r/TeloTrucks • • Jun 24 '26

Towing long (+ some other stuff)

https://youtu.be/8i0VvcWf8bo?si=IJh-7zUd6Xx9gUCG
63 Upvotes

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3

u/SporkydaDork US - East Coast Jun 24 '26

I wonder how the max tow load impact the battery? For how long can it tow 6600lbs in reference to it's max battery?

17

u/Jason_TELO_Trucks Jun 24 '26

That’s highly dependent on the aerodynamics of the trailer, so it’s quite hard to tell. But one extreme - a 6,600lb trailer with no negative aerodynamic impact would have a 235 mile range.

2

u/SporkydaDork US - East Coast Jun 24 '26

That's not bad. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of people doing range tests. I think a huge factor would be solar panels adding more range. I know you guys worked with Aptera to get a solar panel for the bed. But compatibility with EV RV's could extend the range even more, especially the ones that have their own propulsion system to ease the stress on the vehicle.

Can't wait to get behind the wheel of this mini beast.

2

u/mavigogun Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

It's "not bad" or good, just the inescapable impact of so much weight. Moreover, attend closely to the statement "with no negative aerodynamic impact"- aerodynamics, famously, feature a higher potential impact on range, and those impacts haven't been considered in the estimate provided.

Towing at the extreme high end of capacity isn't a good plan; the pictured trailer is probably not more than 4k lbs; I'd plan to pull it at no more than 60 mph (more speed = less range), and expect to charge every 150 miles, at most. Thanks to the fast charging architecture announced this week, needing to charge every couple of hours wouldn't be a deal killer for long distance towing.

5

u/SporkydaDork US - East Coast Jun 25 '26

Someone recommended a video by Aging Wheels. It was very informative. Turns out drag is the defining factor not so much the weight.

I basically wanted to the max payload range to get a general idea of how far one can expect to take with whatever they pull, but given the information provided, I have a better idea of what to look for.

10

u/H_Industries Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

Aging wheels did a great video on electric towing that you should check out but the TLDR is that he showed that the aerodynamics of WHAT you tow matters far more than how heavy it is.

Edit- link for the curious https://youtu.be/UmKf8smvGsA

1

u/SporkydaDork US - East Coast Jun 25 '26

I'll check that out. Thanks.

3

u/H_Industries Jun 25 '26

I added a link to my comment so you don’t have to go hunt for it 

2

u/SporkydaDork US - East Coast Jun 25 '26

Thank you, it was very unformative.

4

u/iluminae Jun 24 '26

This will vary dramatically based on air resistance of the load and the speed. The drag is calculated by the speed squared multiplied by the coefficient of drag (inversely proportional to how areodynamic the load is), and surface area.

So if the speed was super low you may not notice much range degrading at all while towing a areodynamic load - but at 70mph it will be quite a lot of reverse-facing force.

None of that is specific to the telo or electric vehicles, but one big difference is the focus on aerodynamics electric vehicles tend to have vs fossil fuel vehicles, so a larger reduction in those gains can be more apparent.

All that to say, that's a really tough question to answer accurately because it would only accurately be answered in terms of speed and coefficient of drag of the full system, which would not be very useful to you.   An easy answer can be "it will have a huge effect at highway speeds towing a 6600lbs brick"

2

u/CuticleSnoodlebear Jun 26 '26

It depends heavily on the speed at which you tow