Breakaway 171

From what is being described both things are likely true.

The brakes were engaged and disengaged when the pin was replaced, as they should.

The brakes obviously weren't working properly, at most dragging a bit, we don't know how long that had been going on or the status of the battery providing current to them.

We also know that the Tesla Y is going to have a max range of at most around 100 miles towing an rpod at highway speeds. 75 kwh battery, about 700 wh/mile towing has been reported numerous times by owners.

So once the brakes and bearings are fixed and the rig and brake controller set up correctly I'm looking forward to hearing what the results are.

Very short range depends on what the expectations are. No one should be expecting more than around 100 miles at best.

Nvan 171 is saying he's using 3.5 to 4x the energy he would be not towing. That's on the high side of what's being reported and we all know speed matters a lot. So it could be that the brakes aren't dragging at all or they could be bringing the range down somewhat. We'll have to wait and see.

I do give Nvan 171 lots of credit for trying. AFAIK this is the first time an EV tow of an rpod has been reported on this forum. I'm sure it won't be the last. Nvan 171, please keep us posted.

Thank you all for your input. (Except the one ass).

Brakes and bearings were serviced. Nothing destroyed. Brakes needed to be adjusted. Tried towing again locally to see how the range was. Still over 500W. Slightly better but not enough to do a long trip. Was worth testing out. We have an alternate vehicle made for towing and will be using this moving forward. Might still use the Tesla for weekend get-a-ways.

The Fast Lane Truck has done a number of tests towing with an EV. At present it's not pretty. Here is just one of several looks at what they've learned.