Towing with Tesla Model X

[thefortunes]

Yep. If im on the inside of right turn, and someone is coming at me on the outside in the opposite lane, I simply cant do it. I override every time. feels like im going to tbone them!

The standard autopilot is fine on tesla. Takes the edge off just as you say. It just keeps you in your lane. I dont think paying for the extraneous stuff is worth it.

Back when you could try FSD for 3 days I bought it for a 2800 mile, 3 day road trip.

At that time, the lane changes were WAY too slow - like a brand new driver (which I guess it was, lol).

I've been told it has gotten better to the point of being acceptable, but I agree that regular AP is enough, at least for the moment.

I use regular AP all the time. The only time I flip out of it is in construction zones where a barrel placed across the line can ruin your day.

 

[Peelz]

Back when you could try FSD for 3 days I bought it for a 2800 mile, 3 day road trip.

At that time, the lane changes were WAY too slow - like a brand new driver (which I guess it was, lol).

I've been told it has gotten better to the point of being acceptable, but I agree that regular AP is enough, at least for the moment.

I use regular AP all the time. The only time I flip out of it is in construction zones where a barrel placed across the line can ruin your day.

It's open to subscribe for a try right now. $200/month Can confirm, lane change is quick. Probably my favorite part that Ill miss when we stop paying. If I could ala carte buy that for AP, I would. I like the idea of the car helping me drive, not driving FOR ME. We tried summon in a mall parking lot once. Awesome, saved a 15 second walk. But really, a flex or parlor trick. Not worth the monthly cost.

Still has much "phantom braking" which can be a wakeup.. happened 5 times on the whole trip. Made me want to get a big sticker to stop tailgaters. "back off autopilot has a mind of its own" LOL

 

[2kwik4u]

It's open to subscribe for a try right now. $200/month Can confirm, lane change is quick. Probably my favorite part that Ill miss when we stop paying. If I could ala carte buy that for AP, I would. I like the idea of the car helping me drive, not driving FOR ME. We tried summon in a mall parking lot once. Awesome, saved a 15 second walk. But really, a flex or parlor trick. Not worth the monthly cost.

Still has much "phantom braking" which can be a wakeup.. happened 5 times on the whole trip. Made me want to get a big sticker to stop tailgaters. "back off autopilot has a mind of its own" LOL

I don't get fantom braking from the Q7, but it adheres VERY strictly to the 3 sec following distance. It's somewhat aggressive on approach speed as well. Full 80mph cruise coming up on a car at 55mph. I know it sees it, but it'll run up and stand on the brakes to maintain the minimum following distance. Unnerving the first few times.

The lane keep is VERY twitchy as well, and I don't use it at speed because of that. The LKA and Traffic Jam Assist is super awesome below 35mph though. Will hold you in the lane, and start/stop on its own. Can literally watch a video while it does the driving.

One thing I don't like, is every now and then I forget it's disengaged and have a panic moment that it's not braking for me and I'm coming up fast on something. Oh crap, it's turned off, and I intervene (like I was supposed to the whole time).

 

[Peelz]

Tesla AP and cruise you can adjust your distance on the fly with a control wheel. up to 7 car lengths.

I have more than once forgotten it was NOT engaged. lol

one of the negatives about the systems in the new car...is getting in the old car. lol Only happened once, but I did get out and leave the motor running on the Nissan

Also, cruise/AP on the tesla... find myself flipping the wipers often

 

[thefortunes]

Tesla AP and cruise you can adjust your distance on the fly with a control wheel. up to 7 car lengths.

I have more than once forgotten it was NOT engaged. lol

one of the negatives about the systems in the new car...is getting in the old car. lol Only happened once, but I did get out and leave the motor running on the Nissan

Also, cruise/AP on the tesla... find myself flipping the wipers often

One clarification - it isn't car lengths, it's a variable unit based on speed (i.e. you aren't following at one car length at 75mph).

 

[Peelz]

One clarification - it isn't car lengths, it's a variable unit based on speed (i.e. you aren't following at one car length at 75mph).

Ah thanks. Think I just assumed that one lol

 

[2kwik4u]

One clarification - it isn't car lengths, it's a variable unit based on speed (i.e. you aren't following at one car length at 75mph).

I'm pretty certain the adjustment on our Audi is in units of time. I can adjust between 1 and 5 "bars" of distance on the fly. 1bar = ~3sec following distance. 5bar = ~8sec following distance. Purely unscientific, just me counting "mississippi's" from the back of the car ahead of me to the front my my car. Would make sense as well since most of the "standards" for following distance in drviers ed classes are in "seconds of distance", and "seconds of distance" increases actual distance with speed.

Wonder if the Tesla is the same way?!?!

 

[thefortunes]

I'm pretty certain the adjustment on our Audi is in units of time. I can adjust between 1 and 5 "bars" of distance on the fly. 1bar = ~3sec following distance. 5bar = ~8sec following distance. Purely unscientific, just me counting "mississippi's" from the back of the car ahead of me to the front my my car. Would make sense as well since most of the "standards" for following distance in drviers ed classes are in "seconds of distance", and "seconds of distance" increases actual distance with speed.

Wonder if the Tesla is the same way?!?!

When I looked no one seemed to have figured it out (but it really didn't matter that much to me so I haven't looked hard for the answer).

 

[2kwik4u]

More EV towing data. Neat concept. Wonder what it would take to recharge BOTH vehicles.

Fully Electric Towing Rig & Audi e-tron Sportback Set New Record

Towing makes a big impact on range, and even the longest range EVs can't go very far while pulling a heavy load, but it appears there's now a viable solution.

insideevs-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[Peelz]

More EV towing data. Neat concept. Wonder what it would take to recharge BOTH vehicles.

Fully Electric Towing Rig & Audi e-tron Sportback Set New Record

Towing makes a big impact on range, and even the longest range EVs can't go very far while pulling a heavy load, but it appears there's now a viable solution.

insideevs-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Actually this is a very interesting solution. But, do you wanna put put electric motors underwater? I'm towing a boat not a camper lol

I had a daydream of an auxiliary battery you can attach to trailer, that charges the main one. but you'd have to stop for that one.

 

[2kwik4u]

Actually this is a very interesting solution. But, do you wanna put put electric motors underwater? I'm towing a boat not a camper lol

I had a daydream of an auxiliary battery you can attach to trailer, that charges the main one. but you'd have to stop for that one.

Oh yea, totally not a solution for trailer boaters initially. I bet we could make a submersible one, but would take awhile to get public buy in on it.

Horse trailers, Cargo trailers, campers/RV's, and a ton of other things that don't get dunked on a regular basis.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

On a work trip with my wife, not towing. But stopped at a supercharger, a bunch of places nearby but closest was a hibachi/sushi place with a lunch special any three rolls for $12. We were parked for a little less than 30 minutes, best gas/charge stop I've ever had lol.

 

[2kwik4u]

On a work trip with my wife, not towing. But stopped at a supercharger, a bunch of places nearby but closest was a hibachi/sushi place with a lunch special any three rolls for $12. We were parked for a little less than 30 minutes, best gas/charge stop I've ever had lol.

That's a cheap lunch, especially for sushi.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

That's a cheap lunch, especially for sushi.

Was even cheaper when I found out a friend used my Tesla promo code and I have free supercharging lol

 

[Peelz]

On a work trip with my wife, not towing. But stopped at a supercharger, a bunch of places nearby but closest was a hibachi/sushi place with a lunch special any three rolls for $12. We were parked for a little less than 30 minutes, best gas/charge stop I've ever had lol.

we had 14 stops on our trip. Most of them were like this. found some cool places.

 

[Peelz]

Was even cheaper when I found out a friend used my Tesla promo code and I have free supercharging lol

our free SC referral miles ranout 5 minutes into the first charger stop on the way.

lol but.. the week long drive was STILL a third what gas would have been.

 

[BlkGS]

You guys want to put a gigantic ally expensive batter on a trailer to try to offset the range issue? You know by adding that extra battery you're adding even more weight, making it so you can tow less and you're wasting more of that precious voltage on towing your battery.

You guys going long distance in these must have all the time in the world. When we go on long trips, parked time costs us big. We have systems figured out to minimize that time, so one of us is pumping gas the other is using the restroom then we switch and the dogs go out and we get our drive through food. Heck, we pick where we fill up based on how long it will take to get in and out.

The idea of sitting for even twice as long as we are for gas to get anything less than 400 miles... Just doesn't work for us. Heck, our next vehicle is probably going to have over 600 miles of range. And the best part of that all is it won't even take us any longer to get that extra range, as the majority of the time filling up is the fixed time costs of getting off the highway and to the gas station.

 

[thefortunes]

You guys want to put a gigantic ally expensive batter on a trailer to try to offset the range issue? You know by adding that extra battery you're adding even more weight, making it so you can tow less and you're wasting more of that precious voltage on towing your battery.

You guys going long distance in these must have all the time in the world. When we go on long trips, parked time costs us big. We have systems figured out to minimize that time, so one of us is pumping gas the other is using the restroom then we switch and the dogs go out and we get our drive through food. Heck, we pick where we fill up based on how long it will take to get in and out.

The idea of sitting for even twice as long as we are for gas to get anything less than 400 miles... Just doesn't work for us. Heck, our next vehicle is probably going to have over 600 miles of range. And the best part of that all is it won't even take us any longer to get that extra range, as the majority of the time filling up is the fixed time costs of getting off the highway and to the gas station.

There are times where a battery on the trailer may make sense, but in general you should only buy/have enough battery for 95% of your driving.

Regarding "having all the time in the world" and "parked time costs us big" I would have agreed until I started driving Teslas.

I/we were of the same mode - drive straight through, optimize stops, fast food only, etc...

Now we still drive straight through, but the extra 2 hours to drive to Florida allows us to arrive WAY more refreshed to the point where our first day isn't wasted because we were exhausted. We might even sit down for a meal and let the car fill (which isn't the most efficient charging strategy due to tapering of the charge).

Our last drive to Florida took right around 15.5 hours including a little over 2 hours of charging. We could've done it in around 13.5 in a gas car (assumes only 2 stops for gas and no other breaks for us or the dog). Having done both I will never go back.

 

[BlkGS]

There are times where a battery on the trailer may make sense, but in general you should only buy/have enough battery for 95% of your driving.

Regarding "having all the time in the world" and "parked time costs us big" I would have agreed until I started driving Teslas.

I/we were of the same mode - drive straight through, optimize stops, fast food only, etc...

Now we still drive straight through, but the extra 2 hours to drive to Florida allows us to arrive WAY more refreshed to the point where our first day isn't wasted because we were exhausted. We might even sit down for a meal and let the car fill (which isn't the most efficient charging strategy due to tapering of the charge).

Our last drive to Florida took right around 15.5 hours including a little over 2 hours of charging. We could've done it in around 13.5 in a gas car (assumes only 2 stops for gas and no other breaks for us or the dog). Having done both I will never go back.

For me, the longer the travel time, the worst it is. I'm not gonna be more refreshed by taking 15 hours, in fact, I'm gonna likely have to do that in 2 days, cutting my vacation time short. Right now we can make a 3 day weekend be a trip to and from NC. If it took us 2 hours extra, because we are sitting around, not a chance.

To be fair, I'm sensing a bit of an age gap. We are still young enough to pound a drive like that out. My parents split the same drive up in 2 days because they're old and it wears them out.

It just wouldn't work for my family. We would have to adapt to its limitations, and that's a non starter for us. And since our large vehicle also has to be our long range vehicle, it's a no go for us.

That said, I wish the electric makers would pull theirs heads out of their assets and make stuff that wasn't as fast and had longer range. They could make EV vehicles that did 0 to 60 in 8 or 9 seconds and people would care if it meant their battery lasted a bit longer. I don't need my family hauler to have that much torque and acceleration. I get for many buyers it's an ego thing, but for me, I'd rather have an EV that was as slow as a large slow suv, but had 1000 miles of range.

As an aside... My wife has family that stops for sit down meals on road trips. That idea is like a sin to us, lol. We would be more likely to pee in bottles like Amazon drivers than do a sit down meal on a road trip, lol.

 

[thefortunes]

For me, the longer the travel time, the worst it is. I'm not gonna be more refreshed by taking 15 hours, in fact, I'm gonna likely have to do that in 2 days, cutting my vacation time short. Right now we can make a 3 day weekend be a trip to and from NC. If it took us 2 hours extra, because we are sitting around, not a chance.

To be fair, I'm sensing a bit of an age gap. We are still young enough to pound a drive like that out. My parents split the same drive up in 2 days because they're old and it wears them out.

It just wouldn't work for my family. We would have to adapt to its limitations, and that's a non starter for us. And since our large vehicle also has to be our long range vehicle, it's a no go for us.

That said, I wish the electric makers would pull theirs heads out of their assets and make stuff that wasn't as fast and had longer range. They could make EV vehicles that did 0 to 60 in 8 or 9 seconds and people would care if it meant their battery lasted a bit longer. I don't need my family hauler to have that much torque and acceleration. I get for many buyers it's an ego thing, but for me, I'd rather have an EV that was as slow as a large slow suv, but had 1000 miles of range.

As an aside... My wife has family that stops for sit down meals on road trips. That idea is like a sin to us, lol. We would be more likely to pee in bottles like Amazon drivers than do a sit down meal on a road trip, lol.

You are assuming facts not in evidence (an "age gap"). What you are really sensing is that you haven't had any other experience so you can't compare. I've done it both ways - the time penalty is more than made up by your recovery time.

As I said, I/we drive straight through but I/we are going significantly farther than NC to FL. Next time you drive ~1100 miles straight through in less than 15 hours and arrive refreshed, let me know. I do it 6-8 times a year, only because the Tesla allows it. No way I could've done it previously and arrived ready to go.

I have also driven 1750 miles BY MYSELF in less than 36 hours (with a stop for a party and visiting, as well as a quick night of sleep). Again, wouldn't have been possible previously.

It's amazing what people don't understand until they try it.