Towing experience with an EV

[tony.latham]

but I'm optimistic that longer ranges and faster charging is not many years away...

I agree. We are looking at the Model T's of EVs. (But geeze, those Teslas are fast!)

Tony

[TimC]

I just finished my second long trip towing with the EV. I still don't have a weight for the TD but I am guessing it's around 750 lbs.

I planned the 350 mile trip (700 mi rt) with two stops at just over 120 miles each which should have gotten me to Lanesboro, MN with no issues and under 90 minutes of stoppage for juice. However, Mr Google Map didn't bother to tell me in my planning that I couldn't make it across the Wisconsin river at Necedah with the road closed. That surprise required a 35 mile detour and caused an "emergency" stop at an AmericInn level two charger.

So the complete route took me 120 miles to Appleton for a forty minute charge. Then about 30 unscheduled minutes at the hotel to make sure I could get to Tomah. In Tomah I experienced something I've never seen; a line waiting for chargers. After about 45 minutes I was able to connect and charged for another 45 minutes. I then was able to finish my trip and plug in at the AirBNB for the week stay. Heading home I easily made it to the CampInn CampOutt in Necedah, WI for a fun gathering and an overnight charge. One more stop in Appleton for 30 minutes gave me enough juice to get home. To sum it up a two leg trip of 700 miles required just over three hours of idle time charging. That's during what should have been around a twelve hour round trip with few or no stops.

As many of you have said, EV towing is not for everyone, fer sure!

[Tom&Shelly]

I just finished my second long trip towing with the EV. ...

As many of you have said, EV towing is not for everyone, fer sure!

No problem Tim! The fellows at the power plant down here told me they threw on an extra carload of coal and mailed the electricity up to Wisconsin!

Tom

[TimC]

I just revisited this thread since I (really a deer) totaled my '21 Hyundai Kona EV. I remembered a few comments about hybrids so I thought I would review the comments.

My wife would prefer a plug in hybrid (PHEV) to an EV. Well I tried in vane to find a good used one and then searched new. They seem to be east and west coast vehicles and the shipping charges are prohibitive. I tried my best to locate a late model Ford Escape PHEV in the Midwest. So though I know that an ICE tow vehicle makes more sense I am back in search of an EV. Besides, we already have a capable ICE car that is a great tow vehicle. I just want to continue with an EV since I installed a solar array to power it around town (20 miles/day ish).

I missed out on the $7500 tax credit on my EV in '22 as I only had a tax liability to take about $2000 of credit. If I was smart I would have created a bigger tax liability by moving some money out of a regular IRA and converting to a Roth IRA. But that's another topic for another forum. The limits on credits are much tighter going forward (rightly so since they are mainly on US assembled/built cars, trucks and batteries). After some research I probably can't qualify for any credit new or used due to the prices of new being more than I would care to spend and the prices of used eliminating all of the late model vehicles (must be over two years old and under $25K). It is tempting to go for a new, credit qualifying EV since it is supposed to be a "instant" credit off the purchase from the dealer in 2024. But I really don't want to be that guy that takes that instant hit on value as I drive it off the lot. Shiny and new are great unless that bothers you. And that really bothers me!

The good... I paid just over $27k for my Kona EV in May of '22. My insurance settlement was $26k with tax and title reimbursement so I have a nice start on a down payment for another car. It will be an EV fer sure. What did Einstein say about insanity???

The Kona was a great car and pulled my foamie with no problem. Er, well, see my previous posts and decide for yourself if there was a problem

[Tom&Shelly]

I just revisited this thread since I (really a deer) totaled my '21 Hyundai Kona EV. ....Er, well, see my previous posts and decide for yourself if there was a problem

Oh no! I'm, really sorry to hear about having your car totalled Tim! Hopefully no humans hurt?

Was worried you might have taken offense at my joking around; I can go too far sometimes.

Anyway, technology moves forward and you'll get that much better of an EV. Eventually the infrastructure will get there too.

Tom

[TimC]

...
Was worried you might have taken offense at my joking around; I can go too far sometimes. ...
Tom

No worries Tom. It gave me a good chuckle!

[tony.latham]

Works fur me.





Tony

[TimC]

Weighed the foamie this morning. Happy with the result. Tongue = 60#, Curb wheel = 320#, Road wheel = 311# for a total of 691 lbs.

On the road there will be a few more pounds in the galley so I'll have to be careful with tongue weight. Shooting for 12-15%.

Unfortunately the tow vehicle is now tucked away in some salvage yard waiting for someone to recycle a perfectly good 64 kW high voltage battery for their home energy storage use! Still looking for a replacement...

[coal_burner]

I'm curious, how many watt-hours per mile, and at what speed?

The recent freeway test run i did used 567 watt-hours per mile at 65 mph.

With 600 horsepower and 4 wheel drive, i can't feel the trailer back there at all, but my energy use meter definitely let's me know I'm towing a barn door!

[TimC]

I'm curious, how many watt-hours per mile, and at what speed?

...

I really don't know. I measure in miles per kW. It's as much as 4.2 m/kW in ideal conditions and when towing at highway speeds (60-65) I'm down to about 2.2. Towing in the summer is comparable to winter driving as far as range. Just under 300 miles per charge (77kW) in ideal conditions. Just under 200 miles in the winter or towing. I've towed in the winter but it is not impressive range wise.

BTW, it is now a '23 VW ID.4 Pro. Got a nice deal on it with full warranty as it was a California "Buy Back" vehicle. It had 1000 miles on it, so basically new.

I should probably change my profile pic. The woodie is sold, the Ford Edge is my wife's and my brother's blue TD (in the photo) is parked and I don't think he's used it for at least a year. I think he is contemplating selling.