Planning trip towing trailer, adjust wh/mile or weight?

[Matt J]

Hi there!  I live in Phoenix and am planning to tow roughly 3500 lbs (including passengers) up to Flagstaff with my Model X 100D.

I know that with passengers only, I get 524 wh/mile heading up the big hill from Phoenix to Flagstaff ( a 5000 ft climb). 

So 2 questions:

1. To understand how my energy consumption is affected towing a trailer, would I use 524 wh/mile as the 65mph reference range or keep it the usual 360 (my lifetime average)?
2. When I add the passenger/trailer weight, is it possible to see what ABRP is calculating for avg wh/mile?

Thanks for your help!

 

 

[Phil Hays]

Both.

The trailer adds mass, so it will take more energy to drive up the same hill. Note that you get much of this energy back will you drive down the same hill. Not a lot of extra energy is used on flat and level ground.

The trailer adds air resistance, so will take more energy to drive a distance at the same speed. This would be the case even if the trailer had almost no mass.

You can find the trailer's "the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)" from the manufacturer. Finding the air resistance is rather harder, unless you can get a trailer to experiment with.

If you have a trailer, find a flat and level (or as close as you can) loop course. Measure your energy use per mile doing a loop with the trailer, and a loop without, both at 65 MPH. Update your settings with a trailer either automatically or with the app for both energy use and weight, and you should find out what to expect driving from Phoenix to Flagstaff.