Towing with an EV - trip report
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Hi All
a tad late onto this one but I found the post while having a general read.
I’ve towed for a year with my EV6 and it’s been brilliant! Coachman 520 comes in just below he 1600kg limit.
although price of charging when out and about is a downer at the moment!
great read tho1 -
Life goes on as they say and here in 2023 we have been tempted to convert to an electric tow car (Volvo XC40 Recharge Plus) to pull a Swift Charisma 550 (1.4T) from a Seat Alhambra (2l diesel). The question of infrastructure remains but seems to have improved.
I hope to have anticipated the same issues that Chocolate Trees expereinced and it is re-assuring that they completed a trip to the Lake District smoothly. There is hope forus yet. We intend to test the range of the Volvo before towing and start to understand the expereince of towing by a number of local and extending range weekends, just to overcome any residual range anxiety.
It would be good to hear more experiences of other members in 2023.
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Hi Wilkes Tribe, we did the same trip last year too (July 2022) with no problems . Charging stops that time were Instavolt in Crewe and South lakes Porsche Center (Carnforth) on the way up. Then Ionity Blackburn and Ionity Stafford on the way back. No waiting to charge at either. Ionity and Porsche were amazingly fast.
good luck with the XC40!I put a report up here. https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/discussions/information-technical-tips-advice/towcars-towing/another-long-tow-with-an-ev/
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Not posted for a while, but just to update - EV6 arrives this Friday, which gives us 3 months to rack up the required 1000 miles before trip to Northumberland in June. Still have the same 2020 Vigo which will weigh just shy of 1500kg when loaded up. I’ll be sure to post some figures when we get back for others to refer to.
Hope everyone’s got some good trips planned
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I found this an interesting read. We have a Kia eNiro but were advised that it wasn't suitable for towing but obviously the EV6 can tow.
Charging up on a journey seems quite straight forward, obviously unhitching then going to the charging stations, but I wonder about charging once you get to your site. I realise you can "granny charge" but wouldn't that take a long time? Can you tell me your charging regime once on site please?
Thanks.
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CAMC is installing some fast(er) chargers on some sites. See link -
Btw, I share your frustration with regard to your earlier question and I have reported the issue.
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Hi VanVision,
Glad you found it interesting! Granny charging is slow - especially as I may turn down the rate below 10A to leave room for other consumers in the van. However, it can be very effective. On a few CLs I have used it (paid for and with permission) as my main charging source while on site. From 0% to 100% could take 48 hours, but spread over a week long stay, thats not really an issue.
More likely though, I would use granny charging to give me say between 30% and 50% and then rely on local 7kW or rapid charging as needed.
Our last trip away near Clitheroe, I asked the CL owner for permission to charge, but didn't actually use it. We did all our our charging on various posts at the places we were visiting, and made sure we had sufficient for our journey home before we left.
If I do decide to charge on site, I use a 3 pin energy monitor plug running from a socket inside the van, with the granny lead directly attached, generally running at 8A. I ask the owner for their electricity rate, program that in the monitor, and pay them the accumulated amount at the end of the stay. Getting attached as soon as power is on in the van is ideal so the car can get on with charging while we do other things.
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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.
17 amperes through the 13 pin connection ? surely not 🤔
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That's what the datasheet says, but its a peak load. I guess the point is, for 205w you would loose 15 miles. A smaller fridge, smaller loss.
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I just thought I would add a link to the latest Andrew Ditton video on YouTube where he tows his caravan with his EV to the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf. It gives a bit of an insight into towing in Europe with an EV. Video here.
David
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Just thinking about this some more. 205W at 12V is indeed 17A, but 14v (The nominal voltage output of an alternator), its more like 14A. At 2.5mm2 the 13pin conductors are rated at 20A, so 14 to 17 seems reasonable.
What I cant work out is how I got 15miles range loss from that number. On a 75kWh battery, I can get about 130 miles of towed range, which takes about 2.5 hours. If the fridge was flat out at 205W for 2.5 hours, it would consume 512Wh. Thats very close to 1 mile of range, never mind 15! (I must have messed up my maths somewhere).
But this is interesting, as it shows just how little range is impacted by auxiliary equipment (things like lights, stereo, heated seats and steering wheel). By far the biggest impact is heating, and even that is very small in the grand scheme of things.
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EU battery passport for EVs from 2027
hypos
/www.circularise.com/blogs/eu-battery-passport-regulation-0 -
Thanks for this! First time I have come across it, but from my quick read it looks like a great initiative to track and trace both components and lifecycle of the key materials.
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Latest Andrew Ditton video on towing with an EV, including charging costs, here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_clvQHzjSk
David
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We were at Blacknowl the other week their 7 kWh on site chargers are £6.50 for 10 kWh charge (65pence kWh), the video is the caravan site charger at £4.30 for a 10 kWh charge (43 pence kWh), so we charged up a Tesco PodPoint 44 pence kWh.
Does the price vary from site to site ?
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I came across this thread when looking for something else in CT. Now it's 3 years later and I'm still sceptical of the whole EV towcar scenario. Having driven a XC60 for the past 5 years I feel it gives me all the freedom I could wish for in terms of logenvity and ability to tow whenever I please, without having to think of refuelling along the way.
Having read the Evaluation of an EV towcar, I wonder if he felt safe leaving his partner in a disconnected Caravan and apparently Camping on a Motorway Service Area, (something that is actually prohibited). As soon as you put a leg of the caravan down, it isn't 'parked' it is considered as camping. Parking is allowed but camping isn't.
Worried about my own caravan safety when at an MSA I put the Hitchlock on while still atttched to the car, when we do the necessary bathroom breaks. and sips of coffee etc.
As previously mentioned, the cost of replaceing an ICE vehicle with an EV is prohibative for me also.
Our nearest MSA has now got about 8 charging points, (none in the caravan bays though). and it's rare to see any one of them in use. Maybe us northerners are all die-hard Petrol-Heads, but I see plenty of EV's in the car park. between Sheffield and Leeds.
According to the local news items and TV programmes about EV's, give the impression that thay are mostly owned as company vehicles, and the private buyers aren't going for EV's as much as expected.
As with most new innovations, they start out being all the rage, untill, time and repairs say otherwise.
Give it 20 years or so and maybe EV's will be the answer to all pollution and environment problems, but I probably won't be around then to see it.
I'll stick with my trusted Volvo 2.4 litre XC60 Diesel AWD power-machine till I stop driving altogether, I think.
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Interesting but not for us. Until you get a towing ability of at least 200 miles the problems of unhitching, short towing spells and unreliable charging ability we cannot see the point.
Polestar are a Chinese owned maker but the cars over here are built in Norway by Volvo. They are well regarded.
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Hi Busyelf, thanks for the conversation :-)
"Parking is allowed but camping isn't" Welcome break specifically allow camping, they just charge for more than two hours. Lifesure discuss the topic here.
Personal adversity to risk is of course individual. We tend not to stop at MSAs with the caravan as they can be awkward to use (too many one way bits). However, there are hundreds of other viable stoping locations with charging and facilities that we make use of.
Costs can be prohibitive - each to their own. Mine is a company car, so the choice was easy. Many company car users don't have a choice WRT to EV or ICE, my post is more about those who have no choice, or want to choose EV for other reasons, also being able to tow.
Our family has 4 EVs now. Mine, my wife's (new, personal purchace) my eldest and youngest (used, PCP). The used ones are an absolute bargain.
If you have a car that works for you and your lifestyle - great! Stick with it. Mine works for me too, and I would hate to go back to wet fuel.
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