X and Airstream Bambi - the new adventures 2017

[ohmman]

Is it bad to remove and re-install the bosal hitch from the car once a week. I go biking frequently but I don't want the hitch are to get dirty so I remove it

The manual says you should remove it anytime it isn't in use and replace the cover. So I think you're doing it right.

 

[K-MTG]

The manual says you should remove it anytime it isn't in use and replace the cover. So I think you're doing it right.

I am considering one of those 1up bike racks but they weigh 80 pounds (4 bike version). With the bikes on it will probably be 200 lbs on the hitch.

Based on your experience, do you think I will be fine? I will only need to transport all the bikes for 3-4 miles at street speeds every other week.

 

[JimVandegriff]

I am considering one of those 1up bike racks but they weigh 80 pounds (4 bike version). With the bikes on it will probably be 200 lbs on the hitch.

Based on your experience, do you think I will be fine? I will only need to transport all the bikes for 3-4 miles at street speeds every other week.

My guess, repeat guess, is that you should be a-ok with the bowsal hitch.

 

[SnappyT]

It is that time of year again - Illijana and I are preparing for traveling this summer with our Model X 90D towing our 22 ft Airstream Bambi trailer around the US. Here are a couple of pics from today of the trailer and the X. We just had some grading work done on our yard, and some base rock laid down to level the area where we park the trailer when it is not in use, and to create a roadway to get the X to the back section of our house. We plan to build a ramp there to make it easier to get into the house as we get older.
View attachment 223422 View attachment 223423

Our first adventure this year begins on April 28th when we take out our rig for a trip up the Oregon Coast to visit our daughter and her family in St. Helens, Oregon (near Portland) and return through Corvallis and then again to the coast for the trip south to our home in far northern coastal California.
The trip includes a stop at the Crescent City, CA supercharger, another stop at the Bandon, OR supercharger, and camping at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park the first night.
Second day finds us at the Lincoln City, OR supercharger, then on to the Camp Kiwanda RV resort in Pacific City.
Third day brings us to the Seaside supercharger and then to the Ft. Stevens State Park.
Monday, May 1st has travel to the Bayport RV park in St. Helens, OR where we will stay for a week or so. The rest of the trip has yet to be planned.
I will be posting data on wh/m, travel speeds, etc, as well as pics right here.
We are also planning a 4 month cross country trip for later in the summer. I love pulling the Airstream with our Tesla, and getting to meet people and talking about our Tesla X. I hope you will enjoy the ride. If anyone has specific requests for data please let me know and I'll see what we can do.

Jim and Illijana-
I'm sorry I missed you. I live in North Bend/Coos Bay, and have been looking for the right AS for my Model X. I have pulled many AS with non-EV, but this is my plan from the moment I ordered my X. I'm going to try and find your posts...
Kelly

 

[SnappyT]

Jim, don't know if you saw my post in March when we had the same thing happen to us in a motel. We couldn't move the car because we were charging at their only 240V socket. Nowhere in the room was far enough away so we put both FOBs in a cooking pot. We now travel with Altoid tins, one per FOB. It blocks the signal and gives you a minty fresh FOB!
The glowing announcement of "hey... I'm unlocked" is disconcerting when away from home.

Curiously clever solution. I'm in luck- I always have Altoids with me...

 

[SnappyT]

Our revised itinerary:
Aug 7-8. Bay Center/ Willapa Bay KOA WA
Aug 8-9. Ft. Stevens state park, Warrenton, OR
Aug 9-10 Netarts Garden RV park, Netarts Bay, OR
Aug 10-12 Waldport/Newport KOA, Waldport, OR
Aug 12-13 Oregon Dunes KOA, North Bend, OR
Aug 13-15. Humbug Mtn state park, Port Orford, OR
Aug 15 Home to Trinidad, CA

We are happy to meet and demo our rig with anyone who would like to visit. Now out to the campfire!

Now I am really bummed. You were RIGHT HERE Aug 12-13! Kelly

 

[SnappyT]

My apologies to both Ohmman & yourself. Not paying attention. I've been following Bjorn Nyland's You Tube videos. He pulls a trailer all over Norway so I got some rough ideas of energy consumption/range from that. I'm projecting ~115 mi at the moment between stops until I get real data.
I'm planning on spending $450 for the CHADeMO adaptor to fill in the gaps.

My ChaDEMo adapter was $150...?

A final note now that we are home from this trip - we kept checking our hitch receiver for "wiggle" while we were gone (you may remember that we had rangers come to our house and replace the receiver a few days before we left because the original one was seriously loose), and the receiver was solid UNTIL the last two days. It has started to wiggle. It seems clear given both ohmman's and our experiences that the bowsal hitch receiver is not designed for having a weight distribution/anti-sway system and a 4500 lb trailer being towed together. We are now evaluating our options.
We will contact Tesla on Monday or Tuesday to talk with our techs. A likely scenario for us is to replace the hitch receiver with the drawtite version that ohmman has used because we believe that it is important to have weight distribution/anti-sway arrangements when towing a trailer as large as our 22 ft Airstream Bambi.
We enjoyed the trip, were sad we cut it short by a month because of smoke exposure, but are looking forward to our next week long trip in October. More on this towing adventure to follow.

I would be happy to connect on your October trip if it includes North Bend/Coos Bay area again?
Kelly

 

[JimVandegriff]

My ChaDEMo adapter was $150...?

I would be happy to connect on your October trip if it includes North Bend/Coos Bay area again?
Kelly

We are delaying our trip until we get the hitch receiver situation handled. I'm awaiting a return call from my service advisor concerning the hitch receiver. We will be taking trips past your neck of the woods soon after we resolve this question. I'll contact you so that you can see the rig.

 

[Rossy]

The manual says you should remove it anytime it isn't in use and replace the cover. So I think you're doing it right.

I’m considering ordering a 2nd cover and dremeling it to fit with some rubber mounding to seal the area for towing. It’s always raining here so this will keep the Schmitz (Tesla Bjorn word) under control.

 

[JimVandegriff]

Just a note as we begin to get ready for our 2018 camping adventures: we put our hitch into the installed Draw-Tite hitch receiver today to check out the fit. It was rock solid (fit perfectly). I'm getting excited to go traveling again - I'm thinking a week long shakeout camping trip up the Oregon coast to Humbug Mountain State Park sometime in March if all goes as planned. I love our trailer and love our Tesla, and feel so relieved that we put the Draw-Tite receiver on the vehicle. I'll start a new thread when we get closer to adventuring. Jim

 

[steilkurve]

Car washed, tires pumped up to 46 psi, trailer loaded, and we are all hitched up - ready to go camping tomorrow! First stop - Crescent City, CA supercharger, then Bandon, OR supercharger, then camping at Umpqua Lighthouse state park. Can't wait.View attachment 224740View attachment 224741View attachment 224742

@JimVandegriff I notice here you’ve inflated at 46 and in your original thread you mentioned 46 front and 50 back. Two questions if I may:

-Why 46 over 45 as recommended by Tesla?
-Why no longer 50, if indeed the case, in the back.

New Bambi 22’ owner here and I’m playing with my set up to improve ride comfort/stability.

Insights appreciated.

 

[ecarfan]

-Why 46 over 45 as recommended by Tesla?

I am not presuming to answer for Jim, but would like to point out that tire gauges are not accurate to +/- 1PSI and in fact can vary by several PSI when compared to other gauges.

Meaning, don’t sweat about a few PSI because you have no way of knowing with confidence how accurate a tire gauge is.

I inflate my tires (when cold) to the max cold pressure shown on the tire sidewall — measuring with two different gauges and taking the average pressure — because I want to optimize for energy efficiency, not comfort. Your preference may be different.

 

[steilkurve]

QUOTE="ecarfan, post: 4018078, member: 16666"]I am not presuming to answer for Jim, but would like to point out that tire gauges are not accurate to +/- 1PSI and in fact can vary by several PSI when compared to other gauges.

Meaning, don’t sweat about a few PSI because you have no way of knowing with confidence how accurate a tire gauge is.

I inflate my tires (when cold) to the max cold pressure shown on the tire sidewall — measuring with two different gauges and taking the average pressure — because I want to optimize for energy efficiency, not comfort. Your preference may be different.[/QUOTE]

Yep. Figured out the discrepancy between the gauge on my pump and the TPMS, validated by a manual gauge. So assuming a precise PSI, I was just wondering if there was some particular reason for the 46 instead of 45.

Now, a question for you @ecarfan. No issue with inflating tires at their maximum cold PSI assuming they’ll warm up as you drive and end up exceeding the maximum?

 

[Richardd962]

Placed and order for MYLR and prolite classic 19’ camper, will only received both in July 2022, eager to join the fun of camping with a Tesla

 

[ecarfan]

Now, a question for you @ecarfan. No issue with inflating tires at their maximum cold PSI assuming they’ll warm up as you drive and end up exceeding the maximum?

The max tire pressure rating is for the tires at a “cold” temperature. Yes, the pressure will rise as the tire heats up. But I’m no expert; here is an expert source https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=196