When Tesla’s Cybertruck made its first debut at the end of 2019, there were mixed reviews about its appearance. Some people found the futuristic design to be a little ahead of its time, while others loved the sleek lines and powerful look. There is no denying, however, that the performance of this truck will be one for the books.
When it comes to camping, Cybertruck is going to change the name of the game. With such powerful towing capacity, a strong and protective build, plus the aerodynamics and efficiency Tesla always brings to the table, this new truck model is going to put even the Ford F-250 to shame.
Whether you are a fan of Cybertruck’s new body design or not, this vehicle is going to be the best possible choice when it comes to finding a machine for adventurers and campers. Tesla never disappoints when it comes to the latest tech, so read on to learn all about Cybertruck and all the latest highlights and features, especially for camping.
Cybertruck Towing Capacity
It may surprise you to learn that a super-fast car does not necessarily translate to being able to tow something behind it. Power and speed can both be found in a sports car, but that does not mean you should try towing an RV behind it. Torque and horsepower are not the same animals, which is why you never see a Lamborghini towing a trailer.
In addition to the extra cargo space and efficiency, this vehicle has even more awesome benefits, like enough torque and strength to tow up to a 15-foot horse trailer that is fully loaded with 2 horses. For the camping family, this also means that you can take your trailer loaded with bikes and dune buggies or even a pop-up camper behind you.
Truly this Cybertruck is like a utility truck met with the potential of a sports car. Consider it a utility truck, only amped up to the max. Even more impressive is the fact that Tesla created Cybertruck to be able to haul pretty much every type of hitch behind you. No matter what kind of hookup you may require, a Cybertruck can tow with:
- A conventional ball trailer hitch
- A weight-distributing hitch
- A gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch
Lucky for you, the prospective Cybertruck buyer, Tesla created this vehicle taking pretty much everything into consideration. You likely already know about the Tesla Models S, 3, X, and Y, so you are likely familiar with some of the benefits involved when you purchase a Tesla car. A Tesla seems to make other car owners jealous for good reason.
The “Cyber Hitch”
A tow hitch is what you need on your truck or car to be able to attach a trailer or whatever you want to move behind you. If you are trying to move a heavy load behind your car, you will need a compliant hitch. Not only is Cybertruck built to haul and tow heavy loads, but Tesla also came out with a specific hitch for this new truck, called Cyber Hitch.
Cyber Hitch is really quite unlike any other brand of tow hitch as with it, Tesla claims the Cybertruck’s ability to pull “near-infinite mass” with it. Add that to a towing capacity of over 14,000 pounds and you have a whole lot of truck on your hands. This certainly gives peace of mind to the owner of this Tesla, as it is guaranteed to perform many jobs.
While many vehicles can tow trailers, boats, and more behind them, the Cyber Hitch is designed to be flush-mounted, which essentially means that the hitch disappears into the truck bed when not in use. This ensures a fully usable truck bed that is unrelated to the towing ability of the vehicle. No compromises, which is never a bad thing.
One thing that is important to keep in mind is that your electric charge efficiency will inevitably go down as you are towing something behind your Cybertruck. Although this is something that is true for all towing vehicles, it is usually a pain in the rear. Your Tesla’s mileage will vary, but the common rule of thumb is that it will go down by half.
Cybertruck Efficiency
In order to fully analyze the efficiency of the Tesla Cybertruck, you should understand why the average truck is one of the least efficient vehicles on the market. A large pickup truck from one of the competitors has a large front end, is usually lifted, and then the body drops off in the back to be open so you can carry things in the bed of the truck.
Your typical truck is designed to store a powerful motor in the front end so you can tow and haul what you need to when you need to. The nice thing is, although trucks are usually the worst when it comes to wind resistance, this is precisely what sets the Cybertruck apart from the rest of the larger, utility vehicle market.
Tesla has always been known for its superior aerodynamics and efficient design when it comes to its vehicles. Another one of the biggest draws to owning a Tesla vehicle is the lack of fossil fuel use and the cleaner electric energy. What some people consider to be a strange design on the latest model is actually the benefit of Cybertruck allowing for:
- Better housing for batteries
- The improvement of cargo space
- Lower noise pollution from wind
- The best possible mileage for a utility vehicle
Because an electronic vehicle, like Cybertruck, does not need to store a big, heavy-duty engine in the front, the lines on the truck design can be much smoother and allow air to flow up, over, and down them better. Electronic vehicles need to be more aerodynamic by nature, something Tesla has mastered, which results in Cybertruck’s strange design.
Off-Roading in a Cybertruck
If you are into camping, you know how rough the outdoors can be on your vehicle. Your car almost needs special tires and even a scratch-resistant coat of paint to make sure that trees, rocks, uneven roads, and more do not take their toll on your ride. Trucks seem to generally have what it takes for a pleasant and worry-free camping trip. Trucks:
- Can haul a pop-up camper
- Have a truck bed you can put a blow-up mattress in for low budget “glamping”
- Tend to be tough enough to handle uneven ground without bottoming out easily
In addition to the great benefits all Tesla models offer, the new Cybertruck is every bit as powerful and tough as the best truck on the market today. If the Cybertruck is essentially the next level of truck, this means you can expect the next level of camping out of it. Tesla even went so far as to invent their own stainless steel alloy.
The words “durable exoskeleton” do not even begin to explain just how impressive the build of the Cybertruck is. To describe it as “very strong” is a good start, but the frame is also built for long-term endurance. In fact, the material is the same as the stuff that is used for the Tesla SpaceX Starship, so it has already gone through extensive testing.
When camping or off-roading with your vehicle, you want something that you can put to the test without worry. You want something that will keep you safe and can get you where you want to be without any fuss. To say that Cybertruck will deliver on these fronts is an understatement. From desert dunes to dense woods, Cybertruck is ready.
What Makes This Material So Special?
Tesla invented its own stainless steel alloy specifically for the exoskeleton of the Cybertruck, which they call “Ultra-hard 30X Cold-rolled Stainless Steel.” To put it simply, the stainless steel alloy is a hardened steel plate without any magnetic properties and without the natural downsides of rust. Rust is the natural enemy of the utility vehicle.
For example, if you go offroading in a regular steel body truck and you end up getting a small scrape, enough to get through the paint to the metal, you could get some really significant rust damage within 10 years. If you do not take the time to address the rust, you could be out hundreds or thousands of dollars to save the body panel.
In the best possible scenario, you would either have to grind the rusted portion of the vehicle and then replace the empty section with body repair putty or hire a mechanic to do so for you. In the worst possible case, you would end up really shelling out the dollars and having to replace the entire body panel. That gets expensive very quickly.
A cool and interesting fact about the creation of the Cybertruck body is that this ultrahard material actually ended up breaking the machines that were bending the metal into the correct panel shapes. Kind of gives you a whole new perspective on the phrase “tough as steel.”
Cybertruck Safety and Performance
While you may initially think that there could not possibly be a downside to having a vehicle with an impossibly strong build, you need to consider statistics when it comes to car accidents. The original designs for automobiles included frames that were also tough as nails. The car bodies were designed to last, but also included a few problems.
Car panels today are designed to absorb the shock of impact in a car crash and crumple upon a certain amount of forceful impact. This means your car may not survive the crash, but it protects the passengers from taking the brunt of the force. Without this style of car panel, everyone inside will feel almost all of the impact force in an accident.
The main problem with Cybertruck’s design is also one of their main selling points. A rock-hard exoskeleton, 3.7 times thicker than your average body truck panels, and made of this impossibly strong stainless steel alloy, will not easily crumple on the impact of a car accident. This may be great for your car but unfortunately can lead to:
- More broken bones in drivers and passengers
- More whiplash and other neck injuries
- More fatalities for all parties involved
At first, this style sounds ideal. After all, who wants to get their car all dinged up and totaled in an accident? However, with super-tough car bodies such as these, the force of the impact has to go somewhere, and it, unfortunately, can end up passing the brunt of the crash onto passengers within the car.
Cybertruck’s Adaptive Air Suspension
An interesting selling point for Cybertruck is the adaptive air suspension. Many nicer and newer car models on the road today have something called air suspension, which is the precursor to adaptive air suspension. Air suspension is better than coilover suspension in the sense that it will give you a more gentle and smoother ride.
Coilover suspension kits use traditional coiled springs to even out bumpy car rides. While these are more suited for wear and tear on your vehicle, they will not provide the same smooth ride as air suspension will. Air suspension uses air springs or airbags that absorb the impact of bumps in the road, leading to a smoother ride.
The smoothest ride, however, lies in the newest technology called adaptive air suspension. Many hypercars, newer trucks, and new and iconic Ford Mustangs boast this feature, as does Cybertruck. As you drive, the computer in the suspension is constantly reading the road through the tires like a blind person’s finger reads braille.
Every bump and rut in the road tells the computer how hard or soft the suspension should be. The softer suspension will make rocky terrain seem less bumpy and jarring while harder suspension will give you better energy efficiency for smoother roads like asphalt. Once again, no compromises with Cybertruck means no problem for you.
Cybertruck Special Perks
While you can camp out with pretty much any old car or truck, there are some vehicles that make the great outdoors a little greater. Not only is Cybertruck paving the way when it comes to efficiency and utility, but there are also additional perks included that make camping with this specific Tesla model even more enjoyable.
One of the main bonuses that Tesla came out with is how they were able to improve on the idea of the bed on a truck. As you know, the tow hitch is flush with the truck bed, meaning that you can use the truck bed fully and without anything sticking up or out when the towing hitch is not in use. Plus, the hitch hidden away just tends to look better.
The truck bed is also not your only source of cargo real estate. As with all other Tesla models, the front end where you would normally find the car engine on non-electrical vehicles is another trunk for storage called the frunk. So your available cargo space on the Cybertruck is not just limited to the truck bed, you can also store your things:
- Inside the front trunk, also known as frunk
- In the sail pillars on either side of the vehicle
- In the under-bed
The adaptable air suspension also means that you can raise or lower your Cybertruck four inches either way to more easily load your passengers or belongings into the cab or truck bed. By the way, the Cybertruck can comfortably seat up to six passengers, which seems almost impossible when you consider how much cargo space you can store.
The Magic Tonneau Cover
Tesla refers to the truck bed cover as a “magic tonneau cover” which is basically just French for barrel or cask. With other truck bed covers, you are able to protect the contents of your truck bed from the sun, the rain, and other elements, but with Tesla’s lockable version, you can even walk around on and stand on the cover.
All the storage spaces on the Cybertruck add up to over 100 cubic feet of space to hide away and even lock your personal belongings. Being able to lock up your stuff means that you no longer have to worry about someone taking things you may have left in your truck bed.
Final Thoughts
Tesla’s new Cybertruck is one of the most impressive examples of efficiency meets utility in the car market today. Tesla vehicles are starting to be known as the envy of the road as the aerodynamics, mileage, wind resistance, and cargo space are some of the best available. Cybertruck boasts all these benefits, plus the perks of having a truck.
As with anything, Cybertruck has its ups and downs, and while the pros definitely outweigh the cons, the downsides seem to lie in the reality that it may not be as safe as Tesla wants you to think. Tesla Motors is one of the best about evolving and consumer feedback though, so you might wait and see if the cons improve and turn into pros.