Anyone towing with a Tesla model Y or model 3? Looking at teardrops.

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Viajeros

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Good morning all. We might be changing our RV focus and switching from the Motorhome lifestyle to a small teardrop type trailer to get us back to our roots a bit. We would welcome input on smaller tear drops. Towing with either our TESLA model 3 AWD but would consider switching to a model Y.

Thanks in advance.
 
Have you determined the Tesla's tow rating and relevant instructions in the owner manful? The obvious first step is simple arithmetic, i.e. what class of hitch can the Tesla handle and how much weight is it rated to tow.

From what I can see in various review articles, the Model 3 would seem to be limited to 2000 lbs max and a 200 lb tongue weight.  Most teardrop trailers I've looked into weigh around 1000-1200 lb empty, so there are probably some that will fit within the Tesla 3 capability.
 
Thanks for the reply.  We have.  Our numbers we have found correspond to yours.  With the model 3 it is 2000 pounds.  The hitch is actually rated for more but we'll keep the hitch weight around 200 pounds.  If we decide to go to one of the bigger units we'll have to switch to the model y which ha 3500 pound tow rating but we prefer a sports sedan to an SUV so we'll try and make it work with the model 3 first.  There are a few teardrops in that 1000 to 1400 pound area that interest us but we are hoping that some tear drop owners can chime in here and tell us about what they found important and so on.  As well anyone towing with a Tesla is welcome to chime in regardless of the model. 

Thanks again. 

 
Yah I hear ya. That?s not a concern for us as we tend to do RV touring. Travel a couple hours and stay a few days and take in the sites. The places we travel have good charging infrastructure and we tend to look for powered sites anyway. Either way it works. Heck, we used to pull a fifth behind our GMC truck that couldn?t go 250 km without a refill. LOL. :).  We?ll be fine with the limited range...and probably a fifth of the operating expense.

We have noticed that more and more of the supercharger sites and Chademo/CCS sites are putting some forethought In their layouts and into EV?s pulling trailers. Up till a year ago or so we hadn?t noticed it too much but pull thorough approach or back in with trailer is starting to show up now.  Older stations will still need an unhook though. Meh. Not a big deal with a little trailer.

This is ideal for little trailer haulers.  More Supercharger sites have a few of these stalls.  Drive in, back out.  The second one is a non Tesla fast charger but these work as well.









 

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My wife has cousins that live in Port Stanley and they tow an Aliner all over the place with it.  Yes, it takes so planing to get to charging stations, but they also drove it to Florida (US) from home last and back this spring.  They have to tow with the Tesla, the BMW X3 wouldn't start the last time through and has been at our house waiting to go home since April. 

Matt 
 
Hi Matt and thanks for the input.  We were thinking about doing cross Canada and then down the east coast of the US, across the bottom and then up the west coast.  Have to see how it goes.  We have been towing an EV toad (on a trailer) for a few years behind the motorhome so we are use to asking the campground manager if its ok to charge the car off the post.  We keep the current down so its not a big draw.  It hasn't been a problem and they are usually pretty accommodating.  It would help avoid dealing with charge stations as many aren't set up for towing a trailer.  However much of our camping will be in our province or the neighboring province.  Glad to hear they had a successful trip to Florida.  We looked at the Aliner and haven't ruled it out.  At the upper end of the weight we would pull with a model 3 but doable.  We are looking at an ASCAPE in the next couple weeks and then a TAB.  One of the tabs would work but the rest are better suited to the Model Y. 

Thanks for your input. 
 
There are tons of youtube videos on this. But bottom line Teslas dont make good yow vehicles the range isnt there yet. But im sure it will be one day. Either that or someone will get smart and develop diesel electric cars like locomotives.
 
steveblonde said:
There are tons of youtube videos on this. But bottom line Teslas dont make good yow vehicles the range isnt there yet. But im sure it will be one day. Either that or someone will get smart and develop diesel electric cars like locomotives.
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We?ll, in this case it?s towing a 1200 to 1800 pound trailer low profile trailer. So the Tesla would probably tow it as good or better than any medium sized sedan...or better.  Tesla?s don?t struggle on hills.  Range would not be an issue for us for how we camp and travel.
 
Good luck with that
You cant cross the US border
You cant camp in Sask if your from Ontario
You won't find a charge station within 500 km of Thunder Bay,Winnipeg or Saskatoon.

Range pulling a trailer with a tesla is less than 400 kms especially in northern ontario where its hilly and miles between stops. I just did Calgary to London in 4 days and 4000kms everything is still shut down

I get 600kms a tank with my diesel pulling my 5er and i carried 2 20l gerry cans just incase - and used them twice. Walmart parking lots are my best friend.And it was 1000km a day between stays


Ps i have a.fully loaded tesla suv for sale 458 kms for sale black in colour my father in law paid $157000  drove it 3 times (bought it because it was faster than him cls 55 mercedes) and then died of covid pm me if interested
 
steveblonde said:
Good luck with that
You cant cross the US border
You cant camp in Sask if your from Ontario
You won't find a charge station within 500 km of Thunder Bay,Winnipeg or Saskatoon.

Range pulling a trailer with a tesla is less than 40 kms especially in northern ontario where its hilly and miles between stops. I just did Calgary to London in 4 days and 4000kms everything is still shut down
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I think I didn?t explain myself well. We know there is no cross border travel right now. This would probably be a September 2021 or September 2022 for the around the continent tour.

You are misinformed about charge stations though. There are both Supercharger CCS and Chademo networks that cross the country. No issues there.

Re a 40 km tow range. I suspect you are confusing a model 3 with maybe a Nissan Leaf etc. Lots of model 3 drivers tow low profile tear drops and have no problem achieving 250 km with range to spare. There are a bunch of owners in our local club who are regular campers with their Tesla?s. We are in BC and it?s not an issue. If your mission is to cover a thousand kilometers a day a Tesla is the wrong choice but for your camping it?s a great fit.

Cheers.
 
Those charging stations DO NOT  cater to people pulling trailers 
Ie there is a charge station in Strathmore Alberta next one is Medicine Hat 277kms next one is More than 400kms. And if you from BC stay out of Alberta your not welcome (just like what you have done to Albertans - go home) People from BC cannot camp in Alberta
 
steveblonde said:
Those charging stations DO NOT  cater to people pulling trailers 
Ie there is a charge station in Strathmore Alberta next one is Medicine Hat 277kms next one is More than 400kms. And if you from BC stay out of Alberta your not welcome (just like what you have done to Albertans - go home) People from BC cannot camp in Alberta
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Think you might have missed the message before yours. We are not planning to travel much until post Covid. Probably 2021 or 2022.

Currently Tesla drivers pulling trailers are aware of the fact that we may have to disconnect our trailers at Superchargers or DCFC chargers. Although it?s getting better that?s the way it is right now. It?s not a big deal. These are little trailers 1200 to 1800 pounds. Just not that hard to disconnect and push around.

I think you may be using an outdated or non comprehensive database or App for finding Chademo or Tesla Superchargers. There are lots in the corridor you mentioned. I count about 32 between Thunderbay and Calgary and probably another dozen under construction that will be up before the new year. By the time we do our road trip next year or the year after there will probably be double that.

Just a heads up. BC campgrounds have lots of albertans in them.

Cheers.
 
You obviously know all the answers so why ask for opinions? 8m just giving you mine

Im telling you what i drove less than 2 months ago
 
steveblonde said:
You obviously know all the answers so why ask for opinions? 8m just giving you mine

Im telling you what i drove less than 2 months ago
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I appreciate the input. But I was looking for opinions on various tear drop trailers and of course I welcome other Tesla or other EV driver experiences.

I wouldn?t take not knowing where charge station locations are to heart. If you don?t drive an EV you probably wouldn?t know where to look or have the Apps to do it. EV?s know where charge stations are as it is part of the cars software suite.

Cheers.
 
We were in a Miata club and one of the members towed a tear drop trailer all over California. Said it was a little slow going up the mountains...

I don't remember the brand but he was able to sleep in it so I think you will do fine.
 
Arch Hoagland said:
We were in a Miata club and one of the members towed a tear drop trailer all over California. Said it was a little slow going up the mountains...

I don't remember the brand but he was able to sleep in it so I think you will do fine.
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Thanks for the reply. We both enjoyed tenting in our younger years and would like to get back to something a little more basic and easy to get into smaller places. We are not interested in going back to a tent but the small Tab with outside kitchen intrigues us. We are going to look at the slightly bigger one with bathroom in a couple weeks. Going to one with a bathroom takes us to max weight for the model 3 and frankly neither of us are sure it?s a necessity. But we?ll see. We are mid to late 50?s and my prostate isn?t what it used to be. :).  Read two or three pee breaks per night. :).

Cheers
 
Steve. Just saw your edit. Sorry to hear about your dad.

Good luck with Model X sale. Beautiful cars. Out of our budget. Recommend putting it in the Vancouver Autotrader. Hot market there.

Cheers.
 
John and Angela said:
I appreciate the input. But I was looking for opinions on various tear drop trailers and of course I welcome other Tesla or other EV driver experiences.

I wouldn?t take not knowing where charge station locations are to heart. If you don?t drive an EV you probably wouldn?t know where to look or have the Apps to do it. EV?s know where charge stations are as it is part of the cars software suite.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

So know you know what im looking for and can read my mind. How arrogant can you get - we were looking for places to charge to Tesla on the way back. What is whats planned whats pie in the sky are different things. There are brand new charging stations closed and out of business due to covid. Gas stations out of business campgrounds bankrupt BUT THE INTERNET IS 100% CORRECT

But you have all the answers i drove it
 
John and Angela said:
Steve. Just saw your edit. Sorry to hear about your dad.

Good luck with Model X sale. Beautiful cars. Out of our budget. Recommend putting it in the Vancouver Autotrader. Hot market there.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thanks we wanted to bring it back but it wont make it - so we may list it in BC and ship it to a friend of mine in Vancouver. He owns a high end dealership. We love Vancouver and would have liked to drive it there ourselves.

My father in law was a total car guy and loved the power of tesla after he got his butt kicked in his benzs lol
 
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