Cybertruck Arrived

[Texarado]

Last week, I picked up the truck. I know there are a lot of disapprovers on here, so feel free to click through to the next thread. For those interested, the driving, maneuverability and tow experience was excellent—albeit only a very short 27 mile towing experience. It was a mix of local roads and highways.

• Range—I know this is the most important to everyone, but I don’t have enough highway miles yet to truly opine. I will have it out on the road sometime over the next month and will report back my experience at different speeds. On the highway, I can say that the efficiency was significantly better (no, I’m not saying it has a 250-300 mile range while towing) than what some of the other Cybertruck towing videos have shown. That’s a testament to the Airstream aerodynamics.
• Mirrors—The truck mirrors are odd shaped from a traditional perspective, but I had no meaningful issue being able to use my side mirrors. The cameras on the truck actually make seeing the side much better than traditional tow mirrors.
• Trailer brake—When connecting the 7-pin, the right scroll wheel activates and becomes the trailer brake. It was a very seamless integration.
• Tow experience generally—It was a much smoother and easier drive than my Lincoln Navigator. I never had any issues with the Navigator other than concerns about payload. That was a non-issue for the Cybertruck.
• Hitching up—Unlike some of the other trucks, the Cybertruck does not *currently* have any way to zoom in on the rear camera when hitching. But, it’s a massive screen and very high resolution. It would still be helpful to have a zoom or even an auto hitch function. No idea if either will come, but I have to believe at least the zoom will be a future feature given Tesla’s software-based approach to everything.

[sfranklin]

Love it or hate it, I have to say it just looks really cool with the Airstream behind it!

I am very much looking forward to your real-world towing, range and charging exp with it!

That 25' is a great unit to get some solid feedback as it's a wide body around 7k lbs and not some 3500lb Basecamp or Bambi.

[JimMartin]

Gratz on your new Cybertruck!

I would be very interested in hearing about your experiences charging once you hit the road. I've visited a lot of superchargers over the past 4 years and haven't seen one that you could pull into while towing. I know that will change as the Semi trucks roll out, but it could still make for some interesting charging situations.

[Andy543]

It should be able to easily tow a 25. Could you post the door sticker info? GVWR, GAWRs, Payload. Also does the hitch receiver have a weight rating sticker?

[Wayne&Sam]

From the tests I've seen, the Chevy EV truck has the best towing range so far.

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

From the tests I've seen, the Chevy EV truck has the best towing range so far.

It appears to be the case. But significantly less efficient (I.e., double the battery isn’t yielding double the range). That may be fine, particularly when towing though. It has the GM software experience though rather than Tesla.

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by Andy543

It should be able to easily tow a 25. Could you post the door sticker info? GVWR, GAWRs, Payload. Also does the hitch receiver have a weight rating sticker?

Here you go. I’m not worried about it handling the 25.

The manual says nothing about hitch limits other than the tongue weight should be no more than 10% of trailer weight. The tow limit is 11k per Tesla. Purely according to that, hitch is limited to 1100. There isn’t anything about weight distribution hitches (which in many OEMs adds 50% to the hitch limit). When I hooked up the AS over the weekend, I didn’t see a hitch sticker, but it’s entirely possible that it was in there and I just missed it.

[Justen]

Looks great with your Airstream behind it! I'll be interested in your long term results and thoughts about towing with it!

[FMSports]

Are you using a WDH? (I would use one for trailer roll control not necessarily for distributing weight.)

The CT is a beast, and has stability built-in with the the battery platform and super-structure.

From a rig styling standpoint, it's a classic vs contemporary sort of thing.
Cowboy boots and yoga pants come to mind.

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by FMSports

Are you using a WDH?

The CT is a beast, and has stability built-in with the the battery platform and super-structure.

From a rig styling standpoint, it's a classic vs contemporary sort of thing.
Cowboy boots and yoga pants come to mind.

Yes, I was using the Equalizer hitch.

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by jmslade

It appears to be the case. But significantly less efficient (I.e., double the battery isn’t yielding double the range). That may be fine, particularly when towing though. It has the GM software experience though rather than Tesla.

Also, just noticed Silverado EV payload is ~1400 lb. That’s a major limiting factor. My Navigator is already just over 1500.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by jmslade

It appears to be the case. But significantly less efficient (I.e., double the battery isn’t yielding double the range). That may be fine, particularly when towing though. It has the GM software experience though rather than Tesla.

I said it had range, I didn't say it was fun!

[Wayne&Sam]

Here's a tow test of the Cyber truck

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

I forgot to include in my post above is that one pedal driving was still very much a thing. It almost entirely removed the need for using the brake. The tow mode increases the amount of regenerative braking. So, unless there’s an emergency requiring a hard brake, the regen does it all. It was a pretty sweet tow.

[Andy543]

Originally Posted by jmslade

Here you go. I’m not worried about it handling the 25.

The manual says nothing about hitch limits other than the tongue weight should be no more than 10% of trailer weight. The tow limit is 11k per Tesla. Purely according to that, hitch is limited to 1100. There isn’t anything about weight distribution hitches (which in many OEMs adds 50% to the hitch limit). When I hooked up the AS over the weekend, I didn’t see a hitch sticker, but it’s entirely possible that it was in there and I just missed it.

Those are decent numbers. That's somewhere between a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton truck.

[coltnkat]

Originally Posted by jmslade

Here you go. I’m not worried about it handling the 25.

The manual says nothing about hitch limits other than the tongue weight should be no more than 10% of trailer weight. The tow limit is 11k per Tesla. Purely according to that, hitch is limited to 1100. There isn’t anything about weight distribution hitches (which in many OEMs adds 50% to the hitch limit). When I hooked up the AS over the weekend, I didn’t see a hitch sticker, but it’s entirely possible that it was in there and I just missed it.

You have to weigh it. Airstreams are notoriously heavier at the hitch than the specs.

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by coltnkat

You have to weigh it. Airstreams are notoriously heavier at the hitch than the specs.

I have a scale. It ranges from 900-925 depending on load.

[jcl]

Congratulations, exciting times.

Looking forward to reading of your experiences.

Do you have Tesla ownership experience prior to this? (interested in some of the comparison points between Tesla vehicles)

[Texarado]

Originally Posted by jcl

Congratulations, exciting times.

Looking forward to reading of your experiences.

Do you have Tesla ownership experience prior to this? (interested in some of the comparison points between Tesla vehicles)

Yes, I’ve owned a Model 3 for 5.5 years since 2018. It’s been a very very low maintenance vehicle. I will say it burns through tires, but I drive it more conservatively now compared to original purchase—more on that below regarding Cybertruck.

For the truck, it has been much more efficient than I thought it was going to be. Some of the early range reports made me think I was getting a vehicle that was going to have 225-250 range [or even lower].

I’m still very low mileage right now (just over 300 miles and ~10% was towing). So far, including the 10% towing, my driving efficiency is 432Wh/mi. Translating that for a 123.5kW/hr battery and I’m at 286 range. Remove the towing and I suspect I’d be right at or around 300. I’ll take that.

The rear wheel steering and the steer by wire is total game changer in terms of maneuvering.

[pteck]

Wow! Had to stare at the picture and pinch myself that it's real. I like how the stainless steel complements the aluminum. With contrasting angular versus curving design languages. Beautiful.

As with the early model years of every Tesla model, there has been battery and motor optimizations going on in the background. Good to hear you're already seeing some of the benefits. My hope is that they continue to see improvements in both core components and integration optimizations. Including an announcement of the extender!

Thanks for sharing your firsthand experiences!