Oct 2, 2022·edited Oct 2, 2022Liked by Andrew Ditton
I tow my caravan with a Tesla Model X. Have taken it to Cornwall, Scotland and Norfolk from Oxfordshire with no stress.
The Tesla supercharging network makes all the difference. It’s reliable and generally well sited. I plan to tow my caravan with the MX down to Spain next year.
The range of my car when towing is equal to the capacity of my bladder, so no issue there.
Only real downside is as Andrew says, the need to unhitch most of the time when one is charging, however it’s a small price to pay for the lower cost per mile, and the sublime towing/driving experience. In particular the torque of an EV is phenomenal and suits towing perfectly
Andrews videos convinced me to commit to full electric and now we tow our 1600kg Coachman Amara with a Tesla model Y. I echo everything Andrew says about range (half of what you usually get) costs (much cheaper to run if you have home charging) and have found that charging on the tow every 100 miles is the perfect distance to stop with a family of a 5 and 7 year old who usually want a leg stretch anyway.
We're excited to explore further afield with an EV tow car and will be tuning into Andrew's videos and tapping into his experience all the way!
https://www.lightshiprv.com/ the three key concepts here being: 1) a van that follows you so maintaining full range, 2) two modes (towing and camping) and 3) gas and generator free off grid capabilities are going to be interesting to see developed by other manufacturers over the next few years.
Good to hear positive input from Tesla owners. Just got my Model Y a few weeks ago, it's my 5th EV in 8 years but the first one capable of being a tow vehicle. We currently have an old 2004 Knaus motorhome (our first MH, bought 14 months ago) and are thinking of trading it in next spring for a cheapish caravan to see how we like it. As an experienced EV owner I am already very well used to planning around charging, so there's basically nothing I can see which would put me off!
I've been towing with an EV for two years. When I started there was very little information to help so I started blogging about my experiences https://evcaravaner.wordpress.com/blog/
It's good to see some more info appearing now, good luck with this page.
I watched the 'video version' of this post last night and thought it was very rational. I've been driving electric for over 10 years so that section on having to listen to people force their opinion on you (without asking) rang very true although I tended to stop caring about that a long time ago. This subject really does bring out the angry nutters :)
I currently have a Model Y Long Range and have been using it for camping trips but not towing (https://i.imgur.com/jW4oYk3.jpg). A friend has offered me an old Elddis Avante 362 so I'm tempted to give it a go as a first step into the world of caravanning. The caravan has similar weight and external dimensions to your Xplore Active 304 and the EV6 battery/efficiency is similar to the MYLR so I'd like to think that I'd be getting a similar amount of towing range.
It's just me and 2 dogs so I don't really need a larger van to start off with so I think I'm going to go for it.
I’m a little late to the party, however I have only just discovered this blog/newsletter.
We have a Tesla Model 3, so our towing is limited to 1000kg. This together with wishing to have some more efficiency and ability to store in our garage meant we went the folding camper route with an Opus All-Road. We’ve been towing the Opus with our 3 for the past year and it has been a breeze. With all the torque an EV provides, it’s easy to forget you’re towing! Range wise, as you state it’s around half, though with the more aerodynamic profile of the Opus (height of 1.2m) we get a little more and generally see between 2.5 to 2.8 mi/kWh (giving us between 150 and 175 realistic miles). I’ve even seen 3 mi/kWh on a particularly thrifty drive. As others have mentioned, the Tesla Supercharger network makes a massive difference. When sites generally have anywhere between 8 and 16 chargers, it’s rare to turn up and not find an available charger. Unfortunately, unlike in Scandinavia pull-through chargers are rare in this country, however I’ve occasionally been able to plug in to an end charger without unhitching without inconveniencing others. When there’s a need to unhitch, my routine is to unhitch, plug in, then use the motor movers to drive the Opus into a nearby parking spot. Luxury! We’re taking a trip through Spain over the next few months, where I’ll be doing some serious mileage towing the Opus, so this will be an interesting experience! Fingers crossed the EV love affair doesn’t fade…
Drawback of the folding camper over a regular caravan is we can’t hop in for a cup of tea whilst charging! First world problems, am I right?
I tow my caravan with a Tesla Model X. Have taken it to Cornwall, Scotland and Norfolk from Oxfordshire with no stress.
The Tesla supercharging network makes all the difference. It’s reliable and generally well sited. I plan to tow my caravan with the MX down to Spain next year.
The range of my car when towing is equal to the capacity of my bladder, so no issue there.
Only real downside is as Andrew says, the need to unhitch most of the time when one is charging, however it’s a small price to pay for the lower cost per mile, and the sublime towing/driving experience. In particular the torque of an EV is phenomenal and suits towing perfectly
Andrews videos convinced me to commit to full electric and now we tow our 1600kg Coachman Amara with a Tesla model Y. I echo everything Andrew says about range (half of what you usually get) costs (much cheaper to run if you have home charging) and have found that charging on the tow every 100 miles is the perfect distance to stop with a family of a 5 and 7 year old who usually want a leg stretch anyway.
We're excited to explore further afield with an EV tow car and will be tuning into Andrew's videos and tapping into his experience all the way!
https://www.lightshiprv.com/ the three key concepts here being: 1) a van that follows you so maintaining full range, 2) two modes (towing and camping) and 3) gas and generator free off grid capabilities are going to be interesting to see developed by other manufacturers over the next few years.
Good to hear positive input from Tesla owners. Just got my Model Y a few weeks ago, it's my 5th EV in 8 years but the first one capable of being a tow vehicle. We currently have an old 2004 Knaus motorhome (our first MH, bought 14 months ago) and are thinking of trading it in next spring for a cheapish caravan to see how we like it. As an experienced EV owner I am already very well used to planning around charging, so there's basically nothing I can see which would put me off!
I've been towing with an EV for two years. When I started there was very little information to help so I started blogging about my experiences https://evcaravaner.wordpress.com/blog/
It's good to see some more info appearing now, good luck with this page.
I watched the 'video version' of this post last night and thought it was very rational. I've been driving electric for over 10 years so that section on having to listen to people force their opinion on you (without asking) rang very true although I tended to stop caring about that a long time ago. This subject really does bring out the angry nutters :)
I currently have a Model Y Long Range and have been using it for camping trips but not towing (https://i.imgur.com/jW4oYk3.jpg). A friend has offered me an old Elddis Avante 362 so I'm tempted to give it a go as a first step into the world of caravanning. The caravan has similar weight and external dimensions to your Xplore Active 304 and the EV6 battery/efficiency is similar to the MYLR so I'd like to think that I'd be getting a similar amount of towing range.
It's just me and 2 dogs so I don't really need a larger van to start off with so I think I'm going to go for it.
I’m a little late to the party, however I have only just discovered this blog/newsletter.
We have a Tesla Model 3, so our towing is limited to 1000kg. This together with wishing to have some more efficiency and ability to store in our garage meant we went the folding camper route with an Opus All-Road. We’ve been towing the Opus with our 3 for the past year and it has been a breeze. With all the torque an EV provides, it’s easy to forget you’re towing! Range wise, as you state it’s around half, though with the more aerodynamic profile of the Opus (height of 1.2m) we get a little more and generally see between 2.5 to 2.8 mi/kWh (giving us between 150 and 175 realistic miles). I’ve even seen 3 mi/kWh on a particularly thrifty drive. As others have mentioned, the Tesla Supercharger network makes a massive difference. When sites generally have anywhere between 8 and 16 chargers, it’s rare to turn up and not find an available charger. Unfortunately, unlike in Scandinavia pull-through chargers are rare in this country, however I’ve occasionally been able to plug in to an end charger without unhitching without inconveniencing others. When there’s a need to unhitch, my routine is to unhitch, plug in, then use the motor movers to drive the Opus into a nearby parking spot. Luxury! We’re taking a trip through Spain over the next few months, where I’ll be doing some serious mileage towing the Opus, so this will be an interesting experience! Fingers crossed the EV love affair doesn’t fade…
Drawback of the folding camper over a regular caravan is we can’t hop in for a cup of tea whilst charging! First world problems, am I right?