Towed camper 1,250-miles (MN to TX) using Tesla Superchargers

[bmwhitetx]

Nice report. It's been a long time but the Talimena Scenic drive over to Oklahoma was pretty amazing if I remember.

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[TomB985]

I got better efficiency than expected, so I skipped my planned stop in Van Buren and went to the Walmart in Springdale, AR. They have new Walmart-branded chargers that are complementary with the Walmart app. I think they’re rebranded ChargePoint units that are advertised at 200 kW, but they cap out at 350A. I took 100 kW in 40 minutes, which would have been over $30 at the Superchargers I’ve been using.

I made it through Kansas City this evening and stopped at a truck stop in Cameron, MO for the night. This place has two DC fast chargers, but I plugged into the slow 6 kW unit. I’m trickle charging overnight while I power the camper from the truck. I should be full around 8 AM tomorrow morning, and I save a few bucks by picking the slow charger.

 

[TomB985]

I got home tonight just before dinner time. I had a nice tailwind for the entire day, so I made better time than usual. I started driving faster when I realized I was certain to make it home, and I pulled in the driveway with 5% left. That dropped to 2% after a few minutes of over-tired trailer backing, but she's parked for the night and scheduled to charge at 9 tonight.

This was the entire return trip from Texas. I took a longer route through Arkansas, but my efficiency was a bit better than outbound:

My favorite part was the cost. I was able to charge at my buddy's house in San Antonio as well as the free charge at Walmart in Arkansas. Both campgrounds let me charge almost to 100% by the time I left, so I included them in my charge cost sheet. Total cost excluding groceries was under $445.

 

[thequackenbush]

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.

Love these photos- really useful to see you using the A27 and showing how you'd need to park to reach the charge cable in some of these locales. Hope you had fun!

 

[TomB985]

Love these photos- really useful to see you using the A27 and showing how you'd need to park to reach the charge cable in some of these locales. Hope you had fun!

It was a great time. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I had an easier time charging this than my Model Y Because of the front-mount charge port. I had to disconnect four times to charge, but I had to disconnect from the Model Y almost every time because of where the charge port was located. Much worse getting a short cable into the back corner.

 

[ditkafan1985]

What hitch did you go with for towing with the lightning? We have also been looking at the flagstaff a frame pop ups.

 

[TomB985]

I use a Weigh Safe hitch because it has a built-in tongue weight scale. I also use a basic Draw Tite 4” drop unit from time to time.

 

[TerryNelsen]

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.

That's great to hear.