Tin Poodle

pitter-patter... pitter-Patter ... Pitter-Patter ... PITTER-PATTER . The sound of rain falling on an aluminum shelled camper...being echoed...and amplified...day after day after day. But I digress. The first week of our three month road trip is in the books. We're now in Acadia National Park, having stayed the early part of the trip outside of Freeport Maine. Before the trip even started we had a last minute emergency. The day before we left Nancy managed to hit a pothole with her Model S. After having it towed to the service center the verdict...two new rims, one new tire, one new control arm, one new brake line, and one new air suspension module. Ouch. On the good side, it's not the vehicle we were using to go on our trip. Also if your car is going to be in the shop might as well be when you're out of town and don't need it. That's a rear wheel.  They don't steer or bend inward normally 😞 Moving on to the actual trip...

Official statistician tldr; We haven't "run out of gas" Model X90D pulling trailer 485Wh/mi (early estimate for flat and 55mph) Estimated range pulling trailer 170 miles Long version We haven't "run out of gas"...yet When taking a trip in an electric vehicle, or any vehicle for that matter, it's important to know you can make it to the next gas station (or charging opportunity in our case).  I've been driving electric for almost ten years.  From short trips around town to long trips as far as Maine and North Carolina.  I've never "run out of gas".  What's different with this trip is pulling a trailer decreases "gas mileage" and range between charges.  How much of a range hit we'll take traveling back is the big unknown. There are not a lot of people pulling trailers with electric vehicles.  Different trailers affect range differently.  Weather, speed, and elevation changes all affect range. There are ...

Destination:  Las Vegas Miles:  2531 Days:  6 Driving time: 39 hours Charging time: 10 hours Charging stops: 22 Las Vegas you say.  I thought you said this was a trip to Glacier National Park.  Well it was...until it wasn't.  You see.... I'm not sure I mentioned this earlier but we don't actually have the Tin Poodle in our possession.  We own it (as of 4/1).  It is titled and has tags and insurance.  We just don't physically have it in our possession. Digressing a bit, Bowlus is based out of Oxnard California.  Each Road Chief is hand made to order with a several month period between ordering and delivery.  So we ordered it last summer and asked for a Spring delivery.  (We could have had a late Autumn or Winter delivery, but that didn't fit our schedule.) "Now wait.  First Glacier, now Oxnard.  But the map says Las Vegas.  I'm confused."  So the choices for delivery are Oxnard CA, Henderson NV,...

2016 Tesla Model X 90D Specs Curb weight 5282 lbs GVWR 6768 lbs Max tow capacity 5000 lbs Max tongue weight 500 lbs Max carrying capacity ~1500 lbs These tow ratings are comparable to   several 2018 F150's with 3.5L engines  which have max tow capacities of 5000 lbs or max carrying capacities of 1550-1800 lbs.  Oh...and none of those F150's are doing this 😎      0-60 4.8 secs      0-60 with Bowlus ~5.5 secs       MX drag racing an Alfa Romeo while pulling the same car on a trailer Of course the trade off is range:      Range without Bowlus 256 miles      Range with Bowlus 175 miles (estimated)       Model X Tow Test Hitch The Model X towing package is optional and comes with both hardware and software components.  The hardware components are: Fixed crossbar to bumper where detachable hitch receiver mounts Detachable hitch receiver 7-pin trailer con...

A good story needs a cast of characters. Normally one thinks of a cast of people...Nancy and I.  And maybe animals can be in the cast...our three standard poodles. But for the purpose of this story I'm going to think of the cast in much broader terms. Not only does the cast include people and dogs.  It includes the vehicles we're using to travel.  In this case the vehicles are a Tesla Model X and a Bowlus Road Chief. Today I'm going to mainly focus on the Bowlus Road Chief and features relevant to this trip.  If anyone one wants to learn more about the history, design, etc of the Road Chief, there are links in the sidebar of the blog.  So the big question...Why the Bowlus Road Chief? The simple answer is that's it's one of the lightest, most aerodynamic travel trailers on the market. Light weight plus aerodynamic equals greater efficiency. When traveling long distances in an electric vehicle one of the most important factors to consider is efficie...

Me:    "Wouldn't it be a great idea to drive to Glacier National Park from the East Coast?" Wife:  "Sure" Me:    "And wouldn't it be a great idea to do it in the Tesla?" Wife:  "Sure" Me:    "And wouldn't it be a great idea to bring along the dogs?" Wife:  "Sure" Me:    "And wouldn't it be a great idea to get a travel trailer to pull behind for the trip?" Wife:  "Sure" Ten months ago it's this conversation that led to today.  One week out from a cross country journey.  But not any cross country journey.  An all electric  journey in a Tesla.  An all electric  journey pulling a travel trailer.  An all electric  journey with three dogs. They say the longest journey starts with a single step.  But in this case it starts with a single conversation. Such a simple conversation.  Such an innocent conversation.  Such a...well I'll get to the details in the next post....