EV Towing Caravan 2024 - Range, cost, charging, pros and cons

July 2024 - A guide to towing a caravan with an Electric Vehicle (EV) in 2024.

Having been towing with an EV for two years, I give a recap of the pros, the cons, the range you can expect, the cost per mile, how to charge when you have a caravan on the back, what's so good about towing with an EV, and the biggest drawback to towing with an EV.

00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - What we will be looking at in this video
01:12 - What's so good about towing with an EV?
02:13 - What is the range of an EV when towing a caravan?
03:36 - Charging your EV at home, on the road, and on a campsite
06:35 - The biggest downside of towing with an EV
07:09 - Further questions and conclusion

Please check out my EV + Caravan Playlist at:

[perlundin]

As always, Great video Andrew! And I can just confirm and agrees in everything you said! Since I work with Kia, I've made two caravan trips with an EV6 last year, one GT-Line AWD and one GT. In February I bought my own EV6 GT-Line AWD and in June we went on our yearly summer vacation with our Adria Adora 522 UP with a total weight of 1500 kg. We weren't supposed to go on such a long trip that we did but due to the weather in the Scandinavian countries we ended up, as usual, in Croatia. We first drove from Stockholm to Gothenburg, took the ferry to Fredrikshavn in Denmark and then drove to Grenen in northern Denmark. It was raining and really strong wind so we just stayed there for 24 hours, changed our plans and drove to Croatia. It was our first trip with an EV in Europe and our first really long trip with an EV and a caravan. It has never during the whole trip been any problem and in total, the trip took about 2, 5-3 hours more compared to when we have been going to Croatia with a petrol or diesel car. Quite a small price to pay for going on a sunny vacation and making the smallest environmental footprint as possible. In total, we have been driving 5700km with an average consumption of 32.1km/100km. in these figures, about 400km of the trip in Croatia without the caravan are included. With that data excluded, maybe the consumption would have landed on 35kWh/100km is my guess. And thats pretty much in line with the increase in consumption in a petrol or diesel car. In other words, as you already mentioned, the consumption doubles while towing. The cost for charging, well, it could have been lower but we got lazy and did not plan our charging stops after the price. We just charged alongside the autobahn when we needed, just like filling up a petrol car. In total, the cost for charging were about 1100€ and about 100€ less compared when we made the same trip last year with a petrol car. If we had just planned our trip after the Ionity charging stations, the cost for charging would have been much lower. The only thing that we experienced that was annoying is that when you are facing strong head wind, this affects the range very much. And since an EV has smaller margins from the beginning, this becomes very noticeable. So, a bit more range would be great. Let's say about 100km more would be very appreciated. When I now have the facit, would I make the same trip again with en EV and Caravan? Absolutely! And would I ever go bak to towing with a petrol or diesel car? Never!

[unizzang]

I am considering buying the Adria gas-free caravan (Adria Aviva 360DK Lite) that was featured in your video last year. I think it is the perfect pairing to use with an electric car. And as a Korean living in Germany, I find it very interesting that you have a Korean car in your video. Also, since I live with my 🐶who came from Korea to Germany, I love your videos of camping with your dogs even more. Thank you for always providing great videos.❤

[janetbowen]

Lovely vlog, Andrew, thank you. We don't tow, or have an EV, but I still watch because you're so interesting, entertaining and compelling. I also look forward to seeing Dougal and Ted 🐾🐶❤️ xxx

[tomstours]

Have my dreams come true? A sequence of videos by the great Andrew Dutton? Yes please!!! Thank you.

[hfp]

Hi Andrew, yesterday I just came back from my trip from Germany to Southwest England. 2500km in total. With my Ioniq5 and my Everest mini camper I need 26 kWh per 100 km driving between 90 and 95 km/h. Going 110 km/h it will go up to 32 kWh per 100 km. The front of my small camper is only 1.8x2.2m it has the same width as my car which is good when driving one lane roads. The typical distance between to charging stops 10-90% is around 200 km in this configuration.

[avidviewer]

Very interesting indeed. Thanks so much!

[belasis]

Thank you for your videos, they are very helpful. I have just got a Ford Explorer EV (77kw, single motor, RWD) and I have just ordered a Bailey Discovery 4 - 2 caravan. The towing options for my car are limited, as its towing capacity is only 1000kg but the Discovery 4 - 2 tops out at 998kg, so we should be good. I look forward to our adventures with this set up and we will be watching many more of your video’s for tips and advice. Keep up the great work…

[anneshirley]

Thanks for the video, enjoyed it even though I'm a car novice! Loved Dougs and Ted at the end too! Sending hugs xx

[crossdwr]

Great piece, Andrew. We're in Australia where chargers are too far apart yet to make it viable. But I'm am hanging out for when we get real long range EVs that will suit Australia. Please come and make a video out here! Many thanks for all the material on your site. Dave

[djgeorgevdg]

What an AMAZING Video! Thank you so much! I recently upgraded my 2nd car to a citoren e-c4 and it has been marvelous and extremely cheap as I have only charged at home for 10p/kWh and I am probably going to upgrade my towing car to an EV - I'm thinking Kia EV9.

[ManxAndy]

Good afternoon Andrew….Dougal and Ted….very informative as always, top vlog.👍👌🇮🇲

[SJ-]

I note someone has already commented on dragging an Eriba behind an EV6, but thought I'd add more data. We tow an Eriba 540 touring with an EV6 2WD GT-Line. We typically see around 2.3mi/kWh on a mixed journey (some hills, some motorway, some A/B road) when fully loaded. So probably around 1300kgs We've seen higher in dreadful weather when almost empty! With our previous slab-fronted Bailey Vigo, we'd typically see around 1.7mi/kWh, sometimes a little better. The Bailey, when fully loaded, would be around 1475kg. Interestingly, when nearly empty, the Bailey wouldn't give us any better mileage.

As you said, and echoed by another commenter, we're sometimes amazed that people think we're interested in their opinion on our choice of vehicle. But as relative newcomers to caravanning, I've been quite shocked at how old-fashioned the entire industry seems to be. Despite this, it's now becoming quite uncommon for us to be the only people using an EV on a typical larger site. Yet the industry continues to bury it's head in the sand :)

[petesig]

Great video summary of towing with an EV and charging in the UK. You sure have some great charging stations and a nice set-up with the Cravan Club sites. 
I am amazed at the size of that Adria caravan you are towing! Here in Australia any caravan that big would weigh in at at least 2 tonnes with a tow-bal weight of 160-180kg and be WAY outside the possibility of towing with my Ioniq 6 (1, 500kg braked tow weight and 100kg tow-ball load). There are really only a small selection of caravans that fit within these specs, mostly pokey little 10ft or 12 ft vans. I am towing a 750kg Jayco Swift camper-trailer, and even with this, because of its boxy shape, it kind of hammers the range, cutting it from 550-600km to about 300km with careful driving. I am amazed that you only get a 50% drop in range with such a big van.

[paulievins]

Ionic 5 towing Lunar Stellar from Seahouses to Lincoln. Just one stop at Leeming Bar. Very pleased with the drive, range (enough left over on each leg), ease of towing. And with normal driving and charging at home (most of the time) only £6 for the equivalent of a full tank, what's not to like. Your YouTubes really helped me have the confidence to give it a go.

[declanjennings]

Seems a folding camper + EV would make a great combo

[Bradtheone]

Love the stars of the show 😬 great little EV insight vid ❤

[nealeTH]

I tow an Eriba Troll 530 (the larger Eriba) with an EV6 and get 2.1 to 2.6. Typically 2.3. I have just come back from a mini break - only 48 miles away arrived with 74% remaining (started with 100%). Driving home along same route started at 86% arrived home 58%. If I had dropped my speed and driven a bit more carefully I probably could saved 5%. I had air con on too. As it was a short trip I didn’t need to. The aerodynamics is the magic sauce and the Eribas are probably the most aerodynamic caravans you can get on the market.
Like you my only problem is with people who haven’t even sat in an EV lecturing me on how you can’t tow with them despite them watching me arrive and unhook my Eriba. I find an increasing number of people are cautiously interested, if a bit sceptical. I am happy to have a chat if they have questions. Their questions tend to come from a place of misinformation that the oil-lobby funded media have pushed out. I am not interested if they want to lecture me. It’s not my job to convert them, I have no care what they drive. I have no idea why they care so much what I drive and feel they can come over to give an unwanted option.
Perhaps my biggest irritation of this is where the owners or wardens of a caravan site (private not the club sires) lecture me from a deeply ignorant and uniformed angle. Again forcing an opinion on me that I really am not interested in. They end up stopping me from charging because ‘they can’t afford it’ even though I am happy to pay. Ironically the site full of huge caravans and motorhomes, with TVs, air conditioning, portable heaters in awnings going 24/7 drawing considerably more than the EV would who don’t have to pay a supplement. I look forward to the change to metered electricity as my use of energy, even with an EV, will be considerably less than those around me. I tend to jest with these site owners (though this type tend to have zero humour) that after the Luton airport car park fire where a diesel car blew up and destroyed 1400 cars, I get extremely anxious when a diesel car pitches near my caravan... These interactions with the opinionated caravan site owners leave a bad taste that affects the stay and I don’t ever return to them. They clearly prefer an empty pitch to my money.
People who have never driven an EV, or towed with one, will not have a grasp of how completely different it is from a regular petrol, or diesel car. They think it’s just the same but either an electric ‘engine’. I suspect that if most people tried one, they would convert immediately and never go back. Petrol and diesel cars feel positively Victorian when you have to drive one having owned an EV.

[petra]

Yeah. Andrew released a new video 😊 and as always a good one. Maybe we will see you at the caravan salon düsseldorf? (fingerscrossed)

[yaminthegrey]

Hari OM
Neat and to the point! I recently did a costing on my E-Transit van; averaging just over 3m/kWh and the big journey undertaken worked out at almost exactly 10p/mile. Was pretty chuffed with that! I know that's different from caravan towing, but lots of folk are under the impression that vans just won't work on electric and I am actually bettering even the averages Ford themselves advertise... but I do tend to be a steady-eddy driver, which makes a difference. I really see the average drop when I have no option but to use dual/motorways. YAM xx

[mwmam]

Great video and nice timing. Just back from a weeks tour - Somerset, North Devon, South Devon with a Wiensberrg 360QD towed by our Enyaq 80x. As you say; very smooth and very powerful - cars would move out to overtake as we got to hills with an overtaking lane but the Enyaq would power up to the speed limit (on travel assist mode) and I'd see the 'overtaking' cars fall behind!. I added an external socket to the caravan and this made it easy to charge on the Camping and Caravan club sites and I'd get a 10 to 20% charge at 2kwh between our driving which might be used to 10% on a site seeing day. Nice charging station at Strawberry Fields farm shop (very good) at Buckfast with Osprey ultra rapid chargers and with 2 long bays that you don't need to unhitch for.