Tesla Towcar

AndySwinton
AndySwinton Forum Participant Posts: 2
edited February 2020 in Towcars & Towing #1

Does anyone on here actually tow with a Tesla Electric car,  and if so what is the experience like, what kind of range do you get, how do you handle charging whilst towing etc.

I saw in the latest magazine that 1% of cars on site are either electric or hybrid, and it named the Tesla X  as one of those. 

Curious to understand what the experience is like.

We have a Leaf for running around town etc as our second car and love it, obviously can't tow with it but with the new announcement from the government today, the time when we may need to look at it has come a little closer.

Comments

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited February 2020 #2

    At the price of a Model X, even second hand, I doubt I'll ever be towing with one, irrespective of range etc

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
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    edited February 2020 #3

    "Good news for aspiring Tesla Model 3 owners: the promised official tow hitch has arrived on the Tesla site, at least in Europe. As well as being able to add a bike or ski mount to the EV, the high strength steel tow bar can pull up to 910 kilograms (2,006 pounds) of cargo.8 May 2019"

    taken from google. might be able to tow a teardrop but not much more.

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #4

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=S4W-P5aCWJs

    Presentation of the above is a little irritating but It does explain the shortcomings of current electric towcars. Especially when compared to UK internal combustion engine cars which are more efficient than the US models quoted.

    Now,  once battery energy density improves they start to make sense, let's hope that stride's are made before the ban on the internal combustion engine.

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2020 #5

    Maybe, just maybe, teardrop size caravans are the future. Yes, no doubt regulations will dictate this but it might just be the only option available to us. Some will argue this is an excellent thing. Of course other non towed options may be the way forward like static type caravans, pods and yurts. 

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
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    edited February 2020 #6

    diesel sales will be high in the early 2030's if there are any left from the manufacturers.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2020 #7

    They will be walking a very tight tightrope to ensure they are not left any UK spec vehicles in 2035,will they be hoping to cash in on last minute sales or dump them at silly low prices (i think i will be "observing" from elsewheresurprised

  • Tigi
    Tigi Forum Participant Posts: 1,038
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    edited February 2020 #8

    If you have the odd £65000 try a Merc EQC quoted towing capacity is 1800 Kgs. Solo range is around 250` but the quickest fast charging time is 40 mins and around 12 hours from a domestic socket. 

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited February 2020 #9

    Chocolate teapot springs to mind!

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited February 2020 #10

    A quick Google suggests that it takes 41 hours on a domestic supply not 12 hours, so you can only drive it every other day unless you can find a "super-charger".

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #11

     I suppose the change to electric vehicles will be similar to past transitions,  some of which have cost early adopters financially but have eventually become affordable as volume rises and costs fall. Like the transition from public transport to the motor car and even more recently from petrol to diesel. Landline to cellphone to smartphone.

    Electric cars should be cheaper to mass produce based on the number of operations and raw materials required to make the  electric machine vs the internal combustion engine. Currently batteries are built up of rechargeable cells similar to AA batteries which can't ultimately be the best way. It is primarily the energy density of the battery storage that prevents them being acceptable towcars. Optimistically one would assume progress to be made in the next 15 years, there may be good electric towcars available then but they might be expensive. Rental towcars anyone? Similar to other transitions like colour television or VHS recorders the majority of which were rented when introduced.

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #12

    In answer to the OP ( sorry above I got lost in an unusual burst  of optimism)I have heard it reported that in terms of power and stability that the Tesla model X is a good towcar the problem is range which  I have read around 100-150 miles towing depending on what is towed the route and wind conditions.

    So journeys over that distance take a bit of planning to hook up to a fast charger for an hour or so. There's is the £100K plus price tag as well. As I mentioned above, early adopters will pay a premium.

     

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2020 #13

    I read a test in a Continental caravan magazine where they described their experiences with towing a 1500kg caravan on a 1000km journey from the north of Europe across the Alps and down to Italy with a Tesla towcar. The conclusion was that it is possible, but one did need strong nerves on occasions, hoping that the outfit would make it to the next charging station. Mind you, the article was written over a year ago, so things may have improved in the meantime.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited February 2020 #14

     .... and then when there are more electric vehicles on the road you might find yourself 10th in the queue to recharge. A fortnight's holiday 'over there' will be spent queuing at various charging stations

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #15

    Perhaps wireless charging will be feasible in 15 years time maybe make the M25 into a big wireless charging pad.... my optimism surprises me today......but why do I keep thinking of trolley busesfoot-in-mouth

     

     

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
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    edited February 2020 #16

    250 miles using no lights, no heater, no wipers etc etc. and not in test facilities probably closer to 70 miles. 1800kg is still not good enough for me. £65000, wow.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited February 2020 #17

    They were before my time, but you're right. We supposedly went forward and now appear to be trying to go back to where we used to be. We used wind & water power years ago then had an industrial revolution 

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #18

    £65k for the Merc EQC  hmm about the same £ for a mid range  Merc GLE 

     

     

     

  •  viatorem
    viatorem Forum Participant Posts: 645
    edited February 2020 #19

    Yes,electric cars held the land speed record until 1900 until a useable ICE came along with cheap oil/fuel. Strange how things evolve, I wonder where electric cars would now be if we had no oil? 

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited February 2020 #20
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2020 #21

    I can remember trolley buses and trams(not so much) they were with the technology of the day far superior  with their power than todays ICE buses, it really stood out when i had some relations in Brighton going from the sea front to their house up hill most of the way and they just took it in their stride,, when they were withdrawn and diesel buses as today are used, the timetables had to be redone making for a longer journey time was and still is because of the lack of decent replacements for the trolley buses with their non existant polution levels

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited February 2020 #22

    I think the only time i saw the trolley being altered by the conductors was at some junctions,where there was not a lever to alter the ohl 

    as posted EVs today could use catenary as on the railways ,with non connected pantographs which do not need the "trolley" as with the electric "trolley" bus to be connected

  • Tigi
    Tigi Forum Participant Posts: 1,038
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    edited February 2020 #23

    This came from the Mercedes site but not exactly clear (without an in depth study) whether you need extra equipment such as a wall box to achieve this. 

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
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    edited February 2020 #24

    trolley buses, trams, have none of you ever been to Blackpool/Fleetwood. Now all cities are thinking or have got what we have never got rid off. as they say "what goes round comes around"

  • KeefySher
    KeefySher Forum Participant Posts: 1,128
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    edited February 2020 #25

    Or 'back to the future' tongue-out

  • rayjsj
    rayjsj Forum Participant Posts: 930
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    edited February 2020 #26

    God help us, if a static Caravan a Yurt or a pokey Tear drop caravan are all we are to be allowed in this Utopian 'cool planet' future ? I hope I am pushing up daisies long before it all 'Occurs' as they say in Gavin n Stacey.

    I already own my LAST motorhome as I have no intention of paying vast amounts of punitive tax to buy a new 'cleaner' one ??? surely that is 'arse about face' for encouraging cleaner vehicles ?

    My mother-in-law used to be a clippie on Trolley buses that used to run from Stonebridge Park.