Following on with my current theme of posts that deal with the future of touring caravanning set against the move to get rid of diesel and petrol-fuelled cars. Here is a review of a Tesla 3 being used to tow an Airstream caravan. This a Canadian video but well worth watching as it shows how car manufactures can start to address the future of all our needs. This particular model has been adapted by a third party to tow but it demonstrates it can be done.
Having watched the video it is clear that the vehicle is capable of towing a significant load. The weight of the Airstream is stated at being 6000 lbs (about 2720 kilos). The tow equipment and set up has been done by a third party, but again it shows the potential. The effective range is discussed throughout the video and clearly shows the effective range on a single charge is about 100 miles. With planning the testers think it is possible to get a daily range of 500 miles a day, but this would mean a significant change in towing habits to produce this type of range.
For me there is still one major concern and that is the weight. Not that the vehicle is not ‘man enough’ to do the job, but in the UK we will run into licensing issues. The weight of the Tesla is given as 4032 lbs (approx 1830 kilos). The weight of the Airstream is stated as 6000 lbs (approx 2720 Kilos). This means the overall weight or MAM is 4751 Kilos which is well in excess of our current license permitted weight for those whose licenses have been issued after Jan 1997. (Not a problem for those issued before).
Having pointed out the weight issues as demonstrated in the video, I think it is only far to look at the weights in respect of Eribas. The recommended maximum weight of an Eriba Troll loaded is 1300Kg add the given weight of the Tesla used for the demonstration is approx 1830 kilos. This gives an overall MAM of 1330 Kg so still within the limits set for UK licenses issued after Jan 1997.
Conclusion
It appears on that with some adaptation that a Tesla could be a suitable vehicle in the future to tow Eriba caravans. It is not necessarily going to give you a great initial range but looks like you will get 100 miles between charges. It takes about an hour to recharge so with thought about route planning and required travel distances it possible to make 300-500 miles in a day. That is OK if you are not under anytime constraints but not if you have to cram all of your holidays into two weeks annual leave.
The Tesla used is a model 3 and this retails at the starting price of about £42K, so not a cheap option at the moment. What is encouraging is that it is already possible to carry on towing touring caravans if Government banned tomorrow all cars that were diesel or petrol-fueled. It would be for a price and some rethinking of our towing habits, but we could carry on with touring in our Eribas. We must not forget that we are only just starting down this road and as technology develops so will our options. It is early days and I am sure that other ideas will come to the fore, some that we haven’t even imagined or dare dream of yet!
