2G wrote on 12/13/2019 7:49 PM:
On Friday, December 13, 2019 at 1:19:35 PM UTC-8, bertvaneyken wrote:
Is there anyone using a Tesla Model 3 to tow his/her glider regularly?

Curious about the impact on range and usability to go on (European) gliding holiday.

I found this youtube video of a towing test with a model X. The results were not impressive. They were towing a horse trailer (4,500 lb), not a glider trailer. Power consumption jumped 3.8x at 70 mph, lower at 55 mph (about 2..7x). This was on flat ground at high altitude (less air resistance). My guess is that you will be around 2x with a glider trailer. Better plan your trip carefully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhX3BmhJXc8

My Dodge Caravan got about 27 mpg when not towing, about 20 mpg when towing a 1700
pound glider trailer. A Model 3 is slightly heavier, a modern trailer is lower
drag, so I would expect a Model 3 range to drop no more than it did on my Caravan;
ie, a power consumption increase of 35%, not 100%. My measurements on two other
vehicles I used to tow glider trailers indicated the change in mileage was
proportional to the weight change. For a 4000 pound vehicle towing a 1700 trailer,
that would be about a 40% increase in power consumption.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1