Towing a caravan with a PHEV

Homesick Alien

Looking for advice on what kind of PHEV I'd need to tow a caravan. I was originally looking at the Passat 1.4 petrol but I'm thinking now maybe that wouldn't be enough for pulling a caravan on a motorway. BMW have a 2.0 petrol hybrid, would I need that? I know it probably depends on the size of the caravan I'd be pulling but it would be single axel and hopefully relatively lightweight.

I've never seen an EV pulling a caravan so I'm assuming that's a non runner on how quickly the battery would run down, and then you have the issue of what do you do with the caravan while you're stopping into a charging spot.

I'm not interested in an ICE only vehicle.

Thanks!

ted1

what weight is the caravan. Many hybrids have low towing capacity.

E.g. the BYD U seal could be an option but it’s limited to towing 760KG

User1998

Most if not all PHEV’s are limited to 750kg of towing capacity

kaahooters

outlander has 1500kg towing, but thats the only one i can think of.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490424#Comment_123490424

I see loads of these towing cars on trailers in Mondello.

blackbox

Toyota RAV4 phev also 1500kg.

Homesick Alien

Thanks for that info. I had thought about the Outlander but think it's starting to look dated now. The caravan I'd be buying would definitely be under 1000kg and hopefully closer to the 750kg mark. You hardly see any PHEVs with towbars either so I guess I will have to get that done separately.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490478#Comment_123490478

This car reads great on paper, sounds like a cracker, lots of poke 4x4, loads of room etc…

oinkely

There's not many caravans out there under 1000kg. At 750kg i assume it will be something like a swift basecamp or a maybe an eriba? A PHEV would be lovely for pulling a caravan, hope you find what you are looking for.

antfin

Model Y AWD is rated for 1,550kg towing but at 80kmph you'd be lucky to get 200km range from it.

db

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490498#Comment_123490498

What caravan are you thinking of that would be under 1000kg? You would be looking at something like an Eriba or a teardrop. Even a 2-berth standard shape/construction caravan will be over 1000kg.

pale rider

RAV4 Phev is 2500 lbs or around 1132 Kgs

Maksi

The towing capacity of the new Mazda CX-80 supports up to 2500kg.

Hurrache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490373#Comment_123490373

Octavia PHEVs have a braked capacity of 1500kg.

Peregrinus

I have a teardrop camper trailer which is rated at 1000 kg unladen; I pull it with a Toyota Rav 4 PHEV which has a braked capacity of 1.5t, so that's fine. But you need to factor in not only the weight of anything you put in the caravan but also anything you put in the car which, when you're going camping, can be quite a lot of stuff; it adds up very quickly. My 1 t camper is about the largest thing I would consider towing.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490772#Comment_123490772

Yeah I was referring to un braked

fits

Volvo xc60 hybrid appeared to have 2250 kg towing capacity when I looked it up the other day. Although I don’t quite believe it!

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490561#Comment_123490561

There's a handful of lightweight caravans out there by Eriba, Knaus etc. But you're right the selection is limited.

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123490934#Comment_123490934

Out of my price range anyway!

Homesick Alien

Few references to braked and unbraked capacity - excuse my ignorance but what does that mean?

Lewis_Benson

Any caravan weighing around 750kg will be like this…

Redfox25

In this instance, skip PHEV and get a diesel.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491164#Comment_123491164

I think it means if the caravan (or trailer) is braked or unbraked. Unbraked capacity should be lower than braked.

User1998

Braked = if the item your towing has its own independent braking system

Unbraked = if the item your towing does not have its own independent braking system

techman1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491317#Comment_123491317

exactly, sure you still need a gas cylinder to cook so why jump through hoops trying to avoid a fossil fueled car to pull your caravan with?

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491482#Comment_123491482

You can cook using renewable sources electricity

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491454#Comment_123491454

Just to avoid confusion, they're not actually independent braking systems as in they don't have the capacity to independently apply brakes.

What it has is a braking system which is activated by the tow car braking.

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491317#Comment_123491317

In my original post I said I wasn't interested in an ICE vehicle

Homesick Alien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123491482#Comment_123491482

You'd get an entire summer or longer out of a gas cylinder in a caravan. Not really a relevant comparison to the hundreds of litres of fuel your car would need getting to and from campsites. This way I'd have an engine for towing and the rest of the year when it's not towing a caravan you've essentially got an EV.

User1998

I just realised that no matter what car I check, they all have a towing capacity of 750kg unbraked. Even a Toyota Landcruiser for example. Seems to be EU regulation. So maybe the unbraked figure is irrelevant?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123492117#Comment_123492117

Any trailer with a design gross vehicle weight in excess of 750kg is required by law to have a braking system. So no car company will advertise a car as being capable of drawing an unbraked trailer with a greater DGVW than that.

Y0u can get caravans with a DGVW of 750kg or under but they are very, very tiny.