Towing Airstream for Mother’s Day - Speed is Key

[CyberTruckeeTheOne]

Thanks for sharing.

When is your trip to Texas/Colorado?

Am really interested in this specially if you are humping those Colorado passes.

Planning a trip to Banff - Jasper with an RV and have to stay along the route of well beaten path in Norcal, Oregon and WA for the considerations of density of chargers.

Again, appreciate all the info and data collection.

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[Texarado]

Excellent write-up and news. We are debating on getting a 20' Bambi or Basecamp. I wonder how much if any improvements the lighter weight would garner. Would be great to see aerodynamic values for various campers. The Bowlus is nice but price is a bit much.

I don’t know anything about your taste or camping intentions but those Basecamps look amazing. The one thing that’s a detractor for me is the combined toilet/shower. The basecamps are certainly more ruggedized. Maybe slightly more aerodynamic and definitely lighter.

 

[FL370]

Yes, I really like the aft access door for storing bikes, and kayaks, and airing out while camping. Would be great for sleeping with the door open on those temperate nights. But the. Classic Airstreams look so cool too.

 

[Cyber Man]

I don’t know anything about your taste or camping intentions but those Basecamps look amazing. The one thing that’s a detractor for me is the combined toilet/shower. The basecamps are certainly more ruggedized. Maybe slightly more aerodynamic and definitely lighter.

I love my airstream Basecamp 20X. It’s so lightweight and nimble that you can take it to most campgrounds. Though it has wet bath, the grey and black tanks are separate, unlike Bambi, and the tanks can stay heated if you need for cold temperatures. Basecamp is just perfect. Some don’t like the looks, but I don’t care.

 

[TexasRaider]

Thanks for sharing.

When is your trip to Texas/Colorado?

Am really interested in this specially if you are humping those Colorado passes.

Planning a trip to Banff - Jasper with an RV and have to stay along the route of well beaten path in Norcal, Oregon and WA for the considerations of density of chargers.

Again, appreciate all the info and data collection.

Just this past weekend. The CT performed just as designed, of course. ~15/20 min charge stops along the way.

 

[MeadowShade]

Thanks for sharing.

When is your trip to Texas/Colorado?

Am really interested in this specially if you are humping those Colorado passes.

Planning a trip to Banff - Jasper with an RV and have to stay along the route of well beaten path in Norcal, Oregon and WA for the considerations of density of chargers.

Again, appreciate all the info and data collection.

We are going to Jackson Hole in September and Quebec in July. Getting a feel for real range pulling anything before then is helpful in planning. Our camper weighs only 2,600 pounds dry and is supposed to only decrease range by 16-20%. I am hoping we can get 150 miles real range by charging only to 80 or maybe 90% and never going below 10%.
That gives us about 80 kw per segment and if we get 600 watts per mile we are right at 150 miles.
Jackson Hole is 2,100 miles away. So that is a minimum of 14 charges BUT we should be able to charge each night while camping! So that makes it less than 10 charge stops each way.

 

[Texarado]

We are going to Jackson Hole in September and Quebec in July. Getting a feel for real range pulling anything before then is helpful in planning. Our camper weighs only 2,600 pounds dry and is supposed to only decrease range by 16-20%. I am hoping we can get 150 miles real range by charging only to 80 or maybe 90% and never going below 10%.
That gives us about 80 kw per segment and if we get 600 watts per mile we are right at 150 miles.
Jackson Hole is 2,100 miles away. So that is a minimum of 14 charges BUT we should be able to charge each night while camping! So that makes it less than 10 charge stops each way.

I think you’ll be able to meet or get close to your drive/charge goals. I think for my trip to CO that I’ll be able to do that too at most charging locations. Not 600Wh/mi, but trying not to go above 90%. That’s when you get killed on the charging time.

 

[Dmayo305]

For Mother’s Day weekend, we took the truck and Airstream to a local Airstream RV resort—The Range Vintage Trailer Resort. From where I store our camper, it was an exact 100 miles round trip. I have an AWD CT and a 25’ Airstream that weighs 7300lb fully loaded. Trip was a 100-150’ drop in elevation getting to the campsite (and so a 100-150’ climb on the way back). I have a towing trip from Texas to Colorado this summer, so I drove this test drive at a flat 55mph (other than maybe 6-8 total miles of backroads) because I know that is what it likely will take in stretches of that trip.

Out—50mi; 624wH/mi
Back—50mi; 704wH/mi

Based on these numbers, averaged range if it were any kind of rolling elevation changes yields a 185-186 mile range. I’m super happy with the experience. Is this the vehicle for a full-timer RV life? Probably not because of the speed and charges. For a few trips a year? Absolutely. I now have no concerns about being able to pull something a reasonably long distance a couple times a year.

The exponential nature of aero drag is wild. A prior test drive driving 60-65mph had an average close to 800wH/mi. When I had some downtime at the campsite, I created a spreadsheet that will take inputs (mileage to next charger, top charge level, lower buffer desired, battery degradation) and calculate the efficiency needed to reach the destination.

The coolest part of this was running both AC’s (and for a brief moment, a big air pump too). So, on a long road trip, as long as I stop in the parking lot where a super charger is, I can run both ACs through the night and then just top off in the morning and be on my way. In the winter it was never a problem because I only needed heat (which didn’t require a 240V).

The not coolest part was discovering a nail in rear, driver side tire. Thankfully perfect nail placement, so easily patchable.

Thanks for the write up. I'm doing Vegas-Coronado over Memorial Day weekend and my biggest concern is supercharging access without downloading my massive rig connected via a weight distribution hitch. It's not a quick process. Did you find access to island or pull through supercharging available? Also, it would be super awesome if passthrough charging was an option (saying this for any CT employees that read this forum). For example - if I plug into a campground's 14-50 via UMC, then plug my rig into the CT, it would be epic if the CT could real-time measure my draw from its port, and apply whatever remaining amperage coming from the campground towards charging the CT battery.

 

[MeadowShade]

Well, I read somewhere that charging the CT at the same time as the CT running something from any of the power connections aint hapnin. Not sure why, probably a path issue for the current ... not really sure. It would be GREAT! if you could. As "newby" to RV camping, that would make things simpler. My plan is to plug in the CT AND the camper with a splitter for the 30 or 50 amp. I can roll the amps down on the CT charging so it does not trip. I have to do that in my detached garage. If I run the mobile charger all the way to 38 or whatever amps in the max and there is another load on the 50 amp total circuit the breaker trips on the main panel. Not the sub panel but the main panel that has a 50 amp breaker that feeds the building.

It still charges fine, just not as fast but I have always thought, slower is better for the batteries!

 

[CyberTruckeeTheOne]

We are going to Jackson Hole in September and Quebec in July. Getting a feel for real range pulling anything before then is helpful in planning. Our camper weighs only 2,600 pounds dry and is supposed to only decrease range by 16-20%. I am hoping we can get 150 miles real range by charging only to 80 or maybe 90% and never going below 10%.
That gives us about 80 kw per segment and if we get 600 watts per mile we are right at 150 miles.
Jackson Hole is 2,100 miles away. So that is a minimum of 14 charges BUT we should be able to charge each night while camping! So that makes it less than 10 charge stops each way.

Try to avoid Teton Pass.

It's a 10% grade and when we took it, it has zero visibility with fog and rain. It will definitly zap your CT juice.

Worst driving I had and I have been everywhere in white knuckle roads.

Enjoy Jackson Hole. I love it specially Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

 

[Dmayo305]

Well, I read somewhere that charging the CT at the same time as the CT running something from any of the power connections aint hapnin. Not sure why, probably a path issue for the current ... not really sure. It would be GREAT! if you could. As "newby" to RV camping, that would make things simpler. My plan is to plug in the CT AND the camper with a splitter for the 30 or 50 amp. I can roll the amps down on the CT charging so it does not trip. I have to do that in my detached garage. If I run the mobile charger all the way to 38 or whatever amps in the max and there is another load on the 50 amp total circuit the breaker trips on the main panel. Not the sub panel but the main panel that has a 50 amp breaker that feeds the building.

It still charges fine, just not as fast but I have always thought, slower is better for the batteries!

From what I've read, many campsites don't provide enough power to the pedestal to safely operate the 50 amp AND the 30 amp. I would be afraid of burning up the pedestal if I tried to pull 50 amps for the rig and 30 for the CT. Especially if both A/C units are running while I microwave something. Just my own thoughts, could be way off base.

 

[CyberTruckeeTheOne]

From what I've read, many campsites don't provide enough power to the pedestal to safely operate the 50 amp AND the 30 amp. I would be afraid of burning up the pedestal if I tried to pull 50 amps for the rig and 30 for the CT. Especially if both A/C units are running while I microwave something. Just my own thoughts, could be way off base.

Someone here wrote that you can't be simultaneously charge your CT while your RV is drawing juice off it.

 

[Dmayo305]

Someone here wrote that you can't be simultaneously charge your CT while your RV is drawing juice off it.

That's correct, at least right now. I have tried charging and turning on the outlets at the same time and it wouldn't let me. If there's a design reason, I haven't seen it yet.

 

[Cyber Man]

That's correct, at least right now. I have tried charging and turning on the outlets at the same time and it wouldn't let me. If there's a design reason, I haven't seen it yet.

I think it’s software controlled. Someone here said this capability will be added in the future through software update. I hope that’s true. It’ll be great to charge CT and power trailer at the same time.

 

[Dmayo305]

I think it’s software controlled. Someone here said this capability will be added in the future through software update. I hope that’s true. It’ll be great to charge CT and power trailer at the same time.

I'm sure somebody with more time and inclination could pull apart service manuals to let us know whether it's feasible from a hardware standpoint. I'm not that person.

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