Tesla model Y brake controller install.

Viajero

Hi folks. I have been wanting to put this up for awhile. For those towing with a Y or X her are a few notes and pics for the brake controller install.  

The Y and the X are both prewired for a conventional brake controller. We chose the tekonsha P3. 

You need a Wire pigtail from Tesla. 5 bucks. The connector is behind the kick panel by the drivers left foot. See pic. 

Make the harness first. The colour codes are not logical so just use my pic as a guide. 

Then pull the carpet and panel back. You’ll see the plug down below. Plug in the harness you just made. 

Mount the brake controller with the wide bracket. Plug it in and you are done. Here’s a few pics. 

You can see the control to the thru the left of the steering wheel. 

Cheers. Hopefully this is useful to someone. 

Slackers

Which camper are you pulling with your Model Y?

Viajero

T@B 400

Slackers

Roughly how many miles can you pull the 400 between charges? 

Viajero

Slackers said:

Roughly how many miles can you pull the 400 between charges? 

It kinda depends. If one is on secondary highways with slower speeds probably around 250 to 270 kilometres. I have heard that changes on fast divided highways type of speeds. I have no experience at that and haven’t talked to anyone that has so can’t help you there. We tow slow so assess accordingly. Just like with ice vehicles, speed kills efficiency. 

We are planning a cross Canada tour in about 10 weeks so I’ll be able to provide a little more highway condition information then. But we still won’t be going over 90 kmh. We have been towing a long time and the physics changes a lot when towing faster than that. We stay in our comfort zone. 

Cheers. 

schwartzki

Following this as I really like the MY and if it could usable for camping trips that would be great. From my research it seems highway speeds of 110kmh(70mph) reduce range to about 160kms(100mi). Be interested to see what range you see going 105kmh(65mph). Here in the states going slower then 105 on interstate highways is a traffic hazard.

Towhee

Washington State speed limit for trailers is same as trucks, ie. 60 mph. At these speeds we experienced about 120 mi. range on I-5 with our 2022 Tab 320 bd.  We plug in at state parks and lots of superchargers all over the State.  We generally take our time and take US and State highways when available. 

Viajero

Yep. It seems most of our destinations are off the beaten track anyway. In BC I would be surprised if we averaged 80 kmh on most of these highways.  So many little towns to go thru. Speed limits down to 50 or 60 kmh half the time. Don’t be in a hurry to go anywhere. LOL. 😊. We actually enjoy the slow pace. Great for range. 👍😊

Safe travels all. 

Brent

Hi Viajero,

Do you order the pig tale from Teslas’ website?
is there some place in the Tesla owners Manual for instructions?

Thanks,
brent 

Towhee

@Brent Our Tesla Service Center had the pigtail in stock.  It is the same part used on model X.

aphillips

@Slackers @Towhee We have been on a road trip with my sister and her Model Y on vacation this week (no camper). It is my first experience in a Tesla and dealing with charging stations. I have only seen one station in about 10 that seems like it would be feasible to charge with the camper attached. Most are back in and you need to get the car very close to the charging station. How do you deal with that? I would love to tow with an electric vehicle, but am trying to think through the issues. Thanks! 

aphillips

aphillips said:

@Slackers @Towhee We have been on a road trip with my sister and her Model Y on vacation this week (no camper). It is my first experience in a Tesla and dealing with charging stations. I have only seen one station in about 10 that seems like it would be feasible to charge with the camper attached. Most are back in and you need to get the car very close to the charging station. How do you deal with that? I would love to tow with an electric vehicle, but am trying to think through the issues. Thanks! 

Adding @Viajero to the conversation since I also just found this post: https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/183564#Comment_183564

Every one of the super charges we went to were completely full, making taking up 3 sideways not an option. Thanks for you input! 

Slackers

Currently charging stations are set up for cars (and trucks) without trailers. I just watched a Youtube of a family towing an Airstream with a Rivian R1S traveling to just West of Denver from Nebraska. At all the stops they had to unhook or use multiple lanes as you describe.  The stations were largely Electrify America.  On a side note, one station had a pair of chargers that were off-line. They were also off-line during their prior trip last summer.

Towhee

@Phillips, @Slackers, @Viajero. We use only Tesla superchargers for our Model Y.  First choice is pull in.  This configuration seems to be more popular for new stations. (eg Burlington)  Occasionally a non tower is pulled into the pull in.  Gently asking how much longer they will be results in them realizing we would have to unhitch and they graciously moved.  If not busy we can pull in sideways which uses the space of three chargers.  Worse case is we unhitch which takes us less than three minutes.  I worried in advance, but not really a big deal.  

Model Y is such a great TV that a few minutes to charge is worth it.

Flybone89

My perspective is also with Tesla Superchargers (SC) - I can't speak for EA and other charging networks, which I have heard is a nightmare whether you have a trailer or not!

Most new SC stations now have pull-in spots or pull through spots for trailers - Tesla is getting the network ready for the Cyber Truck (and more Model Y owners who love to tow!) and knows it needs more trailer spots. So, they are working to add more and more trailer friendly SCs. In fact, they are also retrofitting existing stations with more trailer spots. There is a SC in Indiana near Purdue that when I last stopped recently had brand new trailer spots!

So, it can be a problem at times but it is a problem that is going away - at least for Tesla. Having to unhitch is rare and ironically the biggest issue is non-towing Tesla owners using a pull-in spot even when every back-in spot is available. Come on Tesla newbs - learn to back in!! It's just an opportunity to gently educate the Tesla community to save these spots for trailers unless the station is full...

Kevin

Slackers

It's good to hear the changes are coming.  My experience is with a Model 3 (best suited for pulling Gs) so I haven't paid notice to TV-trailer charger configurations.

Viajero

Hi folks. We have been on the road for a couple weeks so have been out of the loop. Re charging with the trailer: we rarely have to unhook and this past trip of 1700 ish kilometres we never had to unhook once. But I can see how in other areas it might be more problematic. When we have to unhook it only takes literally a minute, and hookup is maybe 90 seconds including the second person check over and light check.  It has not been a problem. 

Hope that helps. 

Flybone89

Well @Viajero I am about to go all-in towing our Tab 320S with an EV! I just brought home a Tesla Model Y (replacing a Model 3), which will now become our primary tow vehicle. WALL-E will be guiding Serenity! The reason we are jumping in all at once to EV towing is my wife no longer wants to drive the tow vehicle - she also wants to go electric as well as smaller, so she is trading in her Volvo XC60 for a XC40 Recharge. We are losing our current tow vehicle, which has been a great TV btw!

I am getting ready for our first camping trip with the Model Y - thanks to your pics I was able to install the same brake controller with no problem! Unfortunately, we lost out on a test camping trip last weekend to a nearby campground, so our first camping trip with our Model Y will be over Labor Day weekend to a campground farther away (173 miles / 278 km).

Any tips / tricks for a first timer towing with an EV?

Kevin