Kevin

If you ever plan to swap out the wheels on your Tesla, you’ll want to invest in this inexpensive tool. This could be to remove a wheel with a flat tire or swapping in or out from a set of winter tires. Tesla models that do not have an aero wheel cover (such as certain wheel options on the Model 3 and Model Y) will have these plastic lug nut covers. If you try using a tire iron or socket on them, they will quickly break. I learned this the hard way. They have a very thin walled designed and are not designed to have any torque applied to them whatsoever. To remove these plastic wheel covers, a lug nut cap cover removal tool set will make things much easier. It’s a essentially a plastic pair of tongs. There’s a raised section that will grip onto the lug nut cap covers. This allows you to easily get a grip on the lug nut covers and pull them off. Read on as we provide more information and tips on remove the lug nut covers from your Tesla, as well as options if you get a flat tire. Lug Nut Cap Cover Removal Tool I’ve read other articles where you can try and use a pair of flathead screwdrivers, but this can cause scratching. The first time we got a flat tire, I tried calling Tesla Roadside assistance, only to be informed that I was too far from their service center for them to provide service How To Remove Tesla Lug Nut Cap Covers Step 1: Grab your lug nut cap cover removal tool. Step 2: Insert the removal tool over the lug nut. Step 3: Press inward on the removal tool to apply pressure, ensuring they have gripped onto the cap covers. Step 4: Simply pull outward to remove the cap cover. What If You Get a Flat Tire on Your Tesla? Since Tesla’s and most other electric vehicles don’t have spare tires, you’ll find yourself with fewer options for getting back on the road. Several tire shops likely won’t have replacement tires in stock either. We’ll explore some of those now. Tesla Roadside Assistance While Tesla Roadside Assistance is free, it’s typically for a certain amount of time. Per their website: Tesla Roadside Assistance is a complimentary service offered under a Tesla warranty or some Extended Service Agreements. Please refer to the terms and conditions in your warranty document or service agreement to determine whether you are eligible for roadside assistance. https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/roadside-assistance-policy-en.pdf Tesla Roadside Assistance is available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, however, you may find yourself having to wait a long period of time before someone is able to get to your location. Tow Truck Service In some cases you may find that you need to have your Tesla towed. Tesla strongly recommends that only flatbed trucks are used. If you find yourself having to call a towing service, make sure to specifically request for a flatbed. Also worth noting, you need to make sure to put your Tesla into tow mode in order for a tow truck to transport it. My neighbor works for the state highway patrol, and recently had a tow truck driver come out to tow a Tesla, only to have to leave because the owner was not there to put it into tow mode. We’ll add a new article on having a Tesla towed soon. Summary I’m not sure why certain manufacturers including Tesla opt for lug nut caps. Seems just having an enclosed lug nut would get the job done. However, since most Tesla wheels do have lug nut covers, having one of these tools in your glovebox at all times can certainly come in handy.

In the United States, around $18 billion worth of recreational vehicles are sold in any given year. A fifth of that are trailers. With the growing popularity of Tesla’s electric cars, many people are wondering if these vehicles, which are designed to travel light and rely on batteries, can tow trailers. A Tesla Model X can tow trailers. This Tesla car can easily tow trailers up to 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) in weight. The tow package was made standard some time in 2018. When ordering a brand new Tesla Model Y, a tow package can be added for $1,000. The Model Y has a towing capacity up to 3,500 pounds (1,587 kilograms). If you’ve considered buying a Tesla car, but wondered if it can tow your trailers, then this guide could provide much-needed answers.. Your next trailer-towing vehicle could be an electric-powered Tesla. Tesla Factory Tow Packages and Specs The Model X currently comes standard with the tow package. The Model Y has an optional tow package. In Europe, the Model 3 also has an optional tow package. There are also aftermarket options. Additional Energy Use Among the different vehicle types, electric vehicles (EVs) are probably the most limited when it comes to towing. One of the biggest limiting factors is the energy required. Towing a trailer will use a substantial amount of additional energy, drastically reducing your battery’s range. Long distant towing will require a lot more stops to charge. Range Anxiety Towing requires more power because of the additional work your electric car does. As such, towing puts a strain on your batteries, and will almost certainly shorten the driving range you get on your electric vehicle. This is similar on an internal combustion engine vehicle. You’ll get less mileage when towing, but it can be magnified on an electric vehicle. Most consumers tend to prefer electric cars that can deliver the most range, allowing them to drive longer on a single full charge. Show them an electric vehicle with a shorter range, and not only do people refrain from buying the car, but those who own them also tend to give a low satisfaction rating. With the shorter range, especially while towing, it’s easy to scare off potential buyers. Especially if they plan on doing a lot of towing with the vehicle. Tesla Model 3 Towing Other Electric Car Models Can Be Used for Towing There are quite a few choices if you want to buy an electric vehicle that can also tow a trailer. Some of the most popular include: Audi e-Tron Mercedes EQC Jaguar I-Pace Rivian R1T While basic towing capability is a plus, it’s important that your car can tow something on the heavier side; for example, a tow trailer.  Tesla Cars Can Tow Trailers The Tesla Model X SUV has enough room for seven seats and a range of 340 miles (547 kilometers). This SUV goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour (0 to 97 kilometers per hour) in just 2.5 seconds with a peak power of 1,020 horsepower. Tesla states that the Model X can handle up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). The Tesla Model X even comes with its own tow bar that you can hide away when you’re not using it. Trailer Mode Connecting a trailer to your Model X will trigger Trailer Mode to activate when the wiring harness is connected. When this happens, your vehicle’s: Rear parking sensors, auto park, and autosteer are disabled. Location-based and automatic height adjustments are disabled. Autopilot steering will not work. The AEB brake force is significantly decreased. Power Concerns Range is one of the major concerns people have about electric cars. Towing a trailer or camper uses up a lot energy than a regular drive or joyride. But how does the Tesla Model X address these issues? The long-range versions of Tesla’s models have an estimated range of: Model 3: 353 miles (568 kilometers) Model S: 412 miles (663 kilometers) Model Y: 326 miles (525 kilometers) Model X: 360 miles (579 kilometers) These estimates show that the Model X has the second longest range in Tesla’s current lineup. Its range is only beaten by the smaller Model S, which only has five seats and 28 cubic feet (0.8 cubic meters) of cargo capacity, as opposed to the Model X’s seven-seat and 88 cubic feet (2.5 cubic meters) capacity. However, towing with your Tesla Model X will mean a much shorter range. The reduction in how far you can go on a single charge can differ depending on how heavy the trailer is, as well as the added weight of everything inside the trailer. The range will also be shortened depending on the kind of terrain you’re driving on. Should You Use the Tesla Model X for Towing? Sure, the Tesla Model X can tow a trailer. But it might not be an excellent idea to buy a Tesla if your main purpose is to tow a trailer.  Tesla Model X loses a significant amount of driving range when it’s towing. A real-world test conducted by Australia’s Car Guide shows that towing halves the Tesla Model X’s driving range. Driving on its own, it will use up to 21.4 kilowatt-hours for every 100 kilometers (62 miles).  But towing a 1,746-kilogram (3,850 pounds) trailer, it needed 48.1 kilowatt-hours to travel the same distance, almost doubling the amount of charge required. Road conditions can affect towing performance, and you’ll spend more fuel when towing, even if you use something with a combustion engine.  Car Guide brought a Landcruiser VX along for the ride, and with the trailer attached, it needed only 10.35 liters (2.7 gallons) of gas for every 100 kilometers (62 miles). It then required 17.2 liters (4.5 gallons) to cover the same distance with a caravan attached to it. That’s only a 66 percent increase, compared to the 112 percent raise for Tesla. A Word of Caution: Towing = Longer Charging Time One of the things that one should consider when

A frequent question perspective buyers (and owners) likely have around electric vehicle ownership is what happens if your vehicle runs out of charge. Clearly it’s best not to allow your Tesla to run out of charge, but in the real world it can happen. Essentially, you’ll need to have the vehicle towed to somewhere it can be charged, preferably a Tesla Supercharger for fastest charging possible or to your intended destination (assuming you don’t need it charged faster at that location). Perhaps in the future we’ll have more vehicle to vehicle charging options. There are some mobile charging companies popping up, but they’re not as widespread with service and charging times can be much slower. For the first time in 6 years of electric vehicle ownership, I got down to a displayed 0% charge on a vehicle – our Tesla Model X. Read along as I detail how I misjudged the amount of energy I would need for a towing trip I made a handful of times previous. Big Factors that Affect Your Range This was a trip in which I was dealing with three of the biggest energy draining variables associated with electric vehicles: Towing a trailer Uphill driving through a mountain pass Colder temperatures in the low to mid 30’s (Fahrenheit) My destination was to a cabin we recently purchased in north Central Washington and was another trip I was hauling our 6×12 enclosed cargo trailer. In fact, this was a trip I had just made a week or two prior without issue. The Trip I stopped off at Monroe, WA and Supercharged to 81% before I took off. The Tesla estimated I would reach my destination with 47% charge. I knew this wasn’t the case since I was towing a trailer and going through the mountains. It was also colder temperatures. While the vehicle does adjust expected range when towing, I’ve come to expect a fluctuation up to 30% on previous trips to to our cabin with the enclosed cargo trailer. With an expected 47% at destination, I thought for sure I’d get to the cabin with at least 17% charge or more. When I First Had Concern Traveling east of Stevens Pass is mostly a downhill descent. I noticed my estimated range at arrival started to drop substantially. I kept an eye on things and the expected percentage upon arrival continued to drop. Range Anxiety Kicks In As I’m probably less than a mile from my turn, I notice the expected range now shows I’ll reach our cabin with only 2%. At this point I’m starting to worry and punch in the next nearest Supercharger which is in Leavenworth, WA. It shows I’ll reach the Supercharger with 4%, so I figured that will give me a better buffer than trying to reach the cabin. The Supercharger was approximately 15 miles away at this point. I decide to keep the Supercharger as my new destination and slowly watch the estimated range drop to 3%, a few miles later 2%. Panic Mode Sets – Warning Message I Can’t Reach my Destination As mentioned above, I have now seen the estimated percentage drop from 4% to 2% and I’m officially going into a panic mode. I’m now considering whether or not I should detach the trailer along the highway somewhere to Supercharge and come back for it. I decide to keep going, and see the estimated range now drop down to 1%. I’m now a few miles from downtown Leavenworth and my battery has now hit 1% and it is estimating I will get to the Supercharger with 0%. As I continue traveling, I’m nearing the downtown area, but I’m getting a warning I need to charge before I can reach my destination. I keep pushing onward as there aren’t many areas to pull over to see what happens. As I hit downtown, I’m still 1.5 miles from the supercharger and there’s imminent worry I won’t make it to the charger. Trying to find a 110v plug isn’t an option I wanted to consider, so I continued on. Reaching the Supercharger with 0% Luckily, I make it into the Dan’s Food Market parking lot where the Tesla Supercharger is located. No one else is charging, so I make a wide u-turn to pull in sideways to avoid having to disconnect the trailer, still wondering if the vehicle is going to simply power off. With relatively short cables at Superchargers, pulling in sideways doesn’t always give enough reach. I literally don’t know if I’ll need to pull up a few inches further (and whether or not I’ll have charge to be able to do so). The charging cable does reach, and I begin charging and can finally take a sigh of relief. Conclusion This is certainly not a situation I want to experience again. Ironically, I already planned on this being the last trip we made to the cabin towing a trailer until the Spring a week prior. This certainly affirmed it though. Despite seeing gradual drops in range as the weather began getting colder, this was by far the most energy used on the same trip with the same trailer. It may have even been the lightest load I was carrying this time. I’ve seen videos where other owners have shown a bit of additional range despite showing 0% which is the only reason I continued driving. See the warning message later appear that I needed to stop to charge in order to reach my destination was certainly worrisome. Word of advice, even though it takes longer to charge once you hit 80% (or even 70%), sometimes those extra minutes to get additional charge may be worth it. Especially in colder environments, uphill driving, and certainly when towing a trailer. If I didn’t make it to the Supercharger (those last several miles were nerve racking), it would have been time for a call to Tesla Roadside assistance or possibly other towing services.

Tesla has long been known as the best of the best in electric car design. Their cars are stylish and come equipped with every innovation Tesla can pack into them. However, how do Tesla’s electric vehicles stack up from a practical standpoint? Does the charging length and capacity of a Tesla speak to their stellar reputation? The length of time it takes to charge a Tesla depends on three factors: the charging system, the battery capacity, and the onboard charger. While knowing the time needed for a charge is essential for planning purposes, you cannot overcharge your Tesla due to the car’s monitoring features. It is typically recommended to charge your Tesla between 50-80% charge, depending on your daily driving needs. Charging to 100% frequently can prematurely degrade your battery. With three factors impacting charging time, it is quite the math problem to figure out how long it takes to charge your Tesla, and although you cannot overcharge your Tesla, you can reduce the battery life with certain charging practices. Do not get stressed yet! We have researched for you. Keep reading for everything you need to know about charging a Tesla! The Basics of Charging a Tesla Before we can start looking at the specifics of charging a Tesla, it will be helpful to cover exactly what happens when you charge an electric vehicle. When we fuel a gasoline-powered vehicle, we think of distance in miles per gallon. This many gallons will get me this far. Electric vehicle’s fuel capacity is in kilowatts per hour (kWh). The car stores so many kWh in its battery, which you use up as you drive. The distance you can go on 1 kWh depends on the car, your driving, and the terrain. When you charge an electric vehicle, the charger ability is measured in kilowatts of energy, but the battery storage within the car is in kilowatts per hour, so what is happening? Kilowatts is the speed of energy flow, while kilowatt-hours is the amount of energy stored. A charging unit has a kilowatt rating, which tells you how fast it can transfer kW to your Tesla, while the Tesla itself has a kilowatt per hour storage, which tells you how much energy your Tesla can hold. Thus charging time is determined by how fast the energy is flowing (kW) and how energy your Tesla can hold (kWh). Sounds simple enough, right? Higher kW means faster-charging speed, and higher kWh means more time needed to fill the battery and a longer-lasting charge. Now that we understand the basic principle let’s look at the specifics that change charge time. The Onboard Charger Most electrical outlets from which we get electricity use AC (alternating current). However, batteries, such as the one in your Tesla, use DC (direct current). This means that your Tesla must have a system to convert the AC into DC that can be stored in the battery. This system is called the onboard charger. The onboard charger has its own restrictions on how fast it can convert energy. Teslas come with either an 11.5 kW (48 amp) or a 7.7kW (32 amp) onboard charger. If you plug your Tesla into an AC outlet, then, no matter what the outlet’s power, it cannot charge at a faster rate than the onboard charger will allow, 11.5kW or 7.7kW depending on the Tesla. It can, however, charge at a slower rate. The amp ratings on the onboard charger represent the max the system can handle. The kW ratings given are based on charging your Tesla with a 240V AC outlet, which is the highest AC to which you would have access. The math behind this is quite simple. kW is the product of amps and voltage divided by 1000. If you plug your Tesla into a 240V outlet and your Tesla’s onboard charger has an amperage of 32, then your kW would be 240 x 32/1000, which equals 7.68kW, which Tesla has rounded to 7.7kW. To ensure your Tesla is reaching its kW rating, you will need to ensure that the onboard charger is pulling the maximum amount of amps it can. For a 48 amp onboard charger, Tesla thus recommends a 60 amp circuit breaker, and for a 32 amp onboard charger a 48 amp circuit breaker. Levels of EV Chargers The first, and also most important, thing to consider when figuring out how long you need to charge your Tesla is the charging system. The charging system determines your kilowatts, which is to say that it determines the speed at which energy is transferred to your Tesla. The more kilowatts a charging system uses, the faster your Tesla will charge. There are 3 levels of electric vehicle charging systems. These levels are divided by their voltage ratings. Level 1 Level 1 EV charging is charging your vehicle with a standard 120V outlet, which is what a basic electrical outlet around your house is. Level 1 EV charging (120V) is the slowest form of charging. It generally only provides 2 to 4 miles of driving for every hour of charge. A 120V outlet at your house is AC. Thus the onboard charger will come into play to convert this to DC. If your Tesla has the 11.5 kW 48 amp onboard charger, then plugging it into a 120V outlet only allows a charge of around 5.8 kW. At that rate filling, a 100 kWh battery will take at least 17 hours. Except there is a problem. 48 amps are how much your onboard charger can handle, but that does not necessarily mean that is what your outlet is giving. A 120V outlet probably only has 15 amps. Knowing that your Tesla’s charging rate decrease to 1.8kW. Filling a 100kWh battery will take around 55 hours. These numbers come from an ideal setting in which things such as temperature and efficiency do not also reduce charging time. In addition, Teslas charge more slowly as they reach capacity in order to protect the battery.