Towing a caravan with an electric car?
Many carmakers say electric cars are the future, but can they tow a heavy caravan? In the new issue of Adria Inspirations, Chris Gatiho talks about this, as he pulls his Adora 613 PK with a Tesla (2019 Model X Long Range) with a battery capacity of around 100 kWh, a towing capacity of 2250 kg and a normal range of around 515 km. The caravan it pulls behind is the 2019Adria Adora 613PK, which has a curb weight of approximately 1,450 kg. With all equipment, the caravan weighs approximately 2000 kg. It is 250 cm wide and 820 cm long even with the drawbar. How does it drive in practice?
When we bought our first electric car three years ago, the Tesla Model X was the only electric car option that could tow the caravan. Since my wife is the head of sustainability at a Norwegian company, we never considered going back to a fossil fuel car. Today, the list of possible electric car options has expanded considerably, even for a heavy caravan like our Adria Adora 613 PK. I can only imagine how much further we'll get in the next three years. We are already seeing plug-in electric vehicles that can power the caravan over the weekend when free camping!
When we first started pulling our caravan by electric vehicle, the journey would have required a degree of planning. There are now maps available to show the location of the fast chargers, there are also more and more of them every year. Since we drive a Tesla, we prefer Tesla superchargers, but if we take a break on the road, we'll connect to whatever charger is nearest.
We know from experience that a full charge will give us a range of about 230-250 km. However, we also take weather and wind into account. The charging rate decreases as the battery charge increases. In some cases, charging from 80-100% can take as long as charging from 5-80%! To avoid spending too much time on the charger, charge to 80-85% before riding. This takes just over half an hour, giving us enough time to stretch our legs, go to the toilet and maybe have an ice cream. With a small safety margin, we plan our next charging stop for 175-200 km.
Surprisingly, electric cars are perfect for towing! They are heavy and have a long wheelbase. The center of gravityis low because the large batteries are located under the floor. Power is also not a problem with electric caravan towing.
The biggest problem so far is range. Towing a caravan cuts the range in half. Width, speed and aerodynamics are the most important factors increasing consumption. Weight, length and number of axles also play a role, but aerodynamics are nowhere near. The principle is that air resistance increases with speed. This means that increasing the speed from 60 to 90 km/h doubles the air resistance.
