Towing trailers with electric cars

[CLB]

My mitsi phev towed a 16ft (heavy as fook) glass boat without any issues. In fact , I believe the rear end was more suited for towing as it was already uprated for the extra weight of the batteries. The regen brakes didnt bat an eyelid, and the onboard computer worked out when and where to distribute the power to the two electric motors.

How dare you come into this thread and contradict the armchair experts and their theories with mere facts!?

The trouble is that the 'facts' aren't very clear. 'Heavy as fook' is not a recognized unit of measurement, and therefore means sod all. I have a 16ft boat that I tow and it weighs about 800kg all up. That is 'heavy as fook' if I want to try and lift it over my head, but as a trailerable load is is, IMO, very lightweight. I tow up to 27ft and 3,500kg. That is what I want to know about when it comes to electric vehicle capability when towing.

Perhaps Trickyh can translate 'heavy as fook' into KG for us so we know what 'facts' we are actually dealing with.

 

[Easticks28]

Latest from Apple, thir new electric car. I see they’re still using the old lightning connector.

 

[Trickyh]

Well it was rated for 1500kg. All up including boat, trailer, bbq, sup, and associated holiday stuff shoved in the boat must have easily been 1000kg. It was a 180hp rated vehicle, and it just drove like one. Also much smoother for towing as no gear changes at all and all torque if you needed it including 4wd. Only difference to an IC was to keep a bit of extra charge for big hills. But that was easily done by the push of a single button.

 

[TernVI]

The trouble is that the 'facts' aren't very clear. 'Heavy as fook' is not a recognized unit of measurement, and therefore means sod all. I have a 16ft boat that I tow and it weighs about 800kg all up. That is 'heavy as fook' if I want to try and lift it over my head, but as a trailerable load is is, IMO, very lightweight. I tow up to 27ft and 3,500kg. That is what I want to know about when it comes to electric vehicle capability when towing.

Perhaps Trickyh can translate 'heavy as fook' into KG for us so we know what 'facts' we are actually dealing with.

I have towed a small RIB a long enough distance to see the fuel consumption consequences. Probably weighed 600kg all up, and not exceeding 60mph, it pushed my fuel consumption to about 35, where I'd have expected to get over 45mpg without towing.
Even a lightweight racing dinghy hits the consumption, I'd expect maybe 40mpg on a motorway run, keeping to <~60mph, where I'd get more like 50mph going noticeably faster without it. I think it's the air drag. Into a headwind I've had some terrible consumption.

I suspect the BEV makers are simply keeping out of the towing market for now, because the kind of range anxiety people would get, would simply be negative publicity for very few extra sales. All the motoring comics would be all over them like a rash, first to break cover is going to face dragging a shed all the way to Scotland or something with tales of woe about access to charge points. A good rule of marketing is 'select your customers carefully'.

 

[Alicatt]

When I bought the 24ft Dory with cabin in Chichester my brother came down with my mother's Nissan Sunny 2.0lt diesel from Wick, normally it would return around 66mpg but with the dory and 35hp Suzuki outboard it dropped to around 30mpg, my company car at that time did not have a towbar.
Towing a 4tonne+ load of building supplies from Eindhoven to my house in Belgium I averaged 18mpg with my 3.6 TDV8 Range Rover, but then again we were sitting at 120km/h, normally it returns an average of 31mpg (I can get it up to 37mpg if I keep it around 50mph) and once towing an empty, small unbraked trailer from near Stirling up to Wick I did manage to achieve 36mpg but boy were the conditions really bad with snow so the speed was kept really quite low.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Ah - but can it sail downwind faster than the wind itself?

Oh Lord, do you remember that thread too?

 

[stevebrassett]

Interesting article here - Electric Tow Cars - What Are Your Options Now (2020) and in the Future? (hortoncommon.co.uk)

 

[JumbleDuck]

When I bought the 24ft Dory with cabin in Chichester my brother came down with my mother's Nissan Sunny 2.0lt diesel from Wick, normally it would return around 66mpg but with the dory and 35hp Suzuki outboard it dropped to around 30mpg, my company car at that time did not have a towbar.

My old VW Type 2 camper van used to do 30mpg on its own and 36mpg with a glider trailer behind. I experimented and found that it was because it slowed me down: fuel consumption at 50mph was always much better than at 60mph.

 

[Iliade]

Glad to see you have joined the club, see #20 and #32

Brian

I saw them. Have we worked together I wonder? I was more lab and occasional Millbrook. Just the one visit to MIRA.

 

[Alicatt]

I saw them. Have we worked together I wonder? I was more lab and occasional Millbrook. Just the one visit to MIRA.

Was at MIRA one day as they wanted to fit CCTV after losing someone over the banking, must have been in the late 90s

Daughter in law used to work at the test track in Lommel for Ford, she took me round the track there and explained what each section was and what it was based on on a families day.

 

[sutton sailor]

I was very interested in buying a Nissan Leaf when i asked what was the towing capacity? i was hoping to tow my small trailer 350 Kg. I was told they arespecifically not to be used for towing, and as I would not be complying with the makers instructions if I did tow a trailer it would invalidate my insurance, with all the ensueing problems that could flow from that. So I would advise anyone planning to mtow with an electric vehicle to check with your insurance company first. Other wise you could find your self being sued for mega £ if you are unlucky and have an accident.

 

[oldharry]

I was very interested in buying a Nissan Leaf when i asked what was the towing capacity? i was hoping to tow my small trailer 350 Kg. I was told they arespecifically not to be used for towing, and as I would not be complying with the makers instructions if I did tow a trailer it would invalidate my insurance, with all the ensueing problems that could flow from that. So I would advise anyone planning to mtow with an electric vehicle to check with your insurance company first. Other wise you could find your self being sued for mega £ if you are unlucky and have an accident.

No need to check. Any unauthorised modification automatically invalidates the insurance. Fitting a towbar to a vehicle that is not type approved for towing is clearly 'unauthorised!' Lack of type approval means the maker has not bothered to clear their product with the legislation of the country concerned.

 

[JumbleDuck]

No need to check. Any unauthorised modification automatically invalidates the insurance.

Citation needed, as the kids say. Authorised by whom?

 

[halcyon]

I saw them. Have we worked together I wonder? I was more lab and occasional Millbrook. Just the one visit to MIRA.

No, I was with Rubery Owen designing light trailer undergear, we were down with R&D lads testing between 68 and 78.

Brian

 

[Norman_E]

Caravans could become illegal?? Drivers across the land will be furious.

First they came for the caravans, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the horse box trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the glider trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the the motorcyle and car trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for your trailer.........................

 

[RupertW]

First they came for the caravans, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the horse box trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the glider trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for the the motorcyle and car trailers, and you did nothing.
Then they came for your trailer.........................

What a wonderful dream

 

[Norman_E]

View attachment 103508
Latest from Apple, thir new electric car. I see they’re still using the old lightning connector.

I thought it was only Microsoft who would make an electric car you had to turn upside-down to plug in! You would also have to press "start" to turn it off.

 

[oldharry]

Citation needed, as the kids say. Authorised by whom?
[/QUOTE

I thought it was only Microsoft who would make an electric car you had to turn upside-down to plug in! You would also have to press "start" to turn it off.

It took SWMBO several goes to realise the Start button turned it off as well (Toyota Prius 05 plate)

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Bunch of tests here (admittedly in different circumstances to most of us) https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=TFL+Tesla+towing

 

[JumbleDuck]

It took SWMBO several goes to realise the Start button turned it off as well (Toyota Prius 05 plate)

When worked hired me a car a couple of years ago and it was delivered to HQ with eight miles on the clock and no manual, it took me fifteen minutes just to find out how to start the damn thing. I never did find out how most of it worked, though after 100 miles I realised that I had been switching in and out a stop-start system, which explained why I kept "stalling". I don't really trust cars you can't fix with just a screwdriver and a 1/2" AF (Triumph) or 11mm (Citroën) spanner.