Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
The topic of the thread is why Tesla's are bad at towing, and the conclusion is that batteries suck and need to get better, much better.
I expanded the topic by mentioning it's not just energy capacity that matters, but how quickly it can be replenished. If it could be replenished very quickly, it matters less how big the "tank" is.
The point of a trailer isn't to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible, but to haul the intended cargo in a given footprint and weight rating. There's no "solution", only trade-offs.
The reason trailers don't have regen is because only 3% of vehicles are EV in the first place, and they already have regen built in. Redundantly adding it to a trailer adds weight, complexity and cost. It's not that it hasn't been thought of already, it's that people thought about it and then realized it was dumb.
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I agree, no matter how many watts you stuff into a battery the lmitation is currently how fast you can stuff in those watts. Towing X trailer at T speed is going to use a set amount of watts. Then to put those watts back in is going to take time limited by the voltage an amps you can put through the cables, the BMS, the bus bars, into the cells, etc.
I think what many don't realize is how inefficient towing a standard trailer is. So sure we can triple or quadruple the price of a standard trailer to make it more efficient, it still will always be a drag. I guess people paying $100,000 for a EV pickup have $100,000 more for their camper, but damn, $200,000 buys a lot of nights in a hotel or VRBO.
Maybe a solution would be to fill the campgrounds with permanent tiny homes that people rent. Still my preferred camping is boondocking outside of campgrounds off the grid.
I do look forward to camper manufacturing starting to concentrate on aerodynamics to help solve the EV towing problem. That will help even those who still choose to tow with gas or diesel. Because refilling 200 miles of range with an ICE towing a big box takes 5 minutes, so it's not the time but the cost that is the problem. Getting you to Yellowstone park on 1/2 the money is good, but not if you have to spend 1/2 your precious vacation time off sitting at a charger.