Miserable Towing Experience - NEED HELP! (Updated)

[REM]

Only 2 or 3 times a year? My guy ... rent a U-Haul lol!

You know how much extra cargo you can bring with you if you do that?

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[rlhamil]

The problem is that you had/have a complete misunderstanding of the energy required to drag very non-aerodynamic object through space. The fact that you had to "slow down to 65 mph" tells me all I need to know. You were driving WAY too fast. Not only is this dangerous, but as you found out, it causes you to burn through energy at a tremendous rate. Run 10-15 mph under the speed limit and you'll do a lot better. Not great, but better.

As I recall, air resistance goes up with the square of the speed. (regardless of streamlining, which just reduces the effective cross-section, so you're starting at a lower value)

So a small increase in speed can result in a large increase in energy used; and vice versa; a small decrease can result in a surprisingly large decrease in energy use.

This is presumably also true with ICE vehicles towing, although they waste energy enough (heat out the exhaust pipes) that it's not QUITE so obvious.

 

[Maje]

A 30k ft view possibility: consider storing the boat in the keys for a month or 2 between trips.

 

[GatorCyber]

A 30k ft view possibility: consider storing the boat in the keys for a month or 2 between trips.

or hire someone to tow it?

 

[Celiboy]

Not sure if you are joking or not about folding the "Captain's Cabin" in, but that's not really a viable solution.

Nor is the “white stick”. It’s a shallow water anchor. That’s the only position it has.

 

[Tecyber1]

Seriously now, did you really buy a CT with intentions to really do some serious towing like this? What made you think the CT was a good choice for that? Going EV already comes with various trade-offs but my god, towing? Wow!

I may use a bike rack, throw some things in the back but I wouldn't even consider using my CT for major towing. Total PIA and it's not meant for that despite what Elon or anyone else thinks. I'm sorry, reading your tow weight and then experience..wow! I'm not shocked it went bad.

 

[AZCYBER]

langenbahn suggest you add your beautiful CT & Boat pic to your profile as your pic. Just click on you nonexistent pic icon and Edit Prole and update it with the CT & boat pic.

As to the drag the boat creates. It's not so much the front of the Captains Cabin but the rear and how the air that is separated by the front gets put back together. In your instance the Captains cabin does a good job in separating the air in the front but it really increases your drag coefficient by not reassembling the air in the back of the Captains cabin.

If you were to fold the Captains cabin either forward or rearward and get it as low as you can into the boat the only thing you would be left with is the motor but that already has some aerodynamics to the design so not much you can do there.

That white stick sticking up is another drag on the forward motion is if that can be removed and placed in the boat you will be well on your way to making your tow as aerodynamically as possible.

Also what SSonnentag said about speed is 100% correct. The faster you go the significantly more energy you will need to move at speed. Your drag coefficient will increase with the square of your speed. Keep it at 60 and you will significantly reduce your energy consumption and your Watts/Mile will go up.

Just because you can go fast doesn't mean you must go fast, especially when pulling a trailer. Keep the speed in check, 55-65 at best, and save $$$ and live longer.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Drag COEFFICIENT is a constant. Drag is proportional to velocity (speed) squared. The other factor is frontal area. The cabin on that boat is huge.

 

[Speedr]

Seriously now, did you really buy a CT with intentions to really do some serious towing like this? What made you think the CT was a good choice for that? Going EV already comes with various trade-offs but my god, towing? Wow!

I may use a bike rack, throw some things in the back but I wouldn't even consider using my CT for major towing. Total PIA and it's not meant for that despite what Elon or anyone else thinks. I'm sorry, reading your tow weight and then experience..wow! I'm not shocked it went bad.

I tow all the time, but usually locally. It's fantastic, the best towing experience out there! It's just really long trips that the disadvantage is bad, especially if the thing being towed isn't aerodynamic. Also, this is where the range extender will really help. It won't change the dynamic greatly, but will make it far more bearable for long trips.

 

[cofree]

There are a bunch of factors... But it is
95% driving speed
1% tire pressure
1% climate settings
1% braking gradually using Regen
etc...

When driving long distances in EVs if range is going to be an issue we just show down an extra 1 mph and didn't bother with the other factors.
When you are driving a big thing like that the other drivers don't expect it demand that you drive fast.
Take it show and enjoy never having to think about making lane changes to overtake anyone. You have time.
It is a difficult mentality to change having driven for so long.

 

[TruckGenio]

First, let me start out by saying that I love my AWD Cybertruck. This is my 3rd Tesla and do not believe I will ever own anything but a Tesla. I also thought I knew what I was getting into with respect to towing range. While my experience below was less than ideal, it is certainly doable for the amount of long range towing I do per year. All the above being fact, I could really use some advice.

I live in Saint Augustine, Florida. We migrate down to Marathon, Florida 2 to 3 times per year for lobster season and general fishing. I started the trip with 318 miles of range and was towing a 25 foot center console bay boat. Boat/trailer/fuel weight about 6,300 pounds in total. I was probably hauling another 1,000 pounds of gear (Scuba Tanks, Food, Ice, etc.), myself 180 lbs and my wife 118 lbs. So, in total I believe I was hauling around 7,600 pounds which I know is a lot. Over the 446 mile trip to the keys I averaged 1,140 Wh/mi!!!! We had to stop 5 times and the trip took over 11 hours. The scariest part was before the first leg where the range was dropping so fast that the nav system could not keep up with rerouting us to closer charging stations. It got so bad that it rerouted us to the nearest charging station and then said "stop and charge in order to make it to your destination" - which was the charging station! We got to the exit ramp and basically said I wasn't going to make it. We arrived at the charging station with negative 3% charge. After that, I was extremely conservative and always forced a charge stop around 80 miles to empty. I put the cruise control on 65 MPH for the rest of the trip.

On the way home, I made sure I had other members of the family haul all the gear, I made sure the fuel was pretty much on empty in the boat and also drained the fresh water tank. I averaged 1,051 Wh/mi on the way back which gave me 8.5% better efficiency. All and all, I was only able to go about 80 miles before needing to stop and charge. Again, never going over 65 MPH.

Here are a few questions:

1. Ride height? Assuming I should keep it on the lowest setting.
2. Chill vs. Standard? Assume I should keep it on chill.
3. Will the wheel hubcaps help once they arrive?
4. Are there any other settings I can fiddle with to increase the range?

I believe that I can possibly eliminate 1 stop by better managing which Superchargers I stop at. Thankfully I-95 has a ton of Superchargers but there are stretches where they can be scarce. As an example, Homestead, Florida is the last Supercharger before Marathon and there is 77 miles between the two chargers. If I can schedule my chargeing so as to get to Homestead nearly empty that will possibly eliminate a stop.

The other time consumption issue was with the need to drop the trailer almost everytime we charged. I got lucky on a few of the stops due to the fact that we were traveling at 3AM and was able to pull in and take up some empty charging slots. Not so lucky on the way home due to the fact that we drove thru the day.

My wife and I are 60 years old and are generally in no hurry to get anywhere anymore so doing this 2-3 times per year is a small price to pay for having an awesome truck.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately same experience here the Cybertruck is useless when it comes to towing for more than 100 miles. I will probably end up getting a Cummins pickup for my towing needs.

 

[MeadowShade]

Seriously now, did you really buy a CT with intentions to really do some serious towing like this? What made you think the CT was a good choice for that? Going EV already comes with various trade-offs but my god, towing? Wow!

I may use a bike rack, throw some things in the back but I wouldn't even consider using my CT for major towing. Total PIA and it's not meant for that despite what Elon or anyone else thinks. I'm sorry, reading your tow weight and then experience..wow! I'm not shocked it went bad.

ouch!

we just towed our camper over 1,000 miles from Canada back to Virginia. Piece of cake.

No we cannot go 200 miles per charge, only about 150 going from 80-85% to 15-20%. But doing the speed limit.

Travel can be point to point wide open but if that is not the goal. “Get there”. Then stopping every 2-3 hours for a few minutes is fine for us.

biggest plus I see for camp traveling is this.

Chrage for free at the campground and start the day with 90~95%. Go 150 miles to a supercharger and have lunch while you charge and the CT will be ready before you can eat … then drive 150 more miles and camp. And charge for free again.

so it makes charging half price and 300 miles per day easy.

I have done 800 miles in one day, Orlando to Richmond in our Y. Not so much fun. Exhausting.

 

[mongo]

Seriously now, did you really buy a CT with intentions to really do some serious towing like this? What made you think the CT was a good choice for that? Going EV already comes with various trade-offs but my god, towing? Wow!

I may use a bike rack, throw some things in the back but I wouldn't even consider using my CT for major towing. Total PIA and it's not meant for that despite what Elon or anyone else thinks. I'm sorry, reading your tow weight and then experience..wow! I'm not shocked it went bad.

Why not?
We waited on Cybertruck to tow a (yet to be selected) travel trailer knowing it would take longer and also knowing that once we arrived, we would be driving around our Cybertruck that we could recharge at the site or use to power the trailer quietly.
Of course, the range extender will definitely aid this endeavor (other than payload).

 

[VAF84]

As noted, towing any further than local is painful in the EV world unless you have the latest GM twins or you massively slash your speed.

In places like California with the regulated 55mph speed for towing it may not be as big a deal, but as I’m sure you know, you will become an impediment to traffic in most other parts of the country. I’ve chosen not to tow with my truck, I just don’t want to be that guy, and to me it’s not worth the hassle and extra stops. I barely tolerate the added charging stops on long road trips, I’d lose my mind adding even more stops plus unhitching.

Fortunately, we have a second tow vehicle if needed. Also closely looking at the RST even though the CT would be nice.

Anyway, as mention there’s no substitute for speed reduction, and very good observations about adjusting the trailer brake so it doesn’t counteract the regen brakes. Regardless, about 80miles is a safe range bet for 300mi range EV, and I’d bake that into your charge planning.

 

[Korben Dallas]

Thanks for the pic. Great setup!

First comment on ride height. The ride height is different when it tow mode. It defaults to Medium, not Low! I was happy with that since I was towing locally, so I haven't tried changing it.

In regards to speed, it DOES make a huge difference. As others have said, the amount of energy needed as speed goes up is not 1 to 1, but exponentially (I'm sure I'm saying it in the wrong way, but you get the gist).

Inflating ALL of the tires to a much higher PSI will help as well.

The big, remaining change is Aerodynamics. I've had a few center consoles, and have had 2 different types of covers. A whole boat one (well, everything except the roof), and a center console one that just covered the center console and seat. If you don't own either, you could try and find someone that has a similar boat with a cover that you could try (i.e. tow their boat with and without the cover). The other option, before buying one, is to try and temporarily "wrap" your center console and seat (tape, plastic, cloth, etc.) and see if that makes any difference. Even the poles aren't great...

Also, the slower you go, the less aerodynamics play a role.

Really hoping a cover, or some are tweaks make a big difference. If you look at Bowlus travel trailers, you'll see how much more range they provide vs. a normal travel trailer. In that same vein of thought, you can also see others on this forum that post their consumption numbers pulling similar weighted Travel Trailers, which do a lot better.

Good luck, and keep us informed @langenbahn!

Please be careful with tire pressure, especially the trailer tires and DO NOT exceed the speed rating of the trailer tires. On virtually every long distance trip we’ve taken over the years, we see at least one large recreational trailer being towed with a shredded tire sitting on the shoulder of the interstate. And in Texas we saw a guy with a pair of shredded/blown out tires, one on each side of his double-axle 5th wheeler.

Just because any truck can do 80-85 for hundreds of miles doesn’t mean you can SAFELY drive at that speed when towing.

Please tow responsibly guys.

 

[langenbahn]

I certainly would not have purchased a CT if I were towing for this distance on a regular basis. I bought the CT knowing full well that getting to the Keys several times per year was going to be problematic. I live in St. Augustine within 2 miles of the Intercostal Waterway and for the rest of the year it will be perfect. We had 2 Model 3's. We purchased the boat 2 years ago and had to purchase a Ford F150 to bridge the gap until the CT came available. We also have 64 solar panels on our roof which further solidified the decision on the CT - no gasoline in my world except for the boat. My motivation behind the post was to garner as much advice as possible to make future trips easier. My wife and I are both 60 years old. In general, our bio needs and muscle aches dovetail well into stopping every 2 hours or so. The learnings from this trip goes beyond the things which can be done to reduce the number of charge stops. I also started keeping a log of superchargers that are more conducive to towing a 25 foot boat. Finding a charging location where you may not have to drop the boat and rehook it after charging can produce a huge time savings as well. I appreciate all the advice I've received over the past 24 hours.

Seriously now, did you really buy a CT with intentions to really do some serious towing like this? What made you think the CT was a good choice for that? Going EV already comes with various trade-offs but my god, towing? Wow!

I may use a bike rack, throw some things in the back but I wouldn't even consider using my CT for major towing. Total PIA and it's not meant for that despite what Elon or anyone else thinks. I'm sorry, reading your tow weight and then experience..wow! I'm not shocked it went bad.

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