The Future Starting to Emerge
One of the problems highlighted by caravanners against towing with EV's is the lack of pull through charging facilities with a caravan in tow. Instavolt have opened a new facility on the A34 that will answer that issue.
David
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It’s been interesting to follow a group on Facebook called ‘Caravanning With Electric Vehicles UK’ to see more and more people adopt EVs and share their experiences of towing with them in the real world. Charging with the caravan on the back is a big issue, but the biggest issue is the range reduction when towing, which is always less than half the solo range. A 100 mile range when towing is pretty common.
Many EV owners have moved to buy older, lighter caravans or swap to small new ones with increased aerodynamics such as the Swift Basecamp or Bailey Discovery and even pop-tops and folding caravans. Eriba seem to be the most commonly spotted tourer on the back of an EV on my travels on the Continent last year. The problem is, there’s so many financial incentives to buy an EV, and many people get them as company cars, so they’re happy to compromise on the caravan as it saves them money in the long run.
The question remains, if the inevitable is happening and we’re moving to EVs or at the very least smaller ICE engines, why are caravan manufacturers continuing to churn out bulky white boxes, seemingly with no thought on the very imminent future? Your average caravanner is already struggling to replace their ageing 2.0-3.0L SUV, as new breeds favour highly tuned 1.5-1.6L diesel engines. You can’t argue against the logic regarding making caravans lighter and better to tow, even if you don’t tow with an EV, as it will reduce fuel consumption and ultimately make caravanning cheaper.
The only realistic development I’ve seen in this respect is the recent Burstner Talis concept from Germany (pictured below). It’s designed specifically to reduce drag, even minimising the length of the caravan to feature a fold-out double bed at the back. No weights have been quoted, but it’s rumoured to be around 1,000kgs. They recon it will be around 25-35% more efficient to tow than a conventional “white box”. This is the sort of innovation we need from the caravan industry to meet the rise in the adoption of EVs and also the countless small family cars that now have much lower towing limits. Whereas a 1500 - 1800kgs towing limit once seemed pretty average for your 2.0 diesel family saloon/estate, the new generation of 1.2-1.6L diesel engines seem to end up having a towing limit of 1200 - 1500kgs. There’s actually a very small number of caravans produced in the UK that fall into that weight category. We’re sleepwalking into a crisis, which is going to have an adverse affect on caravanning in the future.
Photos: Burstner GmbH
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The article David posted about popped up on the feed to my laptop. I noticed the Airstream in tow and about 4 or 5 suitable bays, so some progress.
You mention the shift to lighter vans as a step forward and I totally agree. I have always chosen such vans as I do not want a large tow car. My current van has a permanent double bed, seating for four [or another double bed] decent kitchen area and a "small" bathroom, not really suitable for showering. It is similar to my previous pop-tops, all Eriba's. Ex factory it should have been 1010kg, bur with everything added is still only 1135kg, so I have 365kg true payload. I currently tow with an Audi 1.5L petrol that has a 1500/1700kg tow limit and it does the task with ease. I am happy with the 32-34mpg I typically get towing and the occasional 70mpg on long 55mph solo runs.
Electric cars towing such Eriba's are achieving a realistic safe range of 140-160 miles. If that meets your needs then fine, but for a lot of us it does not.
I'm 64 this summer and cannot see a vehicle on the horizon yet that will offer the range I require at a price that is within reach of your average owner. What I do see is a new range of [VAG in particular] PHEV's coming to the market that offer an electric solo range of 70-80 miles supporting. They will tow 1500+kg vans using smaller capacity petrol engines and would appear to be a good stopgap whilst awaiting an electric tow car for the masses.
Colin
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I am stuck with the range problem. Quite simply the towing range of all cars for sale at the moment is simply not good enough. I would have to stop in reality every 100 miles or so to refuel, this would mean unhitching and hitching again in most cases and paying more for the electricity than I would for petrol or diesel. That requires more dedication to the subject than I am prepared to give. I realise that in fact you can get possibly 130 to 140 for some cars but even then you need a reserve when you get low so you will never fill up on empty any more than with an ICE. I know the range is increasing but it needs a lot more for most of us.
I know there are now a few stations where at least in theory you can fill up with a caravan attached but hey are few and far between and need at least two points together empty for you to get in, more with some outfits. This is the same for ICE cars though, but generally we manage because of he higher throughput.
I agree that weights and presumably sizes will have to come down if EV,s are to be used for towing. It will probably be a long time before you can realistically tow an Adria or Buccaneer with an EV although, presumably it will come.
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