First Range Test Towing a Folding Trailer

A big reason that I traded my Model Y for the Lightning was towing range, so I took it on a 97-mile loop this afternoon to get some worst-case numbers. The nose of the trailer is 5’8” tall, and it was running almost empty, which is about 2,700 lbs.

Today is a windy 40º day in Minnesota, and I averaged 1.2 mi/kWh at 60 MPH for a 97-mile loop. This run took me from 90-26% SOC with an average of 60 MPH, but I sped up to 65 and 70 for the last fifteen miles. The truck says my range with this trailer at 100% is 155 miles, but I expect to do a bit better in warmer weather.

The truck handled the trailer unlike anything I’ve had before. It’s not a lot of weight, but this is the first time I had to remind myself that there was a trailer behind me. This truck rides better than almost everything else I’ve had before, and the rear end was even more settled with ~460 lbs on the tongue. This will still be a difficult rig to travel with until Tesla’s network opens up, but it should do a fine job for what I’m looking for. I’m looking forward to using the ProPower system instead of a generator, and I may take advantage of the power to set up a Starlink dish in the bed.

Ford’s app integration and charge controls are awful, but they did a nice job with trailer programming. The truck prompted me to input trailer details after connecting for the first time and gave an estimated range of 160 miles before we started moving. That edged down to 155 miles by the time I got home, but the range estimate in the cluster was dead-on after a few minutes of driving. I don’t know if the trip computer takes wind into consideration with its calculations, but that’s a big factor when planning charge stops and travel speed.

Overall, I’m impressed with how it pulled, but hope I can go further in better conditions.

I don't plan on pulling a trailer myself ...at this point.. but info like this is good to know. thanks for posting.

TomB985 said:

The nose of the trailer is 5’8” tall, and it was running almost empty, which is about 2,700 lbs.

Today is a windy 40º day in Minnesota, and I averaged 1.2 mi/kWh at 60 MPH for a 97-mile loop. This run took me from 90-26% SOC with an average of 60 MPH, but I sped up to 65 and 70 for the last fifteen miles.

This truck rides better than almost everything else I’ve had before, and the rear end was even more settled with ~460 lbs on the tongue.

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Great trip report. I think I captured your hard fact stuff but I think you may be missing one. I was sitting here trying to figure out why I was towing a bigger and heavier trailer but getting better efficiency. The weather is one factor, it's hard to tell but I think you have more aggressive tires too which may be a factor. Is that right?

Yellow Buddy said:

Great trip report. I think I captured your hard fact stuff but I think you may be missing one. I was sitting here trying to figure out why I was towing a bigger and heavier trailer but getting better efficiency. The weather is one factor, it's hard to tell but I think you have more aggressive tires too which may be a factor. Is that right?

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Maybe, these are new Destination A/T2s, which are probably less efficient than the factory rubber.

I think weather is a larger factor, though. I called this a worst-case because it was a windy 40º day, and I probably won't be pulling this when it's colder. Are you comparing with similar conditions, or are your numbers in warmer weather?

TomB985 said:

Maybe, these are new Destination A/T2s, which are probably less efficient than the factory rubber.

I think weather is a larger factor, though. I called this a worst-case because it was a windy 40º day, and I probably won't be pulling this when it's colder. Are you comparing with similar conditions, or are your numbers in warmer weather?

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I've done a bunch of pulls. Can't recall pulling around 40 but definitely around 45-47F. My pulls average 1.5mi/kWh across, as low as 1.3mi/kWh which is similar to yours and as high as 1.7mi/kWh.

They're close enough but I'm pulling a 25' Hi-Lo. 6'7" tall, 8.5' wide, and about 6000bs, 800lb on tongue and I usually pull at 70-75mph which is the surprising part. Bigger, heavier, and faster.

Yellow Buddy said:

I've done a bunch of pulls. Can't recall pulling around 40 but definitely around 45-47F. My pulls average 1.5mi/kWh across, as low as 1.3mi/kWh which is similar to yours and as high as 1.7mi/kWh.

They're close enough but I'm pulling a 25' Hi-Lo. 6'7" tall, 8.5' wide, and about 6000bs, 800lb on tongue and I usually pull at 70-75mph which is the surprising part. Bigger, heavier, and faster.

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That's really encouraging to hear! The new tires were installed as I bought the truck, and I asked for them because of the severe snow rating.

I can't imagine they're more than a few percent worse than stock, but I'll know a lot more by next spring.

TomB985 said:

That's really encouraging to hear! The new tires were installed as I bought the truck, and I asked for them because of the severe snow rating.

I can't imagine they're more than a few percent worse than stock, but I'll know a lot more by next spring.

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The spring is easy pulling. Next spring I'm going to try to hit a 200 mile pull without stopping.

Great report of your experiences!

I got 1.6 mi/kWh when I towed a trailer of lawn equipment. Every trailer will be different because you can’t fight physics.

Unfortunately, all the sensationalist YouTube videos of getting terrible efficiency towing giant box trailers (really the worst case scenario) set the narrative that the “the Lightning can’t tow!”

TomB985 said:

I don’t know if the trip computer takes wind into consideration with its calculations

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My guess is the gesso-meter looks at the number of electrons that pass the gate and look at the mileage at a given time. This will take everything (your tires, wind, elevation, …….) into account without being aware of them. The cold may be different (put in their calculation separately) since it makes those electrons a bit lazy.

If your experiment was round trip, if the wind direction did not change, it’s impact should cancel out.

Maxx said:

My guess is the gesso-meter looks at the number of electrons that pass the gate and look at the mileage at a given time. This will take everything (your tires, wind, elevation, …….) into account without being aware of them. The cold may be different (put in their calculation separately) since it makes those electrons a bit lazy.

If your experiment was round trip, if the wind direction did not change, it’s impact should cancel out.

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The GoM takes into account elevation and temperature, but I don't know if it takes into account wind. It is ultra conservative though and doesn't do a good job at adjusting once you're on the road. I've had pulls start at an estimated 100 miles of range. After driving as much as 70-80 miles it would show 60-70% remaining but display 40-50 miles remaining on the GoM.

Hopefully they'll continue to tune that, but I'm guessing they would rather tell people they have less than end up with folks being stranded with a trailer.

Maxx said:

My guess is the gesso-meter looks at the number of electrons that pass the gate and look at the mileage at a given time. This will take everything (your tires, wind, elevation, …….) into account without being aware of them. The cold may be different (put in their calculation separately) since it makes those electrons a bit lazy.

If your experiment was round trip, if the wind direction did not change, it’s impact should cancel out.

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That was my guess, but I wasn’t sure. This can be a big deal if you’re changing directions on a trip.

18 months ago, I was going from 100 miles of back roads southwest to interstate speeds northwest, directly into a strong headwind. My EV6 had no idea about wind, and my estimate was WAY too optimistic because of that. I was able to make it, but only after dropping to 60 MPH. Tesla started factoring wind last year, and it made a big difference. Their prediction is almost clairvoyant with how accurate it is, regardless of conditions. I hope Ford gets to that point.

my experience with my 9'+ tall ~3,000lb Camper, over probably 18,000 of my truck's 36,000 miles is a 1.4-1.5 m/p kwh average... although, I'll not be driving anywhere near 60-70 while towing... sometimes WIND matters, yes, and driving slower offsets that loss.. and I imagine that the same applies with temperatures... and terrain.

my last recent tow the other day was about 136 total miles, FSU Campus at Tallahassee up to west Central Georgia, without stopping, with about 5% left when arriving home....and I have a fairly severe 'last 1/4 mile' to my home's elevation, which is tedious when you are at low numbers... the 'power meter' was down to 60%. I've learned not to floor the pedal, but to GENTLY allow the truck to slowly ascend terrain when at low battery level.

Although I recognize @hturnerfamily as one of the best "experts" on this forum when it comes to towing experience, I want to add a few thoughts to the subject.

Plowing through an air mass creates both friction and drag and increases exponentially with wind speed and you have to factor in any headwind. Driving at 65 mph with a 15 mph headwind is equivalent to the force of trying to push through at 80 mph resulting in the lower miles/kW you would expect at 80 mph even though your speedometer says 65.

While moving through the air mass high pressure is created under the truck and trailer (think using a smaller hose on your air compressor) and lower pressure above because it has an escape zone to the sky. When the higher pressure reaches the rear of the vehicle it wants to rise to escape to the sky and therefore creates increased drag on the front of the trailer. So it is important to have as little space as possible between truck and trailer. This same concept is the reason having a Tonneau Cover, or the tailgate down or up debate does not matter. The air mass in the bed just sits there and does not contribute to drag.

The most aerodynamic trailer, by definition, will create the least friction loss or drag. Anything that would disrupt the flow of air going by will lower your m/kW average. Ideally you want a low, smooth underbelly, all trailer surfaces smooth and polished (think airliner) without spare tires, chunky fenders, or propane tanks sticking out. The height of the trailer ideally should be less than 77 inches (Lighting height) without bars on top disrupting the flow. And a narrower trailer will be less disruptive of air flow. Of course, nothing is perfect. But each of these negatives will affect possible range.

Aerodynamics are less of a factor at true speeds under 55 mph versus higher weight. Higher acceleration to static speed will suck down your battery, as will elevation climbing without a downhill run to recharge. Higher humidity (damp or rain) and ambient temperature out of the perfect range (65-80 deg.) are other negatives.

I am buying a small Teardrop Camper (Bean) soon and I have found very little information or videos that are helpful excepting some with the Rivian or people driving at higher speeds towing high profile or heavy rigs. So, I have to revert to basic physics.

I have had a few 1,000 mile interstate highway trips and have averaged 2.6-2.8 m/kW as longs as I stay under 60 mph and use smart driving techniques. Most of these trips have been during "perfect weather" conditions with about 1,000 lbs. onboard. Using a practical 90 kW conservative usable battery charge I hope I can get a range of 150-200 miles (1.7-2.0 m/kW) pulling my 2,000 lb. trailer. Someone tell me I am wrong. That should get me from DC charger to DC charger (even in WY).

I will not get into the problems trying to DC charge while towing. That is a subject for another post but I have some hope that with Tesla opening up to us our experiences will become less stressful next year.

Did you precondition before your trip? I wonder how much that might affect range?

Tfarrell73 said:

Did you precondition before your trip? I wonder how much that might affect range?

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Really will not make much difference except when outside temperature is very cold or very hot.