Electric towed

[BobK53]

Our next towed will probably be an electric car. We are considering a Nissan Leaf or a Tesla Model 3 (if it ever comes out and is actually cheaper than the Model S). Has anyone on the forum ever towed an electric car? I ask that because our current car is a Subaru Forester that must be towed on a trailer. No wheels can be on the ground. I would rather now have to haul a trailer everywhere I go. It can be a real pain in many RV parks. A Subaru with a standard transmission can be towed four flat, but not one with an automatic transmission.
Can an EV be towed four flat?

[4x4van]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
We specifically prohibit charging of electric vehicles. No campground's electrical system is designed to handle both the load of a 50 amp RV and the load created by charging an electric vehicle. Multiple units on an electrical loop would quickly trip the main breakers cutting power to all the rigs on the loop.
Today, electric cars are not much more than a curiosity piece. If the manufacturers ever want them to become mainstream, one thing they are going to have to do is come up with a recharging infrastructure that does not rely on the goodness of others. No one expects an RV park to fuel up their diesel pickup tow vehicle or their Honda CRV toad and it shouldn't fall upon the parks to fuel up someone's electric car.

Exactly what I was thinking! Those of you who think it's fine to charge your EV off the campground pedestal will be directly responsible for campgrounds increasing their prices to reflect the additional electricity as well as the requirement to upgrade their facilities.

The entire US does not have the infrastructure (nor the generating capability) to charge EVs if they become the norm. EVs are not "green"; the manufacture and disposal of the huge batteries are an environmental nightmare, and the electricity to charge them has to come from somewhere. Currently, most comes from the burning of coal and natural gas. Driving an EV actually does nothing for the environment.

[westernrvparkow]

We specifically prohibit charging of electric vehicles. No campground's electrical system is designed to handle both the load of a 50 amp RV and the load created by charging an electric vehicle. Multiple units on an electrical loop would quickly trip the main breakers cutting power to all the rigs on the loop.
Today, electric cars are not much more than a curiosity piece. If the manufacturers ever want them to become mainstream, one thing they are going to have to do is come up with a recharging infrastructure that does not rely on the goodness of others. No one expects an RV park to fuel up their diesel pickup tow vehicle or their Honda CRV toad and it shouldn't fall upon the parks to fuel up someone's electric car.

[John___Angela]

We are probably a few years away but our next toad will also be an electric. We have to wait for our little diesel smart cars to quit first and that could be awhile. I actually prefer towing on a trailer but know this may be a challenge with electric. The Leaf would work for us as we seldom need more than 40 or 50 miles to run around. You can buy used leafs for under 10,000 bucks but they tend to have high mileage as commuter cars. Some not though. I'll be watching the thread to see the answers you come up with. Thanks for sharing.

J and A

[carringb]

BobK53 wrote:
IAlso, I think that they said that the Leaf has solar panels on the roof.

That panel does not charge the drive battery. Its more like a low-voltage battery maintainer.

[carringb]

Bumpyroad wrote:
where on earth do you plan on re-charging it?
bumpy

Just plug into any camp-site pedestal. Tesla's recharge station app even includes RV parks.

[carringb]

DouglasC wrote:
As noted above, the Ford C-Max Energi is towable 4 wheels down as is the Ford Fusion Energi. These are both plug-in hybrids with larger lithium ion batteries than the standard C-Max and Fusion hybrids.

I think these are your best bets, they are 4-down approved. The Focus EV requires (and Ford allows) a Dolly. Nissan Leaf and Tesla S require trailering.

[BobK53]

I expected that most EVs would need to be towed on a trailer, but I've found that you cannot always rely on the auto manufacturer or the user's guide to find the proper way of towing. For my Nissan Frontier the instructions in the user's guide for towing is in two different chapters (chapter 6 and chapter 9). In one area it says that towing with the rear wheels off the ground or completely on a trailer is the preferred method (Page 6-15). For towing behind an RV (page 9-35) it has a section on towing four flat. In that chapter is says to put the transmission in neutral and stop every 500 miles to start the engine for a few minutes. It says nothing about what position to place the key in - 'push', acc or on to disengage the steering lock.
I towed the Frontier several places with no problem with the key at acc, then I towed it again with the key at the acc position and the front brakes engaged. It cost over $2,100 to fix the brakes and some other things. One Nissan dealer in Fayetteville Arkansas said that the problem was placing the key in the acc position. Having the key in the acc position never hurt the Frontier before or after. It also never hurt our Dodge RAM that we always pulled with the key in the acc position. Neither of the dealers that we asked, nor a person at the Nissan 800 help line had any idea of what caused the brake problem, nor could they tell me what position to place the key in so that the steering lock was disengaged. My final solution was to disconnect the Frontier battery and power the automatic brake (Blue Ox Patriot) with a cord that I installed to the RV coach battery. Yes, it erases the radio presets, but I've had no other problems with it.
Anyway, I am concerned about how to best tow a soon to be (2016 or 2017)electric car. On a trailer would be best, but I hate to have a trailer to deal with whenever we stop. As for charging, we have solar panels and at least for Nissan, they said that all Nissan dealerships have electric charging stations for their electric cars. Also, I think that they said that the Leaf has solar panels on the roof.

[DouglasC]

As noted above, the Ford C-Max Energi is towable 4 wheels down as is the Ford Fusion Energi. These are both plug-in hybrids with larger lithium ion batteries than the standard C-Max and Fusion hybrids.

[GMandJM]

There were some posts awhile back from Happily_Retired2 who tows a Ford C-Max Energi:

c-max energi thread

[hpdrver]

I have a Chevy Volt and it can be charged with a 220V outlet or a 110V outlet so you could plug it into your outside outlet on your RV and charge it via your generator or plug it in at your campsite. However, it must be towed on a flatbed and not 4 down.

[time2roll]

sdianel wrote:
Nissan Leaf also says flatbed towing.

That is true. However with FWD the OP should be OK with a dolly(short trailer).

And yes I drove a LEAF three years and now a Toyota RAV4-EV. Honestly I would try to wait until the newer 200 mile cars start rolling out in late 2016 and into 2017.

While you could charge by generator enroute. Far better to fill up on included campsite electricity.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Nissan Leaf also says flatbed towing.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

From the Tesla website:
Use a flatbed trailer only, unless otherwise
specified by Tesla. Do not transport Model S with
the tires directly on the ground. To transport
Model S, follow the instructions exactly as
described. Damage caused by transporting Model S
is not covered by the warranty.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

what would be really cool is an RV manufacturer that would put an electrical outlet in the rear of the RV where you could plug in the electric car and charge it via the generator going down the road. Have never met anybody towing an EV.

[poncho62]

What would be cool is an electric car that could be charged off the rotation of the wheels while being towed....Of course you would never be able to stay in one place too long....lol