Will Your Next Tow Vehicle be Electric?

Do any of you actually tow with an EV? How do you jockey the camper into the charger? Almost (all so far) seem to be built as a pull in back out affair, so the 100-150 mile days make sense, because you charge only at the campground. The alternative would to be drop, then go charge.

My takeaway from the OP, is that towing cuts your range for EV or ICE by about 40 to 50 percent. Sounds like the real world to me, so the EV problem is still the battery, just like 1900.

By the way, I don't hate EVs, I drove a shuttle car in an underground coal mine in the late 1970's to pay for college. It had both battery and a self recovering shore power line. I believe in matching a tool to a job, and for cross country towing EVs are not there yet.

EVs need a battery breakthrough like horizontal drilling, with slick water fracturing for the oilfield, or the jet engine for airplanes, or the smallpox vaccination. Predicting these types of breakthroughs is not possible. Until then we have to wait.

wildmanbaker wrote:
WOW! This is a very funny post.....

Are laughing with us or laughing at us? ;)

Bird Freak wrote:
What ever happened to the class 8 road tractor that was going to be the new thing?

Pushed to 2021. Some speculate it may be built in a yet but soon to be announced factory in Texas. Tesla has a habit of producing...eventually...what it says it will. Except for model Y which came out about 4 months early.

What ever happened to the class 8 road tractor that was going to be the new thing?

Bird Freak wrote:

eheading wrote:
I met a guy in South Carolina last year who was towing about a 20' trailer with a Tesla. I spoke with him, and he said the Tesla worked just great. He traveled back and forth between Montreal and Florida. He new where the charging stations were along the way, and traveled 100 to 150 miles a day and had no problems. He thought it was the only way to go.

Ed Headington

I can't imagine a long trip like that at 150 miles a day. How long would it take?

I see a possibility of a couple things going on with the guy doing only 150 miles a day.

1. It might be a planned trip. Just for comparison. Every couple years we usually do a great circle trip through the Kootenays from the Okanagan. I think the whole trip is probably under 800 km. It takes us a week to 10 days to do it depending on season and weather...fishing etc. Maybe that’s all he wants to travel.

2. Even if he has to stop every 150 miles for charging because he is towing, It’s a Tesla model X. At worst case scenario he’ll be 30 to 40 minutes at a Supercharger. Personally we have never been at a Supercharger for more than 20 minutes but that’s just how we travel. V3 Superchargers are even quicker although model X’s Don’t charge as fast as model 3’s or Y’s. Still. Sounds like his limit of 150 miles per day is self imposed.

Nope

eheading wrote:
I met a guy in South Carolina last year who was towing about a 20' trailer with a Tesla. I spoke with him, and he said the Tesla worked just great. He traveled back and forth between Montreal and Florida. He new where the charging stations were along the way, and traveled 100 to 150 miles a day and had no problems. He thought it was the only way to go.

Ed Headington

I can't imagine a long trip like that at 150 miles a day. How long would it take?

fj12ryder wrote:

Reisender wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Well, you won’t go 500 miles towing in any current electric vehicle, or least not in a comparable time to ice towing. But just doing a 500 mile day in an EV is easy, and in the same time as an ice vehicle. Our longest routine travel days right now are exactly 476 Km from home to hotel. But we have done the return trip in one long 12 hour day including 2 hours of business at the opposite end. So whatever 952 km
is in miles. I hate long days like this. Autopilot makes the drive easier though. I prefer no more than 9 hours at a time on the road, and some where in there a lunch break and a couple of coffee/pee/chihuahua breaks.

Wow, 600 miles in 12 hours is bookin' it. Or were you referring to taking 12 hours for the return trip of 295 miles alone? That's not so hot: 295 miles in 12 hours pretty much sucks. A person should be able to cover 500 miles in around 10 hours, give or take.

Just not sure if I'm confused here. :)

No. It’s about 5 hours each direction with stops. But we generally have about 1 to 2 hours of business at the other end so it can be a 12 hour day. Too long for me. Like I say. If we are doing a multi day trip we try to keep it to a 9 hour travel day which for us seems to be around 800 km or so depending on speed limits etc. I swear to god I had a bigger bladder when I was younger. :)

Yeah, I know the feeling. :)

That is really impressive: 600 miles in 10 hours with stops. You must be averaging 65 mph.

It’s actually a pretty fast stretch of road. The speed limit used to be 120 km and everyone went 135. This year we came back from California and the speed limit was 110 km...so every one goes 125 LOL. We take it easy though. Set autopilot at about 115 kmh. We usually bring lunch so maybe 15 minutes. There is a Supercharger halfway so we eat lunch there. Maybe one other quick pee break at at the next Supercharger. Nice trip thru the mountains but a lot more enjoyable if staying the night. Super relaxed. A little time for a hike etc. But with Covid it’s best to just press. Anyway. Won’t be doing that trip anymore this year. Assuming borders are open in October next road trip with her Tesla is SoCal. 2350 km in 3 days so actually not a rushed schedule. If we do the coastal route we’ll take a week but we’ll have to see how this Covid thing goes. Ugh.

Probably about half (maybe a little less) is Freeway. EG on ramps and off ramps so no roadside highway access. Kinda cool in a Tesla with FSD because under freeway conditions the car looks after all passing of slower traffic as well. If it comes up behind a slower vehicle in the right lane it signals, moves left, passes the vehicle and then back into the right lane. We always keep a hand on the wheel just in case (and it prompts you otherwise) but pretty stress free driveing as it does all the steering and distance keeping as well. A little unnerving the first few times that signal comes on by itself but I haven’t seen it make a stupid decision...yet... so we are starting to gain a little confidence in it. Still kinda freaky. :). LOL.

Back to the original question- no, we are probably on our last truck and 5th wheel. And I don't believe that there will be a strong enough electric tow vehicle anytime soon, especially one an average person could afford, IMO.

Reisender wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Well, you won’t go 500 miles towing in any current electric vehicle, or least not in a comparable time to ice towing. But just doing a 500 mile day in an EV is easy, and in the same time as an ice vehicle. Our longest routine travel days right now are exactly 476 Km from home to hotel. But we have done the return trip in one long 12 hour day including 2 hours of business at the opposite end. So whatever 952 km
is in miles. I hate long days like this. Autopilot makes the drive easier though. I prefer no more than 9 hours at a time on the road, and some where in there a lunch break and a couple of coffee/pee/chihuahua breaks.

Wow, 600 miles in 12 hours is bookin' it. Or were you referring to taking 12 hours for the return trip of 295 miles alone? That's not so hot: 295 miles in 12 hours pretty much sucks. A person should be able to cover 500 miles in around 10 hours, give or take.

Just not sure if I'm confused here. :)

No. It’s about 5 hours each direction with stops. But we generally have about 1 to 2 hours of business at the other end so it can be a 12 hour day. Too long for me. Like I say. If we are doing a multi day trip we try to keep it to a 9 hour travel day which for us seems to be around 800 km or so depending on speed limits etc. I swear to god I had a bigger bladder when I was younger. :)

Yeah, I know the feeling. :)

That is really impressive: 600 miles in 10 hours with stops. You must be averaging 65 mph.