EVs changing the face of caravanning.

Jul 18, 2017
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So you're beginning to see these EV things might not be so bad after all?
Nope not at all, but thought it may be interesting for others! A caravan with two or more people will drain the battery a lot more as more than one shower etc. Also many people have TVs. You would still need a 12v battery for motor mover and E&P system. Gas for when you are off each day to recharge the EV.
Still not practical for towing and going off grid. You would need to stop on the way to the site to fully charge the car so you can have the night off grid and then return the next day to replenish the battery. :D
 

JTQ

May 7, 2005
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So, what do I take from it? One night settling for a space heating temperature of 16 C, costs that EV 56 solo miles.
Leaves me thinking I could with that kit caravan if able to on route top up pretty close to where I want to camp, so little towing drain for starters, and at 16C space temperature, my wife would not be caravanning with me.

Clearly if you have a very large energy store well topped up, you can extract energy from it, technically not overly surprising.
However, that particular solution looked viable for one nighters, in not too cold a condition, and probably a more reasonable summertime camp; anything more power draining, the tow home or to a recharge, begins looking short.
 
Jul 23, 2021
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I see V2L as a bonus to allow use of a few items that you might not otherwise use off grid. For example, hair dryer, toaster or electric hot plate. I wouldn't plan to use it for "powering" the caravan (at least not where gas is still available). I did 8 nights off grid in Brecon last June with the EV as a tow car. Not having V2L on my car, we used our normal off grid practice (gas for cooking, fridge and heat, solar for all 12v systems) . Car charging was in Brecon centre while we did shopping and dinners.
 
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Aug 30, 2018
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I am not totally convinced how soon EV’s will be viable as tow cars for the masses. As I run an EV as an everyday car I am convinced that they will replace internal combustion engined vehicle's and sooner than most people think.
@Tobes we are always looking for decent off grid sites where did you stay near Brecon?
 
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Mar 14, 2005
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Having EV's with V2L capability is definitely a step forward, and is one of the strategies that will help to smooth electrical power demands across the country. It also has interesting opportunities for a number of activities where having a mains supply in a remote location would be useful. For example taking a vacuum cleaner to the caravan storage site to prepare your caravan, or to run few lights or power tools.

It could even be used to power your home heating system during a power cut, so it does have practical applications.

And yes, it will power a caravan in the way it's been shown, but I see it as a proof of principle rather than realistic long term solution to caravanning.

It still doesn't get round the fact towing a caravan is going to deplete the cars battery significantly quicker than solo driving, and that you would need to have access to a car charging station if you were planning a more than a one or two night stay.
 
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Jul 23, 2021
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I am not totally convinced how soon EV’s will be viable as tow cars for the masses. As I run an EV as an everyday car I am convinced that they will replace internal combustion engined vehicle's and sooner than most people think.
@Tobes we are always looking for decent off grid sites where did you stay near Brecon?
For towing under its tow range - brilliant - no drawback at all (120 - 130 miles for me). For more than that, you definitely have to "want" to make it work. But its gonna get better!

The CL was Pentwyn Cantref. A few miles outside Brecon with amazing views. IMG_6152.jpg
 
Nov 16, 2015
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For towing under its tow range - brilliant - no drawback at all (120 - 130 miles for me). For more than that, you definitely have to "want" to make it work. But its gonna get better!

The CL was Pentwyn Cantref. A few miles outside Brecon with amazing views. View attachment 3034
Lovely Views, but the grass looks a bit long. 😀😂😀solar panel almost in the shade. 😎
 
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Lovely Views, but the grass looks a bit long. 😀😂😀solar panel almost in the shade. 😎
Yeah - the field is an SSSI. They are not allowed to mow it from spring to mid summer when the flowers have gone. There is a much shorter grass section to the left of the picture, with even better views, but all the sensible spots were taken by the time we got there. The panel on the ground is our 60w briefcase pannel - it augments the 100w one on the roof, so a bit of shade is not a big problem :)
 
Nov 16, 2015
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I stupidly sold a 100 Watt , brief case solar unit that I bought from Maplin, many years ago, to a work mate who wanted it for his Long house, in Borneo, bought it for £70 sold it for £40. I wish I had kept it.
 
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One aspect of the introduction of EVs is range anxiety, possibly hyped more than necessary by the media. But I read a recent report that showed over a 12 month period charging points have gone from 1 to 16 cars to 1 in 32 cars. It’s essential that the charging infrastructure keeps pace with the increase in EV as not all owners will have access to home charging. The same report indicated a lack of firm Government strategy with the emphasis being to move the decsions to local authorities. That’s fine once the over riding strategy direction is decided.
 
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We have had an EV for just over a year. Can’t tow with it, but my experience as an everyday drive. I have far less range anxiety now than I did. I can charge at home and 99% is done there. It has a real world range of 250 miles so the need to charge is a rarity. In fact last year after about 3 months we deliberately did a trip, with the battery too low to do the round trip. This was to force us to try and charge and it wasn’t a problem. Currently with it is costing us about 2p per mile. Compare this to the car it replaced a Skoda superb assuming that it averaged 50mpg if I assume diesel at £1.70 per litre I calculate that equals 15.5p per mile. Even if you wish to substitute in other figures that is a huge saving.

In terms of driving I can’t get over how smooth it is because it doesn’t have a gear box as such a single gear takes you from 0-104mph. In comparison our tow car which is a 2015 Touareg with an 8 spd box feels kind of clunky in comparison.

I am not totally convinced that EV’s will become mainstream tow vehicle's. I hope I am wrong because they have a lot going for them because they are high torque and heavy, they just need the range to tow. But as someone said two out of three ain’t bad😄
 
Nov 6, 2005
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We have had an EV for just over a year. Can’t tow with it, but my experience as an everyday drive. I have far less range anxiety now than I did. I can charge at home and 99% is done there. It has a real world range of 250 miles so the need to charge is a rarity. In fact last year after about 3 months we deliberately did a trip, with the battery too low to do the round trip. This was to force us to try and charge and it wasn’t a problem. Currently with it is costing us about 2p per mile. Compare this to the car it replaced a Skoda superb assuming that it averaged 50mpg if I assume diesel at £1.70 per litre I calculate that equals 15.5p per mile. Even if you wish to substitute in other figures that is a huge saving.

In terms of driving I can’t get over how smooth it is because it doesn’t have a gear box as such a single gear takes you from 0-104mph. In comparison our tow car which is a 2015 Touareg with an 8 spd box feels kind of clunky in comparison.

I am not totally convinced that EV’s will become mainstream tow vehicle's. I hope I am wrong because they have a lot going for them because they are high torque and heavy, they just need the range to tow. But as someone said two out of three ain’t bad😄
I've come to terms with the fact that I don't expect EVs to meet my caravanning requirements before the point when I give up caravanning - but I am expecting to replace our "shopping" car with an EV in the near future as 100 mile WLTP range will be adequate for that. The low annual mileage of this car would mean it'll never be economic to switch to EV as the "fuel" saving will never match the cost to change - but I'll be doing a bit for the planet.

Interesting that your Touareg transmission is "clunky" by comparison - given that it's one of the smoothest available.
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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I've come to terms with the fact that I don't expect EVs to meet my caravanning requirements before the point when I give up caravanning - but I am expecting to replace our "shopping" car with an EV in the near future as 100 mile WLTP range will be adequate for that. The low annual mileage of this car would mean it'll never be economic to switch to EV as the "fuel" saving will never match the cost to change - but I'll be doing a bit for the planet.

Interesting that your Touareg transmission is "clunky" by comparison - given that it's one of the smoothest available.
Our 1996 Corolla gets over 40mpg, but hardly does 2000 miles a year so not an incentive for us to change to an EV and have a lot of unnecessary debt.
 
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I agree there is nothing wrong with the touareg‘s transmission compared to other transmissions. The other difference is the regenerative braking it took a little getting used to. But a couple of weeks ago I was towing and couldn’t workout why the Touareg wasn’t slowing down when I lifted off the accelerator.
 
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May 7, 2012
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I think sites will soon need to provide charging points to allow EV's to charge. The use of the hook up via the caravan could work with hybrids needing only enough for about 30 miles but full EV's would take far too long, In addition the power taken to charge the car would limit the use of other things in the caravan to the point where it would not be worthwhile. Possibly it would only be feasible over night or possibly during the day if you are out and not using the car.
It is possibly more use with a small car towed by a motorhome as it would not need the same amount of power.
The CAMH does allow charging via the caravan but charges for this although I do not know what the take up of this is.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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I think sites will soon need to provide charging points to allow EV's to charge. The use of the hook up via the caravan could work with hybrids needing only enough for about 30 miles but full EV's would take far too long, In addition the power taken to charge the car would limit the use of other things in the caravan to the point where it would not be worthwhile. Possibly it would only be feasible over night or possibly during the day if you are out and not using the car.
It is possibly more use with a small car towed by a motorhome as it would not need the same amount of power.
The CAMH does allow charging via the caravan but charges for this although I do not know what the take up of this is.
Can EVs be flat towed - or do they need to go on a trailer?
 
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I think sites will soon need to provide charging points to allow EV's to charge. The use of the hook up via the caravan could work with hybrids needing only enough for about 30 miles but full EV's would take far too long, In addition the power taken to charge the car would limit the use of other things in the caravan to the point where it would not be worthwhile. Possibly it would only be feasible over night or possibly during the day if you are out and not using the car.
It is possibly more use with a small car towed by a motorhome as it would not need the same amount of power.
The CAMH does allow charging via the caravan but charges for this although I do not know what the take up of this is.
There are quite a few PHEVs using it. for the £2 a night, it was worth it. the £8 £9 charged for a BEV is far more marginal. You need a LOT of time to get £8 £9 worth of electricity into a car at 10A. With the changes in electricity price in the last 5 months, £8 £9 is far more reasonable, but I cant see the club not putting that price up too. - Ah its now £9.
 

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