Of course, I missed the greatest takeaway of all, which is that EVs make awesome towcars! Smooth, quiet, powerful, relaxing, and stable. Funnily enough, I don't get headaches now on a long journey.
As you say, it's a mindset. . This may be useful? . Are you aware that you can also use an increasing number of Tesla superchargers in the UK (many on you're route) for a subscription of £10.99 per month, then you pay the "Tesla driver" rate? This also let's you access (I believe) chargers in 13 European countries (Check first, but certainly Netherlands, Germany. (Requires pre registration using their app) Simply use the app to input your location and desired charger number. Then it's essentially "plug and charge" just as with a Tesla. Current UK locations (as of May 2022) . Folkestone Eurotunnel Wokingham Uxbridge Thurrock Cambridgeshire/Oxfordshire Thetford Trumpington Wyboston Banbury Wales Aberystwyth Flint Mountain The North Manchester Trafford Belford Scotland Dundee Aviemore
How was your holiday? It was great you should have seen all the charging stations we visited in our empty caravan. They do not make awesome tow vehicles.
Hopefully owning an EV is not a trap. In California owners could not charge their vehicles due to heat and not enough electricity... and 1000% hikes in prices in some areas.....
@@interproservice "In California" they requested that EVERYONE reduce *peak time* power use INCLUDING air-conditioning and other high energy use. Since the vast majority of EV users would already be charging OFF PEAK (overnight) it wouldn't affect them. . Then we have the latest Tesla "virtual grid" in California, a collective of Powerwall owners who can combine to supply the grid with a substantial amount of energy (10MW? ) AT PEAK TIMES..... I imagine a very high (95%+?) proportion of those are Tesla owners, so their cars would *never* use "peak time" energy? Since Tesla cars have a 75% EV market share in the state, that would make Californian EVs" essentially "energy neutral"? Or should I say "positive".... With the owners generating far more than they use...
@@jonbenham6650yeah sure you can tow with BEV if your prepared be inconvenienced with many multiple stops in a day , frankly they are rubbish with a paltry range when towing compared with diesel or petrol which can easily achieve 4.5 hours 270 miles between filling up
This has convinced me 100%. To carry on using my jaguar XF V6 for towing , sorry but going on holiday should be about getting there and setting up the same day ,not spending hour upon hour unhitching and hooking up your van , fighting over charging spaces and constantly worrying about range
@@andrewjditton Many years from now if ever these improvements will come.I the meantime 90% of the population will stick to there petrol/diesel cars for a long time.
Thanks for the great video on why NOT to buy an electric car. I shall stick to my Ford Ranger Raptor which does 34 mpg on a long journey. With a 80 LT tank ( approx 550 mile range). It can also tow 3000 KG all day long and still get return 32 MPG. When you do need to fill the tank it only takes 5 minutes, none of this faffing around looking for a charger that works, and then waiting an hour or more to fill up. I have two friends who both took out EVS on a PCP lease deal, and both handed them back within a year.
32 mpg towing up to 3000kg? If you say so……. We live in a fossil fuelled world, but the governments are legislating and pricing combustion engined cars off the road. U.K. gov are banning sales of new fossil fuelled car sales from 2030 and hybrids from 2035. I hope you enjoy your Ford Ranger before Ford goes bankrupt, diesel passes £10 per gallon and combustion vehicles go the same way as Steam engines.
@@MrHairyTeabageven if the figures are skewed my kia manages 28mpg towing I fill when leaving and at destination and work out the exact mpg and 28mpg is achievable with 1700kg in tow , lets see your battery car achieve 270 miles between recharging when towing 1700kg - a wager of £1000 says you can’t
@@stevensmith662 doesn't have a towbar so your money's safe😄 Have a KIA Sorento PHEV which manages 40mpg when not towing - with 1700kg of caravan I'd reckon 28-30 at best. Fantasy man whose pick-up does 34 unladen and 32 towing 3 tonnes is still full of shit.
Fair play Andrew you deserve a medal for this. As an EV driver and a Vanner there is no way I would attempt this at the moment just way too much hassle. The leisure vehicle industry really needs to be making much more noise about how unsuitable 99.9% of chargers are if you are towing and its just not improving.
Cheers BB. I totally agree, but right now nobody wants to listen, let alone stand up. I feel like the only person on my feet in a room full of people staring at the floor and ignoring what's going on around them.
@@andrewjditton Indeed - really glad you are taking the issue on - The other big issue we see is lack of on-site charging, we are off to a CL this weekend for a couple of weeks but as with many/most CLs we have been expressly told "No EV charging allowed" so we will tow with a diesel SUV and take our Zoe for running around but will have to rely on public charging. We will try and explain to the CL owner how the provision of an EV charger could be a real selling point for them.
What a load of faffing about. Drive 80 odd miles; detaching the van and (re)fitting the wheelclamp ( you were lucky it was still there); all that waiting around; hoping there are working chargers - plus all the planning beforehand; risk of fines for overstaying during charging. Heck what a fun experience, no thanks…
We tow our caravan with our Hyundai Ioniq5. Like Andrew we get a usable range of about 120 miles. You are right to say that most chargers are not designed for towing. In most cases, with our car they are made to reverse into. But I don't detach our van as often as Andrew does. If there's any way I can get in without unhooking I do. I would say I can do that more than 60% of the time. Most of the newer Ionity chargers have long enough cables to just reach to the back of the car if you park front end in. And where orher chargers are more widely spaced. You can approach diagonally or even get alongside, with the front wheels on the grass. The result is that my reversing skills have vastly improved. I can reverse out of even the most awkward spaces.
What a pain in the backside, un hitching, hitching, waiting for a charger, waiting for it to charge ok if you've got all the time in the world to get somewhere, not for me, but what a great way to do some virtue signaling
Love your videos and this one is as usual very useful. It has convinced me to stick with my 4x4 diesel to tow my large caravan. It’s not an option to have a small caravan like the one you used. It just seems there is far to much planning that has to go into a longer journey, the journey takes longer, you need to unhitch most times. Plus there is the added worry of the availability of chargers. We are going from west York’s to fort William in the next month and as usual are doing the journey in one day. That wouldn’t be possible with an ev. I can see that if time isn’t an issue, you can afford to buy an ev, a smaller van fits your lifestyle it may be a viable alternative for some.
Agree. I would one day love to use sn EV for a daily runner but can foresee issues when the popularity increases, demand for cars goes up and the infrastructure as usual in Britain lagging behind. Plus there's the environmental impact EV manufacture inflict on the Earth not to mention the nagging hypocrisy knowing EV charging stations supplied by a national power grid energised by coal and gas fired power stations. Still its all food for thought. Yeah in an ideal world I'd love to potter around in an EV, it must be so easy, quiet, and relaxing
There are no coal fired power stations in Scotland where we live, where almost 100% of the net electricity demand is met by renewables. Source: First Minister of Scotland. Gridserve Electric Forecourts are also powered by 100% renewable sources. But please don't let facts sway your opinion.
@@andrewjditton i don’t mean to be difficult because I really enjoy your vids but I don’t see your point. The fact that Scotland does not use coal fired power stations does not get over the facts we made about time taken to plan, journey times, the fact that most people can’t afford an EV and the human cost of producing batteries. Also, other countries you travelled through do use coal fired power so I’m not really sure what facts we ignored.
Yes, it can be done but it's hardly stress free and that is what you (I) want on a holiday. The range and efficiency of EV's is certainly improving but they've still a long way to go, no pun intended. 80 miles or so between charges is still poor compared to conventionally fuelled alternatives. My diesel LC, with a fully loaded 1.5 ton caravan, will do home to Scotland (320m) on one tank, obviously without the problem of route charge planning and charging down time. Without the range/charging "worry" there's also no problem with unexpected diversions and road closures, as has happened to me a couple of times plus you can "boot it" to get past slower moving traffic, when required, without concern. I've nothing against EV's, for certain applications they win hands down but for me they're just not practical for long distance caravan touring.........yet!
Great vids showing how EV+Caravan can be a pain if time is not on your side and having to continually disconnect to connect. Looks like we are a few years off yet from going down that path.
Nope, ill stick to my diesel van thanks to use for towing. Get nearly 500 miles on a tank out of it and then when i run out it takes me just five minutes and i can go another 500 miles. Electric cars are only good for one thing and thats short commutes or city centres, longer journeys forget it.......can you imagine, "yes kids were off to cornwall but we have to spend two days of that just charging the car so really we only get 5 days instead of 7 but never mind eh, who cares paying for those two days of a holiday for nothing...........Plus what most electric car nuts fail to tell you is that using the fast chargers cost you TWICE as much as petrol and diesel
Thank you for sharing your tips and learnings traveling with EV & caravan. Glad to see how GB is building charging parks and how philosophies differ/match. Still loving GB's roundabouts from my last trip to Liverpool and seeing how smooth you can pass them by (greetings from Dortmund!). But still an issue in parking the caravan somewhere else while charging. As last year I wasn't at Caravan Salon thank you for introducing Whale equipment (interesting ideas). So, your video is one step further for me now selling my diesel... Have a good camping season!
Great video but I could feel my stress levels rising just watching it. Skipping breakfast, hitching, unhitching, hours of charging and waiting to charge, too many stopovers. I'd need a holiday to recover from my holiday !
Brilliant video Andrew. Very impressed with both the charge rate and the miles/kWh you achieved. Our last trip was 260 miles one way in one day, towing our 1550 MTPLM Bailey with our Polestar 2. With that combo our max range is a theoretical 140 miles, and we used 125 of them on our first leg. Keep up the great reporting!
Fantastic vlog Andrew. You’re info on living with an EV is so informative even for someone like me who’s unlikely to buy a caravan. Showing your route and what you need to do for such a journey with an EV is brilliant. Looking forward to your Düsseldorf videos. Have a great time.
Andrew, I am sorry but the range is simply too low. If you were a family on a two week holiday the time taken to travel a reasonable distance is inadequate. Having to stop with children and wait whilst charging I envisage a nightmare journey. EV at the time do not make sense for towing. This may change in the future but not yet. I feel hydrogen may be a more efficient environmentally sound way to tow.
I hear what you're saying Colin, but to my mind it's more to do with setting up reliable, fast, pull-through chargers. I'm sure stopping 15 minutes every 2 hours to stretch legs and use the loo isn't a huge ask. But it's precarious still as you can see from the vid. I'm as frustrated as everyone else that there is so little data and research into hydrogen.
Do you remember the hindenburg??? That was hydrogen. Then you sat on or in a death trap with lithium batteries. Dont risk it fire risks???and don't let the government rule you. Global warming is a hoax. Read the bible. 2 peter ch3 and revelation. Earth going to be destroyed by fire by god any way because of sin. He flooded it last time. Hes going to destroy and burn it this time.
Fabulous video, thanks for all your work. The next car will be an electric and this video has been extremely useful. Very impressed with the Stirling hub. Need to have a word with my local council.
You're going to need 2 weeks of work to get one weeks holiday with all the friggin about. I know the government will continue to make it more and more difficult and EXPENSIVE to keep your very reliable long lasting Diesel car. I couldn't cope with all this down time!
One other consideration is for those of us up North - EV battery performance is considerably worse at low temperatures. That said, you've made me think we're not too far away from being able to EV caravan even in Swedish autumn in a few years 😊
Thanks for your video it's answered a lot of my reservations for and against electric. At todays prices it's very favourable but with rocketing electric prices it will become less viable. My current towcar has a range of 300 to 400 miles per fill towing which removes the stress of having to continually plan for electric stops and the worry of them being out of action. The other problem for me is the continual disconnecting & re connecting the caravan ,so for me the electric route is still way way into the future if at all.
Trust me 😉 electric will be the future just the same as petrol in the passed left the 🐎 and cart. I truly believe that new technology is just round the corner, so never say never.
@@les.6343 about 1/2 a mile less than in summer. Those items take so little energy compared to driving, they are in the noise. Weather ( heavy rain in particular) has a much bigger impact. Perhaps as much as 5%. Which for 95 journeys out of means 100 means I only have 125 miles more than I need instead of 130. It’s a total non issue.
Excellent vlog. As a single lady with a dog, I don't think I could tackle towing with an ev...I wouldn't want to keep hooking up and unhooking to charge the car. I salute you for being such a trailblazer and advocate.
Andrew I hope everyone appreciates your commitment to trying this out. A big drawback we should factor into this is cost if ev. I know the air stream would have paid for the van and the car probably for you.
Agreed. The most cost-effective and greenest car is the car you have. But for people who are about to spend £40-50k on a new car... that's a different story.
My car uses 9l/100km and for the same journey i would have paid 182€ for fuel. My car only costed around 4000€ so i could make a lot of trips until i break even with an EV. So for me its not worth it now but i would love to get an EV someday. Atleast you are saving a lot of money on fuel but you pay with your time. It would be optimal to be able to tow around 300km and then make a 20min stop from 10 to 80%. EVs are not quite there yet to be able to tow over long distances for me but you made a very nice video and i have a great insight now.
Hello, I found your report interesting. Thank you very much for posting it. Your previous experiences encouraged me when I bought my car. I have lived a similar experience, but towing a caravan of about 1200kg fully equipped plus three more passengers on a trip from the center of Catalonia to the Frech blue coast. So I calculate that, more or less, my poor Skoda Enyaq 80 has had to carry about 1500kg extra weight. The result in consumption has been similar to yours with the large caravan (about 35Kwh/100Km). So I'm glad to know that if you reduce the weight, the autonomy increases substantially. But in my experience, and despite having to stop a couple more times than towing with a fuel car, the worst thing about traveling with a caravan is still the speed limitations, Which is a drawback independent from the towing car. Even more than the "extra" waiting time at the chargers. Because of how boring and tiring is to drive slowly on the motorway, you want to stop often. So the excuse of charging is good for doing something more than looking ahead. On the other hand, finding a suitable place to charge has been easier than I expected. Most of the times, I have been able to park directly with the caravan attached, and when I had to detach it, it wasn't a big problem either. Probably because most chargers are not in the busy gas stations, and there is usually more space available. But of course, planning the route well with ABRP (or similar), pre-verifying the places with google maps and being driven with a GPS for caravans is mandatory. Oh! And it's always fun to see people's faces (including EV users) when they see you towing a monstrous brick with an EV!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Good to know that you didn't need to detach the caravan many times. I think the UK is particularly bad in this area. All the best.
Our company had electric vans but as soon as you filled them up with equipment the miles just fell off a cliff. Needless to say we are back to diesel vans. I'm guessing it's the same for towing
Not a wise move buying those vans then. Do you know VW , take perfectly good diesels engines out of new vans and fit electric motors that have a 70 mile range and couldn't pull the skin of rice pudding.
Man, thank you for this video! This was so helpful! For a vacation trip, I think this is awesome. You've got the time, and as they say, your vacation starts with the journey. I would really enjoy such a tranquil way of traveling. I am in the process of deciding what car to get next however, and I need to tow a trailer for my business. I did a rough calculation of how the range would be in real life with the trailer attached, and your video confirms that range really plummets. Also, the charging bay predicament completely slipped my mind until now to be honest. That problem of getting in and out of a charing bay with a trailer...thats simply not gonna happen 99% of the time, not as long as charging parks are designed to show off your Mercedes EQS and Porsche Taycan rather than being a serious infrastructure for people who are on the move to earn their livelyhood. Since I tend to be on the clock and also might end up quite far out in the countryside when arriving, then need to work and very likely have no opportunity to slow charge while doing so, then need to get back quickly since it'll be the middle of the night already, an EV just won't do what I need it to do just now. Especially so, since I won't be able to detach the trailer while on the move. There is way too expensive stuff in there. We ordered an EV "for the familiy", so I always have that for trips where no trailer is needed, but for the heavy lifting, a good hybrid system is where it's at right now I think. In 10 years time, things will very likely be different and I'll be on board as soon as the cars and infrastructure allow for sure. The quietness of an EV while towing really must be something else and given the high energy consumption, burning fossil fuels really bugs me when towing. So I am really looking forward to go all EV. But for now, I think Nissan nailed it pretty good with the E-Power 4x4 system, that's what I am looking at right now. What I see from videos in japan, fuel consumption is really low. 4-5 Liters/100Km in a large SUV with 2000 Liters of cargo capacity, while having a lot of power (213hp and 525Nm) available at all wheels (two motor system), that's pretty good. And range while towing will still be around 400Km, plus I can refuel in 5 Minutes at any gas station with the trailer attached. Should be a good bridge towards going full EV. Still, I hate that it burns fuel. But well...that's how it looks right now. Thanks again, this video really helped me to reach a final decision!
Glad it was helpful and showed some considerations you'd not thought of. For many people who tow, a PHEV is still the way forward. Sadly I don't think the savings you get with an EV will last much longer with the latest price hikes :(
Wow, BIG applause for your Dutch pronunciation!! Flawless! 👏👏 And very nice to see how you get along in the EV. It asks for a more relaxed travel schedule, more 'campervan-travel' like, it feels. Not bad!
It's fascinating to see how well things are going with the new car and van combo! Great video, as usual Andrew. The Harwich ferry with the "enforced rest" seemed very civilised and sensible, in line with your "slow touring" ethos. It would be great to see more reviews of small (around 6 metres) caravans from the best show in Europe...we are loving our Knaus 400LK 🙂 The new Knaus Azur range seems quite an innovative design and worth a review, even though it's personally a bit upmarket and large for us. The new Knaus compact motorhome on the VW base looks exciting and very cool too...
Excellent video Andrew. I've driven EVs for around 6.5 years (5 in Nissen Leaf 30kW, 1.5 in Tesla M3). Unfortunately neither are suitable tow cars for my caravan, but I'm hoping my next EV in around 3 years will be capable for towing. Watching this video gives me great hope that will be the case. More of those charging stations that you used will be a game changer for towing EVs. Keep up the good work!!!
Hi Andrew. Thanks for the video. One major problem I can see is that we have to holiday in school holidays. We can hardly ever park on services during busy times as cars park in the caravan areas. So I can see the stress levels going through the roof as it is not an option to unhitch the caravan.
Try French aires on the main roads, cars parked all over the place, taking up lorry space, even once saw a Dutch plated car parked on the grey water drop. Can imagine quite a few fights starting as people who was first in the queue at a charging point.
There is no way in a million years in crime ridden Britain I'm detaching our caravan in some random service station just so I can drive around to the charge point all because it does not facilitate towing vehicles. Great video BTW Andrew.
Hello Andrew (and Dougal of course) - a most excellent video! Really interesting throughout and your breakdown of the cost and rationale for charge stops was superb, really useful real world experience and fascinating insight into the new charging points coming 🥰👍 Especially loved the facility in Stirling, driven past it before without realising what it was but it looks perfect especially for towing! That really would be the only real downside for us, having to unhitch at charge points but hopefully in the future it will improve. A really well constructed video that makes it clear EV towing is possible not in the future but right now, just need to plan more and take your time. But isn't that exactly what camping life is all about? 😁 Excellent video, thank you 👍
for me as an diesel driver (usually on waste veggie oil) i think that recharging every 80 miles is pretty bad… i usually drive around 400km (~280 miles) till the first break and around 600km till the first fuel stop (even with an car trailer with an car on it)
Interesting trip, which showed that, with patience, it is possible to tow quite a large caravan successfully. What I found most interesting was the substantial reduction in consumption due to driving at lower speeds. Although it might be more boring, driving at a constant 50mph/80kph might make for less charging time and ultimately better journey time overall.
How frustrating is it having to disconnect and reconnect the trailer at every charge stop? How much time does it add to each charge stop in total? How close are you able to park to chargers most of the time?
Another great video. It shows that using an EV to tow a light caravan is possible with certain caveats which you do mention in your video. Keep them coming.
What i find frustrating about this is there is that realistically no acknowledgement is given to the fact that if youd done the same journey in an ICE vehicle you would have only likely stopped one night in the uk and not at all across the channel apart from rest breaks meaning you could save at least 4 days of travel time and thats on a relatively short journey
great video once again Andrew, and very informative! Has certainly given much food for thought. We regularly struggled with the caravan parking at Peterborough as we have to do long journeys from the south coast to Yorkshire to see family etc, so now use Cambridge services as they have improved the parking and now have a really nice caravan pull off. Haven't considered how it would work with an EV though... looking forward to more content on the channel- Jon😀
No one says you can’t travel with an EV towing a trailer, but you have to admit that there are only a few people right now doing so. When there are hundreds of people towing and looking for chargers, l believe it would be much easier to fill up my ice vehicle in ten minutes and move on to the campground set up and have a beer while your still charging, or waiting to charge, and I can leave my trailer hooked up the whole time.
I liked your video and yes a ev car can tow a small lightweight van under 1500kg. The most popular size for an Australian touring (on-road) caravan is 19ft 6in-20ft 6in long, or six metres in metric size, measured inside from wall to wall. This allows good travelling room for a couple and the sort of comforts most now expect.
Kia EV6 depending on spec £46,000 to £60,000 Not exactly affordable for the masses. Im one of those people that spends around £500 to £2000 on a car. Ive owned my current £1500 vehicle for 14 years! Its done 450,000 miles and still returns 50mpg.
@@andrewjditton EV's are the most destructive vehicle EVER devised. It is FAR more environmentally damaging to produce than any equivalent petrol or diesel car. It has a shortened life, due to the limited lifespan of the battery being just a fraction of a modern petrol or diesel engine. Plus, as the battery is the largest and most expensive component in the vehicle, the car will be rendered almost valueless once it decides it doesn't want to be charged any more. In short. They are a con. A very expensive con. A very destructive con. A very dangerous con.
Amazing difference between Europe and Australia - distances of course - a short trip in a van in Aus would be 400km, my last trip with a camper trailer was 7000km over 4 weeks with one stage 890Km between petrol stations. But what I really notice is the difference in vans, typical vans in Aus are 2000kg at the low end and up to 3500kg + and they typically have massive off grid capability - like 600a/h battery, 600+ Watts solar - 400 L water .... my "light weight" 4x4 camper trailer while only 3.5m long (total length) is 1100kg and has 150L water and 250a/h battery.
So, about maximum of 120 miles / 200 km's with a charge. That is rubbish. You are more going from chargestation to chargestation instead of driving. And you are telling, 100 miles with a charge and a caravan is awesome? Dont forget, the weather is great, when it is colder the 100 miles will be less. And when the car is getting older, the 100 miles will be less. So, in some years time and with the heating on, the range will be 50 miles. Still awesome, Andrew? I doubt it. And some other annoying thing, is to detach the caravan / trailer during charging. For towing a caravan, only diesel is great.
@@andrewjditton all true. Absolutely. But face it, every 100 miles charging? Detaching trailers? And one is for sure, the range will only be less in the future.
Thanks! I'll be doing another video shortly about the Pros and Cons. This one was purely factual recounting the trip, and I don't think it labours the good stuff enough.
Fabulous and informative video - thanks. We've tested out our weinsberg caraone 390 a few times now and just returned from a week in Normandy & Brittany; initially we had the Explore as first choice but finally decided the Weinsberg fitted our requirements better. Still awaiting our Enyaq EV - been a long time waiting so lapping up these videos in the meantime. Can't wait to see if we can match or come close to your experiences with the Kia-Explore set up. I'm very encouraged with the EV range and charging successes your are showing here. We did a couple of trips to south Belgium with a BMWi3 - and had pleasant and relaxed experience of the ev infrastructure in Belgium.
When I was at the Ionity stalls at Gretna Green one of them was out of service and people waiting for the other stalls. However the biggest setback in Scotland was that most chargers are managed by Charging Scotland, which does not allow foreigners to download their app from the Play store/App store. Webpay is the only option for people from abroad. Luckily I was able to sideload the Charging Scotland app on my Android private smartphone, from then on charging in Scotland went mostly fine
As always a great video , well done Andrew👍, dragging an Eriba with an EV will be very interesting, I have a 2015 Eriba Familia 320 and I get 48mpg with my 1.5 diesel Dacia Duster. The light MTPLM, low roof, narrow width and an aerodynamic bullet shaped front contribute to the good MPG which I am convinced will also be an excellent match for an EV.
Thx for sharing your experiences! I'm still doing it another way, doing the Cologne-Elgin trip mostly overnight with 80 liter of Diesel quickly available and short naps.
Hari OM ...and thank YOU, Andrew, for providing that into which we can tune!!! This was excellent. I say, excellent!!! Enjoying the journey as part of the getaway is surely to be embraced. YAM xx
Fantastic, really informative. Grand caravan, impressed with the extra external hatches, it is one of the issues with my Adria Action. Looking forward to the next video from Düsseldorf.
@@andrewjditton I will happily cover the cost of a few nights, make sure you got a working Revolut or PayPal, and share the tag or eMail I can send to. Think of it as backpay on your videos^^ you already earned this my man. I expect answer to be: I will set up an account and share the details in a video later. Thank you Andrew. See u in the next video^^
Sticking to my supercharged 3.5 V6, it sounds glorious and only takes about 3 mins to fully charge and there are charging locations all over continental Europe. I will also be keeping my hairy chest.....
We travel regularly from Glasgow to Poole, 520 miles, which I do in a "oner" in my 2006 VW T5, getting between 38-45mpg depending on traffic and weight of my shoes... Addiitonally I still have around a qtr tank of gogo juice left at trip's end. Recent trip to the Vendee, 1 day to Portsmouth, overnight to St Malo, On site by lunch time. Had we done an EV, same way you did, we'd have used half of our 2 week holiday just getting there and back!
Heavens above the majority of you break is taken planning and stopping to charge every 100 miles, Madness utter madness!! Some may be fast charging but when you factor in unhooking and re-hooking the caravan it most certainly is not.
Thank you very much for the video and for the great explanations. It is very interesting to see ecological options to tow our caravans. As European legislation is being put in place, it is necessary to see what options manufacturers with towing capacity are presenting. In my opinion and the mountainous area of my area is not yet an option for me, but I do believe that little by little we can have more ecological options. Now they need to have more popular prices... greetings.
What an absolute nonsense. You must be joking ! Connecting and disconnecting the van, 1.5 hrs to charge. Enjoy your holiday at all the charging stations
Thanks for sharing this Andrew. I tow my Lunar Quasar with a Tesla Model X. The Tesla super charger network is a game changer for EVs. I usually cruise at 50 mph if not slipstreaming as I find I get much better range than cruising at 60 mph. As you touched upon aero drag is a big factor and increases with the square of speed increase. I also find as you did that slipstreaming a lorry at 56mph has a big positive impact on consumption.
Glad you enjoyed. Nice to hear of someone else doing it. I think the Supercharger Network is what sets Tesla apart - it's been a bad weekend for me as regards charging success.
Australia. The last bloke I met who was a fan of slip-streaming, took out his front end on a Kangaroo which appeared from under the back of a truck. Already mangled by the trucks bullbar at 100kph, it still managed to writeoff his tow vehicle. Don't slipstream. Maintain a safe distance and allow plenty of visibility and breaking space.
Amazing! costs being cheaper than the 60 pence a kilowatt charged onn Motirway services. I'm with The MacMaster on this one. I caravanned for decades. Best device ever invented was the Motor Mover. Essential kit.
Awesome. Really fascinated by the EV stuff having been captivated by the G Whizz years back. We'd benefit from an electric van to tow with, but they're prohibitively expensive for us at the moment.
Thanks for pointing out that towing is not an issue for EV. And the driving is very relaxed. My experience is with my ioniq 5 and a 740KG max trailer....From Poland to Netherlands in 2 days without any issue at the end of Christmas vacation. (1280 km in total or between 600 and 700 km both days.) Because the cold wether (-2 to 5 degrees celsius during the travel) I cannot copmpare the energy usage directly to usage with warmer wether but it seems that the usage is not very different from tavelling without trailer (take into account that without trailer I'm allowed to drive 140 km/h in Poland and advice of 130 in Gemany...with trailer ca 80 km/h in Poland (LKW speed mostly is 85-90 and I take that speed) and 100 km/h in Gemany...The netherlands does not count in km because only a few km from German border. May I recall to previous years when car owners pu an aerodynamic shield on top of the car to bring the caravan more out the wind....I was told then that it meant the owner could use fifth gear instead of constant fourth gear.... It could save you electricity. You tell that the smaller caravan increases youre range with 15%...but also you was driving a little sloewe. My experience is that any mile slower will increases your range with some 3%...3 miles slower means 9% increase of range. (My light trailer is special bought to be the same height as my ioniq 5....such a device will not add to me anything....maybe changing the back of the trailer hood, lowering the trailerhood there can make differences if done aerodynamical correct. Also
Thanks for sharing your experience. I did have a problem over the winter with the charging slowing right down because of the cold, but you are right about not having enough time to get a meal! All the best.
Hahaha. Our last trip was towing our 11foot, 2500kg van from Darwin, through El Questro, up the Mitchell plateau, then down to Broome via the Gibb river rd, then back across the Tanami to Alice Springs. Longest dist without fuel was Bililuna to Yuendumu, about 600ks. No charging, no power, anywhere between Drysdale station and Derby. I carry 125 litres of diesel which will give me about 750km of range. Electric..... never going to happen. There is not enough copper or lithium in the world to replace the existing fleet. Unless you live in a rich, firstworld, tiny-footprint country.
Thanks for the detailed video Andrew on towing with an EV. They are not for everyone I guess, but gives a great insight into an alternative way of doing things. 🙂
Awesome! What a fantastic data deluge and therefore great contribution to the community! Great to be able to compare aerodynamics in real world conditions as the fronts of the Xplore & Compass are fairly similar so (in a not quite robust enough for a peer reviewed scientific paper but still extremely useful way) the effect of trailer weight can be seen. As well as reduced drag on that last leg I wonder what difference temperature made... aircon would have been working harder but an ambient of even just 4 degrees higher would have made a difference to the chemical reaction speed going on in the battery. How much, I've no idea (or rather I can't remember how to calculate!), but it will be interesting to see what happens in subsequent similar drives. Very much looking forward to your videos from Dusseldorf. You probably know already but the Eriba Touring range has had quite some changes this year - whole new chassis I believe including a Knott coupling, which apparently comes about from Hymer building their own chassis production line! Would be interesting to hear any updates on what their thinking is in terms of competing with Alko for lightweight chassis design... New Tourings subsequently are now flat floored rather than raised at the back and have a refreshed options list including copying the rear boot/underbed access idea from Airstream, retro road lights, chrome everywhere plus interior style tweaks building on their Ocean Drive, etc. experience. There's also for the 1st time in a very long time a 560 with fixed bunks and the Feeling range (Tebay are I suspect the only UK supplier) also has a new fixed bunk version (again there hasn't been one of those for ages) but it's a monster at nearly 7m long ;-) still shows Eriba are thinking small & lightweight for multi child families for the 1st time in ages in addition to their luxury, massive, heavy, other ranges... Looking forward to seeing what else you unearth :)
Excellent video Andrew! If you were travelling from Northern Ireland expect to pay around £400 return with car and caravan with 2 people. I’m not fully sold on EV’s and caravan at the moment given other factors such as a fully loaded van with awning, chairs, BBQ, 2 weeks of food, clothing etc. and a dog which you couldn’t possibly leave in a kennel on the boat.
Brilliant Andrew, another superb video. Informative, well presented and beautifully filmed. Looking forward to the delivery of my EV, should be a bit different with a 6 birth van. However, I will attempt to document it.
Towed our Bailey Pursuit 430 for the first time with our EV6 two weeks ago. Glasgow to Moffat Camping & Caravan site. About 60 miles. Got 1.93 miles/kWH down and 1.5 back. Weather not great and temp about 8C.
fantastic video Andrew, excellent narration and quite interesting about the 15% efficiency increase with the smaller trailer. I wonder what might a teardrop trailer do. The extreme versions go down to 135 kilos (one hundred and thirty-five, earth traveller t250lx)
Hi Andrew. We watch all of your videos. You make them so full of info. You did a review on our actual car ( Ssangyong Rexton ) When you took it to Europe in the winter.! We bought it when you had done your thing with it. It really is an excellent car & brilliant on emmisions, even mot garage couldn't believe it! Anyway, thanks again for all your info, take care, stay safe & BIG LOVE to Dougal. He's adorable.
Excellent! Yes, the Rexton was amazing for the price. Glad you're still loving it. Worth holding on to as long as possible. I'm on my way home now and looking forward to passing on your love to Dougal, I've missed him so much!
Just Great! I've seen several do this with the EV6, ID4, Mach-e. Nice model caravan too. Myself was in EV camper trip with an eVivaro. The future is now 😀
Great breakdown and comparison on trip costs. Seems you’ve ‘cracked the code’ on making EV charging as low stress as possible, combining tasks with charging. All in all, seems like a really stress-free way to travel. Looked like Dougal was having a lot of fun with his ‘uncle’! 🤣
I agree, Andrew made the best use of his time by planning a background activity while charging. I don’t know anyone who sits and watches their mobile phone while it charges up, why should the car be any different!?
Of course, I missed the greatest takeaway of all, which is that EVs make awesome towcars! Smooth, quiet, powerful, relaxing, and stable. Funnily enough, I don't get headaches now on a long journey.
As you say, it's a mindset.
.
This may be useful?
.
Are you aware that you can also use an increasing number of Tesla superchargers in the UK (many on you're route) for a subscription of £10.99 per month, then you pay the "Tesla driver" rate?
This also let's you access (I believe) chargers in 13 European countries (Check first, but certainly Netherlands, Germany.
(Requires pre registration using their app)
Simply use the app to input your location and desired charger number.
Then it's essentially "plug and charge" just as with a Tesla.
Current UK locations (as of May 2022)
.
Folkestone Eurotunnel
Wokingham
Uxbridge
Thurrock
Cambridgeshire/Oxfordshire
Thetford
Trumpington
Wyboston
Banbury
Wales
Aberystwyth
Flint Mountain
The North
Manchester Trafford
Belford
Scotland
Dundee
Aviemore
How was your holiday? It was great you should have seen all the charging stations we visited in our empty caravan. They do not make awesome tow vehicles.
Hopefully owning an EV is not a trap. In California owners could not charge their vehicles due to heat and not enough electricity... and 1000% hikes in prices in some areas.....
@@interproservice
"In California" they requested that EVERYONE reduce *peak time* power use INCLUDING air-conditioning and other high energy use.
Since the vast majority of EV users would already be charging OFF PEAK (overnight) it wouldn't affect them.
.
Then we have the latest Tesla "virtual grid" in California, a collective of Powerwall owners who can combine to supply the grid with a substantial amount of energy (10MW? ) AT PEAK TIMES.....
I imagine a very high (95%+?) proportion of those are Tesla owners, so their cars would *never* use "peak time" energy?
Since Tesla cars have a 75% EV market share in the state, that would make Californian EVs" essentially "energy neutral"?
Or should I say "positive".... With the owners generating far more than they use...
@@paulbartsch1223 holiday? 😂😂😂. By the time he got to his destination it was time to turn around and come home!
Thanks for confirming that towing a caravan with an EV is not worth the hassle.
Thanks for spreading your negativity
@@jonbenham6650yeah sure you can tow with BEV if your prepared be inconvenienced with many multiple stops in a day , frankly they are rubbish with a paltry range when towing compared with diesel or petrol which can easily achieve 4.5 hours 270 miles between filling up
Maybe you're best sticking to package holidays if you think this is too much hassle.
This has convinced me 100%. To carry on using my jaguar XF V6 for towing , sorry but going on holiday should be about getting there and setting up the same day ,not spending hour upon hour unhitching and hooking up your van , fighting over charging spaces and constantly worrying about range
That's cool then. I'm just out to show it as it is today, and what improvements need to be made before it becomes mainstream.
Thank God someone else with sense.
@@andrewjditton Many years from now if ever these improvements will come.I the meantime 90% of the population will stick to there petrol/diesel cars for a long time.
Good, nobody cares....
@@foppo100 You don’t have to tow a caravan everyday do you? I don’t mind the 45k km per year in my EV.
Thanks for the great video on why NOT to buy an electric car. I shall stick to my Ford Ranger Raptor which does 34 mpg on a long journey. With a 80 LT tank ( approx 550 mile range). It can also tow 3000 KG all day long and still get return 32 MPG. When you do need to fill the tank it only takes 5 minutes, none of this faffing around looking for a charger that works, and then waiting an hour or more to fill up. I have two friends who both took out EVS on a PCP lease deal, and both handed them back within a year.
34mpg alone, and 32mpg towing 3000kg. Booooollllssheeeeeet!
32 mpg towing up to 3000kg? If you say so……. We live in a fossil fuelled world, but the governments are legislating and pricing combustion engined cars off the road. U.K. gov are banning sales of new fossil fuelled car sales from 2030 and hybrids from 2035. I hope you enjoy your Ford Ranger before Ford goes bankrupt, diesel passes £10 per gallon and combustion vehicles go the same way as Steam engines.
@@MrHairyTeabageven if the figures are skewed my kia manages 28mpg towing
I fill when leaving and at destination and work out the exact mpg and 28mpg is achievable with 1700kg in tow , lets see your battery car achieve 270 miles between recharging when towing 1700kg - a wager of £1000 says you can’t
@@stevensmith662 doesn't have a towbar so your money's safe😄
Have a KIA Sorento PHEV which manages 40mpg when not towing - with 1700kg of caravan I'd reckon 28-30 at best.
Fantasy man whose pick-up does 34 unladen and 32 towing 3 tonnes is still full of shit.
Fair play Andrew you deserve a medal for this. As an EV driver and a Vanner there is no way I would attempt this at the moment just way too much hassle. The leisure vehicle industry really needs to be making much more noise about how unsuitable 99.9% of chargers are if you are towing and its just not improving.
Cheers BB. I totally agree, but right now nobody wants to listen, let alone stand up. I feel like the only person on my feet in a room full of people staring at the floor and ignoring what's going on around them.
@@andrewjditton Indeed - really glad you are taking the issue on - The other big issue we see is lack of on-site charging, we are off to a CL this weekend for a couple of weeks but as with many/most CLs we have been expressly told "No EV charging allowed" so we will tow with a diesel SUV and take our Zoe for running around but will have to rely on public charging. We will try and explain to the CL owner how the provision of an EV charger could be a real selling point for them.
What a load of faffing about. Drive 80 odd miles; detaching the van and (re)fitting the wheelclamp ( you were lucky it was still there); all that waiting around; hoping there are working chargers - plus all the planning beforehand; risk of fines for overstaying during charging. Heck what a fun experience, no thanks…
We tow our caravan with our Hyundai Ioniq5. Like Andrew we get a usable range of about 120 miles. You are right to say that most chargers are not designed for towing. In most cases, with our car they are made to reverse into. But I don't detach our van as often as Andrew does. If there's any way I can get in without unhooking I do. I would say I can do that more than 60% of the time. Most of the newer Ionity chargers have long enough cables to just reach to the back of the car if you park front end in. And where orher chargers are more widely spaced. You can approach diagonally or even get alongside, with the front wheels on the grass. The result is that my reversing skills have vastly improved. I can reverse out of even the most awkward spaces.
Think I’ll carry on towing with my Honda CRV 2.2 Diesel.
That’s a hell of a lot of stopping and faffing about.
Very enjoyable but I would rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon than have to plan that recharging schedule every 80 - 100 miles
Fill up with diesel or petrol in 2 minutes or charge up with electric and wait an hour hmm 🤔
Two football fields tarmacked for the chargers in Sterling perfect.
What a pain in the backside, un hitching, hitching, waiting for a charger, waiting for it to charge ok if you've got all the time in the world to get somewhere, not for me, but what a great way to do some virtue signaling
Plus it's more expensive because you have to buy the vehicle when I could buy 10 diesel cars instead and fuel them for the rest of my life probably 🤣
I'm sorry that you think that way but thanks for your comment and sharing your assumptions. I love learning about the people who watch my videos.
Thanks for confirming how impractical EV's are.
Love your videos and this one is as usual very useful. It has convinced me to stick with my 4x4 diesel to tow my large caravan. It’s not an option to have a small caravan like the one you used. It just seems there is far to much planning that has to go into a longer journey, the journey takes longer, you need to unhitch most times. Plus there is the added worry of the availability of chargers. We are going from west York’s to fort William in the next month and as usual are doing the journey in one day. That wouldn’t be possible with an ev. I can see that if time isn’t an issue, you can afford to buy an ev, a smaller van fits your lifestyle it may be a viable alternative for some.
Evolution takes time. (and effort). Can you reache any of theese...?
Agree. I would one day love to use sn EV for a daily runner but can foresee issues when the popularity increases, demand for cars goes up and the infrastructure as usual in Britain lagging behind. Plus there's the environmental impact EV manufacture inflict on the Earth not to mention the nagging hypocrisy knowing EV charging stations supplied by a national power grid energised by coal and gas fired power stations.
Still its all food for thought.
Yeah in an ideal world I'd love to potter around in an EV, it must be so easy, quiet, and relaxing
There are no coal fired power stations in Scotland where we live, where almost 100% of the net electricity demand is met by renewables. Source: First Minister of Scotland. Gridserve Electric Forecourts are also powered by 100% renewable sources. But please don't let facts sway your opinion.
@@andrewjditton i don’t mean to be difficult because I really enjoy your vids but I don’t see your point. The fact that Scotland does not use coal fired power stations does not get over the facts we made about time taken to plan, journey times, the fact that most people can’t afford an EV and the human cost of producing batteries. Also, other countries you travelled through do use coal fired power so I’m not really sure what facts we ignored.
@@andrewgrimshaw5180 Your right, evs are a scam.
Great video Andrew. Really inspiring to see you travel such a distance whilst making good time, and a substantial saving too 👍🏻
Cheers Adam!
What an absolute faff ⚡️
Yes, it can be done but it's hardly stress free and that is what you (I) want on a holiday. The range and efficiency of EV's is certainly improving but they've still a long way to go, no pun intended. 80 miles or so between charges is still poor compared to conventionally fuelled alternatives. My diesel LC, with a fully loaded 1.5 ton caravan, will do home to Scotland (320m) on one tank, obviously without the problem of route charge planning and charging down time. Without the range/charging "worry" there's also no problem with unexpected diversions and road closures, as has happened to me a couple of times plus you can "boot it" to get past slower moving traffic, when required, without concern. I've nothing against EV's, for certain applications they win hands down but for me they're just not practical for long distance caravan touring.........yet!
Great vids showing how EV+Caravan can be a pain if time is not on your side and having to continually disconnect to connect. Looks like we are a few years off yet from going down that path.
Glad it helped!
Nope, ill stick to my diesel van thanks to use for towing. Get nearly 500 miles on a tank out of it and then when i run out it takes me just five minutes and i can go another 500 miles. Electric cars are only good for one thing and thats short commutes or city centres, longer journeys forget it.......can you imagine, "yes kids were off to cornwall but we have to spend two days of that just charging the car so really we only get 5 days instead of 7 but never mind eh, who cares paying for those two days of a holiday for nothing...........Plus what most electric car nuts fail to tell you is that using the fast chargers cost you TWICE as much as petrol and diesel
Interesting video.
It really confirms my belief that EV's and long journeys don't go together well.
Yes but my diesel still works well. How much was your NEW electric car and how can mr average afford one?
As a caravan journalist you know that leaving your caravan unattended on a regular basis as you charge the ev is only going to end one way
What, he'll leave it behind?
Thank you for sharing your tips and learnings traveling with EV & caravan. Glad to see how GB is building charging parks and how philosophies differ/match. Still loving GB's roundabouts from my last trip to Liverpool and seeing how smooth you can pass them by (greetings from Dortmund!). But still an issue in parking the caravan somewhere else while charging. As last year I wasn't at Caravan Salon thank you for introducing Whale equipment (interesting ideas). So, your video is one step further for me now selling my diesel... Have a good camping season!
Many thanks!
Great video but I could feel my stress levels rising just watching it. Skipping breakfast, hitching, unhitching, hours of charging and waiting to charge, too many stopovers. I'd need a holiday to recover from my holiday !
Brilliant video Andrew. Very impressed with both the charge rate and the miles/kWh you achieved.
Our last trip was 260 miles one way in one day, towing our 1550 MTPLM Bailey with our Polestar 2. With that combo our max range is a theoretical 140 miles, and we used 125 of them on our first leg.
Keep up the great reporting!
Your waving in the mirror and saying “Hello!” Makes me smile every time. Thank you!
You are so welcome!
Such a great video I have rewatched it several times.
Wow... imagine doing that in holiday traffic....just to turn it into more of a nightmare
😂😂😂
Fantastic vlog Andrew. You’re info on living with an EV is so informative even for someone like me who’s unlikely to buy a caravan. Showing your route and what you need to do for such a journey with an EV is brilliant.
Looking forward to your Düsseldorf videos. Have a great time.
Cheers Paul!
Andrew, I am sorry but the range is simply too low. If you were a family on a two week holiday the time taken to travel a reasonable distance is inadequate. Having to stop with children and wait whilst charging I envisage a nightmare journey.
EV at the time do not make sense for towing. This may change in the future but not yet. I feel hydrogen may be a more efficient environmentally sound way to tow.
I hear what you're saying Colin, but to my mind it's more to do with setting up reliable, fast, pull-through chargers. I'm sure stopping 15 minutes every 2 hours to stretch legs and use the loo isn't a huge ask. But it's precarious still as you can see from the vid. I'm as frustrated as everyone else that there is so little data and research into hydrogen.
Do you remember the hindenburg??? That was hydrogen. Then you sat on or in a death trap with lithium batteries. Dont risk it fire risks???and don't let the government rule you. Global warming is a hoax. Read the bible. 2 peter ch3 and revelation. Earth going to be destroyed by fire by god any way because of sin. He flooded it last time. Hes going to destroy and burn it this time.
Fabulous video, thanks for all your work. The next car will be an electric and this video has been extremely useful. Very impressed with the Stirling hub. Need to have a word with my local council.
Great to see your videos about EV caravanning! It's a real pleasure and lowers anxiety. :-)
You're going to need 2 weeks of work to get one weeks holiday with all the friggin about. I know the government will continue to make it more and more difficult and EXPENSIVE to keep your very reliable long lasting Diesel car. I couldn't cope with all this down time!
One other consideration is for those of us up North - EV battery performance is considerably worse at low temperatures.
That said, you've made me think we're not too far away from being able to EV caravan even in Swedish autumn in a few years 😊
Thanks for your video it's answered a lot of my reservations for and against electric. At todays prices it's very favourable but with rocketing electric prices it will become less viable. My current towcar has a range of 300 to 400 miles per fill towing which removes the stress of having to continually plan for electric stops and the worry of them being out of action. The other problem for me is the continual disconnecting & re connecting the caravan ,so for me the electric route is still way way into the future if at all.
Trust me 😉 electric will be the future just the same as petrol in the passed left the 🐎 and cart. I truly believe that new technology is just round the corner, so never say never.
Believe me. It's not a big deal.. It takes 2 minutes.
How much range has the ordinary electric car got in winter when lights,wipers,heating &air con is on all the time.
@@les.6343 about 1/2 a mile less than in summer. Those items take so little energy compared to driving, they are in the noise.
Weather ( heavy rain in particular) has a much bigger impact. Perhaps as much as 5%. Which for 95 journeys out of means 100 means I only have 125 miles more than I need instead of 130.
It’s a total non issue.
Excellent vlog. As a single lady with a dog, I don't think I could tackle towing with an ev...I wouldn't want to keep hooking up and unhooking to charge the car. I salute you for being such a trailblazer and advocate.
I just said the same for two women travelling as well. At night services aren’t usually the most welcoming places 🤣
Andrew I hope everyone appreciates your commitment to trying this out. A big drawback we should factor into this is cost if ev. I know the air stream would have paid for the van and the car probably for you.
Agreed. The most cost-effective and greenest car is the car you have. But for people who are about to spend £40-50k on a new car... that's a different story.
@@andrewjditton Not me sadly. Oh well, just keep using my 30yr old pajero. With a smile 😀
My car uses 9l/100km and for the same journey i would have paid 182€ for fuel.
My car only costed around 4000€ so i could make a lot of trips until i break even with an EV. So for me its not worth it now but i would love to get an EV someday. Atleast you are saving a lot of money on fuel but you pay with your time. It would be optimal to be able to tow around 300km and then make a 20min stop from 10 to 80%.
EVs are not quite there yet to be able to tow over long distances for me but you made a very nice video and i have a great insight now.
Love the video very informative and clear
Hope Dougie and you stay safe
🇬🇧👍
Glad you enjoyed it, many thanks.
Hello, I found your report interesting. Thank you very much for posting it. Your previous experiences encouraged me when I bought my car.
I have lived a similar experience, but towing a caravan of about 1200kg fully equipped plus three more passengers on a trip from the center of Catalonia to the Frech blue coast. So I calculate that, more or less, my poor Skoda Enyaq 80 has had to carry about 1500kg extra weight. The result in consumption has been similar to yours with the large caravan (about 35Kwh/100Km). So I'm glad to know that if you reduce the weight, the autonomy increases substantially.
But in my experience, and despite having to stop a couple more times than towing with a fuel car, the worst thing about traveling with a caravan is still the speed limitations, Which is a drawback independent from the towing car. Even more than the "extra" waiting time at the chargers. Because of how boring and tiring is to drive slowly on the motorway, you want to stop often. So the excuse of charging is good for doing something more than looking ahead.
On the other hand, finding a suitable place to charge has been easier than I expected. Most of the times, I have been able to park directly with the caravan attached, and when I had to detach it, it wasn't a big problem either. Probably because most chargers are not in the busy gas stations, and there is usually more space available. But of course, planning the route well with ABRP (or similar), pre-verifying the places with google maps and being driven with a GPS for caravans is mandatory.
Oh! And it's always fun to see people's faces (including EV users) when they see you towing a monstrous brick with an EV!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Good to know that you didn't need to detach the caravan many times. I think the UK is particularly bad in this area. All the best.
Our company had electric vans but as soon as you filled them up with equipment the miles just fell off a cliff. Needless to say we are back to diesel vans. I'm guessing it's the same for towing
Not a wise move buying those vans then.
Do you know VW , take perfectly good diesels engines out of new vans and fit electric motors that have a 70 mile range and couldn't pull the skin of rice pudding.
Man, thank you for this video! This was so helpful! For a vacation trip, I think this is awesome. You've got the time, and as they say, your vacation starts with the journey. I would really enjoy such a tranquil way of traveling.
I am in the process of deciding what car to get next however, and I need to tow a trailer for my business. I did a rough calculation of how the range would be in real life with the trailer attached, and your video confirms that range really plummets. Also, the charging bay predicament completely slipped my mind until now to be honest. That problem of getting in and out of a charing bay with a trailer...thats simply not gonna happen 99% of the time, not as long as charging parks are designed to show off your Mercedes EQS and Porsche Taycan rather than being a serious infrastructure for people who are on the move to earn their livelyhood.
Since I tend to be on the clock and also might end up quite far out in the countryside when arriving, then need to work and very likely have no opportunity to slow charge while doing so, then need to get back quickly since it'll be the middle of the night already, an EV just won't do what I need it to do just now. Especially so, since I won't be able to detach the trailer while on the move. There is way too expensive stuff in there.
We ordered an EV "for the familiy", so I always have that for trips where no trailer is needed, but for the heavy lifting, a good hybrid system is where it's at right now I think. In 10 years time, things will very likely be different and I'll be on board as soon as the cars and infrastructure allow for sure. The quietness of an EV while towing really must be something else and given the high energy consumption, burning fossil fuels really bugs me when towing. So I am really looking forward to go all EV. But for now, I think Nissan nailed it pretty good with the E-Power 4x4 system, that's what I am looking at right now. What I see from videos in japan, fuel consumption is really low. 4-5 Liters/100Km in a large SUV with 2000 Liters of cargo capacity, while having a lot of power (213hp and 525Nm) available at all wheels (two motor system), that's pretty good. And range while towing will still be around 400Km, plus I can refuel in 5 Minutes at any gas station with the trailer attached. Should be a good bridge towards going full EV. Still, I hate that it burns fuel. But well...that's how it looks right now. Thanks again, this video really helped me to reach a final decision!
Glad it was helpful and showed some considerations you'd not thought of. For many people who tow, a PHEV is still the way forward. Sadly I don't think the savings you get with an EV will last much longer with the latest price hikes :(
Wow, BIG applause for your Dutch pronunciation!! Flawless! 👏👏
And very nice to see how you get along in the EV. It asks for a more relaxed travel schedule, more 'campervan-travel' like, it feels. Not bad!
Dank u wel mevrouw :)
@@andrewjditton haha graag gedaan!!
your channel is one of the few ones which I click like before full screen button. just for the effort before watching the whole thing.
Many thanks :)
It's fascinating to see how well things are going with the new car and van combo! Great video, as usual Andrew.
The Harwich ferry with the "enforced rest" seemed very civilised and sensible, in line with your "slow touring" ethos.
It would be great to see more reviews of small (around 6 metres) caravans from the best show in Europe...we are loving our Knaus 400LK 🙂
The new Knaus Azur range seems quite an innovative design and worth a review, even though it's personally a bit upmarket and large for us.
The new Knaus compact motorhome on the VW base looks exciting and very cool too...
All duly noted, I'll see what I can sniff out at the show!
Great video with real world information on using ev.
It just seems a right carry on stopping so often and then chargers being out of order or in use.
Just showing how it is in the real world Gary!
Excellent video Andrew. I've driven EVs for around 6.5 years (5 in Nissen Leaf 30kW, 1.5 in Tesla M3). Unfortunately neither are suitable tow cars for my caravan, but I'm hoping my next EV in around 3 years will be capable for towing. Watching this video gives me great hope that will be the case. More of those charging stations that you used will be a game changer for towing EVs. Keep up the good work!!!
Many thanks Chris.
Hi Andrew. Thanks for the video. One major problem I can see is that we have to holiday in school holidays. We can hardly ever park on services during busy times as cars park in the caravan areas. So I can see the stress levels going through the roof as it is not an option to unhitch the caravan.
Try French aires on the main roads, cars parked all over the place, taking up lorry space, even once saw a Dutch plated car parked on the grey water drop. Can imagine quite a few fights starting as people who was first in the queue at a charging point.
There is no way in a million years in crime ridden Britain I'm detaching our caravan in some random service station just so I can drive around to the charge point all because it does not facilitate towing vehicles. Great video BTW Andrew.
Here's the irony: At Gretna it took me longer to wait for my burger than it did to charge the car.
@@andrewjditton yes but the wait included the time it took to catch and kill the cow first.
Thank you for this informative video!
I am towing my folding caravan through France in a few weeks so this video has given me loads of confidence
Excellent! Bon voyage.
Hello Andrew (and Dougal of course) - a most excellent video! Really interesting throughout and your breakdown of the cost and rationale for charge stops was superb, really useful real world experience and fascinating insight into the new charging points coming 🥰👍 Especially loved the facility in Stirling, driven past it before without realising what it was but it looks perfect especially for towing! That really would be the only real downside for us, having to unhitch at charge points but hopefully in the future it will improve.
A really well constructed video that makes it clear EV towing is possible not in the future but right now, just need to plan more and take your time. But isn't that exactly what camping life is all about? 😁 Excellent video, thank you 👍
Thanks for watching with an open mind! Cheers.
for me as an diesel driver (usually on waste veggie oil) i think that recharging every 80 miles is pretty bad… i usually drive around 400km (~280 miles) till the first break and around 600km till the first fuel stop (even with an car trailer with an car on it)
Interesting trip, which showed that, with patience, it is possible to tow quite a large caravan successfully.
What I found most interesting was the substantial reduction in consumption due to driving at lower speeds.
Although it might be more boring, driving at a constant 50mph/80kph might make for less charging time and ultimately better journey time overall.
Good point! Especially if, as demonstrated in the video, you can tuck in behind a lorry.
How about all the poor buggers behind you??
How frustrating is it having to disconnect and reconnect the trailer at every charge stop? How much time does it add to each charge stop in total? How close are you able to park to chargers most of the time?
1. Not very. 2. Mentioned in the video. 3. Depends.
Another great video. It shows that using an EV to tow a light caravan is possible with certain caveats which you do mention in your video. Keep them coming.
Absolutely! And there are so many benefits, mostly the quiet, smooth, stress-free environment in the cabin. Cheers!
Another fascinating video. Thanks. And I noticed *lots* of smiles from Dougal when he's playing at your mum's . . . 🤣😂🤣
Really Informative. The future of touring with an ev looks very bright.
Thanks a lot for this video , merci monsieur !
What i find frustrating about this is there is that realistically no acknowledgement is given to the fact that if youd done the same journey in an ICE vehicle you would have only likely stopped one night in the uk and not at all across the channel apart from rest breaks meaning you could save at least 4 days of travel time and thats on a relatively short journey
Great videos. It gives us a chance to see how things will be in the future now.
great video once again Andrew, and very informative! Has certainly given much food for thought. We regularly struggled with the caravan parking at Peterborough as we have to do long journeys from the south coast to Yorkshire to see family etc, so now use Cambridge services as they have improved the parking and now have a really nice caravan pull off. Haven't considered how it would work with an EV though... looking forward to more content on the channel- Jon😀
Thanks for the tip about Cambridge, cheers!
No one says you can’t travel with an EV towing a trailer, but you have to admit that there are only a few people right now doing so. When there are hundreds of people towing and looking for chargers, l believe it would be much easier to fill up my ice vehicle in ten minutes and move on to the campground set up and have a beer while your still charging, or waiting to charge, and I can leave my trailer hooked up the whole time.
I liked your video and yes a ev car can tow a small lightweight van under 1500kg.
The most popular size for an Australian touring (on-road) caravan is 19ft 6in-20ft 6in long, or six metres in metric size, measured inside from wall to wall. This allows good travelling room for a couple and the sort of comforts most now expect.
Kia EV6 depending on spec £46,000 to £60,000
Not exactly affordable for the masses.
Im one of those people that spends around £500 to £2000 on a car.
Ive owned my current £1500 vehicle for 14 years! Its done 450,000 miles and still returns 50mpg.
Impressive stats! But for those people who are buying a new car...
@@andrewjditton EV's are the most destructive vehicle EVER devised.
It is FAR more environmentally damaging to produce than any equivalent petrol or diesel car.
It has a shortened life, due to the limited lifespan of the battery being just a fraction of a modern petrol or diesel engine.
Plus, as the battery is the largest and most expensive component in the vehicle, the car will be rendered almost valueless once it decides it doesn't want to be charged any more.
In short. They are a con. A very expensive con. A very destructive con. A very dangerous con.
@@sahhull please could you cite the sources for your arguments, and the information behind who is funding those sources?
Amazing difference between Europe and Australia - distances of course - a short trip in a van in Aus would be 400km, my last trip with a camper trailer was 7000km over 4 weeks with one stage 890Km between petrol stations. But what I really notice is the difference in vans, typical vans in Aus are 2000kg at the low end and up to 3500kg + and they typically have massive off grid capability - like 600a/h battery, 600+ Watts solar - 400 L water .... my "light weight" 4x4 camper trailer while only 3.5m long (total length) is 1100kg and has 150L water and 250a/h battery.
Hi Andrew, I really enjoyed this video and all the information you gave, have a great time in Germany
Glad you enjoyed it Colin, cheers!
So, about maximum of 120 miles / 200 km's with a charge. That is rubbish. You are more going from chargestation to chargestation instead of driving. And you are telling, 100 miles with a charge and a caravan is awesome? Dont forget, the weather is great, when it is colder the 100 miles will be less. And when the car is getting older, the 100 miles will be less. So, in some years time and with the heating on, the range will be 50 miles. Still awesome, Andrew? I doubt it. And some other annoying thing, is to detach the caravan / trailer during charging. For towing a caravan, only diesel is great.
Smooth, quiet, powerful, no vibration, phenomenal torque... but you're not interested in that I guess.
@@andrewjditton all true. Absolutely. But face it, every 100 miles charging? Detaching trailers? And one is for sure, the range will only be less in the future.
A wonderful video and very informative, I really am convinced about getting an EV and love the idea of getting a caravan over a camper now
Thanks! I'll be doing another video shortly about the Pros and Cons. This one was purely factual recounting the trip, and I don't think it labours the good stuff enough.
Excellent ground breaking trips. Look forward to following further.
Many thanks Martin!
Fabulous and informative video - thanks. We've tested out our weinsberg caraone 390 a few times now and just returned from a week in Normandy & Brittany; initially we had the Explore as first choice but finally decided the Weinsberg fitted our requirements better. Still awaiting our Enyaq EV - been a long time waiting so lapping up these videos in the meantime. Can't wait to see if we can match or come close to your experiences with the Kia-Explore set up. I'm very encouraged with the EV range and charging successes your are showing here. We did a couple of trips to south Belgium with a BMWi3 - and had pleasant and relaxed experience of the ev infrastructure in Belgium.
Great stuff. Hope the Enyaq appears soon - it's a brilliant car!
When I was at the Ionity stalls at Gretna Green one of them was out of service and people waiting for the other stalls. However the biggest setback in Scotland was that most chargers are managed by Charging Scotland, which does not allow foreigners to download their app from the Play store/App store. Webpay is the only option for people from abroad. Luckily I was able to sideload the Charging Scotland app on my Android private smartphone, from then on charging in Scotland went mostly fine
Looks like range is still an issue and of course a fundamental re think of caravan weight, aerodynamics to improve range
As always a great video , well done Andrew👍, dragging an Eriba with an EV will be very interesting, I have a 2015 Eriba Familia 320 and I get 48mpg with my 1.5 diesel Dacia Duster. The light MTPLM, low roof, narrow width and an aerodynamic bullet shaped front contribute to the good MPG which I am convinced will also be an excellent match for an EV.
Thx for sharing your experiences!
I'm still doing it another way, doing the Cologne-Elgin trip mostly overnight with 80 liter of Diesel quickly available and short naps.
No bother! If you're pressed for time, petrol/diesel is still the sensible choice for long distance. Cheers.
Hari OM
...and thank YOU, Andrew, for providing that into which we can tune!!! This was excellent. I say, excellent!!! Enjoying the journey as part of the getaway is surely to be embraced. YAM xx
YES! As someone said, why not start your holiday as you pull away from your home and not when you arrive on site?
very good & informative.
Thx.Bernie in Palm Springs CA
Cheers Bernie!
Fantastic, really informative. Grand caravan, impressed with the extra external hatches, it is one of the issues with my Adria Action. Looking forward to the next video from Düsseldorf.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the ride along. Nothing like this on the other side of the pond.
Andrew... I bet you could easily go through Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Everybody speaks well English, chargers all over.
And Tesla chargers are open to all if required.
I would LOVE to go to those places! I have an idea for 2023 ;)
@@andrewjditton I will happily cover the cost of a few nights, make sure you got a working Revolut or PayPal, and share the tag or eMail I can send to. Think of it as backpay on your videos^^ you already earned this my man.
I expect answer to be: I will set up an account and share the details in a video later.
Thank you Andrew. See u in the next video^^
Sticking to my supercharged 3.5 V6, it sounds glorious and only takes about 3 mins to fully charge and there are charging locations all over continental Europe.
I will also be keeping my hairy chest.....
We travel regularly from Glasgow to Poole, 520 miles, which I do in a "oner" in my 2006 VW T5, getting between 38-45mpg depending on traffic and weight of my shoes... Addiitonally I still have around a qtr tank of gogo juice left at trip's end. Recent trip to the Vendee, 1 day to Portsmouth, overnight to St Malo, On site by lunch time. Had we done an EV, same way you did, we'd have used half of our 2 week holiday just getting there and back!
520 miles in one go? Wow, that's some bladder you have.
Heavens above the majority of you break is taken planning and stopping to charge every 100 miles, Madness utter madness!!
Some may be fast charging but when you factor in unhooking and re-hooking the caravan it most certainly is not.
Thank you very much for the video and for the great explanations. It is very interesting to see ecological options to tow our caravans. As European legislation is being put in place, it is necessary to see what options manufacturers with towing capacity are presenting. In my opinion and the mountainous area of my area is not yet an option for me, but I do believe that little by little we can have more ecological options. Now they need to have more popular prices... greetings.
What an absolute nonsense. You must be joking ! Connecting and disconnecting the van, 1.5 hrs to charge. Enjoy your holiday at all the charging stations
omg dougal with the scarf on his head thought I was going to pee my pants laughing sorry Andrew it was hilarious
Thanks for sharing this Andrew. I tow my Lunar Quasar with a Tesla Model X. The Tesla super charger network is a game changer for EVs. I usually cruise at 50 mph if not slipstreaming as I find I get much better range than cruising at 60 mph. As you touched upon aero drag is a big factor and increases with the square of speed increase. I also find as you did that slipstreaming a lorry at 56mph has a big positive impact on consumption.
Glad you enjoyed. Nice to hear of someone else doing it. I think the Supercharger Network is what sets Tesla apart - it's been a bad weekend for me as regards charging success.
Australia. The last bloke I met who was a fan of slip-streaming, took out his front end on a Kangaroo which appeared from under the back of a truck. Already mangled by the trucks bullbar at 100kph, it still managed to writeoff his tow vehicle.
Don't slipstream. Maintain a safe distance and allow plenty of visibility and breaking space.
Amazing! costs being cheaper than the 60 pence a kilowatt charged onn Motirway services.
I'm with The MacMaster on this one.
I caravanned for decades. Best device ever invented was the Motor Mover. Essential kit.
Awesome. Really fascinated by the EV stuff having been captivated by the G Whizz years back. We'd benefit from an electric van to tow with, but they're prohibitively expensive for us at the moment.
Thanks for pointing out that towing is not an issue for EV. And the driving is very relaxed.
My experience is with my ioniq 5 and a 740KG max trailer....From Poland to Netherlands in 2 days without any issue at the end of Christmas vacation. (1280 km in total or between 600 and 700 km both days.)
Because the cold wether (-2 to 5 degrees celsius during the travel) I cannot copmpare the energy usage directly to usage with warmer wether but it seems that the usage is not very different from tavelling without trailer (take into account that without trailer I'm allowed to drive 140 km/h in Poland and advice of 130 in Gemany...with trailer ca 80 km/h in Poland (LKW speed mostly is 85-90 and I take that speed) and 100 km/h in Gemany...The netherlands does not count in km because only a few km from German border.
May I recall to previous years when car owners pu an aerodynamic shield on top of the car to bring the caravan more out the wind....I was told then that it meant the owner could use fifth gear instead of constant fourth gear....
It could save you electricity.
You tell that the smaller caravan increases youre range with 15%...but also you was driving a little sloewe. My experience is that any mile slower will increases your range with some 3%...3 miles slower means 9% increase of range.
(My light trailer is special bought to be the same height as my ioniq 5....such a device will not add to me anything....maybe changing the back of the trailer hood, lowering the trailerhood there can make differences if done aerodynamical correct. Also
Thanks for sharing your experience. I did have a problem over the winter with the charging slowing right down because of the cold, but you are right about not having enough time to get a meal! All the best.
Hahaha. Our last trip was towing our 11foot, 2500kg van from Darwin, through El Questro, up the Mitchell plateau, then down to Broome via the Gibb river rd, then back across the Tanami to Alice Springs. Longest dist without fuel was Bililuna to Yuendumu, about 600ks. No charging, no power, anywhere between Drysdale station and Derby. I carry 125 litres of diesel which will give me about 750km of range.
Electric..... never going to happen. There is not enough copper or lithium in the world to replace the existing fleet.
Unless you live in a rich, firstworld, tiny-footprint country.
Thanks for the detailed video Andrew on towing with an EV. They are not for everyone I guess, but gives a great insight into an alternative way of doing things. 🙂
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome! What a fantastic data deluge and therefore great contribution to the community! Great to be able to compare aerodynamics in real world conditions as the fronts of the Xplore & Compass are fairly similar so (in a not quite robust enough for a peer reviewed scientific paper but still extremely useful way) the effect of trailer weight can be seen. As well as reduced drag on that last leg I wonder what difference temperature made... aircon would have been working harder but an ambient of even just 4 degrees higher would have made a difference to the chemical reaction speed going on in the battery. How much, I've no idea (or rather I can't remember how to calculate!), but it will be interesting to see what happens in subsequent similar drives. Very much looking forward to your videos from Dusseldorf. You probably know already but the Eriba Touring range has had quite some changes this year - whole new chassis I believe including a Knott coupling, which apparently comes about from Hymer building their own chassis production line! Would be interesting to hear any updates on what their thinking is in terms of competing with Alko for lightweight chassis design... New Tourings subsequently are now flat floored rather than raised at the back and have a refreshed options list including copying the rear boot/underbed access idea from Airstream, retro road lights, chrome everywhere plus interior style tweaks building on their Ocean Drive, etc. experience. There's also for the 1st time in a very long time a 560 with fixed bunks and the Feeling range (Tebay are I suspect the only UK supplier) also has a new fixed bunk version (again there hasn't been one of those for ages) but it's a monster at nearly 7m long ;-) still shows Eriba are thinking small & lightweight for multi child families for the 1st time in ages in addition to their luxury, massive, heavy, other ranges... Looking forward to seeing what else you unearth :)
Will go check 'em out Becky! Cheers.
Excellent video Andrew! If you were travelling from Northern Ireland expect to pay around £400 return with car and caravan with 2 people. I’m not fully sold on EV’s and caravan at the moment given other factors such as a fully loaded van with awning, chairs, BBQ, 2 weeks of food, clothing etc. and a dog which you couldn’t possibly leave in a kennel on the boat.
Brilliant Andrew, another superb video. Informative, well presented and beautifully filmed. Looking forward to the delivery of my EV, should be a bit different with a 6 birth van. However, I will attempt to document it.
The more info out there the better!
You'll have plenty of time for documenting the tow while waiting for charging!!!
Towed our Bailey Pursuit 430 for the first time with our EV6 two weeks ago. Glasgow to Moffat Camping & Caravan site. About 60 miles. Got 1.93 miles/kWH down and 1.5 back. Weather not great and temp about 8C.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing Charles. I'm away next week and it will be interesting to see how the lower temperatures affect the range.
fantastic video Andrew, excellent narration and quite interesting about the 15% efficiency increase with the smaller trailer. I wonder what might a teardrop trailer do. The extreme versions go down to 135 kilos (one hundred and thirty-five, earth traveller t250lx)
Hi Andrew. We watch all of your videos. You make them so full of info. You did a review on our actual car ( Ssangyong Rexton ) When you took it to Europe in the winter.! We bought it when you had done your thing with it. It really is an excellent car & brilliant on emmisions, even mot garage couldn't believe it! Anyway, thanks again for all your info, take care, stay safe & BIG LOVE to Dougal. He's adorable.
Excellent! Yes, the Rexton was amazing for the price. Glad you're still loving it. Worth holding on to as long as possible. I'm on my way home now and looking forward to passing on your love to Dougal, I've missed him so much!
very interesting and surprising video. Thanks for sharing Mark👍
Just Great! I've seen several do this with the EV6, ID4, Mach-e.
Nice model caravan too.
Myself was in EV camper trip with an eVivaro.
The future is now 😀
EV charging stations. My worst nightmare.
Great breakdown and comparison on trip costs. Seems you’ve ‘cracked the code’ on making EV charging as low stress as possible, combining tasks with charging. All in all, seems like a really stress-free way to travel.
Looked like Dougal was having a lot of fun with his ‘uncle’! 🤣
I agree, Andrew made the best use of his time by planning a background activity while charging. I don’t know anyone who sits and watches their mobile phone while it charges up, why should the car be any different!?
Many thanks Erin!
@@andrewjditton, or, is that Dougal’s ‘Aunt’?