I tow a lot with an EV and when towing my miles per kWh halve.
For EVs this fixes this range problem as you are no longer towing. Improving range while towing is important for people who tow a lot with EVs becoming more prevalent.
However you now have to charge the trailer and the car, which is a right pain.
Plus relying on wireless connection is just massively dumb.
There are trailers coming that conventionally hitch and have their own motor and battery. This improves range but now your trailer is massively heavier, more expensive, and requires its own charging.
Majority of EV public chargers are just not setup for pull through charging so you have to unhitch. Just painful even with motormovers to move the trailer off the car.
We should be working to reduce drag as this is the biggest issue for the trailer at motorway speeds, and then weight.
I do occasional towing with my 4-cylinder car, and it reduces my mileage from about 30mpg to lower 20’s (around 22mpg but varies by speed etc).
Everybody should get a trailer hitch on their car unless it’s so low that it physically can’t have one. I don’t need a pickup truck anymore since I got a 5x8 light trailer for my car, and it also lets me use a rear cargo rack or bike carrier.
Oh agree completely, there are even places that will hire them to you so you could eveb make use of one infrequently without having to buy and store it. Most (UK) cars can tow an unbraked trailer with a 750kg limit, which is pretty sizable for a lot of household stuff.
I tow a 1400kg caravan (chosen as it’s the lightest in class for its size) so you have to be careful around matching. But towing with an EV is godly as you have instant access to 100% of torque so you don’t ever notice it pulling on the car.
It doesn’t remove the total PITA of EV charging with a trailer on a non pull through space. I have to detach the trailer, move the car into the EV space, move the trailer into a EV space, start charging both bits, all while not blocking a busy EV charging area.
it doesn’t solve it though, it just adds a second vehicle to the mix that can actually do the job. this is literally just a truck but worse, because now you need a car in front to carry passengers and steer this goofy thing. just rent a truck for the day and leave the car at home
Yeah no truck can fit another full sized car in the truck bed or something of similar size. In Europe you cannot even get something the size of a F150 let alone the really big trucks.
sure, but my point was the car is unnecessary in this scenario. you’re already renting another vehicle to tow the trailer, get one with a drivers seat and passenger compartment instead of using 2 vehicles to move 1 trailer
Well you weren’t in what I meant with my example, you already have a car, just get a tow bar fitted to it then you can use a trailer any time you need one. While its not suitable for everyone Its a really good idea if you are doing even irregular house maintenance or other big jobs and a trailer by itself is massively cheaper than hiring a truck.I can hire a trailer big enough to put a car on for £80 for 24 hours.
Agreed, if your car can do the job that’s clearly the most sensible option. But either scenario this goofy robot solves nothing. Either your car can pull the trailer itself, or it should be left at home while you rent something that can. Deliberately renting a robot truck with no seats that forces you to also bring a car would be silly
I tow a lot with an EV and when towing my miles per kWh halve.
For EVs this fixes this range problem as you are no longer towing. Improving range while towing is important for people who tow a lot with EVs becoming more prevalent.
However you now have to charge the trailer and the car, which is a right pain.
Plus relying on wireless connection is just massively dumb.
There are trailers coming that conventionally hitch and have their own motor and battery. This improves range but now your trailer is massively heavier, more expensive, and requires its own charging.
Majority of EV public chargers are just not setup for pull through charging so you have to unhitch. Just painful even with motormovers to move the trailer off the car.
We should be working to reduce drag as this is the biggest issue for the trailer at motorway speeds, and then weight.
I do occasional towing with my 4-cylinder car, and it reduces my mileage from about 30mpg to lower 20’s (around 22mpg but varies by speed etc).
Everybody should get a trailer hitch on their car unless it’s so low that it physically can’t have one. I don’t need a pickup truck anymore since I got a 5x8 light trailer for my car, and it also lets me use a rear cargo rack or bike carrier.
Oh agree completely, there are even places that will hire them to you so you could eveb make use of one infrequently without having to buy and store it. Most (UK) cars can tow an unbraked trailer with a 750kg limit, which is pretty sizable for a lot of household stuff.
I tow a 1400kg caravan (chosen as it’s the lightest in class for its size) so you have to be careful around matching. But towing with an EV is godly as you have instant access to 100% of torque so you don’t ever notice it pulling on the car.
Without a mechanical connection, the tow bot could be remote controlled, or even have a handle on it, and be guided into a charging bay.
You have that already for trailers with motor movers, I have one in mine. Works with a remote control.
https://www.powrtouch.com/
It doesn’t remove the total PITA of EV charging with a trailer on a non pull through space. I have to detach the trailer, move the car into the EV space, move the trailer into a EV space, start charging both bits, all while not blocking a busy EV charging area.
it doesn’t solve it though, it just adds a second vehicle to the mix that can actually do the job. this is literally just a truck but worse, because now you need a car in front to carry passengers and steer this goofy thing. just rent a truck for the day and leave the car at home
Yeah no truck can fit another full sized car in the truck bed or something of similar size. In Europe you cannot even get something the size of a F150 let alone the really big trucks.
sure, but my point was the car is unnecessary in this scenario. you’re already renting another vehicle to tow the trailer, get one with a drivers seat and passenger compartment instead of using 2 vehicles to move 1 trailer
Well you weren’t in what I meant with my example, you already have a car, just get a tow bar fitted to it then you can use a trailer any time you need one. While its not suitable for everyone Its a really good idea if you are doing even irregular house maintenance or other big jobs and a trailer by itself is massively cheaper than hiring a truck.I can hire a trailer big enough to put a car on for £80 for 24 hours.
Agreed, if your car can do the job that’s clearly the most sensible option. But either scenario this goofy robot solves nothing. Either your car can pull the trailer itself, or it should be left at home while you rent something that can. Deliberately renting a robot truck with no seats that forces you to also bring a car would be silly