TomB985
Well-known member
- First Name
- Tom
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2023
- Threads
- 17
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 762
- Location
- Isanti, MN
- Vehicles
- 2022 Lightning XLT ER
- Thread starter
- #1
I just finished a 1,250-mile trip towing my camper from Minneapolis to San Antonio. This is the first time towing longer distances with my Lightning, and I powered most of the trip with Tesla’s Supercharger network. The truck was fantastic; this was the easiest long-distance tow I’ve ever done.
I traded my Model Y for the Lightning after getting my A-Frame camper last October. I had previously towed a shorter popup camper, but the aero penalty with the new camper was too much to get more than 120 miles of range to a full charge. That meant closer to 100 miles in practice because of how long it took to charge above 90%, and then having to disconnect to charge from the rear-mounted charge port. The car did a great job with power, handling, and braking, but it needed longer legs.
My Lightning is about 10% less efficient than my Model Y with the trailer, but the battery is almost twice the size, so I was able to get 160-180 miles of range at 60 MPH. I saw between 1.6-1.2 mi/kWh at 60 MPH with strong headwinds and tailwinds, but it seemed to average around 1.4. Charge stops take a bit longer than the Model Y, but the increased capacity meant I wasn’t charging to 95% as often, so I spent less overall time charging. This was the first trip I’ve done without any charging issues to speak of. Tesla’s Superchargers were fantastic as always, and the handful of third-party units worked perfectly. I had to disconnect twice to avoid blocking small parking lots with my camper, but it was a huge improvement to have a front-mounted charge port.
My favorite feature of the Lightning is the Pro Power Onboard outlets in the bed, which gives me 7.2 kW of power from 120v and 240v outlets next to the tailgate. I was able to plug my camper into the truck and run the A/C, microwave, and refrigerator without firing up a noisy gasoline generator. I lost about 10% powering the camper overnight, which is cheaper than a couple gallons of gas.
I bought my Lightning because I wanted to be able to tow my camper longer distances with the reliability of Tesla’s charging network. I’ll be heading home later this week, and I expect the return trip will go just as well.
I traded my Model Y for the Lightning after getting my A-Frame camper last October. I had previously towed a shorter popup camper, but the aero penalty with the new camper was too much to get more than 120 miles of range to a full charge. That meant closer to 100 miles in practice because of how long it took to charge above 90%, and then having to disconnect to charge from the rear-mounted charge port. The car did a great job with power, handling, and braking, but it needed longer legs.
My Lightning is about 10% less efficient than my Model Y with the trailer, but the battery is almost twice the size, so I was able to get 160-180 miles of range at 60 MPH. I saw between 1.6-1.2 mi/kWh at 60 MPH with strong headwinds and tailwinds, but it seemed to average around 1.4. Charge stops take a bit longer than the Model Y, but the increased capacity meant I wasn’t charging to 95% as often, so I spent less overall time charging. This was the first trip I’ve done without any charging issues to speak of. Tesla’s Superchargers were fantastic as always, and the handful of third-party units worked perfectly. I had to disconnect twice to avoid blocking small parking lots with my camper, but it was a huge improvement to have a front-mounted charge port.
My favorite feature of the Lightning is the Pro Power Onboard outlets in the bed, which gives me 7.2 kW of power from 120v and 240v outlets next to the tailgate. I was able to plug my camper into the truck and run the A/C, microwave, and refrigerator without firing up a noisy gasoline generator. I lost about 10% powering the camper overnight, which is cheaper than a couple gallons of gas.
I bought my Lightning because I wanted to be able to tow my camper longer distances with the reliability of Tesla’s charging network. I’ll be heading home later this week, and I expect the return trip will go just as well.
