First Camping trip with an A-Frame. The Lightning exceeded my expectations

[TomB985]

My camper wasn’t supposed to move until April, but this hasn’t been anything close to a normal winter. My boys have been asking to go camping since I got it last fall, so I decided to indulge them with a trip to Duluth last weekend.

We left at 100% and made covered 102 miles to the park at 60 MPH, arriving at 48%. I averaged 1.6 mi/kWh because of a moderate tailwind, which is much better than I expected at 40º. We unhooked and set up, then drove 50 miles up through Duluth and back and ended the night at 33%.

I plugged in to the 50A outlet at the campsite and charged back up to 99% overnight in about 13.5 hours. We went to the train museum in Duluth yesterday morning and plugged back in at the campsite while we had lunch, then left for home. We left at 91% and averaged only 1.4 mi/kWh without the helpful tailwind, arriving back home at 34%.

I was impressed with how well thought-out the towing experience was. The IBC doesn’t activate until I press the brake pedal, which lets me recover the trailer’s energy on regen instead of wasting it with the brakes. The truck will come all the way to a stop without ever activating the trailer brakes, but they’re instant when I touch the brake pedal. Tesla, in comparison, activates the circuit with the brake lights, so the trailer brakes activated whenever I came off the throttle. The truck also powers trailer running lights whenever the lights are set to Auto, which is something I’ve never seen before. Performance was every bit as impressive as you’d imagine with a 7,000-lb truck pulling a 2,700-lb trailer.

Overall, the truck exceeded my expectations. I traded my Model Y for the Lightning to get better towing range, and it’s gonna fit that use case nicely. We left the house with a full charge covered the entire weekend with Level 2 campsite charging. Temperatures were far from optimal, so I can plan on 180 miles of range with a worst-case 1.4 mi/kWh average at 60 MPH. Charger availability is a problem today, but Tesla’s network is expected to open in the coming weeks. I think this will work great as long as my battery problems remain in the rearview mirror.

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[Dinozero]

What camper is that

 

[TomB985]

What camper is that

It’s a 2019 Forest River A-frame, this one is a T21TBHW. LINK

Empty weight is around 2,600 lbs and it stands 68” tall when folded down. I upgraded to this trailer in September from a traditional pop-up because it was difficult for me to set up. Neurological problems ended my career and make it painful to use my hands, and this one folds up in less than five minutes.

It’s a perfect setup with the Lightning, but too tall for decent aero with the Model Y. That brought me here.

 

[Dinozero]

That’s very nice. I’m really interested in the rockwood roo travel trailers that pop out on the end.

 

[ctuan13]

That's really cool! I considered getting an Aliner A-frame camper when I was shopping for a camper, but ended up getting a NuCamp Tab 320S instead, because the solid construction and layout better suited my needs. But definitely an aero hit over something that can fold down like that!

 

[TomB985]

That's really cool! I considered getting an Aliner A-frame camper when I was shopping for a camper, but ended up getting a NuCamp Tab 320S instead, because the solid construction and layout better suited my needs. But definitely an aero hit over something that can fold down like that!

Nice! I’m curious to hear your efficiency numbers. I looked at Nucamp last year, but wanted something a bit bigger for the three of us. I thought a well-designed teardrop would be more efficient than this slab-sided A-frame despite the height difference.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

My camper wasn’t supposed to move until April, but this hasn’t been anything close to a normal winter. My boys have been asking to go camping since I got it last fall, so I decided to indulge them with a trip to Duluth last weekend.

We left at 100% and made covered 102 miles to the park at 60 MPH, arriving at 48%. I averaged 1.6 mi/kWh because of a moderate tailwind, which is much better than I expected at 40º. We unhooked and set up, then drove 50 miles up through Duluth and back and ended the night at 33%.

I plugged in to the 50A outlet at the campsite and charged back up to 99% overnight in about 13.5 hours. We went to the train museum in Duluth yesterday morning and plugged back in at the campsite while we had lunch, then left for home. We left at 91% and averaged only 1.4 mi/kWh without the helpful tailwind, arriving back home at 34%.

I was impressed with how well thought-out the towing experience was. The IBC doesn’t activate until I press the brake pedal, which lets me recover the trailer’s energy on regen instead of wasting it with the brakes. The truck will come all the way to a stop without ever activating the trailer brakes, but they’re instant when I touch the brake pedal. Tesla, in comparison, activates the circuit with the brake lights, so the trailer brakes activated whenever I came off the throttle. The truck also powers trailer running lights whenever the lights are set to Auto, which is something I’ve never seen before. Performance was every bit as impressive as you’d imagine with a 7,000-lb truck pulling a 2,700-lb trailer.

Overall, the truck exceeded my expectations. I traded my Model Y for the Lightning to get better towing range, and it’s gonna fit that use case nicely. We left the house with a full charge covered the entire weekend with Level 2 campsite charging. Temperatures were far from optimal, so I can plan on 180 miles of range with a worst-case 1.4 mi/kWh average at 60 MPH. Charger availability is a problem today, but Tesla’s network is expected to open in the coming weeks. I think this will work great as long as my battery problems remain in the rearview mirror.

We're thrilled that the Lightning has exceeded your expectations, Tom. We look forward to hearing about future road trips.

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