Electric tongue jacks are worth the weight. I can’t imagine not having mine. They are pretty lightweight and can be relatively inexpensive. I believe mine was around $100.
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steilkurve
Member
Ok. Will follow your advice. Do the ball offset limitations disappear with the Draw-Tite you think? Could offset upwards more than 3/4 of an inch?
steilkurve
Member
It is done! @ohmman and @ecarfan you have convinced me. My AS dealer recoed a hitch installer who got me the Draw-Tite and installed it in less than 24 hrs, in time for my trailer delivery Friday. Had I more time, I would have done it myself. I’m happy with their work, expect perhaps for how they over cut the diffuser. Asked them to patch it up. I may also put the 7-pin connector door on the left. See photos. Love how discrete and tucked in it is. More importantly, I’ve got Bosal stress gone. As per my question above, is the no offset requirement still important now that I am not using the Bosal? Thanks both for your advice. Much appreciated.
Attachments
The extremely stringent offset limitations of the Bosal are removed but you should still obey normal offset parameters. The install looks good. One thing I’ll say: the 7 pin adapter plug is easier to locate and plug in if it is reversed or turned 90 degrees from your installation (if I’m seeing it correctly). It might be hard to reach past the open door to get the plug inserted.
I like the way the safety chain attachments are easily accessible, as is the plug, and the fact that the bumper cover piece can remain in place. Now I have Draw-Tite hitch envy.
@ohmman do you know if the Draw-Tite hitch receiver is the same height off the ground as the Bosal?
steilkurve
Member
I like the way the safety chain attachments are easily accessible, as is the plug, and the fact that the bumper cover piece can remain in place. Now I have Draw-Tite hitch envy.
@ohmman do you know if the Draw-Tite hitch receiver is the same height off the ground as the Bosal?
In a separate thread, I think @ohmman as determined it sits slightly lower. You wouldn’t say that looking at the photos as it doesn’t stick out as much but it is lower by a quarter of an inch or two I believe.
steilkurve
Member
Took possession of our Airstream Bambi 22’ today. Quite exciting. Drove from the dealer to a provincial park not too far from the city for a first camping trip. In the excitement and frenzy to get ready having just come back from a business trip, I forgot to inflate my tires to 45 so the following numbers may not be completely accurate but here’s what I got:
Mix of highway and regular roads: 368 wh/km (228 wh/mi?)
Highway at speeds between 50 and 60 410 wh/km (254 wh/mi?)
I basically consumed twice the distance travelled.
Note there was a strong headwind.
Will report back after driving home with inflated tires and normally in that direction wind in my back.
Note I didn’t travel far so the numbers above are not the greatest average.
Congratulations on your new trailer! How did the X feel while towing. Did you use weight distribution?
There is no way that your Wh/mi numbers could be that low, even if you weren’t towing. There are 1.6km/mi
Congratulations. I'm glad you were able to get it out for an inaugural camping trip.
You inverted the conversion factor to fool's units (Imperial)
To do it, just multiply by 1.61:368Wh/km = 592Wh/mi
410Wh/km = 660Wh/mi
Not bad, slightly more than I consume at those speeds but certainly manageable!
steilkurve
Member
No WD. Car was a bit wobbly but I suspect that’s partly because the tires were under inflated and I did not balance the trailer (short ride, in a hurry). It also wasn’t terribly worse than when I towed a rented Sport 22. I plan on inflating the tires properly and spending some time with my Haul Gauge to distribute the weight a bit better before the ride home.
Longer term, I may look at the Hensley Cub for sway control mostly, though the draw back is added tongue weight.
And yes, my numbers were off. Math was never my strong suit. ;-) @ohmman corrected them.
steilkurve
Member
Congratulations. I'm glad you were able to get it out for an inaugural camping trip.
You inverted the conversion factor to fool's units (Imperial)
368Wh/km = 592Wh/mi
410Wh/km = 660Wh/mi
Not bad, slightly more than I consume at those speeds but certainly manageable!
Congratulations. I'm glad you were able to get it out for an inaugural camping trip.
You inverted the conversion factor to fool's units (Imperial)
368Wh/km = 592Wh/mi
410Wh/km = 660Wh/mi
Not bad, slightly more than I consume at those speeds but certainly manageable!
lol
Cleary didn’t think this one through.
How could miles consumption be lower given it’s a longer distance. Thanks for the help with conversion!
And thanks for the advice on the Draw-Tite. In hindsight, it would have been an ongoing stress towing a trailer of that weight with that removable receiver.
steilkurve
Member
So first weekend camping trip with our new Bambi 22’ is completed. Ride back saw no headwinds and barely any wind for that matter. Dry, flat road. Tires inflated at 45. Slight better performance:
639wh/mi driving between 50 and 65 so faster than on the way there.
Spent time balancing the rig with Haul Gauge. Quite happy with the device. Should have taken screen grabs but the app gives you the weight variances from a level rig in pounds at the back of the trailer, hitch and front of car. First read had hitch at 590 with too light of a frunk and back of trailer. Moved a number items to the Bambi’s closet and the frunk. Got the hitch to slightly below 500. Will play with it some more. I don’t expect haul gauge to be perfect but it’s certainly a helpful tool to balance the rig and it certainly felt more stable on the way back. Think I can do better though. Will fiddle with it some more on the next outing.
Will also look more at ProRide @ohmman. Didn’t realize this was the Henley’s Cub inventor’s new creation. Didn’t feel my rig was out of control but I now appreciate that I may want more stability and predictability of handling on longer trips.
With that high a Wh/mi value I suspect most of your trip was much closer to 65 than 50. The difference in Wh/mi numbers between going a steady 50 (or even 55) and a steady 65 is significant. Try it for yourself sometime to see. It will make you appreciate how much you can extend your towing range by going slower.
Thanks for the report on the Haul Gauge.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
steilkurve
Member
For sure. Had plenty of range for the short distance so leaned in. Only slowed down when required for safety.
New to towing but been driving Teslas since 2015 on many road trips. Slowing down has made me stretch the battery to reach a destination without stopping quite a few times!
steilkurve
Member
I am eagerly awaiting reports about this exact topic.
And what in Raven’s suspension would help, out of curiosity?
Nothing about the suspension (though I'll be interested in how that compares as well). My curiosity is more about the motor efficiency, which is responsible for the increased range on an untethered X. How does that efficiency translate when there's a load behind the vehicle? Will the penalty still be the same, will it be worse/better, etc?
It's easier to estimate these things when the pack capacity is increased. But when it's a motor efficiency, it's hard to know if it's just optimized for standard consumption levels and will be lost at the higher consumptions we experience when towing.
steilkurve
Member
Got it.
On another note, I’m on a second weekend trip with our new Bambi 22’. Better efficiency this time around.
@ecarfan, I drove at 55 mph pretty much all the way ad you suggested. Again, flat, dry road. No wind. 552 wh/mi for the whole trip including city, some small climbs near the campground and highway. 529 wh/mi when I just look at highway driving. Used cruise control which likely helped... Lost 43% of range. I almost don’t believe those numbers! Too good to be true.
Short distance again. Our next trip should be more substantial and in the mountains.
Slowly but surely, I’m for following all @ohmman advice. ;-)
After installing the Draw-Tite, I now think WD/Sway control may be required. I’ve not encountered scary sway situations yet, but I do find the rig a tad wobbly at times, like when hitting uneven pavement at highway speeds. I can probably still improve weight balancing but I don’t think that’ll rid me of all.
@ohmman, Propride seems interesting though tongue weight is a concern. An 275 lbs or thereabouts. Do you believe the suggestion that all that extra weight gets distributed to the trailer and car, relieving pressure on the tongue?
Yes, when towing, slow is good. Yesterday I did a 91 mile towing trip including a steep climb and descent over about 10 miles, max speed 55 with the steep climb/descent at 45-50mph and I averaged 503Wh/mi for the trip.
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