Thoughts from a Towing Tesla Owner Considering the Terra

[JerryTX]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience and hopefully help the Scout team and other owners thinking about towing and range in real-life scenarios.

I’m currently driving a 2018 Tesla Model X 100D. I considered and passed on the Rivian truck a few years because at the time there wasn't a good enough charging network to support my travel needs. My thought was if I can't do the majority of what I do with an ICE vehicle then it wasn't a viable option.

I’ve used my Tesla to travel all over from the Dallas area to New Orleans, the Texas coast, as far West as Abilene, and even some remote Oklahoma lakes. Range anxiety is still very real once you get away from Superchargers.

I’ve learned to make it work: I’ve charged overnight on a regular 15A wall outlet, used Tesla destination chargers, and sometimes rented a spot at RV parks with 30–50A service.

I also fish bass tournaments, so I regularly tow my 20' aluminum bass boat (roughly 3,000lbs loaded with trailer). My normal driving range is about 270 miles (and yes, there’s still some battery left after it says zero). But towing easily cuts that down to about 100-120 miles of usable range. That’s a big deal when first cast is at 6:30 a.m. and the lake is 2–2.5 hours away. A long drive plus charging stops can really add up.

Another frustration is that many Superchargers aren’t towing-friendly. You’re often expected to unhook the trailer just to charge, whereas with a gas truck I just pull through.

I also own a larger express cabin cruiser; about 29' and 7,500 lbs. So if I want to tow it for service or to visit another lake, I have to use my Ram truck.

My hope is that the Terra could eventually cover both of these needs: a single vehicle for everyday towing plus the occasional big boat haul. The idea of a range extender sounded promising, boosting the range from 350 to 500 miles but it reduces towing capacity from 10,000lbs to 5,000lbs. Ideally you'd get 250mi of towing range which is more than double what I can expect now.

That puts folks like me in a tricky spot: do I choose more range and keep my gas truck for big jobs, or pick more towing and go back to planning around chargers?

I hope some of the Scout engineering team sees this and considers these real-world use cases as you refine the Terra.

For other owners wondering about towing, feel free to ask. Happy to share what I’ve learned from pulling boats with an EV.

 

[cyure]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience and hopefully help the Scout team and other owners thinking about towing and range in real-life scenarios.

I’m currently driving a 2018 Tesla Model X 100D. I considered and passed on the Rivian truck a few years because at the time there wasn't a good enough charging network to support my travel needs. My thought was if I can't do the majority of what I do with an ICE vehicle then it wasn't a viable option.

I’ve used my Tesla to travel all over from the Dallas area to New Orleans, the Texas coast, as far West as Abilene, and even some remote Oklahoma lakes. Range anxiety is still very real once you get away from Superchargers.

I’ve learned to make it work: I’ve charged overnight on a regular 15A wall outlet, used Tesla destination chargers, and sometimes rented a spot at RV parks with 30–50A service.

I also fish bass tournaments, so I regularly tow my 20' aluminum bass boat (roughly 3,000lbs loaded with trailer). My normal driving range is about 270 miles (and yes, there’s still some battery left after it says zero). But towing easily cuts that down to about 100-120 miles of usable range. That’s a big deal when first cast is at 6:30 a.m. and the lake is 2–2.5 hours away. A long drive plus charging stops can really add up.

Another frustration is that many Superchargers aren’t towing-friendly. You’re often expected to unhook the trailer just to charge, whereas with a gas truck I just pull through.

I also own a larger express cabin cruiser; about 29' and 7,500 lbs. So if I want to tow it for service or to visit another lake, I have to use my Ram truck.

My hope is that the Terra could eventually cover both of these needs: a single vehicle for everyday towing plus the occasional big boat haul. The idea of a range extender sounded promising, boosting the range from 350 to 500 miles but it reduces towing capacity from 10,000lbs to 5,000lbs. Ideally you'd get 250mi of towing range which is more than double what I can expect now.

That puts folks like me in a tricky spot: do I choose more range and keep my gas truck for big jobs, or pick more towing and go back to planning around chargers?

I hope some of the Scout engineering team sees this and considers these real-world use cases as you refine the Terra.

For other owners wondering about towing, feel free to ask. Happy to share what I’ve learned from pulling boats with an EV.

Welcome to the community. And the 5,000 pound towing isn’t set in stone yet. No official numbers have been released. A great follow is @Jamie@ScoutMotors he keeps us up to date from the manufacturer. Welcome again!

 

[dreamweaver]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience and hopefully help the Scout team and other owners thinking about towing and range in real-life scenarios.

I’m currently driving a 2018 Tesla Model X 100D. I considered and passed on the Rivian truck a few years because at the time there wasn't a good enough charging network to support my travel needs. My thought was if I can't do the majority of what I do with an ICE vehicle then it wasn't a viable option.

I’ve used my Tesla to travel all over from the Dallas area to New Orleans, the Texas coast, as far West as Abilene, and even some remote Oklahoma lakes. Range anxiety is still very real once you get away from Superchargers.

I’ve learned to make it work: I’ve charged overnight on a regular 15A wall outlet, used Tesla destination chargers, and sometimes rented a spot at RV parks with 30–50A service.

I also fish bass tournaments, so I regularly tow my 20' aluminum bass boat (roughly 3,000lbs loaded with trailer). My normal driving range is about 270 miles (and yes, there’s still some battery left after it says zero). But towing easily cuts that down to about 100-120 miles of usable range. That’s a big deal when first cast is at 6:30 a.m. and the lake is 2–2.5 hours away. A long drive plus charging stops can really add up.

Another frustration is that many Superchargers aren’t towing-friendly. You’re often expected to unhook the trailer just to charge, whereas with a gas truck I just pull through.

I also own a larger express cabin cruiser; about 29' and 7,500 lbs. So if I want to tow it for service or to visit another lake, I have to use my Ram truck.

My hope is that the Terra could eventually cover both of these needs: a single vehicle for everyday towing plus the occasional big boat haul. The idea of a range extender sounded promising, boosting the range from 350 to 500 miles but it reduces towing capacity from 10,000lbs to 5,000lbs. Ideally you'd get 250mi of towing range which is more than double what I can expect now.

That puts folks like me in a tricky spot: do I choose more range and keep my gas truck for big jobs, or pick more towing and go back to planning around chargers?

I hope some of the Scout engineering team sees this and considers these real-world use cases as you refine the Terra.

For other owners wondering about towing, feel free to ask. Happy to share what I’ve learned from pulling boats with an EV.

Scout. “People. Connections. Community. Authenticity." Welcome to the Scout community. Enjoy the ride.

 

[alex]

Thanks for your real-world experience. Towing with EVs still has challenges besides range. As you mentioned, the charging infrastructure wasn't designed for vehicles in tow. This seems to be slowly changing for the better as more and more stations pop up and old gas stations start to be converted, but this certainly isn't the norm yet. But I would argue this is a bigger determent than range alone. I don't mind charging at all on longer trips. But if I have disconnect a trailer each time, that would be a deal breaker.

I think the range extender version provides great promise in this regard, but if initial estimates hold steady, a 50% reduction in towing capacity would really outweigh the benefits. But as cyure mentioned, nothing is set in stone yet.

The only EV out there in America right now that can handle towing at a decent distance in the Silverado/Sierra EV. But those are in a league of their own in terms of price, size, and battery capacity.

Personally, since switching to the F150 Lightning, I have enjoyed the pure electric experience so much that I probably wouldn't go back to gas even as a range extending option. I would prefer to charge more often than deal with a "generator". But I also don't tow regularly (although I have sights on a travel trailer someday).

 

[Chuckles]

Kyle from OutofSpec is towing around 10,000 lbs with a new Rivian dual-motor from Colorado to North Carolina. He's been using various chargers: Rivian, Ionna, Tesla.

 

[J Alynn]

Keep in mind Walmart is adding tons of new chargers and they intend to offer pull through chargers wherever they can. Seems like the Ionna stations are also trying to incorporate pull through spots as well

 

[JerryTX]

Thanks for your real-world experience. Towing with EVs still has challenges besides range. As you mentioned, the charging infrastructure wasn't designed for vehicles in tow. This seems to be slowly changing for the better as more and more stations pop up and old gas stations start to be converted, but this certainly isn't the norm yet. But I would argue this is a bigger determent than range alone. I don't mind charging at all on longer trips. But if I have disconnect a trailer each time, that would be a deal breaker.

I think the range extender version provides great promise in this regard, but if initial estimates hold steady, a 50% reduction in towing capacity would really outweigh the benefits. But as cyure mentioned, nothing is set in stone yet.

The only EV out there in America right now that can handle towing at a decent distance in the Silverado/Sierra EV. But those are in a league of their own in terms of price, size, and battery capacity.

Personally, since switching to the F150 Lightning, I have enjoyed the pure electric experience so much that I probably wouldn't go back to gas even as a range extending option. I would prefer to charge more often than deal with a "generator". But I also don't tow regularly (although I have sights on a travel trailer someday).

I don’t necessarily mind stopping to charge. The challenge is that, especially when bass fishing, I have to be on the water early ... usually around 6 a.m. Many tournaments launch boats in waves and require you to check in beforehand.

So for tournaments more than 1 hour away, I often have to stop and charge for 45–60 minutes the morning of even leaving at 100% charge just to have enough range to reach the boat ramp and get back to a charger later.

A little extra range would let me sleep almost an hour longer and skip a charging stop altogether. Not to mention, unhooking and reattaching the trailer is time-consuming. With the Model X, the loops for the safety chains under the car is small and awkward to access without lying on the ground. Luckily, really early in the morning the charger lots are usually empty, so I can just parallel park.

I liked the range extender idea because, assuming a towing range about 50% lower than normal driving, having 250 miles instead of 175 really makes a big difference. It also adds certainty when moving between areas without charging options.

You’re right about the Silverado EV filling a certain market space, but in my case, about 90% of my towing needs are under 5,000 lbs. It’s that remaining 10% closer to 10k that forces me to keep an ICE vehicle today. Something like the Terra could cover 100% of my needs if the towing capacity and range are right. I’m definitely interested to see the final specs.

I know nothing is set in stone, but I think it’s helpful to share real-world use cases. Sometimes it seems like companies mostly hear from people who just want to haul a sheet of plywood from the hardware store once a year; not from folks who tow 2–3 times a month for hundreds of miles.

 

[JerryTX]

Kyle from OutofSpec is towing around 10,000 lbs with a new Rivian dual-motor from Colorado to North Carolina. He's been using various chargers: Rivian, Ionna, Tesla.

I'll check this out. I'd be curious to see some real world numbers.