Towing with an electric vehicle

[w3526602]

Hi,

Duff gen? You cannot tow with a battery powered vehicle! Hmmm!

While researching Barbara's next car, to be insured in her name, with me as the only driver, I came across the following for the Hyundai Kodak.

TOWING CAPACITY 750kg BRAKED. Has there been a change in the regulations?

602

PS. Barbara's Hyundai was bought new, so ONE OWNER, which she wanted to keep until trade-in time. It confused our insurers, but they did accept it.*** As she will never drive again, it will make sense to revert to normality, so I can recover my full NCD.

*** I referred them to a very early case at DVLC (mid 1972). I referred them to a woman who complained that DVLC had given her car to her chauffeur.


I will be researching that further

[Wittsend]

Not all electric cars are suitable for towing, so make sure that you only tow a caravan or trailer using a car that's been approved for towing. There are a few reasons why not all EVs are suitable for towing a caravan. These issues are mainly down to the braking systems on electric cars.17 Jan 2023

You can Google this.

You have to refer to the manufactures' spec and advice.

There is NO blanket regulation/law that says you can not tow with an EV


 

[RobS]

If it's approved it will be physically plated, if not plated then you cannot tow with it legally.

There was an article in the one of the recent Caravan and Motorhome magazine, can't remember the model of the car but it had reasonable capacity weight wise but the battery length was less than acceptable, I think it was something like 100 miles towing against 350 miles on it's own. 

Then you have the issue of where do you put your caravan or trailer when you have to charge it.

RobS

[Craig T]

Can you even get a trailer that light that is braked? The reason for people making 750Kg trailers is that is doesn't need the extra complexity of brakes.

As mentioned, it is up to the manufacturer to attach a towing limit to the car, not a regulation anywhere that says you can't tow with electric vehicles.
I own a petrol powered Toyota that is not rated to tow anything.

Craig.

[w3526602]

There is NO blanket regulation/law that says you can not tow with an EV

Hi Alan,

My apologies, MY understanding was that there was such a restriction, or to be precise, electric vehicles are not, and will not, be plated with a trailer weight.

There is/was a company, near Bristol, importing RUST FREE and low milage RHD cars from Japan, at very attractive prices. I know some body raised the question of Plating to tow trailers, but I don't know the outcome. It might come as a shock to find that you could not tow anything with your Range Rover.

Doh! Yet again, my girls are calling me for tea/tiffin.

602

[Wittsend]

Why make life hard for yourself - steer clear of grey imports.

If you did by an EV what are you planning to tow with it

[w3526602]

Hi Alan,

I'd probably only want to pull a small box trailer, as I'm getting too old for the heavy stuff. Think of the sort of things on display outside somewhere like Halfords. but I'd prefer something on 10" Mini wheels.

I can't see myself wanting to pull a 109" S2, on a transporter trailer, behind a Series One 88", ever again.

I've forgotten how long and heavy my Norman canal cruiser, with a Ford 1172 engine weighed.

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

I done a quick Google ... "How much can a battery powered Hyundai Kona tow"?

Amswer ... 750kg BRAKED.

Would that mean buying a 1000kg MGW trailer, which by definition would need brakes, even if towed by a Range Rover?

Or could the 1000kg MGW "plate" be replaced with a 750kg MGW plate, suitably stamped to show 750KG BRAKED, and 000KG UNBRAKED?

Suitable BLANK plates are listed on EBAY, or perhaps the trailer manufacturer would play ball, and supply a suitably plated trailer?

My first port of call will probably be HALFORDS, unless Gibbo can suggest an alternative near MK.

602

PS. The KONA is the Hyundai model advertised on TV, chased by knights in armour, and dive-bombed by a dragon.

[w3526602]

Another PS.

A quick Google revealed WITTER towbars with ball, for a KONA, at £175, but £400 if wiring is included.

I wonder if Halfords do "FREE FITTING", if bought from them?

602

[w3526602]

Then you have the issue of where do you put your caravan or trailer when you have to charge it.

Hi Alan,

My bungalow has a "secret garden", 40ft long, 15ft wide at gated end, dropping to 8ft where it meets the back garden. The bungalow forms the 40ft, with the "hypotenuse" being a bit longer. Two metre high fencing all round. One metre wide personnel gates at each end, but my builder might throw a wobbly when I tell him that I need one gate post moved ... he fabricated double gates only two metres wide.

A conveniently placed street lamp illuminates, the whole area, which has small chippings laid over plastic sheet under weld-mesh. Electrical sockets can be wired into sockets in bedroom and living rooms.

Vehicle access would be over the dropped kerb, rounding the street corner, provided by the LA, for the benefit of invalid buggies. The house opposite already uses the dropped corner on his side.

My plot "sides" onto the "through-road" (my house fronts onto a cul-de-sac.) Nobody parked their cars along my side boundary ... until I erected the 2m high fence. The forum files may have a photo of the skip that took away all my "spoil", which may indicate the size of the secret garden.

602

[Wittsend]

With respect John, at your time of life with your restricted movement I don't think you should be messing around with trailers 
Spending £500 to get rigged up for a trailer doesn't make any sense to me.

1) If you have mountains of building waste to clear - then get a contractor in. The builder should be taking their waste away.
You'll get charged at the tip for DiY waste. If they restrict you to 1 or 2 buckets a week - then you don't need a tailer. Just take a couple of buckets in the back of your car.

2) Garden waste is usually free to bump at the tip. Here - I pay £50 quid a year for a brown wheelie bin for garden waste collection, every 2 weeks. Sometimes I have nothing to put in the bin. It gets a bit empty during the winter. If you chop a hedge or tree down - break it into smaller bits and take down to the tip in a couple of garden bags in the back of your car. If you get a contractor in to remove a hedge or tree - they will take the waste away. Either way you DON"T need a trailer.

summary - I don't understand the fixation with being able to tow with an EV.
It's just an extra complication you don't need. OK for a paper exercise.

 
£500 will get you a nice new laptop loaded with Windows 11 - ready to go 

[RobS]

Another PS.

A quick Google revealed WITTER towbars with ball, for a KONA, at £175, but £400 if wiring is included.

I wonder if Halfords do "FREE FITTING", if bought from them?

602

Just be very careful when it comes to wiring a tow bar, I got caught out with Mercedes as I wanted to have a tow bar fitted to a 2024 spec GLC, it turns out that gone are the days that an installer could code your electric to ensure that all components disengage when the trailer is hitched plus, and this is the big issue, most installers are now either using scotchlok's or solder to connect to the vehicle which means breaking into your vehicle's main loom - as confirmed by Mercedes this would void your warranty, plug and play would appear to be a thing of the past.

If you are going to tow and your vehicle is plated to tow (I already mentioned this above) then I suggest you have it fitted by the manufacturer otherwise you are asking for sh*t load of problems, as Alan said are you really sure you need a trailer.

[w3526602]

Hi All,

Thanks for advice ... which I might take. Maybe!

Salesman at main dealer got a bit snotty (OK ... just not helpful) when I asked about having a towbar fitted, with similar lack of interest when I asked about a dash-cam.

Rock, or a Hard place. Inclined to take my business elsewhere, but he offered £8,000 trade in for Barbara's Hyundai IX20, against a new battery powered KONA. I assume there is an "end of year" deal, when buying a new Hyundai,(or he gets a bonus) but he didn't go onto details. So, as it stands (I think) we have ordered a new car, but do not know when/if it will be delivered. If New Year comes first, it will cost us an extra month's VED.

Trailer? I've never regretted having a trailer - they don't eat much. There one 10ft caravan, that is plated at 750kg MGW. In view of our combined disabilities ... no legs and only three arms ... I feel that would not be a sensible purchase.

Back to the drawing board.

602

602

[Wittsend]

I wouldn't have a dealer fit a dash cam 

I would buy a decent Nextbase dash cam from Halfords 

Halfords fit these all day long. They will fit Wile-U-Wait for an extra fee - but it's worth it as they know what they are doing. They take a live 12V feed from the fuse box - so this shouldn't invalidate any manufacturer's guarantee. They hide and tuck away all the wires.


Just check that fitting one doesn't affect the vehicle makers guarantee - it shouldn't.

Also - get the rear-view cam as well.

Buy a decent sized memory card off the internet - Amazon or Ebay. You want a decent capacity. The videos just fill the card and then over write the earliest footage.

I just let my dash cam get on with it. After the novelty wears off, I don't bother reviewing the footage.




  A better investment than a trailer you don't need IMHO

Get a good dash cam - good ones cost, but then an accident incident will cost you much more. Dash cam footage could help you.

[w3526602]

Hi,

Yeah! I admire the way that the professionals can hide the wiring. Just about anything else, I'm happy to try myself (not like computer stuff).

Hmm! Just where is Halfords in Milton Keynes? D0n't worry about answering, I'll find it.

602