Agreed. I do expect that my 2002 Prius can do 70 MPH up the mountain by itself, I do not expect that when I tie my 4400 lbs electric truck behind that Prius, that I can go far and fast, like the Airstream trailer that was overtaking me at 70+ MPH yesterday. But I do expect that I can pull it 2 miles on 35 MPH surface streets to get it home after its controller failed, like 2 years ago.
I bet that Tesla will give clear outline of what you can expect with towing, such as towing a bike rack or a mobility scooter and a certain size trailer. I also expect that they will allow towing to a certain weight and that the car will self-limit if you are overloading it towing up a mountain in hot weather, so you will simply see it gradually lose speed (reduce power) to self-protect. BTW, the fact that an X was spied with a tow hitch does not necessarily mean that the car will eventually have a hitch also, as it could have been used for devt purposes or field tests, but it underscores the option to install a hitch, something that has been done after-market on many vehicles that were not originally designed with this option. Cor van de Water Chief Scientist Proxim Wireless office +1 408 383 7626 Skype: cor_van_de_water XoIP +31 87 784 1130 private: cvandewater.info www.proxim.com This email message (including any attachments) contains confidential and proprietary information of Proxim Wireless Corporation. If you received this message in error, please delete it and notify the sender. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of any part of this message is prohibited. -----Original Message----- From: EV [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robert Bruninga via EV Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 11:20 AM To: Michael Ross; Electric Vehicle Discussion List Subject: Re: [EVDL] EVLN: Tesla-X Spied w/ a Tow Hitch AWD r:225mi (v) Bigness doesn't have much to do with it. Its what's between the ears. I pull BIG things with my Prius all the time (Boat and Camper) ... but not far, and not fast. I pull small things Far and fast. And I can do any mix of things as long as apply common sense and DON'T OVERLAD THE CAR. Duh... Bob -----Original Message----- From: EV [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael Ross via EV Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 1:48 PM To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List Subject: Re: [EVDL] EVLN: Tesla-X Spied w/ a Tow Hitch AWD r:225mi (v) Ben, Well we shall see. We already know they are speed limited due to thermal issues. You can't run full speed forever. I am sure you can start to pull a big load, but these are passenger cars. Not towing machines. They have to beef everything up to do serious towing service. That aluminum frame is suspect to me for heavy towing. There is a reason why cars and trucks have steel towing gear. You can likely tow a john boat, or other small, light things. You can have a cooler rack, or a bike rack. You can get a trailer hitch on a Miyata. It is even worth having, but you don't do much with it. I doubt the intent will be to pull a camper up in the mountains. There will have to be limitations. And they may come as a slow down or shut down to protect things. I like to think Tesla is not stupid enough to let people ruin a nice luxury sedan by towing anything big. We are both BS'ing. On Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Ben Goren <[email protected]> wrote: > On Apr 14, 2015, at 8:22 AM, Michael Ross via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > It is likely the Tesla cars can pull it just fine, but will probably > > overheat towing, especially on hills. Towing packages for trucks > > have > all > > manner of extra cooling gear, for transmission, oil coolers, > > oversize radiators, and so on. It is a simple application that is > > difficult in practice. > > I'd like to think that Tesla isn't stupid enough to sell an SUV with a > trailer hitch and insane power and torque...and inadequate cooling. > Their engineers have gotten everything else right; I just can't see > them overlooking something that basic. > > I'll go out on a limb: if it comes from the factory with a trailer > hitch, you can tow impossibly heavy loads all day long until the > battery runs out > -- which will take much less than all day with such a load, granted. > If they don't put the hitch on at the factory, you'd best keep your > eyes glued to the temperature gauge if you tow anything heavier than > your red Radio Flyer, though people will still be impressed with how > much they can get away with. > > b& > -- To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 585-6737 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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