Miserable Towing Experience - NEED HELP! (Updated)

[langenbahn]

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.

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[SSonnentag]

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.

 

[Speedr]

Aerodynamics play a huge role. Do you have a picture of your setup? Did the boat have a cover on when towing?

Also, the range extender is being made for this specific reason...

 

[Speedr]

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.

Yeah, and your total trip time will actually be LESS than going faster and having to charge more/longer.

 

[langenbahn]

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.

Aerodynamics play a huge role. Do you have a picture of your setup? Did the boat have a cover on when towing?

Also, the range extender is being made for this specific reason...

 

[langenbahn]

Just posted a picture of my setup. I am actually heading back down to Marathon in about 30 days from now. I will try to pull at 55-60 MPH but this is Florida and the closer you get to Miami the crazier the drivers become. How about the height settings?

 

[CyberGus]

You're basically towing a parachute lol

 

[SSonnentag]

I would run at the default height. I doubt it will make much difference vs forcing it into a low setting. It's too bad that captains "cabin" doesn't fold down.

 

[langenbahn]

Like I said, it is certainly doable for the amount of long hauling we do. Plus the roomy back seat makes the time pass more enjoyably...

 

[Ivessm]

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.

 

[SCTesla]

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

 

[HaulingAss]

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.

Did you follow the towing recomendations in the Cybertruck's Owners Manual to always increase tire pressures to 65 psi on all four tires before towing a trailer?

Also, it's possible the trailer braking system is not very well suited to an EV or you may have had the trailer brake settings wrong on the Cybertruck. Either one of these two things can be a very big deal and consume a lot of energy without any obvious symptoms other than poor efficiency.

 

[Ljhughes8]

maybe a cover would make it more aerodynamic

 

[HaulingAss]

I would run at the default height. I doubt it will make much difference vs forcing it into a low setting. It's too bad that captains "cabin" doesn't fold down.

The default height is the lowest driving setting.

 

[Gaximus]

Set your cruise control to 50mph, stay in the far right lane, ignore the middle fingers, and see what your average w/h and range is after 30 minutes. If you see a huge improvement and it’s worth the sacrifice, continue.

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