What will you tow with your Cybertruck?

[TRUCKROUTEDETOUR]

I really wish someone like Tesla would come out with a Stainless Steel Camper that looks like it was made for the Cybertruck. I dont really care for the look of Airstreams Shiny Rolling Twinky.
Build a Camper with lots of Solar Panels on the roof, perhaps even as part of the Awning . So you can charge your Cybertruck While camping as well as power all your glamping needs.

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[Carlfluk]

26ft enclosed race trailer with car and various parts/crap. We're right a out 9,200 lbs loaded so the 14k on the trip motor really does solve a problem that my turd f150 roush has...namely can't take everything we need.

 

[deemo]

The TFL video is somewhat skewed, they are trying to get views. I tow a 16 ft V nose enclosed utility trailer with a Model X (looks very similar to theirs except not a horse trailer). I take the same 800 mile route with and without the trailer that has a lot of mountain passes with large climbs. I get about 380-400 Wt/Mi on route without trailer and average about 750-800 Wt/Mi with trailer. Aerodynamics and wind makes much more difference than weight. I do not see a big difference when full vs empty but wind or higher speed makes huge difference. End up charging 2x as often. The other thing is not all chargers have places to charge with trailer attached without blocking other spots. There are only a few pull in or pull through spots at most charger locations. I have yet to have to unhook to charge but have had to be creative at times.

 

[Sirfun]

I watched a video by Edmunds towing a trailer to Tahoe & back with an X. Definitely seemed like a pain on a long road trip with long stops to recharge roughly every 95 miles. One comment I found interesting. While taking off or climbing a steep grade without the engine groaning or downshifting it's hard to tell it's even having to work any harder.

 

[ajdelange]

I'll say it again. A vehicle presents several loads to its power source. Satisfying these loads requires energy which comes from petrol or a battery depending on which kind of vehicle you are operating. A trailer is a vehicle. If you add one to your car or truck the energy requirements go up, the energy store is depleted faster and you must refuel/recharge more frequently. Pulling a trailer is always a PITA from this perspective. It's ameliorated by using a longer range vehicle i.e. one with more fuel on board. An X is a 350 mile vehicle with practical range of 280 mi. A CT is a 500 mi vehicle with practical range 400. Things will be better from the refueling perspective with a CT as compared to an X but not as compared to a diesel with unburdened range of 700 or 800 miles. This is the one area in which ICE has an advantage over electric.

 

[Sirfun]

I'll say it again. A vehicle presents several loads to its power source. Satisfying these loads requires energy which comes from petrol or a battery depending on which kind of vehicle you are operating. A trailer is a vehicle. If you add one to your car or truck the energy requirements go up, the energy store is depleted faster and you must refuel/recharge more frequently. Pulling a trailer is always a PITA from this perspective. It's ameliorated by using a longer range vehicle i.e. one with more fuel on board. An X is a 350 mile vehicle with practical range of 280 mi. A CT is a 500 mi vehicle with practical range 400. Things will be better from the refueling perspective with a CT as compared to an X but not as compared to a diesel with unburdened range of 700 or 800 miles. This is the one area in which ICE has an advantage over electric.

The X in the Edmunds video was the 230 mile range. The trailer was really small. So, only driving 95 miles would confirm what you have said about towing. 1/2 or worst range. The other part of that pain is they had to charge from 14 % to about 95-100%. That takes a long time. Really confirming if your gonna tow you need all the range you can afford.

 

[TyPope]

The X in the Edmunds video was the 230 mile range. The trailer was really small. So, only driving 95 miles would confirm what you have said about towing. 1/2 or worst range. The other part of that pain is they had to charge from 14 % to about 95-100%. That takes a long time. Really confirming if your gonna tow you need all the range you can afford.

This uncertainty is one reason I went with the 500+ mile range tri-motor version... that 2.9 second 0-60 also had SOMETHING to do with it. I mean, that'll put a smile on my face every day!

 

[Carlfluk]

I have a 5 liter v8 F150 (2016) and I tow 8k regularly. My MPG's go from 13.5 normal to about 8.5 towing. I also have budgeted 50% loss of range on the cyber truck but how can it be so? You would think that the electric torque would make towing more efficient - i.e. pulling away from the lights with all that torque has got to be more efficient with electric, so is it that much more inefficient at speed? I've read the math but I don't understand why ICE loses less MPG than electric.

 

[Owner13669]

What do you plan on towing with your Cybertruck? Vote above!

I’m looking at the A2124 caravan from Montreal. It’s specifically designed for electric vehicles, lightweight and aerodynamic. https://safaricondo.com/en/travel-trailer-alto-serie-a-2124/

 

[ldjessee]

At most I will tow a utility trailer from time to time, but if the bed is long enough for my motorcycle, then I can ditch the trailer.

The big thing about trailers is they have to match the vehicle pulling it. It makes a big difference if the trailer is wider & taller than the vehicle pulling it. Also, V-nose trailers are less aerodynamic than flat trailers for most trucks, as when you have a trapped, static space, usually it fills and the passes around it better. A V-nose just creates more turbulence because it has these large gaps that do not trap air.

Probably not doing a good job of describing it...

This render of a possible 5th wheel that hugs tightly to the truck will really help aerodynamics.
Some aerodynamics software run against the old shape of the Cybertruck.

 

[Rthardison]

An F150 is not aerodynamic. You don’t lose as much aero by attaching a trailer. Tesla makes very aerodynamic vehicles. Attaching a trailer adds a lot of aerodynamic drag to a Tesla vehicle.

I have a 5 liter v8 F150 (2016) and I tow 8k regularly. My MPG's go from 13.5 normal to about 8.5 towing. I also have budgeted 50% loss of range on the cyber truck but how can it be so? You would think that the electric torque would make towing more efficient - i.e. pulling away from the lights
with all that torque has got to be more efficient with electric, so is it that much
more inefficient at speed? I've read the math but I don't understand why ICE loses less MPG than electric.

 

[Rthardison]

You will be lucky to get 150 miles range towing with the dual motor.

I want to tow a race car to a racetrack for weekend fun. I’ll probably get an enclosed trailer to lower drag. Unfortunately the track is 160 miles from my house and there are several mountains in the way so range will be tight with the dual motor.

 

[ajdelange]

I have a 5 liter v8 F150 (2016) and I tow 8k regularly. My MPG's go from 13.5 normal to about 8.5 towing. I also have budgeted 50% loss of range on the cyber truck but how can it be so? You would think that the electric torque would make towing more efficient - i.e. pulling away from the lights with all that torque has got to be more efficient with electric, so is it that much more inefficient at speed? I've read the math but I don't understand why ICE loses less MPG than electric.

It doesn't. You will use less energy (translatable into equivalen gallons if you like) in towing with an electric vehicle than you will with a petrol one.

No formulas but lets look at some numbers. Lets say you have an ICE vehicle that requires the following amounts of energy to go 1 mile

200 for inertial
200 for potential
100 for drag
1000 for Carnot losses (engine efficiency 33%)

Total: 1500

Lets say the vehicle has a 1,500,000 unit fuel store on board i.e. enough for 1000 miles.

Now add a trailer that has the following energy requirements per mile
400 for inertial
400 for potential
200 for drag
2000 for Carnot losses

Total for the Trailer: 3000

Total for the truck and trailer 4500. With a 1500000 unit fuel tank the range is
1500000/4500= 333.333 i.e. 33% of what it used to be.

Now consider an electric truck with the following energy per mile requirements

100 for inertial
100 for potential
70 for drag
0 for Carnot losses (engine efficiency near 100%)

Total 270

Though the truck weighs about the same as the ICE truck much of the inertial and potential loads are recovered through dynamic braking and it is more aerodynamic. Lets suppose the truck has a 500 mile energy store on board i.e. 135,000 units.

Now lets look at the same trailer.

200 for inertial
200 for potential
200 for drag
0 for Carnot losses

Total for the Trailer: 600

Even though the trailer weighs the same the inertial and potential loads are decreased because those energies are partly recovered by regen. Energy used to overcome drag is not recovered. Now the total for truck and trailer is 270 + 600 = 870 and, with the 135000 unit energy store the range is 135000/870 = 155.2. This is 31% of the 500 mile range of the truck with no trailer. Thus the range is reduced by a greater percentage in the BEV because

1)The BEV has less range to start with
2)Reducing the inertial and gravitational loads makes the drag losses more significant and the drag loss of the trailer relative to the vehicle is larger in the BEV than the ICE.

 

[ldjessee]

....

1)The BEV has less range to start with
2)Removing the inertial losses makes the drag losses more significant and the drag loss of the trailer relative to the vehicle is larger in the BEV than the ICE.

Which is why I think having a more aerodynamic trailer that fits as much as possible in the 'wake' of the tow vehicle will greatly improve range for EV trucks, but some for ICE trucks as well.

 

[Owner13669]

Which is why I think having a more aerodynamic trailer that fits as much as possible in the 'wake' of the tow vehicle will greatly improve range for EV trucks, but some for ICE trucks as well.

One of the RV mags tested a small blocky travel trailer, vs a Keystone Bullet Trailer that was much bigger and heavier. It was around 12% cheaper to tow the bullet. All In the aerodynamics