Question Class A maintenance - self or no?

[Voyageurs]

I noticed that this post is from last year but seems to fit me perfectly. I am in the market right now for a teardrop trailer and will be towing with an electric vehicle. I will be towing with a 2022 Tesla Model 3 LR. I’m hoping to get some information on how much it effects the range and on which teardrop trailer you decided on.

Thanks,
Bill S.

Hi Bill. We tow with a model Y. I’m not sure what the towing specs are for a model 3 but for a model Y it is 3500 pounds. We have towed a T@B400 roughly 15000 kilometres over the summer. All across Canada and all over BC. It is a towing beast with lots of power and torque. And braking is superior with regenerative braking. Even on 13 percent grades you won’t need your brake pedal.

Count on a 50 percent range loss. We typically plan on charging every couple hours. We have never done a range test from a 100 to zero percent but my guess is it would be around 240 kilometres. We tend to keep it around 90 kmh as it’s a short wheel base towing combo and that is our comfort zone. We base our charge stops around convenient charge locations and generally find ourselves stopping at least every couple hours. But we tour a lot so quite often our travel days are shorter than that anyway.

I have some trip posts in the electric vehicle section of this board. Might be worth checking out.

Here’s our little combo. Hope that helps.

 

[scottwilliam174]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I figured it would be close to 50 percent. I have the Model 3 LR which has the same tow capacity. Do you have any problems with sway?

Thanks again,
Bill Scott

 

[Voyageurs]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I figured it would be close to 50 percent. I have the Model 3 LR which has the same tow capacity. Do you have any problems with sway?

Thanks again,
Bill Scott

None at all Bill. We don’t use a WDH either. But we are experienced towers, we pay attention to balanced loading, keep our hitch weight right at 10 percent and we seldom go over 90 kph with the short wheel base combo. It really is a nice combo.

 

[JRS]

I've changed my oil and filters on the generator but being full timers hard to do much more than that. I would do the work myself if I had a home to store jack stands, etc... In 3 plus yrs of full timing I never saw anyone change their engine oil.
When the rig was six months old, I had a San Diego FL dealership grease it but later found out they missed some zerks. So I stupidly put the jacks down to be able to get under it (without using jack stands). Won't do that again... Probably should give my grease gun to one of the kids to grease my tow bar once/yr when visiting.

 

[scottwilliam174]

None at all Bill. We don’t use a WDH either. But we are experienced towers, we pay attention to balanced loading, keep our hitch weight right at 10 percent and we seldom go over 90 kph with the short wheel base combo. It really is a nice combo.

I have one more question about something I’m worried about. I just purchased a 2022 Little Guy Mini Max and I am not sure if I need a weight distribution hitch with sway bar to tow with my Model 3 LR. I was hoping to go with just a anti-sway bar itself.

 

[Voyageurs]

I have one more question about something I’m worried about. I just purchased a 2022 Little Guy Mini Max and I am not sure if I need a weight distribution hitch with sway bar to tow with my Model 3 LR. I was hoping to go with just a anti-sway bar itself.

I wouldn’t think you would need a weight distribution hitch for that trailer at all. First of all tesla recommends against it…and I think so does little guy. I think you’ll see minimal squat on the tesla. Load it properly, don’t load the hitch to more than 350 pounds and don’t pack heavy in the trunk of the model 3.

Start without and go from there. I can tell you it will be easier for you at charging stops if you don’t have to undo a weight distribution hitch every time. We don’t have to unhook much for stopping but when we do it’s a 2 minute job…literally.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ventana]

I take mine to our local Oasis Freightliner shop. In the off season (Jan, Feb) they charge $300 for an oil change and lube. Things like checking/adding Dicor on the roof and fixing broken door catches I do myself.