Towing a caravan with an electric car?

knightstyle

Motability lists several electric cars and we are thinking of going electric next time.

https://www.motability.co.uk/find-a-vehicle/cars/search-results?awardType=PIP&fuelType=Electric

Caravan is 1200kgs but which car would tow it?

If not how about a plug-in hybrid? Maybe a lease not motability, what would you do?

lordmountararat

I'm a great fan of electric cars, but I wouldn't tow a caravan with one. With some of them it is possible, but will have a really dire effect on the range.

MyRealNameToo

Does the caravan have brakes? Presumably it does as its over 750kg in which case the Škoda Enyaq can go up to 1,800kg depending exact model or the Hyundai IONIQ 5 Long Range can do 1,600kg braked

Woodstok2000

You will halve (if not more) the range of any electric car when towing a caravan of that weight. As noted above, the Enyaq is a good option but youd be looking at a max range of around 100-150 miles when towing.

How far do you usually travel?

SiliconChip

It's a few years old but it should give you some idea of the feasibility of towing a (much smaller than yours) caravan with an electric car.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0011vp0

"Freddie, Chris and Paddy set out to revolutionise the world of caravanning, with the help of some new electric cars and some very small caravans. "

silverwhistle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82128257#Comment_82128257

As a non-caravanner that seems to me about two hours driving before you stop, which seems reasonable, and a relief if you are behind them!

Herzlos

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82128244#Comment_82128244

It legally must have overrun brakes above 750kg.


As said the range will be be impacted heavily, so what you go for will depend on your usage.
How many miles do you do with and without the caravan? What are the average trip lengths?

If you're not taking the caravan that far, and not moving it that often an EV would be fine. You'll potentially need to stop more but once you get used to the shift in usage it's not that disruptive.

If you do a lot of longer journeys, especially with the caravan, then you'll probably be better off with a hybrid. That'll potentially let you run the can on battery for all the local runs and alleviate the caravan range issues.

As an outside of the box suggestion; if you don't move the caravan that much, then there are services that can move it for you. That'd take all of the hassle out of it and mean you can have any car you want. You may find that if it's infrequent enough, the savings of the smaller EV will easily pay for the moving services.

daveyjp

We are campers and this summer noticed a coupe of EVs which had towed caravans - a Kia and a Polestar.

lordmountararat

Charging at public DC chargers could be awkward, though if the charge point is at the front of the car you might not have to unhook the caravan.

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82128669#Comment_82128669

Which would leave caravan blocking road 🤦‍♀️

There are starting to be more pull through ones now for lorries or towing vehicles.

knightstyle

So looking at the comments on range perhaps a plug in hybrid would be better.

Which Motability car could tow our caravan do you think? Lots of good towing cars are not on the list.