Toyota RAV4 (latest model)

[Hutch]

We have a 2013 Coachman, wardrobe about 3 ft behind the axle, we fill the wardrobe when travelling, the overhead lockers as well over the bed, not too heavy ( lockers probably 10 kg) awning a lightweight one 8 kg goes in the car. In the caravan , between the front seats we have the two aqua rolls and over the axle is the waste master. Cadac and everything else is in the car.
I vary the nose weight, depending on the amount of gas used. By moving the Kojack Hydraulic jack. But the nose weight doesn't change much between going out or coming back from a trip.noseweight between 75 to 90 kg.

 

[Tobes]

How about annother XC40 - but electric? 1800kg towing limit, same nose weight as your existing, but dramatically lower running costs.
Used examples available from about £30k?

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[trevormonty]

How about annother XC40 - but electric? 1800kg towing limit, same nose weight as your existing, but dramatically lower running costs.
Used examples available from about £30k?

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Need to watch Andrew Ditton experiences towing and charging with EV. If planning long trip at busy time may struggle to get charge at motorway stops especially with need to unhitch caravan. Great if average trip is within cars reduced towing range on single charge, roughly half normal range. Also have factor in charging at destination, may require trip to local charging station.
In time more caravan campgrounds will offer charging stations.

 

[otherclive]

Need to watch Andrew Ditton experiences towing and charging with EV. If planning long trip at busy time may struggle to get charge at motorway stops especially with need to unhitch caravan. Great if average trip is within cars reduced towing range on single charge, roughly half normal range. Also have factor in charging at destination, may require trip to local charging station.
In time more caravan campgrounds will offer charging stations.

Need to read some of Tobes earlier posts describing his journeys towing with a Polestar. Your points are relevant but Tobes has undertaken long trips towing a good weight caravan.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Present day towing with an EV requires a different mind set about how far to travel without stopping, and how to organise stops. It can be done as Tobes has shown.

Towing a caravan is always going to reduce range ( it has always done this for ICE) and caravanners have had to be aware of that and have always had to plan longer journeys to include fuel stops.

For EV's it will only get better as more charging points are installed, which should allow greater flexibility as time goes by.

Looking back over the last decade, the variety of EV's have vastly increased, but so has battery capacity leading to improved range, and this is a trend which is at the forefront of EV development. Battery range and charging times are both set to improve.

I suspect it won't be too many years before we see EV's with 500miles solo range becoming common place, and realistically that suggests towing ranges may be half that. 250 miles towing is pretty good distance.

 

[trevormonty]

Present day towing with an EV requires a different mind set about how far to travel without stopping, and how to organise stops. It can be done as Tobes has shown.

Towing a caravan is always going to reduce range ( it has always done this for ICE) and caravanners have had to be aware of that and have always had to plan longer journeys to include fuel stops.

For EV's it will only get better as more charging points are installed, which should allow greater flexibility as time goes by.

Looking back over the last decade, the variety of EV's have vastly increased, but so has battery capacity leading to improved range, and this is a trend which is at the forefront of EV development. Battery range and charging times are both set to improve.

I suspect it won't be too many years before we see EV's with 500miles solo range becoming common place, and realistically that suggests towing ranges may be half that. 250 miles towing is pretty good distance.

Paying alot for that extra range, batteries aren't cheap. With ICE build difference between 250 and 500mile tanks costs next to nothing. With EV could be quite few £1000s.
Most people wouldn't do 250miles without 30minute stop. Even fewer would need to do 500miles on regular basis in one day. Reality is if towing going have to decide how much more you want spend for that extra range which is only to be used few days a year if that.

 

[otherclive]

Present day towing with an EV requires a different mind set about how far to travel without stopping, and how to organise stops. It can be done as Tobes has shown.

Towing a caravan is always going to reduce range ( it has always done this for ICE) and caravanners have had to be aware of that and have always had to plan longer journeys to include fuel stops.

For EV's it will only get better as more charging points are installed, which should allow greater flexibility as time goes by.

Looking back over the last decade, the variety of EV's have vastly increased, but so has battery capacity leading to improved range, and this is a trend which is at the forefront of EV development. Battery range and charging times are both set to improve.

I suspect it won't be too many years before we see EV's with 500miles solo range becoming common place, and realistically that suggests towing ranges may be half that. 250 miles towing is pretty good distance.

Toyota are working towards 700+ range for cars coming in 2027, plus a lot of development work on solid state batteries too by Toyota and others.

 

[Buckman]

In time more caravan campgrounds will offer charging stations.

Camp grounds do not have the facility to allow you to fuel up with diesel or petrol so why should they offer a facility to EV owner's to fuel up? After all the cost of the installation will probably be added to the cost of your pitch whether or not you have an EV.

 

[otherclive]

In September on a a Sunday mid day we stopped at Hopwood Park services on the M42 and we’re near to a set of chargers for Teslas, even though there were around 20 chargers there was a queue of perhaps 5-10 cars. My immediate thoughts were how awkward cf fuelling an ICE car. But as I walked around waiting for the dog to have its wee I noticed that a charging bay became vacant at least once a minute and so the queue steadily moved forwards. Possibly a proportion of those using the chargers did not go for the full charge, but took enough to get them to where they were going.

My grandson has a Tesla and commutes North Wilts to Gloucester three days a week, but has no charging point on the house. He charges it when required at work ( cheap power) or local supermarkets. He found tge transition from ICE, via PHEV no problem. Even a journey to Stirling wasn’t a hassle he said. But he doesn’t tow.

 

[otherclive]

Camp grounds do not have the facility to allow you to fuel up with diesel or petrol so why should they offer a facility to EV owner's to fuel up? After all the cost of the installation will probably be added to the cost of your pitch whether or not you have an EV.

If the facility is anything like two farm shop/cafes near to us the charging stations are supplied by a separate company who probably have some licence agreement with the farm shop owners. Any problems when charging there is the company’s number to ring. Such an arrangement would work on campsites.

 

[Buckman]

If the facility is anything like two farm shop/cafes near to us the charging stations are supplied by a separate company who probably have some licence agreement with the farm shop owners. Any problems when charging there is the company’s number to ring. Such an arrangement would work on campsites.

That is not the point. If a campsite allows EV charging points, then they should a fuel company to operate on the site also. At the end of the day we are probably all paying for the EV point to be set up even if the "company" is paying.

 

[otherclive]

That is not the point. If a campsite allows EV charging points, then they should a fuel company to operate on the site also. At the end of the day we are probably all paying for the EV point to be set up even if the "company" is paying.

I think you are comparing chalk and cheese as the logistics for a fuel pump are totally different as would be the installation requirements and regulations. People are already charging some vehicles via the EHU system, which isn’t a good method for widespread use and I really see nothing wrong in installing a couple of EV charging points. Up to know we’ve all been paying for electricity that not all of us use viz heating continuity, awning heaters, mobilty scooter charging , electric bikes etc. One advantage of the higher energy costs are that one way or another sites are moving towards a “ user pays” approach.

 

[Guzzilazz]

It was bad enough towing with a 55l tank XC40... 200 miles between fill ups... I'm picking up my Kia Sportage GTLS HEV tomorrow...

 

[RogerL]

That is not the point. If a campsite allows EV charging points, then they should a fuel company to operate on the site also. At the end of the day we are probably all paying for the EV point to be set up even if the "company" is paying.

That's not comparing like-for-like - IC cars don't need to be refuelled nearly as often as EVs where the range restriction requires more regular recharging.

 

[Hutch]

Camp grounds do not have the facility to allow you to fuel up with diesel or petrol so why should they offer a facility to EV owner's to fuel up? After all the cost of the installation will probably be added to the cost of your pitch whether or not you have an EV.

I have noticed that Caravan sites in remoter areas "are" putting in charging points, Northumberland being most noticeable. It means they will get more people coming to their site, especially as people are going greener.

 

[otherclive]

It was bad enough towing with a 55l tank XC40... 200 miles between fill ups... I'm picking up my Kia Sportage GTLS HEV tomorrow...

I really noticed the reduced range moving from a Skoda Superb 4wd estate diesel to a Subaru Forester XT petrol. Penrith was no longer in range without a refuelling stop. Mpg with the XT when towing was very low 20s mpg.

 

[Tobes]

Need to watch Andrew Ditton experiences towing and charging with EV. If planning long trip at busy time may struggle to get charge at motorway stops especially with need to unhitch caravan. Great if average trip is within cars reduced towing range on single charge, roughly half normal range. Also have factor in charging at destination, may require trip to local charging station.
In time more caravan campgrounds will offer charging stations.

Thanks trevormonty - as others have said, I have been towing with an EV for longer than Andew Ditton. (I started in May '21 before his EV6 was available in the UK). While un-hitching is needed to charge, in my experience waiting-to charge is more or less a non-issue if you use the tools available for you. My "normal range is 190 to 210 and towing is 130 to 140, so more like 1/3rd loss than 1/2. Your mileage may vary. And yes - you need to charge when you get there. About 50% of the sites we stay on are off grid, and so far have not had any issue with running out of charge.

Of course - it's not for everyone. If you like to tow hundreds of miles without a break, it's not for you. Probably the same if you are buying a car to be 90% for towing. But if you want an EV for other purposes, and towing happens to be one of them, an EV absolutely can work.

 

[Tobes]

It was bad enough towing with a 55l tank XC40... 200 miles between fill ups... I'm picking up my Kia Sportage GTLS HEV tomorrow...

If stopping while towing is is not your thing, then an EV is not for you. I am sure the Sportage will be excellent!

 

[Guzzilazz]

If stopping while towing is is not your thing, then an EV is not for you. I am sure the Sportage will be excellent!

It passed yesterday with flying colours... Did a regular 55 mile trip and returned 54mpg. The XC40 was 36mpg!

 

[otherclive]

It passed yesterday with flying colours... Did a regular 55 mile trip and returned 54mpg. The XC40 was 36mpg!

That’s a big improvement in fuel consumption, and you’ve got Kia’s warranty too.

When our daughter went for a Toyota hybrid her fuel usage dropped by 50% cf a 1.6 petrol Focus auto, with no change in her driving style or journeys.

 

[Kenno]

I am on my third used Rav4, 2.0 Diesel which have been brilliant on fuel. Easily achieving 50 - 60 sometimes more mpg. Toyota add another years warranty after the 5year warranty passes, up to 100,000 miles when serviced by the dealers.

I have no experience of towing with any of them. That is about to change as I am having a towbar fitted this weekend, before collecting our 2017 Bailey Unicorn Valencia later this month.

From the owners manual...
The maximum static nose weight for all Bailey caravans is 100kg. and that the nose weight should be approximately 7% of the actual laden weight (i.e. between 50 and100kg). recommended towball height is 385 +/- 35mm (350mm to420mm).

I cannot see the point of a Hybrid unless used for local driving. I've had many a hybrid Toyota as a loan car and found they ran mainly on the petrol engine. Lots of steep hills in Durham! Plus the Rav4 has a big petrol engine, a horrible transmission that feels like the clutch is slipping, engine noise and all the extra complexity is a big negative for me. They were definitely no better on fuel than my diesel.

Also check out some emission tests done on hybrids via utube.

 

[otherclive]

I am on my third used Rav4, 2.0 Diesel which have been brilliant on fuel. Easily achieving 50 - 60 sometimes more mpg. Toyota add another years warranty after the 5year warranty passes, up to 100,000 miles when serviced by the dealers.

I have no experience of towing with any of them. That is about to change as I am having a towbar fitted this weekend, before collecting our 2017 Bailey Unicorn Valencia later this month.

From the owners manual...
The maximum static nose weight for all Bailey caravans is 100kg. and that the nose weight should be approximately 7% of the actual laden weight (i.e. between 50 and100kg). recommended towball height is 385 +/- 35mm (350mm to420mm).

I cannot see the point of a Hybrid unless used for local driving. I've had many a hybrid Toyota as a loan car and found they ran mainly on the petrol engine. Lots of steep hills in Durham! Plus the Rav4 has a big petrol engine, a horrible transmission that feels like the clutch is slipping, engine noise and all the extra complexity is a big negative for me. They were definitely no better on fuel than my diesel.

Also check out some emission tests done on hybrids via utube.

Nice caravan, will make a super outfit. Any trips planned yet?

 

[Kenno]

Nice caravan, will make a super outfit. Any trips planned yet?

Somewhere local first to check things out. We had been to Beecraig near Edinburgh in our campervan a few years ago for the New Year and found that to be a lovely site and area.
We had thought about returning this New Year but concerned about what would happen if the weather turned to heavy snow lol. Might have to do some long distance forcasting!

 

[trevormonty]

I cannot see the point of a Hybrid unless used for local driving. I've had many a hybrid Toyota as a loan car and found they ran mainly on the petrol engine. Lots of steep hills in Durham! Plus the Rav4 has a big petrol engine, a horrible transmission that feels like the clutch is slipping, engine noise and all the extra complexity is a big negative for me.

Also check out some emission tests done on hybrids via utube.

Being a Toyota and given Prius excellent reliability, should expect 10 -15yrs of trouble free running.

You drive a diesel and complain about a the petrol engine's noise.!

 

[Kenno]

Being a Toyota and given Prius excellent reliability, should expect 10 -15yrs of trouble free running.

You drive a diesel and complain about a the petrol engine's noise.!

I do and that's because that RAV4 hybrid engine at higher revs is much noisier than my diesel at 1500 - 2000 rpm.