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codycountry View Drop Down

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Joined: 26 Jan 2014
Location: Wyo
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Posts: 168

Topic: Considering an R-Pod
Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 8:27pm

Cool,

Send me a pvt. reply future-wise if you get in YNP country and perhaps we can sit around a campfire.

cmt489

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Joined: 20 Sep 2016
Location: North Vancouver
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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 8:12pm

Since I can't seem to edit to add information, the Model X is a class 3 towing vehicle.

https://forums.tesla.com/en_CA/forum/forums/class-3-towing-capability

Edited the link so it works - techntrek

cmt489

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 8:01pm

Originally posted by codycountry

What I don't like are people who try to tow trailers with vehicles that are way too underpowered or too lightweight to handle emergency stops and the weight of the vehicle they are pulling. Undersized and underpowered tow rigs s can and do kill other people, and the drivers.

And neither do I.

What you don't know about me is that I have over 100,000 towing miles (including numerous miles in the mountains) under my belt as I used to haul a 30 ft fifth wheel horse trailer across North America in my earlier years. I know safe hauling practices and safe hauling vehicles.

I would not be considering hauling with this vehicle if it were unsafe to do so.

This vehicle is specifically designed to haul in both size and power.

codycountry View Drop Down

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 7:35pm

Yeah true ,

West Yellowstone has a charge station, Billings, Bozeman, Idaho Falls etc. so there are some around YNP. It will be like a sled dog race and feeding the sled dogs.

I don't dislike electric, I have a lot of great rechargeable tools, razor, and an electric fence around my horse pasture, and this computer ain't solar powered.

All of the trains that run around here are diesel over electric. Most folks don't know that. Lots of torque with the electric train motors.

Plug in vehicles just are not suited for now in western rural areas for vehicles, if ever. And then throw in the cold and happy camping.

The huge megawatt electric generating plants here in Wy that produce the power that you plug your Tesla into to recharge it all burn low-sulpher coal. How about that carbon footprint when you plug in here in Wy and nearby states?

I think the Tesla electric car folks are mostly gasaphobic. Or Petrophobic. Need to come up with a good term....I don't care what you drive, drive them until they drop, recharge, go forward.

What I don't like are people who try to tow trailers with vehicles that are way too underpowered or too lightweight to handle emergency stops and the weight of the vehicle they are pulling.

Undersized and underpowered tow rigs s can and do kill other people, and the drivers.

I live just outside Yellowstone so I see it all.

Still waiting for the Electra Glide tow rig, perhaps even an electric Electra Glide one.

You might want to consider a Casita. http://casitatraveltrailers.com/

cmt489

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 7:16pm

Originally posted by fwunder

Please don't get that sense. I, for one, can't wait for a capable EV. Particularly, a self driving EV. Thanks for the inspiration! BTW, I was a bit worried towing my pod across Wyoming for lack of gas stations!

fred

Thanks for that

And, for what it is worth, the Tesla X is the first EV that is specifically designed to tow and the battery packs will only get bigger. Not to mention the charging infrastructure has taken off.

And they can already self drive in limited circumstances and are working towards fully autonomous in the near future. In fact, a new update is being released today which I will be excited to try out.

fwunder

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 7:11pm

Please don't get that sense. I, for one, can't wait for a capable EV. Particularly, a self driving EV. Thanks for the inspiration! BTW, I was a bit worried towing my pod across Wyoming for lack of gas stations!

fred

2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!

cmt489

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 7:03pm

Wyoming now has 4 superchargers and another one under construction. Plus there is one right on the border in West Yellowstone. That said, I am sensing that there is a general dislike for electric by some here.

codycountry View Drop Down

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 6:48pm

I am still waiting for the day when someone writes in for advice on pulling their RPdod with an Electra Glide. It's coming, I can sense it. Star

It can be done with a Harley, no doubt, but it will significantly cut the fuel mileage and pulling hills will take first gear and some time/hours.

Wyoming, btw, has two supercharger stations, one is on I80 in Cheyenne, the other one, which was the first one in the state, is installed in the smallest county - population wise - and is on a rural state low traffic highway. In the small Cowtown deluxe, Lusk, Wy.

Doubt there is a Tesla in Lusk or within a few hundred or more hundreds of miles.

Lusk is ~350 miles east of Yellowstone/Grand Teton on the eastern Wy prairie. It is a good heartland place.

They aren't into electric cars there even with the plug ins available, and they don't make electric pickup trucks, which is what most ranchers and locals there drive.

The charger plug-in's there are probably full of dust or spider houses due to lack of use. I digress......

Kinda strange and goofy marketing is what everyone thought when Tesla put the station in there --- right after they all said "what the hell is a Tesla and why does it need to be plugged in"?

Maybe the Tesla's have a lot of torque like a train engine and are entry level towing machines?

cmt489

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 6:39pm

Originally posted by fwunder

I've been making a big batch of BBQ sauce this afternoon which requires a beer or two or three to get just right...but I just had a brilliant idea!

How about an electric assist trailer? A potentiometer on hitch measures drag and kicks in electric assist on trailer to "push" it along when needed. Electric assist could be powered from various sources - solar, battery, on board generator, dilithium crystals or Honda 2000 in back of TV.

Back to my BBQ sauce.

fred

Now there is a thought with merit!

cmt489

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Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 6:38pm

Originally posted by StephenH

Interesting blog, but they were towing an Alto. It also has a much lower profile than an R-Pod. You are welcome to try, but I think you will find that the experience on the blog would be much different if they had tried with an R-Pod or other full-height trailer. Here's a quote:"We’re back in Supercharger Country! At least for a while. Yes, Canada
can be crossed with an EV at this point, easily. Mostly thanks to the
great work of Sun Country Highway. Just bring some time. But, sorry to say, we did miss the Tesla Superchargers! Especially with
the reduced range we have, 250km (at 60km/h with trailer) instead of
400km (at 110km/h without trailer), it is important for us to have fast
charging options to top up our range in the middle of the day.I don't know about you. I would not want to drive across the country at 37 mph (equivalent of 60 km/h). Until there is adequate infrastructure to support electric vehicles and batteries that will give much more range, I do not see an EV as a viable option for use other than as a novelty.

We will be doing all of our traveling around where Superchargers are in place. What you don't know is that it is essentially an EV black hole east of Calgary and through the prairies.

As for my personal preferences for traveling, they are just that - personal preferences. Again, I am not here to get into an EV debate on this forum, but rather, to make inquiries about this travel trailer.