Hi All,
With the price of fuel on the rise and owning a thirsty SUV (Forester) we have been looking at replacing it for a hybrid Rav4 for a while now.
The issue is we on occasion need to tow a boat that weighs approx 800kg including the braked trailer.
Does anyone have an EV (Full or hybrid) that they use to tow a boat specifically? The reason I am not saying a caravan or trailer is it would be good to know how they run on a slippery boat ramp as well as being around salt water.
TIA
Hybrid is a totally different beast to an EV in this context.
The trouble with a pure EV would be the load weight would greatly reduce the range. A hybrid does deal quite well with that.
The downside is that typically a hybrid’s max towing capacity can be reduced over, say, the petrol and especially diesel equivalent. All to do with power, weight and how it is distributed between tow vehicle and towed vehicle.
All that said, if you are looking at a RAV4 as a tow vehicle for an 800kg boat outright towing capacity is not an issue. You won’t be towing a caravan or a bowrider with it.
The trouble with a pure EV would be the load weight would greatly reduce the range
Not sure how much an 800kg boat would reduce the range, but I’d guess that you’d probably see extra consumption of energy similar to the extra consumption of petrol. After all, it’s basically making the same difference to the vehicle. Plus, you’ll get additional regen braking force in an EV.
Ford has basically said as much with their ev ute/truck. There's a reduction in range, but not as much as you'd think, and more or less what you'd expect from petrol. Which makes sense, the car itself is 4 tons and goes 500km. EVs can clearly handle some weight.
The real problem will be rural charging points, but anything under 200km apart will probably be quite safe
From the looks of things towing with an EV has a similar, if not the same affect on mileage to towing with an ICE, the amount of additional energy required is the same.
The only downside is recharging the ice may take longer.
But don't think that you'll suddenly go to 50% range just because it's an EV.
If anything i'd think that ICE vehicles have better traction/torque at the low end of the rev range which would be perfectly suited to ramps.
As long as you have warranty what do you have to lose?
Thing with towing is that long distance is much more common. And highway cycle, regen isn’t often available as you sit in 100kmh or whatever, which is why range drops off, sometimes more than expected.
While a EV is a great option as a city/second car, it would not be on my radar for towing. Too many compromises. Which is why a hybrid is best interim if you do 100 kms to the boat ramp, or diesel if long distance.
Maybe if there is a miraculous innovation in battery technology in the equation might change as there is all that lovely torque that could challenge diesel, but realistically that isn’t on the radar, so in the meantime any regular loading, diesel is the best option.
If anything i'd think that ICE vehicles have better traction/torque at the low end of the rev range which would be perfectly suited to ramps.
An ICE will need to build revs above idle to get some torque going and won’t max until further up the rev range.
An EV will have 100% torque available from 0rpm and have nearly constant torque available through the rev range. So is much better suited to low speed manoeuvres. Apparently it’s also easier to monitor and control traction in an electric drivetrain.
@Euphemistic: *Sorry
Re-reading that you're correct, i meant EV's are perfectly suited as you've stated.
Need to book myself into a nursing home.
@Drakesy: If you find a nice one let me know. Might need to join you based on some of my autocorrect proof reading fails.
According to Subaru, both Forester Hybrids (Hybrid L AWD and Hybrid S AWD) can tow 1,200kg braked or 750kg unbraked1 with up to 120kg of tow ball downforce.
@pegasusx can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe maximum legal load to tow unbraked is 750kg, so the specification is less about actual capacity and more for legality. Not that you should tow more than 750kg unbraked anyway. ↩
"[An electric vehicle] won't tow your trailer. It's not going to tow your boat. It's not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family."
~Some guy from The Shire
lol 3 years later the ev f150 tows 4.5tonnes without doing anything very new except beefing up
only took 9 years of getting everything wrong for people to realise a bunch of science deniers might have been less encyclopaedic in their understanding of the world
I would pick any of the hybrid engines over that Lightning if I was getting an f150. And you would need another one to ship the cash in to pay for it.
Yes it’s been done. Not by me, but I’ve seen blogs etc about EV owners towing, specifically Kona or Outlander PHEV. Not much different to an ICE vehicle from what I’ve read. Tow within the limits of the vehicle and you’ll be fine.
Things to consider: do you need AWD for slippery boat ramps?
A hybrid isn’t really an EV and all the electricity for a Toyota hybrid really comes from petrol anyway. Yes, I’m aware of regen braking, but the petrol is what gets you up to speed in the first place.
Ultimately I’d consider skipping the hybrid step and hold out for another year or two when there’s more options available.
Have you done the mafs on how much money you are going to save? Would need to do a lot of driving to come out ahead, if fuel price is the only issue you have.
Order the Rav4 now and you've got 2 years to further research and think about it. It has 1500kg braked rating IIRC though the AWD is certainly not on par with the Forester but hopefully good enough for a boat ramp.
Can confirm it’s an 18-24 month delivery time. Was quoted this on the weekend by 2 Toyota dealerships
If you want full EV, the Tesla Model Y is reportedly getting a tow hitch option is in 2023; will need to be installed by Tesla when it arrives. When the Model Y LR AWD is released it should be a decent tow vehicle.
I don't know if you should trust Tesla to live up to their promises.
There are 3rd party hitches that work today.
Is it a EB?
) we have been looking at replacing it for a hybrid Rav4 for a while now.
And you'll be looking for 2 years while you are on the waiting list.
Need to look at AWD for towing. As the wait times are currently horrendous for Toyota (especially the AWD), you might want to look at the new generation of vehicles coming next year. Some dealers are taking deposits already.
AWD isn’t a must for towing, just handy on slippery boat ramps
I think that was more in reference to the RAV4 Hybrid in particular. AWD has 1.5T tow rating, 2WD is 480kg
Wasn't there a video of a Tesla Model X towing a Boeing 787 Dreamliner?
200km range instead of the normal 500+, with a specially designed aero van that weighs under 800kg?
I think EV range actually drops a bit when going highway speeds unlike ICE cars that get more efficient at highway cruising. Something to do with the effort of pushing through the air and less regen braking.
Yes but the question wasn’t about range it was about towing. Anyway every time I go up the Clyde there is at least 1 ICE car overheated on the side of the road, so it had more range than them! It’s a long steep hill.
And it’s just a Tesla
Although a boat is probably more aerodynamic than a caravan, even a specially designed one.
But clearly an EV isn’t going to do the job as well as a diesel, at least not at the moment. Cars are horses for courses and none of the cheaper EVs are going to be fantastic at it
Mercedes-Benz EQC 1,800kg I would get one of those as they look nice!
I personally would lean away from full electric. It isn't uncommon for the range to get cut down by half if you are towing something substantial like a boat.
Thanks everyone for the comments, to be honest we have always learnt towards a hybrid or plug-in hybrid EV.
The boat also gets towed on a 4 hour drive out of the city at times and the thought of running out of juice or having access to a fast charger makes me nervous.
I think at this point I might just keep an eye on what vehicles are towing boats at the ramp and on the roads for the time being.
Forester hybrid is 750kg unbraked.
Get a tow brake and you’re good