Flat towing the Cybertruck, "It's a giant battery for my RV", etc

ExcessOilCo

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Greetings,

With a 9kW ground mount solar array going up adjacent to my new RV cover so time to ask:

1) Any idea if I can 'flat tow" (ie, w/o trailer) a Cybertruck?

2) The flat tow question relates to possibly getting a motorhome with a diesel genset (always handy) with a separate fuel tank that I could fill w/ off road if needed for SHTF, as above.

3) Already had an electrician go over my RV bumper pull and easy to run a circuit to not even have to unhook camper, but plug into 50A at campground and charge CT when trailer is plugged in. A state park campground will cost about $12-20 for 50A and, if my math doesn't suck (it does) would yield about $33 worth of electricity at $0.133/kWh

4) Great appeal of CT is that with 200 kW of battery, if truck were charged I'd be good to go off grid for a while if SHTF and that battery capacity, if installed into the RV, (forget the weight) would be about $40k USD by itself. (See above math disclaimer)

PV array is like this but two panels wider, 28 in all.

Any and all thoughts most welcome, as always ;)

JR

Tesla Cybertruck Flat towing the Cybertruck, "It's a giant battery for my RV", etc IMG_8114
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CyberGus

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“Not only can a Tesla not be flat-towed, it must be towed on a trailer, not a dolly with two wheels on the ground. According to the manufacturer, towing it any way except on a trailer will void the warranty, to say nothing of damaging the car.”

https://www.rv.com/archive/rv-tech-qa-august-2019/
 

Crissa

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Of course, that being said, Teslas have been flat towed with no harm.

The biggest problem is that the car, not in control of its motion, could overheat the motor or battery. Also, in most cases, towing is done when the car is malfunctioning. Which would be all the more reason they wouldn't want you to flat-tow it.

-Crissa
 
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ExcessOilCo

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“Not only can a Tesla not be flat-towed, it must be towed on a trailer, not a dolly with two wheels on the ground. According to the manufacturer, towing it any way except on a trailer will void the warranty, to say nothing of damaging the car.”

https://www.rv.com/archive/rv-tech-qa-august-2019/

Thank you for that.. That was my best recollection and thus the still outstanding question.

Warranty concerns aside (which they will never be).. Wouldn't it be the case that if one towed a cybertruck, say with a hypothetical operator behind the wheel, wouldn't that be seen by the truck as regenerative braking, thus charging the batteries?
 

JBee

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Thank you for that.. That was my best recollection and thus the still outstanding question.

Warranty concerns aside (which they will never be).. Wouldn't it be the case that if one towed a cybertruck, say with a hypothetical operator behind the wheel, wouldn't that be seen by the truck as regenerative braking, thus charging the batteries?
Exactly!
Apart from the cameras capturing the tow line itself and the car registering the road incline via sensors and comparing it to a online relief map, no Tesla has the capability of detecting, let alone changing or reporting that it is being towed behind another vehicle.

There are plenty of videos online that shows this works, in fact it is a really effective way to use regen to charge the battery. Just like going down a hill. No difference whatsoever for the drivetrain despite what the naysayers say here.

Warranty is relative here..as its very unlikely to result in any kind of damage to a vehicle with a functional drivetrain. Obviously if the drivetrain is damaged or not functional I probably wouldn't tow it either to avoid any further damage.
 


android04

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Thank you for that.. That was my best recollection and thus the still outstanding question.

Warranty concerns aside (which they will never be).. Wouldn't it be the case that if one towed a cybertruck, say with a hypothetical operator behind the wheel, wouldn't that be seen by the truck as regenerative braking, thus charging the batteries?
Yes, you can put a Tesla on drive and tow it (as long as somebody is sitting in the driver's seat) and the vehicle will see it as no different than regen braking. See this . However, Tesla does not officially support doing that and they could void your drive unit warranty if they found out. We don't have final details on the Cybertruck, but it's possible Tesla could design in the ability to flat tow it (likely in a neutral mode with no regen).
 
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ldjessee

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Yes, you can put a Tesla on drive and tow it (as long as somebody is sitting in the driver's seat) and the vehicle will see it as no different than regen braking. See this . However, Tesla does not officially support doing that and they could void your drive unit warranty if they found out. We don't have final details on the Cybertruck, but it's possible Tesla could design in the ability to flat tow it (likely in a neutral mode with no regen).
Nor is it legal in some states to be sitting in a vehicle being towed….
 

JBee

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Nor is it legal in some states to be sitting in a vehicle being towed….
Doesn't that just mean you can't flat tow someone at all in that state? Because if no-one is steering the towed vehicle then how does it follow the car towing it without a driver?

Out of interest what states would that be that don't allow it?
 

ldjessee

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Doesn't that just mean you can't flat tow someone at all in that state? Because if no-one is steering the towed vehicle then how does it follow the car towing it without a driver?

Out of interest what states would that be that don't allow it?
I have seen several vehicles, Jeeps, small cars, flat towed behind RVs with no one inside.

 

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Anybody dumb enough to flat tow a vehicle on a public road with a tow strap is risking a big fine and ending up on the business end of a lawsuit in the event of a wreck. My guess is that most insurance companies would refuse a claim caused by that action.
I have flat towed a lot of military vehicles with a proper tow bar, safety chains, proper lights and a warning sign on the back of the towed vehicle.
The guy in that video is an idiot of epic proportions.
 


JBee

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I have seen several vehicles, Jeeps, small cars, flat towed behind RVs with no one inside.

Roger, that's what you americans call flat tow... :)
Makes sense now.
 

AustroTom

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Here we are again, (just like with the 5th wheel towing), all we are doing here is speculating!
And NO ONE at Tesla is ever listening ?‍♂.
I've flat towed a Jeep Cherokee, a Saturn Outlook, AND my Chevy Silverado 2500HD behind my diesel pusher for years. So it seems to me that CT enthusiasts have specific needs and requests for this vehicle to be in their garages. So TESLA, can you please let us know if these things could be made possible and if not WHY NOT???
JMHO
 

Crissa

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no one's listening :unsure:
The why not is complex and yet simple. Simple, because it's an edge case use and Tesla is very slow to respond to those. Complex, in that you'd need some way to divert the power from the spinning motors so the battery doesn't overcharge or be too much rolling resistance. As well as to alert the driver of the towing vehicle of the towed vehicle's status.

-Crissa
 

AustroTom

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So what do you guys think about Rivian just having anounced that the dual motor will be flat towable? (conversation with Munro and RJ Scaringe)
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