2022 might go down in history as the year that electric vehicles went mainstream. That’s because this year electric pickups are finally on sale – just as a flood of EV SUVs have hit the market.
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Most telling of all is America’s best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150 starts deliveries this year of its F-150 Lightning EV.
Ford sold more 362,000 F-150 pickups in 2021 and has produced over 40 million since they first started rolling off the line in 1948, with Ford saying it will produce 150,000 F-150 EVs a year, with more than that already reserved by customers.
Chevy is also rolling out its electric Silverado as a 2024 model and a host of electric SUVs that tow – from the Audi e-Tron to the Tesla Model X – are already pulling stuff along U.S. highways.
And that raises a big question: When it comes to towing, how good are EVs?
The short answer is, due to their superior torque, they should do just fine. But tow ratings are just one measure, which will get into.
But first, let’s meet a family of five – or, six if you count their lab – who have been towing RVs with their 2020 Tesla Model X across the country from their home in Lincoln, Nebraska.
You might recognize Katie and Steve Krivolavek from their All Electric Family channel on YouTube. We got together on a Zoom call to discuss their transition to EV towing and the future of EV towing.
“Yeah, we have towed with all sorts of vehicles, from your everyday SUV to an Excursion to F-150s. So we’ve done quite a bit of towing and have made the switch to EVs,” said Katie.
They’ve been towing a 22-foot 2021 Coachman Apex Nano 194BHS BunkHouse RV, which tips the scales at around 4,800 pounds, fully loaded. Their Model X has a maximum tow rating of 5,000 pounds.
One of the things they love about towing with an EV is the added stability. “One of the very surprising things, I don’t know why I was surprised by this, I should have figured this out, was the stability of the actual electric vehicle. When towing it’s just – bar none,” said Steve.
They’ve been so pleased with their EV towing experience that they’re now ready to take to the next level. They’ve put reservations down for both the Rivian R1T pickup EV and Ford F-150 Lightning EV.
Why both? Because of the chip shortage, battery constraints and pandemic-induced supply issues, many models now have delivery backlogs stretching six months or more. They’ll likely buy whichever of the new pickups is available first.
“It’s crazy. I am super excited to try some of these trucks that have, you know, a battery pack that’s 35% bigger than the Model X, potentially even more. So that weight, that stability, the bigger body. I’m anticipating that at least the Lightning, I would imagine the R1T as well, will be just as stable as our F-350 and it’ll be a fun experience on that side, at least for me,” said Steve.
The Lightning, depending on the option package, has a tow rating of up to 10,000 pounds, while the R1T can tow up to 11,000 pounds.
Just like gasoline pickups, the range of EV pickups will take a big hit when towing, with Rivian estimating up to half its range of 314 miles could be lost when towing a heavy load.
And that brings us to charging. Ford says its Lightning can refuel from 15 to 80% in 41 minutes. Both the Lightning and Rivian hit peak charging speeds of about 150kW.
But here’s the rub. Unlike gas stations, most EV charging stations feature pull-in charging instead of pull-through charging, meaning that in many cases EV drivers will be forced to unhitch.
EV Rider reached out to the media department at Electrify America, which is the nation’s largest public fast-charging network, along with Ford and GM to ask about whether there’s a plan to avoid needing to unhook, but only GM responded, writing what is basically a polite no comment that reads: “Unfortunately, our team doesn’t have the bandwidth at this time to support your request.”
Katie said so far, unhitching while charging hasn’t really been an issue. “It wasn’t really a huge deal to us. I think we timed it once and it was less than five minutes.”
Katie also points out there have been plenty of occasions – at least for now – when they haven’t needed to unhitch.
“You can get creative in some of the places and not have to unhook, pulling into the last charger and leaving your trailer out down the side. The local charger in town, it’s at the back of a grocery store, and so there’s a long line of chargers and then parking that continues on down the line and so we can pull up and use that last charger. And you know honestly, we live in an area where there’s not a ton of EVs, so when we pull into a charging station, there’s a lot of times where it’s only us or us and one other car, so we feel comfortable blocking off one or two chargers. And, obviously, keeping an eye on it to make sure that they don’t fill up, and we need to clear out space for someone else to charge.”
Although Electrify America and the manufacturers didn’t comment for this video, it’s possible that we’ll see future chargers adapt designs similar to gas stations, such as the Electrify America pictured above, which can accommodate EV tow vehicles without unhitching.
As for the All Electric Family, they’re already planning even bigger camping adventures.
“Yeah, so we have a 30-foot Airstream, so the bunkhouse Airstream model. It’s quite a bit bigger than the 22-foot and is just over the limit of what we can tow with the Model X. And so we kind of put the horse before the cart, because we knew we were loving the experience of towing with the EV, figuring it all out and seeing what the EV could do while towing, so we decided to upgrade and wanted to go on some longer trips so the smaller trailer just wasn’t a good fit for our family anymore. So we had a chance to get this 30-foot Airstream and so we jumped on the opportunity, knowing that the trucks were coming down the line.”
You can follow Katie and Steve’s adventures on their YouTube channel or by going to allelectricfamily.com.
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