Towing 19 or 17 with Tesla X?

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by thoer

I started to look into them and then read an analysis of whether an EV was a practical buy (clean energy wise) It showed equivalent mpg ratings for an EV based on how your electricity is generated. For our area of Wisconsin, we are so heavily coal generated, an EV would not be practical from a reduced carbon footprint perspective at least compared to a small hybrid. Now if we had enough of our own solar that we could charge it that way it would be a whole different ballgame.

Just curious how Washington ranked in that study. Most of our power is hydro.

[thoer]

Arnie here is one of the tools I used - there are others. It uses your zip code for what the sourced percentages of your local electricity is: EV Emissions Tool | Union of Concerned Scientists

[rubicon327]

Tesla X road test while towing:

www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-test/2016-tesla-model-x-range-and-charging-while-towing-a-trailer.html

[AnnL]

Originally Posted by DMPortland

I think it's great that you are considering an electric tow vehicle - a campground without exhaust and diesel fumes would be nice and also quieter. I would call this guilt-free camping with a reduced carbon footprint.

A thought I had was most of the charging stations I've seen are head-in parking for a 18' long parking stall - how would a 35'+ rig access without unhitching the trailer?

BTW our 5.0 F150 mileage:

City: 16 mpg
Highway: 19-20 mpg (best was 21 with a tailwind)
Towing a 2012 19' at about 3,300 lbs. with four bikes in the truck at 55 to 60 mph: 14-16 mpg range with most trips averaging just under 15 mpg.

With regards to how would we access the Supercharger charge ports, if they were set up so we could drive up behind them and park the entire car/camper combo, we'd do it that way. Some have a stall or 2 with the charger on the L side of the entire set, so one could pull straight in if the combo didn't block the rear area. Hopefully with all the new Supercharging stations being set up around the world, they're planning on the X's towing, since it comes with a towing package... and they set up some of the chargers to accommodate that. Otherwise, one would have to unhitch to charge - making it a bit of a PIA, but all of this is a growing curve, so you do what you gotta do to make it work.

[AnnL]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Good point, for those which charge, and are not subsidized by government programs.


An interesting point. Doesn't seem to be problem for campgrounds, but of course they're in a business which provides accommodations (and so would be expected to handle power costs); a restaurant or store could be in a different situation.


I noticed that Tesla has some sort of fee for owner who leave their cars at Superchargers, even if the power and legitimate use of the facility are included in the purchase price for that car.

Regarding Tesla's fees for owners who leave their cars at Superchargers, this pertains to busy Superchargers. Tesla monitors all of their cars - so they can see where you are charging and how much you've got left to charge. If a Supercharging station is more than 1/2 full (ex: 4/8 stalls being used), you will get a text that states something to the effect of, "The station you are charging at is busy. Be sure to move your car when done charging, or you will start incurring a $0.40/minute fine 5 minutes after your car is done charging." This is a good thing, as the chargers that are at malls or restaurants used to have cars sitting there for HOURS - long after they're done charging. We have contacted Tesla before to contact the owner of a vehicle to move - as you can tell if it's done charging, and all Tesla needs is the VIN to contact the owner. For Supercharger stations that are not busy, they don't care how long you're parked there. I am guessing "non-busy" Supercharging stations will decrease rapidly though with the release of the 3.

[BCnomad]

Hey Ann, was surfing and came across this

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...i-sport.74540/

[AnnL]

Originally Posted by BCnomad

Hey Ann, was surfing and came across this

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...i-sport.74540/

Thanks much, BC Nomad!! He's towing a big and heavy camper too, so it's interesting to see his stats. There's another couple from BC who have an X and towed a tear-drop camper on several long-distance trips and reported about it - and with higher speeds, their range would be about 50-60% of norm with their trailer. Speed definitely ends up being a major factor in range when one is either towing or carrying anything on top (rocket box, bikes, etc.).

[AnnL]

Found the site about the couple with an X who towed a tear-drop camper across Canada and the U.S.
https://teslaxcanada.com