Cargo Trailer Freeway Efficiency

[asellus]

Looking to get a reality check on towing efficiency here. I will allegedly get my invite this winter, and I plan to use the R2 to tow my motorcycles to the local track. I have access to a Kendon open trailer which is crazy efficient -- I hit an indicated 20-21mpg on a Ram 1500 4x4 w/plain old 5.7 last weekend -- but a small cargo trailer or toy hauler would be the endgame plan.

My current targets are 6x12, 7x12, and 7x14 single axle with a 5'6" interior height.

Anyone able to test a good 50-ish mile trip on the freeway with a cargo trailer? If so, please post stats about it including:
- trailer dimensions (length, width, interior height, axle count)
- mi/kwh
- average speed
- one-way or round-trip test, as the latter would help avoid uphill- or downhill-only runs

I'm fully prepared to see atrocious numbers like 0.8 mi/kwh but have a shred of hope that it's better. TIA!

Sponsored

 

[Jeremy3292]

This should help as a baseline worst case scenario at max load.

 

[asellus]

nah, weight means nothing at freeway speed, and it's an apples/oranges situation comparing a flatbed with a small car on it versus a cargo trailer that's effectively a gigantic sail.

if memory serves they didn't speak about efficiency for more than a few seconds in that video, focusing more on the ride quality and mechanical capabilities instead.

 

[Mysta]

nah, weight means nothing at freeway speed, and it's an apples/oranges situation comparing a flatbed with a small car on it versus a cargo trailer that's effectively a gigantic sail.

if memory serves they didn't speak about efficiency for more than a few seconds in that video, focusing more on the ride quality and mechanical capabilities instead.

At end of day a more aerodynamic trailer would make a huge difference, and probably going to get half range(if you can charge at the track I would assume you'd be totally fine)

 

[asellus]

sorry let me clear things up -- I'm not looking for theories or vaguely related comparables, I'm looking for people with actual data under the specific use case I outlined in the original post.

 

[Mysta]

sorry let me clear things up -- I'm not looking for theories or vaguely related comparables, I'm looking for people with actual data under the specific use case I outlined in the original post.

Ah, you should probably post a strict 'no discussion otherwise' in the topic so you don't have to post a passive aggressive response when people keep your thread alive while you wait 3 months for someone to actually have this use case handled.

 

[asellus]

I felt that was plainly outlined in the OP and subsequently ignored, hence the response. Let me know where you got the impression that I was inviting thoughts and feelings over real data and I'll correct that immediately.

 

[Mysta]

Heard, my experience is that statistics will beat anecdotal most of the time, and there's no reason for R2 to become an outlier(minus being mildly shorter), but feel free to wait for some anecdotal evidence while specific statistics build over the coming years. Hopefully someone tests this soon but I expect it to be a minute.

 

[asellus]

Yeah, I hope some folks have access to cargo trailers and can run some quick tests before winter. Otherwise I plan to pull some trailers up and down I-94 here when I get my R2 to get a good feel for how much range is dumped.

Good point on the R2 not being an outlier -- the tow vehicle barely matters, something I've said in other threads. Not sure why it didn't occur to me to look at data of other BEVs towing cargo trailers.

Clearly I need more coffee.

 

[Jeremy3292]

nah, weight means nothing at freeway speed, and it's an apples/oranges situation comparing a flatbed with a small car on it versus a cargo trailer that's effectively a gigantic sail.

if memory serves they didn't speak about efficiency for more than a few seconds in that video, focusing more on the ride quality and mechanical capabilities instead.

You stated:

"I'm fully prepared to see atrocious numbers like 0.8 mi/kwh but have a shred of hope that it's better. TIA!"

If you watched the video you would see they got between 1.6 and 1.7 MPK at city driving speeds and 0.8 MPK at 70 mph on the highway. This would give you a good benchmark to know what the worst case scenario is for a max load, bad aero driving.

So it actually is very helpful to you as you can see towing a lighter, more aero trailer you have would yield way better than the 0.8MPK you were worried about.

Sorry for helping and trying more than you did

 

[Mysta]

TBH i'm surprised there's not more teardrop cargo trailers yet, even in standard world it would help a lot with efficiency, and the top corners generally are not used much, except maybe in work trailers.

 

[josh0]

I recently towed my 21’ travel trailer for the first time with my R1T (dual). Should be a reasonable facsimile for a cargo trailer, though taller. (It’s a No Boundaries 16.6.) It was just a short round trip of about 80 miles. Got about 1.4 miles per kWh. Average speed was about 55 going downhill, and 45 going uphill, 1200’ elevation change. I’ll have to look up the dimensions of the trailer.

 

[Jeremy3292]

I recently towed my 21’ travel trailer for the first time with my R1T (dual). Should be a reasonable facsimile for a cargo trailer, though taller. (It’s a No Boundaries 16.6.) It was just a short round trip of about 80 miles. Got about 1.4 miles per kWh. Average speed was about 55 going downhill, and 45 going uphill, 1200’ elevation change. I’ll have to look up the dimensions of the trailer.

OP said no commentary unless you've towed the specific trailer he asked for with an R2 on a specific 50 mile trip, so I guess we should let this thread die unless there is one person on here who happens to own an R2 and done this specific test.

 

[josh0]

OP said no commentary unless you've towed the specific trailer he asked for with an R2 on a specific 50 mile trip, so I guess we should let this thread die unless there is one person on here who happens to own an R2 and done this specific test.

I missed the R2 part, the rest of it would otherwise be close enough to be helpful in estimating. There was no specific trailer asked for, just ‘cargo trailer’, so a small travel trailer is similar. I guess I won’t bother digging up the trailer specs to see how similar, since it’s the wrong tow vehicle.

 

[asellus]

I recently towed my 21’ travel trailer for the first time with my R1T (dual). Should be a reasonable facsimile for a cargo trailer, though taller. (It’s a No Boundaries 16.6.) It was just a short round trip of about 80 miles. Got about 1.4 miles per kWh. Average speed was about 55 going downhill, and 45 going uphill, 1200’ elevation change. I’ll have to look up the dimensions of the trailer.

yeah I'd agree -- looks like they're 8' wide and close to 10' tall, and with the R1T's larger frontal area sucking up some of the efficiency hit in the first place, so "reasonable facsimile" makes sense here. 1.4mpk is way higher than I would have expected to see. ty!

Sponsored