Camping trip towing trailer (Braxton Bushwacker)

[CA Boertjie]

Brief notes after camping trip on Coronado Island, towing a Braxton Creek Bushwacker trailer.

The trailer is 18', 3,500 lbs with about 8x8 frontal surface. The campground is about 40 miles from our house in Encinitas, most of it along the I5. Hilly, but total elevation gain is almost 0. I was driving at freeway speed, around 65 mph and saw just over 900 Wh/mile. Higher than I expected for what is described as a "teardrop" trailer.

Compared to my GL450, I hardly noticed the trailer behind the Cybertruck - other than the limited range really is a pleasure to tow with - no trouble maintaining speed on any of the hills and the rear wheel steering makes maneuvering super easy.

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[RoboTaxi]

Yin have towed more then 95% of CT owners! I’m surprised at the high wh as well. Might motivate yo by a swanky airstream Bambi!

 

[eser50]

Hey! I'm up the road from you in Oceanside!
I usually tow our Gulfstream 192FS up to Dana Point from Poway where I keep the trailer.
I've averaged about 850Wh/Mi round trip, but it's a lot more square than your teardrop.

When it's very windy, I'm well over 900 and sometimes push over 1K especially around San Onofre.

 

[Solardude]

Does lane centering or adaptive cruise work when the trailer is plugged in?

 

[CA Boertjie]

Yin have towed more then 95% of CT owners! I’m surprised at the high wh as well. Might motivate yo by a swanky airstream Bambi!

Yep, the Airstreams are pretty nice. I was concerned about their weight, but looks like that matters less than I thought. For long trips the Safari Condo A-series look like the way to go.

 

[raww1023]

Question how do you charge up with a trailer?

 

[65SoYoLO]

Does lane centering or adaptive cruise work when the trailer is plugged in?

ACC works, not sure about lane centering.

 

[65SoYoLO]

Question how do you charge up with a trailer?

you either luck out or you drop the trailer.

 

[Gaximus]

The crosssection has a way bigger effect on wind resistance than the shape. That’s why the CT has surprisingly good aero, considering it has just a flat nose.

 

[Ivessm]

Here are drag coefficients for different shapes.

Notice it's more important how you put the air back together in the rear rather than how you break it apart in the front.

 

[webspeedracer]

Brief notes after camping trip on Coronado Island, towing a Braxton Creek Bushwacker trailer.

The trailer is 18', 3,500 lbs with about 8x8 frontal surface. The campground is about 40 miles from our house in Encinitas, most of it along the I5. Hilly, but total elevation gain is almost 0. I was driving at freeway speed, around 65 mph and saw just over 900 Wh/mile. Higher than I expected for what is described as a "teardrop" trailer.

Compared to my GL450, I hardly noticed the trailer behind the Cybertruck - other than the limited range really is a pleasure to tow with - no trouble maintaining speed on any of the hills and the rear wheel steering makes maneuvering super easy.

Teardrops has been found to have less-than-stellar aero due to the squared-off sides, behaves more like a square profile than an airstream or similarly rounded profile. We tow an Oliver Fiberglass and has better efficacy than what you’re describing, but I typically drive faster than 65 here in Utah with 80mph speed limits and trailer-friendly V3.5s to recharge.
And the other poster in right about the Safari Condo A2124s being very aero-efficient, just a long waiting list last I checked.
And then Lightship and Pebble are the real game-changers for avid EV campers!

 

[FL370]

Speed-induced drag is the real range killer.

After more than 3,000 miles of towing this trailer at over 6,000 lbs, we yielded about 750kwh per mile. Most of those miles were spent at 55-60 mph -even in Utah. I was considering an Airstream, but don't think the result will be much different.

 

[TyPope]

Here are drag coefficients for different shapes.

Notice it's more important how you put the air back together in the rear rather than how you break it apart in the front.

But that isn't as intuitive as you'd think. look at the Sphere vs. Half-Sphere. Seems the Sphere would put air back together better. It's also confusing that an F-150 with it's tailgate up is more efficient than with it down even though it looks like it'd be more aerodynamic. Or, maybe I'm wrong about that (and don't quote Myth Busters as a source).

 

[BornToFly]

But that isn't as intuitive as you'd think. look at the Sphere vs. Half-Sphere. Seems the Sphere would put air back together better. It's also confusing that an F-150 with it's tailgate up is more efficient than with it down even though it looks like it'd be more aerodynamic. Or, maybe I'm wrong about that (and don't quote Myth Busters as a source).

Makes me wonder which way the wind is going on each shape. Right to Left or Left to Right?

 

[BornToFly]

Towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 at 65mph I got 688 Wh/mi without wind deflector.
601.8 with the Wind Deflector.
In the Spring I will rent a longer Airstream, close the gap more between truck and trailer, and add Vortex Generators.
The drag generated between truck and trailer is a bid deal.

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