Cybertruck as a tow vehicle

rr6013

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Towing power, style, comfort yes. The solution is having a trailer with 3000W or more solar array and 1000 ah 48V battery bank for range.
You don’t want that sunk investment bolted down to a trailer you don’t use everyday. Rare is the CT that will trailer tow daily.

Better to stack powerwalls in the bed of CT. Fully charged. Ready to go when you need range. Pull out of CT wall mount when not towing. The investment keeps paying dividends for you.

Four Powerwalls stacked vertical could stand between a 5th wheel and CT back window. Trailer hitch towing could stand eight Powerwalls. Commercial users running Roadrunner 24/7/365 could be the only use-case for eight but with charging times, eight might be an essential luxury!
 

Crissa

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You don’t want that sunk investment bolted down to a trailer you don’t use everyday.
Well, batteries and a solar array can be busy charging itself while the truck is off doing errands. You don't want to be paying to tote around an investment you're not using.

-Crissa
 
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AlexD

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Any idea why the Wh/Mile usage seems to not vary much according to the size of trailer being towed - based on the various YouTube videos?
I would have expected a much higher Wh/Mile where you are towing a big heavy trailer and this doesn't appear to be the case.
 

Crissa

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Any idea why the Wh/Mile usage seems to not vary much according to the size of trailer being towed - based on the various YouTube videos?
Because it's aerodynamic profile, not weight or 'size' that matters.

It does vary, alot. But an open trailer with stuff sticking out if it has a terrible profile while a big brick is at least smooth even though it's big.

A small brick would be better than a big brick.

-Crissa
 


Crissa

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Most likely a Cybertruck will have some sort of automated system to help trailering. With a camera, you're not guessing where the tongue is at all. With an assist mode, it might be able to do it itself.

-Crissa
 

firsttruck

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Maybe don't need 100%. Initially maybe 20% - 30% would be enough to start. Those along major highways and at destinations where people would have trailers. Most chargers in urban areas would not have land space available or need drive thru.
 
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It seems like quite a few Superchargers do have facility to accommodate vehicles towing - but not all. The problem, as I see it, with having a short range is that you become very limited in your choice of supercharger locations and conceivably, if you have say only a 90 mile range, you may not be able to reach a supercharger. Whilst there is a fantastic Supercharger network in the USA (and Europe) there are still infinitely more gas stations than charging stations. (I ignore that you can charge at any 110V point because that charging speed is a joke)
 

kpett

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I have been doing the same...watching YouTube videos of X & Ys towing to get a better idea of what the CT will do. Here is the key difference I can see, but I don't know what real world difference it will make...

The CT is wider than the X & Y. It is already pushing more air out of the way, even with a low drag coefficient. The size of the frontal area will displace more air making it's towing bubble bigger by comparison to the X or Ys. I am hoping to get at least 50% of the original range.

I want to pull the trigger on a Black Series HQ 12 or HQ 15 but I don't know how the weight will hinder the performance by comparison to something lighter like the Alto by Condo Safari. Now these are two wildly different trailer brands, but ideally I would like to overland with the CT making the BS HQ 12/15 a fun option...but only if I don't get stranded.
 

Eye of Elon

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I think if you're early in line you can conduct experiments yourself and if the towing doesn't work out, you should be able to sell your cybertruck at a profit.

If your late in line there should be plenty of data by then.
 


KrodEKid

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I don't understand the obsession with comparing non-tow vs towing efficiency loss from a ICE to an EV. The more efficient a system is, the more energy loss there is going to be when a bigger load is placed on it. To oversimplify, if a system is 100% efficient, it will take twice as much energy to do twice the work.

Points I will take against EVs...
Range is a concern due to charging time and charging availability.

Therefore, EVs aren't viable for everybody yet.

An EV towing *may lose more range compared to an ICE towing but an EV will still be more efficient overall. It is similar to the cold weather argument.

I haven't done the math, just using logical conclusions. It makes more sense to compare EV efficiency not towing to ICE not towing. And EV towing to ICE towing consumption.

When considering range... It makes sense to consider EVs will likely have full charge daily. And ICE only refilled when needed.

My rule of thumb is: If traveling more than 300 miles 1 way while towing is a common thing for personal needs, then CT is probably not for you. If it's less than that, there's a good chance you can make it work. But until we get real range data from towing with CT it's all speculation.
 
 




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