem to be the only ones having range issues that day. A few minutes after getting plugged in in Hays on the return trip a Model Y came in on a flatbed having run out of juice. We had friends returning from eastern Kansas that same day. They told us about passing a Tesla going real slow on the interstate shoulder with its 4 ways on a few miles east of the Salina Supercharger.
I guess the main reason I'm posting. We thought we had figured it out from our previous times pulling the camper. How fast we could go, what our consumption would be, what kind of buffer we could be comfortable with. These kinds of wind and temps really effected things. On the other hand we didn't get towed in.
We watched our remaining miles to destination and our remaining miles in the battery and adjusted. We looked at Plugshare and found other slower charging options if needed and did take advantage of one. We adjusted how we drove and were we drove to make it in.Not a trip I'm looking to repeat but helped us build our confidence a bit as we have a much more ambitious trip planned starting next month.
@Gleaner. Glad you made it. We have just over 7000 kilometres on this camping trip and so far haven’t had any drama. But speed limits are slower here and we never tow over 90 kph which makes it easier to stretch out the range. We also have a Chademo adaptor which has been handy a few times. Glad you are enjoying your Nucamp. We love ours too.
Wondering if anyone has / can confirm if the trailer wiring harness on the Y is currently sending power (12v) to the charge/aux pin? This would normally be used to charge your trailer‘s battery via the alternator on your tow rig. I read in a post somewhere that this had been disabled via software at one point. Curious if this is still this way. Regardless, I’m planning to install a disconnect in my trailer between the trailer battery and wiring harness to prevent any attempted charging from the Y. Word of caution, if you plan to do the same just make sure you aren’t disconnecting your electric brake-away brakes (if equipped).
To test if the harness is indeed sending power you could use a multimeter or a simple 12 V probe tester that lights up. When you flip open the door to the harness on your car you would test the two leads that are at ‘1:30’ (upper right) and ‘7:30’ (lower left) positions if that makes sense
. This should also be labeled on the little cover door. Normally the upper right is power in the bottom left is ground but the harness on the Y appears to be mounted upside down so bottom left should be power in this case. If you were to connect the upper right with either the 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock pin you should see some blinking when you put your turn signals/hazzards on.
To test if the harness is indeed sending power you could use a multimeter or a simple 12 V probe tester that lights up. When you flip open the door to the harness on your car you would test the two leads that are at ‘1:30’ (upper right) and ‘7:30’ (lower left) positions if that makes sense
. This should also be labeled on the little cover door. Normally the upper right is power in the bottom left is ground but the harness on the Y appears to be mounted upside down so bottom left should be power in this case. If you were to connect the upper right with either the 9 o’clock or 3 o’clock pin you should see some blinking when you put your turn signals/hazzards on.
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I can confirm it’s there. I can also confirm it’s not there within 5 to 30 seconds of leaving the drivers seat. So if you are going to check it have an ass in the seat with the car on.Wondering if anyone has / can confirm if the trailer wiring harness on the Y is currently sending power (12v) to the charge/aux pin? This would normally be used to charge your trailer‘s battery via the alternator on your tow rig. I read in a post somewhere that this had been disabled via software at one point. Curious if this is still this way. Regardless, I’m planning to install a disconnect in my trailer between the trailer battery and wiring harness to prevent any attempted charging from the Y. Word of caution, if you plan to do the same just make sure you aren’t disconnecting your electric brake-away brakes (if equipped).
To test if the harness is indeed sending power you could use a multimeter or a simple 12 V probe tester that lights up. When you flip open the door to the harness on your car you would test the two leads that are at ‘1:30’ (upper right) and ‘7:30’ (lower left) positions if that makes sense
Hope that helps.
Installed a locking anti-rattle hitch pin on the Y. Nice to quiet things up back there. Here’s a stock pic then a couple of it installed
We are also using an Anderson greaseless ball. Considering how often we’ll likely be needing to unhook thought this would be helpful.
We are also using an Anderson greaseless ball. Considering how often we’ll likely be needing to unhook thought this would be helpful.
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HyperionMark
Member
Can't imagine it would increase it. Base Y without boost is already more than enough power.
After having towed our 3400 pound (loaded) camper for a couple years now, I believe the 3500 pound rating might be more tied to stopping, not accelerating. I have no problems accelerating with the camper, even up some steep WA hills. Where I get nervous is with the braking power (and we even have trailer brakes). The rig stops fast enough, but we definitely require much more distance to stop than one might expect after having driven the Model Y by itself.
Try playing with your trailer brake settings (if you already haven't).
I inadvertently "jacked up" the setting on our brake controller. Noticed it when it felt as if the trailer was pulling our MX.
I've enjoyed seeing all the creative ways people find to supercharge while towing - without unhitching.
I've had to unhitch at least 50% of the time, and it doesn't take much time, but sometimes it can be a challenge to find a place to stash the trailer.
Here I got lucky at Wheatland Wyoming. The trailer was sticking out into the traffic lane, but it was a wide lane and little traffic.
And, a trailer friendly SC at Ogallala, Nebraska.
I've had to unhitch at least 50% of the time, and it doesn't take much time, but sometimes it can be a challenge to find a place to stash the trailer.
Here I got lucky at Wheatland Wyoming. The trailer was sticking out into the traffic lane, but it was a wide lane and little traffic.
And, a trailer friendly SC at Ogallala, Nebraska.
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Is anyone using towing mirrors on their Y? I have my eye on the Dometic DM-2899 Milenco Aero 3 mirrors. A member here is using them on their X and they looked like a decent option. Dometic MILENCO AERO3 - Towing mirrors, Twin pack with carry bag (4
Yes! That's the mirrors I went with after seeing them recommended on a Model X towing thread.
They work very well, and once you get them adjusted, they are fairly quick to install and remove.
They make a huge difference, especially when backing.
If you look closely at the pics in the post above yours, That's my Y with the towing mirrors on it.
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