Max Tow Load Question

[langenbahn]

I have a Foundation Edition dual motor Cybertruck. I can see that the max tow rating is 11,000. I am considering purchasing a 28 foot twin engine center console boat. The boat with the trailer will total about 11,000 which is the max rating for my vehicle. Is this an issue? Traditionall, I only tow local which is about 5 miles round trip. I do not anticipate that being an issue. However, several times per year I tow about 450 miles down to the Florida Keys. Just wanting some input from individuals with real world towing experience for towing something which is 11,000 pounds. Currently, I have a 25 foot center console with a single motor which is about 7,500 pounds in total. When towing, I cannot tell I'm towing anything at all.

Thoughts?

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[JCERRN]

Lots of factors to consider when towing near max capacity.
Balance of load is key. With a load that heavy consider weight distro. Everyone says a well balanced load with a CT is barely detectible while towing.

wear and tear is another. If you will constantly be towing 11k, just remember- aluminum fails, not deforms. Of course all the testing was done to meet industry standards.

 

[2025CTAWD]

I have a Foundation Edition dual motor Cybertruck. I can see that the max tow rating is 11,000. I am considering purchasing a 28 foot twin engine center console boat. The boat with the trailer will total about 11,000 which is the max rating for my vehicle. Is this an issue? Traditionall, I only tow local which is about 5 miles round trip. I do not anticipate that being an issue. However, several times per year I tow about 450 miles down to the Florida Keys. Just wanting some input from individuals with real world towing experience for towing something which is 11,000 pounds. Currently, I have a 25 foot center console with a single motor which is about 7,500 pounds in total. When towing, I cannot tell I'm towing anything at all.

Thoughts?

Around town on those 5 miles stints you should be fine. Long Haul, I personally wouldn’t do it. I’ve towed a ton in my life. I used to own a Yamaha 26 foot dual motor jet boat. ATVs etc. I like to stay 20% ish or so under from max towing capacity. Is the weight you posted with fuel or without fuel? Cause that boat probably holds 100 gallons if not more. Maybe tow with the tanks empty and fill up in the keys.

 

[HaulingAss]

Towing near the published limits requires a more accurate idea of trailer weight, boat weight and tongue weights than you may be able to get from manufactures specs. Boats can vary in weight from the specs by a shocking amount (the published weight is generally on the light side) due to variances in fiberglass thickness, resin content, added accessories, residual fuel and water, life jackets and other safety gear, etc. Trailers can vary in weight too. You will need an accurate tongue weight and have to be aware of changes in tongue weight due to slightly different positioning on the trailer or changes in the fore/aft weight balance of the boat.

I would use the OEM All Terrain tires for towing at the limit for their extra durability and pressure capability (remember to air up to 65 psi) I don't know if the All-Seasons have the same towing capacity, I know they have a lower payload capacity.

If this were a legacy pickup I would say don't tow at the limit, it's too dependent upon everything being ideal. But the Cybertruck has a lot more leeway in terms of stability and trailer sway when loaded to the limit due to the much more rigid chassis. Just don't do it if you're not willing to put in the effort to do it right (or not willing to deal with the hassle of charging for your longer trips).

You have to consider the weight after a trip, with some fuel remaining and any weight added by rain. You would need to be diligent about draining bilges, live bait wells, etc. so you don't go overweight due to laziness. Yes, it would probably handle being a bit overweight, but I wouldn't do it just for peace of mind.

A well balanced boat/trailer setup would be a pleasure to tow with the Cybertruck as long as you don't mind charging every 100 miles or so. At the boat launches you use, can you launch it without dunking the hitch receiver in the salt water? You don't want the bolts holding it all together to start rusting out! Some periodic spraying with a corrosion inhibitor and rinsing with fresh water following usage would be a good plan.

 

[mongo]

I would use the OEM All Terrain tires for towing at the limit for their extra durability and pressure capability (remember to air up to 65 psi) I don't know if the All-Seasons have the same towing capacity, I know they have a lower payload capacity.

Yeah, All season are lower capacity. However, starting with AWD vs Beast gets a leg up on capacity to start with.
AWD:
Payload AS: 2,200 AT: 2,500
GAWR rear: AS: 5,009 AT: 5,257
Curb: AS: 3,347 AT: 3,364
Rear payload: AS: 1,662, AT: 1,893

I have a Foundation Edition dual motor Cybertruck. I can see that the max tow rating is 11,000. I am considering purchasing a 28 foot twin engine center console boat. The boat with the trailer will total about 11,000 which is the max rating for my vehicle. Is this an issue? Traditionall, I only tow local which is about 5 miles round trip. I do not anticipate that being an issue. However, several times per year I tow about 450 miles down to the Florida Keys. Just wanting some input from individuals with real world towing experience for towing something which is 11,000 pounds. Currently, I have a 25 foot center console with a single motor which is about 7,500 pounds in total. When towing, I cannot tell I'm towing anything at all.

Thoughts?

Tow ball is only supposed to be 7.3 inches from the pin and tongue weight max is 1,100. When calculating remaining rear axle payload be sure to include the shift from front axle to rear unless using a weight-distributing hitch.
Ball to rear axle: 49
Rear axle to front axle : 143
So 1,100 pounds shifts 1100*49/143 = 377 pounds
So you end up with 1,477 on the rear axle and 377 pounds less on the front (time to put that frunk to use).
With all seasons, you only have 215 pounds of rated capacity left.
All terrains get you 446.

 

[Pops]

I would plan for 5 charge stops on your 450 miles trip. I have a 24' enclosed trailer and I was getting around 1.2 kWh consumption rate, which I believe will be a near worst case scenario. There are a few YouTube videos out there that show weight has less impact on range than aero resistance.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

What Mongo said!

I am currently towing 9,500-pounds just fine. I am upgrading to an identical model, but 20-year newer boat (World Cat 265DCX) next month that has bigger motors so will come in at close to 11,000 pounds, even with a new aluminum trailer replacing my old galvanized unit.

A few observations:

First: My max range with this tall rig is 110 miles, so effective working range is 90 miles. I expect that may worsen with the new boat. I still plan on trying to tow it from Maryland to Florida, but it may require 10 more hours compared to my F-350 diesel, and a tight sphincter from my wife's range anxiety.

Second: Spend the money to get brakes on two trailer axles. I switched mine out to electric-over-hydraulic for several reasons, but that's expensive (a $12k conversion for two axles). The primary reason for me was switching to a weight-equalizing hitch, but i also adds more control over how the weight is handled when empty vs loaded, the amount of fuel on teh boat, etc.

Third: Weight equalizing hitch - this is nearly unheard of in the trailer boating world, but is standard for towable campers. It solves a lot of weight distirbution issues that are camouflaged by the air suspension. Mongo mentions the 7" hitch-to-ball distance limit, which this violates, but I think it adds a level of safety, and using Ford's specifications, nearly doubles the hitch weight rating (at least on every Ford pickup truck).

Lastly, you will be at max payload with 11,000 pounds of trailer - that's assuming a 200-lb driver. No other luggage or people, or you will be over. I may or may not have to exceed that myself by a few hundred pounds with the incoming boat/trailer.

 

[mongo]

Mongo mentions the 7" hitch-to-ball distance limit, which this violates, but I think it adds a level of safety, and using Ford's specifications, nearly doubles the hitch weight rating (at least on every Ford pickup truck)

The 7.3 is only applicable to standard hitches. Weight distribution ones operate under a completely different loading configuration. Sadly, Tesla has given zero guidance on that even though they used WD in testing.

Lastly, you will be at max payload with 11,000 pounds of trailer - that's assuming a 200-lb driver. No other luggage or people, or you will be over. I may or may not have to exceed that myself by a few hundred pounds with the incoming boat/trailer.

It's not quite that bad. With AWD AT and a 11k trailer with 1.1k tongue, the truck sits empty with 466 pounds of rear axle capacity and a whopping 1,287 available on the front. Also, 1,400 left under GVWR.
Front seats are at around 60 inches from the front axle, 83 from the rear so roughly 60% of front row goes to front axle and 40% to rear.
That gets you 1,146 of front seat capacity .

The frunk is rated to 441 pounds which will unload the rear axle by ~60 pounds (so 501 pounds front axle). That puts it at 526 rear, 786 front, 959 GVWR headroom which allows for 959 pounds in the front seats.

Of course, this is based off standard values and my measurements. A certified scale is a good first stop to get the real front, rear, and combined weights before additional people and cargo (and after too).

 

[PungoteagueDave]

The 7.3 is only applicable to standard hitches. Weight distribution ones operate under a completely different loading configuration. Sadly, Tesla has given zero guidance on that even though they used WD in testing.


It's not quite that bad. With AWD AT and a 11k trailer with 1.1k tongue, the truck sits empty with 466 pounds of rear axle capacity and a whopping 1,287 available on the front. Also, 1,400 left under GVWR.
Front seats are at around 60 inches from the front axle, 83 from the rear so roughly 60% of front row goes to front axle and 40% to rear.
That gets you 1,146 of front seat capacity .

The frunk is rated to 441 pounds which will unload the rear axle by ~60 pounds (so 501 pounds front axle). That puts it at 526 rear, 786 front, 959 GVWR headroom which allows for 959 pounds in the front seats.

Of course, this is based off standard values and my measurements. A certified scale is a good first stop to get the real front, rear, and combined weights before additional people and cargo (and after too).

My first stop with any new trailer is the CAT scales. It is nearly impossible to know a load correctly without actually weighing it after loading, especially with air suspension, which distorts everything, can lead to exactly the wrong conclusion. I also use a weigh-safe ball hitch for initial setup before installing the weight distribution hitch, just to know actual hitch ball pressure. I’m anal about trailering specs, have seen lots of disasters in remote places like Alaska and Siberia as a result of ignoring the physics.

I once saw a towed RV trailer tongue dig a trench for about ten feet in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, after a hitch weld failure. YouTube is full of trailering fails, and given I do over 10k per year of towing with nine different toy and farm setups, with each having unique braking and hitch characteristics (three different ball sizes, of course), I still make plenty of mistakes, some unintentional, and am willing to slightly skirt specs into the engineering cushion, but am aware of legal liability assumption, so stay within specs on highways

As you point out, Tesla provides no specs for towing with weight distribution hitches, and I’m pretty sure it pushes downward leverage rearward, although am aware of your opinion to the contrary. Bottom line is we don’t know for sure and we do have the whistling diesel images seared into our brains, regardless of how contrived that ‘test’ was. In any case, I’ve decided to upgrade to Weigh Safe’s combined scale and weight distribution system for the new boat, and take my chances on the ball position question. It’s only money, right?

 

[langenbahn]

Around town on those 5 miles stints you should be fine. Long Haul, I personally wouldn’t do it. I’ve towed a ton in my life. I used to own a Yamaha 26 foot dual motor jet boat. ATVs etc. I like to stay 20% ish or so under from max towing capacity. Is the weight you posted with fuel or without fuel? Cause that boat probably holds 100 gallons if not more. Maybe tow with the tanks empty and fill up in the keys.

Actually holds 230 gallons. I typically tow to the Keys near empty. I'm just concerned with being so close to the max capacity.

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