Got my Foundation Series invite for Christmas!

[DumpsterFire]

I've noticed a lot of pull-through additions as well, and I'm looking forward to many more to come. For now, it'll be an occasional inconvenience, but the reality is that 90%+ of my driving will be done with power that comes from the solar panels on my roof, via an outlet in my garage. The handful of times I have to drop my trailer to charge will be small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

Thanks for the input!

Hey man. First off congratulations! Stoked for you!

Second, have you seen any of the pull through chargers in Utah? I live in the SL Valley and was just curious.

thanks!!

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[MisterChilidog]

Thanks!

This is my first EV, so I haven't been as conscious of the SCs I've seen as I should have been. But I did notice a pull-through stall at a SC along I-70, on my way to Colorado Springs.

If you follow the YouTube channel Now You Know, their weekly Tesla Time News always includes user-submitted Super Charger reviews. I've noticed more and more of them are commenting on the inclusion of pull-through stalls. And some of those are being added to existing SCs.

I think maybe that's the next feature Cybertruck Owners Club needs to add - a tracker for SCs known to have pull-through stalls.

 

[CGIIRL]

 

[Fleetwood75]

Congrats! I was really hoping for a Christmas invitation but found no such email. Santa did bring me the Cyberbeer and stein set though, so I have that to drink while I wait ?

 

[Tiberius]

I love how all the folks with zero practical experience with towing with an electric anything are popping up give doom and gloom "advice". Even without knowledge of what is being towed they are able to provide accurate advice about how bad his experience is going to be.
These folks need to be applying this amazing skill to the stock market or world peace

Personally - I'm glad you're going from an Escape to a Cybertruck, I'm sure it will be awesome

 

[Bkb13]

I'll take my trailer out and test the range as soon as I get my CT. A couple who live down the street from me lost about 50% range pulling a 5000# trailer, similar to mine. Mine only weighs about 2500# fully loaded though. I'll let y'all know what kinda hit the range takes. That's also going to be the variable that determines whether or not I get the Range Extender.

In the Monroe video they said you would lose 50% with a larger trailer and 30% with a jet ski.

 

[MisterChilidog]

That's in-line with my expectations. My trailer isn't huge, but it's not small either. It doesn't carry a great deal of weight, but the losses to mass can at least be partially mitigated through brake regen. At the end of the day, the losses will but what they will be. I'll learn what my loads cost me, in range, and find ways to deal with the results. And this is why I waited for the Cybertruck - the Supercharger network can compensate for a lot of lost range.

I'm not the guy who's going to argue that an electric truck is, today, going to fill every niche in the pickup market. If I were towing large, heavy loads every day, I'm certain I'd own a truck tailored for that role. But for guy like me, who needs an economical commuting vehicle that can also drag a SMALL toy hauler to my summertime getaway spot... I think CT fits the bill.

And I'll be happy to share my experiences with those who have an interest.

 

[Cyberer]

Congrats on biting the bullet, and being in a place financially to do so.
Saw you mention your Escape and towing a trailer.
Just a heads up you should have gotten about 280-320miles of towing range with a full tank in your escape depending on trailer.
With the CT your towing range is likely going to be about 80-110 miles with a full charge.
AKA about 1/3 of the distance.

You also already likely know this but with your escape you can pull into 99% of fuel pumps with a trailer. With the CT you are going to have to UNHOOK your trailer to charge at 99% of super chargers if going more than 100 miles or so.

Ha ha! Ya for sure just keep the Escape. CT is way too much trouble . Sheesh.

 

[CyberGus]

I think maybe that's the next feature Cybertruck Owners Club needs to add - a tracker for SCs known to have pull-through stalls.

TMC has a Wiki of pull-thru chargers here:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/trailer-friendly-supercharger-locations.61389/

I expect Tesla will eventually include a "trailer-friendly" option in the nav data.

 

[Lekrow]

I also got an invite this round for the foundation series.
Financially its no problem to order, but I actually don't want most of the options forced on the foundation series and I am also not in a rush so I will just wait.
My rational:
- Don't need/want the off-road light bar
- White interior, no thanks (have kids)
- Foundation etching is tacky imo
- Don't need powershare (already have 2 powerwalls)
- Premium cyber wheels are not as cool to me as some available aftermarket options
- FSD should only be 7k if I option it normally (assuming they honor original ordering page verbiage)
- Most of the premium accessories are actually hindrances for my uses

 

[MisterChilidog]

I also got an invite this round for the foundation series.
Financially its no problem to order, but I actually don't want most of the options forced on the foundation series and I am also not in a rush so I will just wait.
My rational:
- Don't need/want the off-road light bar
- White interior, no thanks (have kids)
- Foundation etching is tacky imo
- Don't need powershare (already have 2 powerwalls)
- Premium cyber wheels are not as cool to me as some available aftermarket options
- FSD should only be 7k if I option it normally (assuming they honor original ordering page verbiage)
- Most of the premium accessories are actually hindrances for my uses

I went through the same cost analysis, but my needs/wants resulted in a different outcome. I too was leaning toward passing on the Foundation because I'm also hoping they'll honor the FSD reservation pricing. But I haven't got a PowerWall, so I would probably end up getting the PowerShare/Gateway, etc. I figured I'd probably end up getting a second set of wheels to make it easy to switch between wheels/tires as my immediate needs/circumstances change, so the included wheels are fine with me. I'm not for or against the etching - I just don't care about it.

But the most significant factor, for me, is the time factor. I've been delaying buying a new truck for a long time, anticipating CT, and me need for one has just grown as time has passed. I try not to let impatience get to me, but I know it's costing me a few bucks in this case. Sadly, my wife is even more eager than I am, to get our new truck, so if I had kept my own impatience in check, she still would have pushed me over the edge.

tl;dr
If you've already got PowerWall(s), and assuming the reservation FSD pricing is honored, I think you're definitely making the right decision by waiting. Had PowerShare not been as compelling to me as it is, I would have gone the same way.

 

[DaveDUtah]

If I need the Range Extender, I'll buy it when it's available. For now, I have a 12kw generator that I can take with me camping, and for mylti-day stops, I have a couple kilowatts of portable solar I can trickle-charge with.

Can a Tesla (CT in particular) charge while driving? It would be interesting, in a road-trip or towing scenario, to see how much a large generator like that would extend range between stops.

Given a few assumptions, like range is cut in half at 70mph, and is about 1/3 when towing, theoretically, a 12kW generator could add, at most, 12kW * (2.5/3)mi/kWh = 10 mph of range. So, 340mi/3 = 113 miles of towing range at about 65 mph means you could add at most 20 miles of range over two hours--or extend the 113 miles of towing range to about 133 miles of towing range--even with a massive 12kW generator. But that's theoretical, and I suspect it would be somewhat less in real life. Charging inefficiencies, the weight of the generator, the aero effects of the generator in the bed with the bed-cover open, among other things, will likely cut into that 20 miles of extended range.

On the other hand, if you run out of juice just short of your goal, you could rescue yourself with a bit of roadside charging.

 

[CyberGus]

Can a Tesla (CT in particular) charge while driving? It would be interesting, in a road-trip or towing scenario, to see how much a large generator like that would extend range between stops.

Given a few assumptions, like range is cut in half at 70mph, and is about 1/3 when towing, theoretically, a 12kW generator could add, at most, 12kW * (2.5/3)mi/kWh = 10 mph of range. So, 340mi/3 = 113 miles of towing range at about 65 mph means you could add at most 20 miles of range over two hours--or extend the 113 miles of towing range to about 133 miles of towing range--even with a massive 12kW generator. But that's theoretical, and I suspect it would be somewhat less in real life. Charging inefficiencies, the weight of the generator, the aero effects of the generator in the bed with the bed-cover open, among other things, will likely cut into that 20 miles of extended range.

On the other hand, if you run out of juice just short of your goal, you could rescue yourself with a bit of roadside charging.

Teslas cannot charge while driving without hax.

 

[DaveDUtah]

Can a Tesla (CT in particular) charge while driving? It would be interesting, in a road-trip or towing scenario, to see how much a large generator like that would extend range between stops.

Given a few assumptions, like range is cut in half at 70mph, and is about 1/3 when towing, theoretically, a 12kW generator could add, at most, 12kW * (2.5/3)mi/kWh = 10 mph of range. So, 340mi/3 = 113 miles of towing range at about 65 mph means you could add at most 20 miles of range over two hours--or extend the 113 miles of towing range to about 133 miles of towing range--even with a massive 12kW generator. But that's theoretical, and I suspect it would be somewhat less in real life. Charging inefficiencies, the weight of the generator, the aero effects of the generator in the bed with the bed-cover open, among other things, will likely cut into that 20 miles of extended range.

On the other hand, if you run out of juice just short of your goal, you could rescue yourself with a bit of roadside charging.

And you are getting about 4mpg from those generator-provided miles.

 

[MisterChilidog]

Can a Tesla (CT in particular) charge while driving? It would be interesting, in a road-trip or towing scenario, to see how much a large generator like that would extend range between stops.

Given a few assumptions, like range is cut in half at 70mph, and is about 1/3 when towing, theoretically, a 12kW generator could add, at most, 12kW * (2.5/3)mi/kWh = 10 mph of range. So, 340mi/3 = 113 miles of towing range at about 65 mph means you could add at most 20 miles of range over two hours--or extend the 113 miles of towing range to about 133 miles of towing range--even with a massive 12kW generator. But that's theoretical, and I suspect it would be somewhat less in real life. Charging inefficiencies, the weight of the generator, the aero effects of the generator in the bed with the bed-cover open, among other things, will likely cut into that 20 miles of extended range.

On the other hand, if you run out of juice just short of your goal, you could rescue yourself with a bit of roadside charging.

I saw a video on YouTube where someone managed to get a Model 3 to run while charging from a large LiFePO4 battery and inverter in the back seat. That led to me to wonder if I could use the big battery and inverter in my trailer to charge while en-route, using the mobile adapter. I hadn't considered my generator though - that's an interesting twist on the idea.

Right now, the area that has me most concerned about towing range is the Glen Canyon-Capital Reef-Escalante triangle. My wife and I spend a lot of time with our 4-wheeler and boat in that part of Utah. Our trips are always multi-day trips, so there's plenty of time to charge, once we get to a camp site. But man... a SuperCharger in Hanksville, and maybe another in Ticaboo, would be awfully nice.

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