Electric Toad
If you tow and electric car will the battery recharge while you are traveling? Seems like the vehicle could be set to recharge the battery by a switch selection.
Forum Discussion
rjstractor wrote:
This all is theoretically possible, but it would require the EV to engineered to be used as a toad. The OEM could program the car to sense the need for braking when connected to a tow vehicle to engage regen braking, and once the battery was topped off the car could revert to regular service brakes. It could be controlled by a wired or wireless connection, or possibly the toad's own computer and sensors could do it. The same thing could be done with a gas engine car, a factory "toad" package with fully integrated wiring and braking. With most cars having electrically boosted brakes as opposed to the old vacuum boosted systems it wouldn't be hard to do if the OEMs chose to do the engineering. Sure would be a step up from a hokey electric box that plugs into a 12V outlet.
As EVs become more common, the demand they become 4-down towable will increase. And mechanically I think it would be simpler and less power demand than todays 4X4. (Assuming the motor shaft is parallel to axle) The extra friction changing direction in differential is eliminated.
And if/when the regen system gets near a full charge the toad could pull it's own weight long enough to get room in batt for another stop. This would reduce fuel use by MH. Best if the driver could shut that off if close to where going to unhook and use toad.
Is there a gearset between motor and wheel, or does the motor turn same RPM as wheel?
