next-generation TOWCARS
Lee Davey gets behind the wheel of some of the latest electric vehicles for an adventure over hills and through cities, and explores whether they make suitable towcars
When the 2040 sales ban for new petrol and diesel cars was announced, it seemed a lifetime away. When this deadline shrank by 10 years, 2030 appeared impossibly close.
Until recently, finding an electric vehicle capable of towing a caravan was a tall order, as was getting hold of one for a tow test. Range figures dominate marketing department briefs, and some manufacturers appeared apprehensive when a real-world towing test was mentioned. With cars eventually secured, two trips were undertaken – one where my 13-year-old son, Charlie, and I coupled a Bailey Discovery D4-2 to Tesla’s Model 3 for a 200-mile round-trip, and another where I towed a Bailey Unicorn Vigo from the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Crystal Palace site to St Paul’s
Cathedral in central London with a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid. Both tow tests focused heavily on the range while towing; a figure affected in equal measure by stop-start city-centre traffic and aerodynamic challenges at higher speeds. Although, being a hybrid, the Porsche had the safety net of an internal combustion engine.
PURE EVS
With 2030 drawing ever closer, EV design and technology is forging ahead, giving us caravanners an increasingly realistic choice of pure electric vehicles. Otherwise known as BEVs (battery electric vehicles), a surprising number are capable of towing a family-sized caravan. Full disclosure, I’m a bit of a petrolhead and I’ve always considered the engine to be the heart of any vehicle – bikes or cars, two-strokes, or four-strokes.
That said, the instant EV torque made the journeys effortless, and batteries positioned low down made it a super stable platform, even in the 65mph winds we encountered. The Model 3’s 1,000kg towing limit was one of the higher figures last year, but many EVs have recently hit the market, some capable of towing 2,000kg or more.
RANGE ANXIETY
Range anxiety is a real thing, something that made me repeatedly glance at the screen during the Tesla/Discovery trip as the predicted mileage dropped a
The return journey across the Mendip Hills saw massive spikes in the usage graph as I maintained speed on the inclines
whopping 100 miles before I’d covered six. The Model 3’s owner described himself as ‘light-footed on the throttle’, a statement backed up beforehand by the displayed 376-mile ‘solo’ range. Once the Tesla was towing the caravan, the on-board tech recalculated the range and gave me an adjusted estimate. The only problem was that no range data existed at the time, which meant we had no idea if we’d reach our destination. However, tentative steps to the campsite, followed by a do-or-die journey back to Bristol, gave a caravanning range of 154 miles, or 41% of the car’s predicted solo range. The return journey across the Mendip Hills saw massive spikes in the usage graph as I maintained speed on severe inclines.
CHARGING AT THE CAMPSITE
I’d already spoken to the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s technical department about charging EVs on site and was pleased to be greeted by site staff that were equally knowledgeable. A fastcharging point has been installed at the Cayton Village site near Scarborough, although our procedure for topping up in Dorset would be different. Current Caravan and Motorhome Club guidelines ask EV users to plug the caravan into the bollard and the car into a three-pin socket inside the caravan. Granted, it’s a slower way to charge but allows the consumer unit inside the caravan to act as an additional safety feature. I’d also spoken to the technical department about how best to heat the inside of the caravan and the hot water tank while charging the Tesla. Following the advice given, I reduced the number of amps drawn by the car (via the Model 3’s screen) to 6A (1kW) and switched on the heating and hot water inside the caravan. The Tesla’s amps were then increased during the night. Finding a local fast-charging point would save time, but Charlie and I paid the £8 charging fee and hit the trails on our mountain bikes.
CHARGING EN ROUTE
The elephant in the EV room is how to charge when towing a caravan. The infrastructure is still in its infancy, with new points undoubtedly being installed as I type this. Few allow the caravan to remain hitched while charging due to available space at the charge point. Many of the points I’ve seen require the user to unhitch the caravan before charging the car, although much speculation surrounds this as the infrastructure grows. Charging times are also being reduced with some charging up the electron ‘tank’ in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
My first BEV caravanning weekend was filled with trepidation, wondering how an electric vehicle would compare to my own diesel Vito. The available torque, or grunt, is the first thing you notice, and towing manners quickly follow this – it feels as though towing forces are transmitted to the heaviest part of the car via the towball, which makes sense. Let’s not forget the 1,844kg Model 3 was towing a 1,000kg caravan (its maximum towing weight) – a 54% match. The D4-2 is a two-berth caravan with a longer A-frame. Even so, the performance was incredibly reassuring, both in terms of towing experience and the future of caravan holidays with an electric vehicle.