Towing Camper with Model S 85D?

[2022S-LR]

I plan to tow a 3500 lbs Travel trailer with the eco hitch for the refreshed model S , Torklift Central manufacture they rate the hitch at 4,000 lbs . I haven’t installed the hitch yet, plan to install myself , and need a brake controller , I just don’t see if there is enough room to add the 7 pin RV plug next to hitch receiver.

I have an older pacific trailer, dual axle with bunks. What are you thinking of towing?

I have the bushwhacker 10HD and i gotta say its a great trailer and its cheap ($12k average) but it has a lack of QC but the bones are great and if you like to DIY renovations and such its a great camper. I completely ripped out my galley and remolded it before i even camped in it one night. the next cheapest will be like a T@G but those things are $20k-35k.
I got the torklift hitch and its 4k lbs and my tongue weight is 300lbs and the trailer is about 2100lbs i installed it myself in an afternoon its really quite easy. One thing i did do recently is add a link to the chain holes because they are so far up there its annoying to get them on and off quickly when i need to drop the trailer at a SC. So i got a 1/2" quick connect link and a 3/8" D-ring shackle. This makes the chain slots at bumper level and much easier to hook the chains to. And yeah its safe 3/8" d ring is rated at 2200lbs and breaking strength of 8300lbs which is within spec for towing shackles for my trailer.

As i said previously testing the wh/mi is important after you get one. I finally finished all my mods including the outside and i took it for a road test at 65 mph and i am at 580 wh/mi average while towing at 65 mph which is my number i use for ABRP. However, when I'm traveling and going camping i don't exceed 60 mph to allow for more range, (although i didn't pay attention to what the wh/mi was at 60 because it doesn't matter when i have the data for 65 mph). And just to keep people from getting too angry when i tow outside CA i got a sticker that looks like something from the factory that says "trailer not manufactured to exceed 60 MPH" that i put on the rear of the trailer.

Hey Airborne , would you have a picture of the link you added to the chain hole , I am about to add the same Torklift hitch to my MS LR refresh . Because my trailer weighs 3500 lbs , I am looking to add 7 pin connector with brake controller too . Anyone have experience with adding brake wiring , especially the newer teslas with 15v or 16v batteries

 

[2022S-LR]

@Stotts and @airborne spoon :
I would really appreciate you keeping me updated as you do trips and possibly keep track of the wh/mile efficiency using the MS. I know the 2 huge factors for towing are weight and aerodynamics. My Tesla is a 2018 MS 100D. I am having U-haul add the hitch which they say is rated to 4000 lbs, but I know I will not want to stress the frame of the car, I want a trailer with a bathroom, and want good range towing (I know that is relative). So I have been scouring the offerings of trailers for under 2000 lbs dry weight, and somewhat aero design. This significantly limits the possible options for trailers!
I have my eyes set on a Rove Lite which meets these conditions and would hope that at a speed of 55-60, I may get the 600 Wh/mile that I've seen is possibly optimistic. It's weight is about 1800 dry, tongue weight under 200 lbs, it has a bathroom, is only 6.5' wide with wider wheelbase (very stable) and somewhat aero. It has brakes and so U-haul is adding a brake controller with the wiring and hitch. Doing an aftermarket hitch is somewhat specialized since many hitch installers haven't done Teslas, but my local Uhaul directed me to another one 30 miles away that has done these and is comfortable with it.
Please send me your stats on trailer weight and efficiencies driving at 55-60mph. I love the idea of charging up fully overnight at campgrounds in my camp space, it will decrease super charger stops. Depending on distance from one campground to the other, there may be very few supercharger stops.
At this time I'll take a wild guess that my regular range of 300 miles will be about 150-170, but would be happy with that!
thanks.

Newfoundland I have my eye on a Rovelite 16 footer with bathroom too , cheapest one I can find is 39,000 Cdn plus tax. Not much used in BC here

 

[airborne spoon]

I plan to tow a 3500 lbs Travel trailer with the eco hitch for the refreshed model S , Torklift Central manufacture they rate the hitch at 4,000 lbs . I haven’t installed the hitch yet, plan to install myself , and need a brake controller , I just don’t see if there is enough room to add the 7 pin RV plug next to hitch receiver.


Hey Airborne , would you have a picture of the link you added to the chain hole , I am about to add the same Torklift hitch to my MS LR refresh . Because my trailer weighs 3500 lbs , I am looking to add 7 pin connector with brake controller too . Anyone have experience with adding brake wiring , especially the newer teslas with 15v or 16v batteries

Here is the links I used, I put a 1/2" washer on each side to make it more solid.
I'll take a pic of how I did up my wiring in the morning as it's dark and stupid cold/windy now. A hint though… magnet

Also FYSA I didn't install a brake controller because my trailer is reasonably light and a lot of states don't need one unless it's over 2500lbs. But I did install a 7 pin because I used the 12v and ground coming from the trailer battery to the trunk to power my 12v fridge/freezer combo. That way I'm using the trailer solar power to keep the fridge running and not wasting car battery power on it.

 

[2022S-LR]

Great photo Airborne , yes I have the Tekonsha (ZCI) zero contact interface wiring harnesss on order . Can’t wait to see how you wired it .

 

[2022S-LR]

I have an older pacific trailer, dual axle with bunks. What are you thinking of towing?

Travel trailer 3600 lbs Forest River R Pod 193 , I have an equalizer hitch attached to the Trailer . waiting to install my Torklift central 4k pounds limit hitch on the MS refresh .

 

[airborne spoon]

Great photo Airborne , yes I have the Tekonsha (ZCI) zero contact interface wiring harnesss on order . Can’t wait to see how you wired it .

Here ya go, so I have the 12v wire in the trunk for the fridge and all the rest are tucked under the carpet so it looks unmodified.
To run the wires to the plug outside I drilled a small 1/2" hole by the bumper bolt on the left side and installed a grommet for obvious reasons. Then ran the wires through and put a bit of RTV on the outside of the hole just because there was a small air gap still and I wanted it watertight. Also I don't have the zero contact stuff, I got a wiring kit from harbor freight and used normal splices to connect it to the cars wiring as my trailer has LED's so the power draw is very minimal and that zero contact crap didn't work right for me anyway as I tried it first

There are other places you could drill a hole or even go out the flap vent if you don't wanna drill bit I like the hole I made and I didn't want to leave the vent open always because the wires were going through there. But make sure you put it in the right spot if you do where I did. Too high and it'll interfere with the piece of the bumper that sits there. Too low and you may have difficulty fishing the wires around. Just eyeball it like I din and you'll prob be fine.

Then I just ran the wires along the rails of the tow bar and down the front side securing with zip ties. For stowing the 7 pin outlet when not towing there is a 150lb magnet I installed on there and it just secures itself to the tow bar and it's not going anywhere. I added a piece of 5/8"x1/8" angle iron to there so it is strong enough to not bend the metal the magnet is secured to otherwise it would bend everytime I tried to move it.

When towing I stick the plug on the trailer just behind the ball lock lever and plug it in there. With that strong of a magnet it doesn't go anywhere while driving down the road. And when I need to uncouple to charge the magnet just chills out on the hitch so it's not dragging around.

Originally I'd just toss it out the tailgate and close the lid, that worked yes, but it was not good for the wires or for the seal on the hatch. Which is why I moved it.

I don't have any pics of it hooked up to the trailer as I'd never thought to take one, and I'm not planning on camping anytime soon.

 

[2022S-LR]

Hi Airborne Spoon , great photos and write up. So if I am reading it correctly , the 7 pin is extended out to the trailer tongue (magnetized ) when hooked up , is it because of restricted mounting areas on the rear bumper it self? . And you created another quick link to extend the chain anchor position , nice . Now it worries me about the wire harness from Tekonsha ZCI , if the set up will work for me . I just don't want to give tesla a reason not warranty me because I poked into some factory wires . Thank you for the photos and time

 

[airborne spoon]

Hi Airborne Spoon , great photos and write up. So if I am reading it correctly , the 7 pin is extended out to the trailer tongue (magnetized ) when hooked up , is it because of restricted mounting areas on the rear bumper it self? . And you created another quick link to extend the chain anchor position , nice . Now it worries me about the wire harness from Tekonsha ZCI , if the set up will work for me . I just don't want to give tesla a reason not warranty me because I poked into some factory wires . Thank you for the photos and time

yeah there is nowhere to really attach it like you'd have on a normal truck or SUV. And the model X and Y that have the factory hitch have a different bumper hole for the hitch to come out. So since in the S it comes out the bottom instead of the back this is the only system i could figure that was gonna work without cutting more holes in the bumper. Also with the no contact harness i couldn't get the damn thing to light up the right lights but when i spliced into the same wires it worked exactly as it should

Fun fact about warranties we have the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act in the US and Canada which basically boils down to say you can do whatever you want to a product and the manufacture still has to warranty it. The exception being if you mess with something and that CAUSES a failure. for example if you put N2itive suspension arms on your car and the door handle breaks they cant say they wont warranty it because you modded the car. They are required by law to prove that your mod is what caused the failure. Which is why the first thing i do when i get any product is remove the sticker that says "warranty void if removed" because it doesn't void the warranty.

 

[geordi]

Towing you say? The S and the X are the same platform, only the body is larger. "Officially" the S has NO tow rating at all, so if you are focused on the absolute letter of the specs, you shouldn't be towing anything with it. Of course that doesn't account for the reality, now does it?

I use my foot and keep the power below 80kw (and usually below 40kw which nets me around 70mph road speed) to try and keep the wh/mi below 600. The last picture is all the same stuff that is on the aluminum trailer in the first picture, and pulling on the aluminum is MUCH better (below 600) than it was on that steel 4x8 and taller... Over 700 wh/mi, it was all wind resistance. Pulling the Jeep on the trailer was only local roads to a scrapyard, that was 4700 lbs with the trailer (2700 for the shell) and with the aluminum trailer and all the bits of that Jeep I saved, I'm currently almost back to Florida and the TOTAL with the car is 7600 lbs. So around 2600 again behind the car.

Pulling the Jeep on the ground was a hard one for the range, my 90 kw would get me around 120 miles for a full charge. You have to realize that converting the numbers to the same energy scale, we are operating with about a 3 gallon fuel tank. Our efficiency might be 80mpg when not towing, but getting 40mpg when towing is pretty dang good! It is only the amount of energy we can carry (that 3 gallon equivalent) that limits us. If we had the same energy density AND the efficiency.... We'd have over 1000 mile range normally. *sigh* someday.

 

[2022S-LR]

yeah there is nowhere to really attach it like you'd have on a normal truck or SUV. And the model X and Y that have the factory hitch have a different bumper hole for the hitch to come out. So since in the S it comes out the bottom instead of the back this is the only system i could figure that was gonna work without cutting more holes in the bumper. Also with the no contact harness i couldn't get the damn thing to light up the right lights but when i spliced into the same wires it worked exactly as it should

Fun fact about warranties we have the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act in the US and Canada which basically boils down to say you can do whatever you want to a product and the manufacture still has to warranty it. The exception being if you mess with something and that CAUSES a failure. for example if you put N2itive suspension arms on your car and the door handle breaks they cant say they wont warranty it because you modded the car. They are required by law to prove that your mod is what caused the failure. Which is why the first thing i do when i get any product is remove the sticker that says "warranty void if removed" because it doesn't void the warranty.

Hey Airborne, great input ,Now I am going to scrap the Zero contact Interface idea and connect it directly to the wires with T connectors. Any idea what gauge (18,20,24?) is those signal/brake wires on the rear taillights
Well manual says no towing , so they will find away to blame my towing to screw me out of some warranty one way or another

 

[airborne spoon]

Hey Airborne, great input ,Now I am going to scrap the Zero contact Interface idea and connect it directly to the wires with T connectors. Any idea what gauge (18,20,24?) is those signal/brake wires on the rear taillights
Well manual says no towing , so they will find away to blame my towing to screw me out of some warranty one way or another

I've heard others had no issues with the no contact harness so maybe I got a defective one who knows.
For the crimp splicers I used blues because I had a bunch but probably could've used reds but didn't have any lying around.

And again that's how the warranty act works. If you tow and a half shaft fails they could say it's from you towing but you could ask say the hitch is for a bike rack and you don't tow and the wiring harness is there to add more lights because you camt see the stock ones with a bicycle.
But they have to PROVE that towing is what causes the failure just saying it failed because of towing does not count.

 

[geordi]

I used a normal Curt isolating light relay, I had to run a dedicated power lead for it (through the conduit behind the passenger tire) and up / over the rear wheel well, but that was the hardest part of the whole setup. Whether you use the vampire clips or the non-contact loops.... The lights don't react properly because of how the Tesla utilizes the rear lighting when the headlights / parking lights are OFF, but everything works perfectly when the headlights / parking lights are on. The only lights that don't react properly are the turn signals. The brakes work perfectly in all cases.

You want the relay setup rather than directly wiring the connector, to protect the lighting system from excessive load. The wiring also leads to circuit boards in the lights that could have multiple functions, so you don't want to inadvertently short something out.

Simple solutions: Either just don't use the turn signals, OR when you are towing, try to remember to manually turn on the parking lights each time you set off.

 

[2022S-LR]

I used a normal Curt isolating light relay, I had to run a dedicated power lead for it (through the conduit behind the passenger tire) and up / over the rear wheel well, but that was the hardest part of the whole setup. Whether you use the vampire clips or the non-contact loops.... The lights don't react properly because of how the Tesla utilizes the rear lighting when the headlights / parking lights are OFF, but everything works perfectly when the headlights / parking lights are on. The only lights that don't react properly are the turn signals. The brakes work perfectly in all cases.

You want the relay setup rather than directly wiring the connector, to protect the lighting system from excessive load. The wiring also leads to circuit boards in the lights that could have multiple functions, so you don't want to inadvertently short something out.

Simple solutions: Either just don't use the turn signals, OR when you are towing, try to remember to manually turn on the parking lights each time you set off.

geordi, thanks for the insight. So regardless of how I set up the trailer wiring , for my turn signals to be working , I am going to have to make sure the park lamp/headlamp are active , so I assume auto will not turn on headlamps during the day ?

 

[geordi]

Correct - auto will reset itself every time you start the car, and you will have to go in and manually switch it to turn on the parking lights.

If you are only driving at night, you won’t have any problems. But that’s probably not practical.

If the lights are off, when you use the turn signal one lamp will flash on the car, but both will flash on the trailer. Actually, it might be that everything flashes on the trailer.

The way the car is programmed is to use all of the elements when the marker lights are not on, so the signal wire picks up the blinking erroneously.

 

[dmwahl]

I have the Tekonsha 119250 zero contact lighting adapter and older non-stainless ecohitch rated for 2000/300lbs. I tapped into the 12V going to the power liftgate and other than the issue that requires me to always have the headlights on that @geordi mentioned, no issues whatsoever. I've only pulled the boat (2900lbs, 200 tongue) around town and didn't pay attention to the wh/mile, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. Towing the utility trailer I get about 450wh/mile in the summer on the highway (longest trip was ~50 miles round trip) which was better than I expected.

For me the biggest limitation hasn't been power or energy use, it's been ground clearance. The ecohitch receiver is so close to the ground that any remotely steep incline makes me bottom out the hitch. I also have the coil suspension, air shocks would make that less of an issue.

The giant screen makes hooking up super easy. I also added some large chain links like mentioned earlier which makes the safety chains much easier to hook up.

 

[airborne spoon]

Correct - auto will reset itself every time you start the car, and you will have to go in and manually switch it to turn on the parking lights.

If you are only driving at night, you won’t have any problems. But that’s probably not practical.

If the lights are off, when you use the turn signal one lamp will flash on the car, but both will flash on the trailer. Actually, it might be that everything flashes on the trailer.

The way the car is programmed is to use all of the elements when the marker lights are not on, so the signal wire picks up the blinking erroneously.

this is a great reason why i'm glad i used splice crimpers to conect the trailer harness. i dont need to have the headlights on to make it work. It works perfectly when the headlights are off or on just like it should.

 

[2022S-LR]

this is a great reason why i'm glad i used splice crimpers to conect the trailer harness. i dont need to have the headlights on to make it work. It works perfectly when the headlights are off or on just like it should.

So Airborne, I believe you are direct connecting the wires and not using a wiring relay ? As you are concerned about power for your fridge? So I believe it’s the wiring relays are resetting it self because of the different currents going thru the wires if the park lamp driving light aren’t on. So it’s seems pretty consistent about Tekonsha ZCI trailer relay , will be resetting it self each drive cycle in the daytime . I don’t mind , it will force me to make sure everything is working, before towing . Wonder if anyone knows trailer braking is functional with theses Tekonsha ZCI relays being applied

 

[airborne spoon]

So Airborne, I believe you are direct connecting the wires and not using a wiring relay ? As you are concerned about power for your fridge? So I believe it’s the wiring relays are resetting it self because of the different currents going thru the wires if the park lamp driving light aren’t on. So it’s seems pretty consistent about Tekonsha ZCI trailer relay , will be resetting it self each drive cycle in the daytime . I don’t mind , it will force me to make sure everything is working, before towing . Wonder if anyone knows trailer braking is functional with theses Tekonsha ZCI relays being applied

No need for relays since my trailer has LED for all the lights if they were actual bulbs those draw more power and it could be an issue and I could see the need for a different wiring solution but everything works perfectly with the wires directly spliced into the car wiring. Also I threw an inline fuse for the fridge in case of a surge but that's it.

The fridge has nothing to do with the car wires because it receives power from the trailer. On the 7 pin there is a 12v line that is supposed to go from the tow vehicle TO the trailer to charge the battery and/or power the brakes. But in my case I have the power come FROM the trailer to that small plug I showed a pic of in my trunk to power the fridge. The battery in the trailer powers the brakes but I also don't use a brake controller anyway. However I do have a break away cable and if that pops the trailer battery powers the brakes for an emergency stop of a disconnected trailer.

 

[2022S-LR]

I have the Tekonsha 119250 zero contact lighting adapter and older non-stainless ecohitch rated for 2000/300lbs. I tapped into the 12V going to the power liftgate and other than the issue that requires me to always have the headlights on that @geordi mentioned, no issues whatsoever. I've only pulled the boat (2900lbs, 200 tongue) around town and didn't pay attention to the wh/mile, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. Towing the utility trailer I get about 450wh/mile in the summer on the highway (longest trip was ~50 miles round trip) which was better than I expected.

For me the biggest limitation hasn't been power or energy use, it's been ground clearance. The ecohitch receiver is so close to the ground that any remotely steep incline makes me bottom out the hitch. I also have the coil suspension, air shocks would make that less of an issue.

The giant screen makes hooking up super easy. I also added some large chain links like mentioned earlier which makes the safety chains much easier to hook up.

Dmwahl great feedback on your experience. So instead on running a power lead (fused ) from battery directly, you where able to successfully tap the positive from the trunk ?

 

[geordi]

this is a great reason why i'm glad i used splice crimpers to conect the trailer harness. i dont need to have the headlights on to make it work. It works perfectly when the headlights are off or on just like it should.

I don't see how that makes a difference - Maybe you pulled the marker and turn signals from different source wires than I did, but using the relay pack versus directly wiring it shouldn't matter, that is only a means of separating the two lighting systems from possibly overloading each other.

Where did you pull the lighting signals from? I got mine from the harness on the back of the lights on each side, I'd have to pull the covers to see what the colors are. I was following the video tutorial that was posted elsewhere here on TMC.

No need for relays since my trailer has LED for all the lights if they were actual bulbs those draw more power and it could be an issue and I could see the need for a different wiring solution but everything works perfectly with the wires directly spliced into the car wiring. Also I threw an inline fuse for the fridge in case of a surge but that's it.

I don't always pull the exact same trailer - witness the three different ones I pictured above, and Uhaul frequently has old incandescent lighting rather than LED b/c they use their equipment to destruction (which can take a LOOOOOOOONG time for their trailers). So the relay pack was a personal requirement to protect the car's electronics from any trailer funny business that might happen.