Towing with an EV - trip report
Comments
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@CT .... I think many caravan towers already adopt the policy of staying with the trucks, so would already benefit from sitting the slip stream of large vehicle.
Do you think? I don't. In the past, with lighter previous outfits, I'd sit at nearer 60mph to go that bit faster than HGVs, however, I'm conscious now of being around the 4 tonne mark (car & caravan - not me 🙄) so tend to now to two a little slower than them ... let them do the overtaking. Definitely don't slip stream them.
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Thanks for this CT, it certainly wasn’t the only reason but reading your experiences on here contributed towards our decision to cancel our Superb PHEV order and order an EV6. I was already second-guessing the PHEV decision and it felt like it was backing out of doing what I knew (for me) was the right thing.
Like you, we have a Bailey Vigo and like you, we never go too far without a break. In fact, we prefer to stop overnight after 100 miles and being in Yorkshire, that always puts us somewhere interesting anyway
Anyway, it’ll likely be 2023 now, but I’ll try and get some info up here when we have some useful knowledge to share. Thanks again, really inspirational and extremely helpful!
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Goodluck Gabbleduck!
I am sure you will have seen it, but take a look at Andrew Ditton's youtubes on his EV6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o5Bq6pGFOA
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We have been following Andrew Ditton.
He explains things well.
Only thing not mentioned is cost to change from diseasel, the devils fuel we have been incentivised to buy by governments around the world, to the equivalent EV. In our case that is £130k, which buys an awful lot of the devil's fuel, probably beyond age/licence restrictions. How long is serviceable life of a better pack in relation to 500k miles and 15-20 years life of a diseasel power plant?
On ADs latest trip, comparing our next caravan trip, we wouldn't get to our destination as no charging points en route, nor on site when we get there.
That trip is for a sporting event, F1 GP, where thousands of vehicles will be heading, all if EV needing charging. Same as trying to go in peak holiday season where hordes will need charging every 80ish miles. Again we wouldn't make our overnight stop we plan to break the journey from the hordes, can't charge on site at intermediate stop or final destination.
Not our idea of a holiday trying to get charged up.
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Hi KeefySher,
You are absolutely right, it's still very expensive to buy a tow capable EV, especially if you are looking for large tow limit. But - the fact that you have even identified one that would suit your needs (all be it at an eye watering 130K) is a marked change from where we where 2 years or even 12 months ago. Out of interest what would that £130k tow car be for you? I assume its £130ish list new, so the question is how much more would it be over an equivalent brand new diesel today? That's often very hard to say, because EVs tend to be loaded with kit, and have very high performance. Not everyone wants 400hp and more toys than you can shake a stick at.
On the battery life thing, there are teslas with over 300K miles going strong, but none 15-20 years old. The oldest are about 8. But 300K miles and 15 years should be in sight of all new EVs today, given the improvements in both thermal management, battery charge management and battery chemistry.
Yes - range is still an issue. At best expect something like 120-140 miles top out of a 77kWh tow car. The Mustang EV has a 100kWh battery so might manage 150-160.
Where is your next trip planned? Sounds like the continent - and yes - when you get outside of western Europe, the chargers thin out a lot. Charging en-route is possible, but not always easy. Much easier with two when unhitching, one to charge and one to stay with the caravan.
It's certainly not for everyone yet, but things are improving all the time :-)
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AD - I think that's a little unfair. I towed 258 miles (as described in this thread) in one day with two stops. I could easily have towed 298 with the same 2 stops. Would it have taken longer than with an ICE? Probably (depending on your stops as an ICE driver). Would you have _only_ been able to tow 98 miles in one day? No. You might choose not to, but its not a hard limit.
Is there a specific EV tow car that suits your caravan, or your specific use case? Maybe not (definitely not for you, as we have discussed in this thread), but thats a different question, and in that case, if you did not have a suitable tow car, you would be 298 miles up the road.
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Other than thanking people for helpful contributions or attempting to add useful contributions of my own, I rarely get involved with discussions on the internet. People are often entrenched in their own views and generally, I don't care what they think or do anyway
However, whether we like it or not, we are all going to be using EVs at some point. Discussions of range and charging are certainly interesting and helpful for planning, but the simple fact is, 300+ mile non-stop journeys towing a caravan will not be possible with an EV for a long time, if ever. There's no point complaining about this because there is literally no one listening who can do anything about it. Our only realistic solution is to change our expectations and then our behaviours.
People like CT have decided to take the plunge early. I find it both baffling and amusing that the reaction to their choice ranges from dismissiveness to outright hostility, although such reactions are notably less prevelant here. These early adopters are helping to pile pressure onto car manufacturers to consider the towing capabilities of their EVs which is something we will all benefit from eventually. They are also contributing towards the pressure on the caravanning industry, which seems to have buried its head in the sand
And of course, all EV drivers are contributing to the push to install more chargers in more locations.The efforts of this group benefit us all right now, because there are fewer polluting vehicles on the road. And they benefit us in the future because come the day we all have to tow with EVs, it will be far easier. I fail to see the benefit of doing anything other than encouraging and supporting them.
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Good post, GD 👏
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Some folk just don’t like change GD, it’s always been the same. Gladly they’re in the minority👍🏻
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Well sure, but that was Glastonbury where Human method of fuelling = cheap hot dog, cost £10 a go. And petrol or diesel method of fuelling = none.
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I can't comment on towing and fridges but our EV, and I assume others are the same, has a conventional 12v battery which takes its charge from the main EV battery instead of an alternator. The 12v battery powers the ancillaries such as lights but not the heavy draw items like air con.
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So I believed the answer to be “yes, it does power the fridge”, but after our return tow yesterday, the icebox (that had nothing in it) had defrosted, though the rest of the fridge was still cool. Not sure if that was just the 12v not keeping up with 23C ambient, or not running at all for 7 hours.
Either way, I can’t tell if it makes a difference to range, as we always tow over long distance with the fridge set to 12v. I.e. I have no comparison…
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CT
Do you know how the wiring of the 13 pin socket is different (if indeed it is) from a conventional ICE vehicle? Obviously the road lights on the caravan take up very little power and won't impact on the battery that much. However in an ICE vehicle the alternator can provide a constant power to the fridge which somehow I imagine just doesn't happen on an EV? Whilst the plug in battery will provide the charge for the 12v battery, does it just do this when the main vehicle battery is being charged or is there a trickle permanent charge. I suppose you would have the check the voltage in the car 12v battery after a long journey towing to see what sort of remaining power you have. Getting a handle of this question would be important for anyone towing in generally hotter temperatures.
David
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DK and ED. Exactly as ED says, my EV (and all EVs) have a 12v battery that runs the car systems, the traction battery is for traction and topping up the 12V. How and when that is done is car specific. On mine, the 12v is charged any time the car is charging AND when the car is running. It’s done via a DC-DC module.
As to the wiring of the 13pin socket, it’s identical to that on any other car, just with the question of the fridge switched live, which seems to be a question on more and more ICE cars today too. I would have to look at the wiring diagram and get out with a DVM to prove if it’s wired either way.
I did find this in the manual, which implies there is a constant 12v feed.
IMPORTANT
When the car is switched off, the constant battery voltage to the trailer contact can be switched off automatically so as not to discharge the 12V battery.0 -
Ah - yes - that is dumb. Agreed.
You can try and make things idiot-proof but the world will keep building better idiots.
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As I understand it you need pin 10 connected which they sometimes don't even on ICE cars. If that is the case it would explain the situation with your fridge as no power would be getting through? Is there a power indication light on the fridge?
David
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No - it has a light inside, but that runs from the 12V battery direct AFAIK (not after the habitation relay). Its the same on gas, mains (without hookup present) or 12v. That light is definitely on when the door is open.
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The fridge control panel and interior light are fed by a permanent live feed from your leisure battery, ChocT. It’s so you can operate the fridge on gas or mains electric even with the caravan's main control panel turned off.
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Yeah - that was my understanding too, but it has a different feed (from the cars switched live) for the 12v compressor., so as not to kill the caravan battery. Would be good to know what the load the compressor generates and I could easily work out how much energy it uses in terms of towing miles.
I looked it up. The biggest Thetford 3 way absorption fridge uses 205w peak 12v input. That equates to about 15 miles of distance on a usable 75kWh charge when towing. I.e. Fridge on would yield 15 miles less range than fridge off for the same full battery.
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this was linked to on here a while back .... don't watch if you are easily offended by 'flowery' language https://youtube.com/shorts/hBwcwnKHVJA?feature=share
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Haha. Its pretty funny, but in all seriousness, talk about wrong tool for the job...
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