Issues when moving to all electric towcars

There were reports a little while back about experiments with a trailer caravan that had its own battery and propulsion system. The biggest hurdle to overcome seemd to be the changes in legislation to allow the tow vehicle to control the actions of the trailer.

Oh - and The Caravan Club providing double vehicle charging points!

Well this has been an interesting chat and thank you all for your contributions. For me the end of caravans is nigh. Could you imagine trying to find a service station with space to park your caravan whilst hooking up your tow car every 100 miles? So as much as I want to save the planet I will hang on to my existing tow car until it dies (or I do). My original idea was not to have a powered caravan but just a removable additional battery(s) linked to the car, to increase the range. Finally, unless there is some unilateral discussions leading to a standardised approach as happened when petrol and diesel was introduced the charging infrastructure will take years to solve. Just imagine how frustrating it will be when you arrive home to find the space near to your 50 metre extension lead trailed across the pavement, has been taken. 

Maybe this is the future-

Are trailer tents that much lighter than say a modest sized caravan? It's been minus two the last couple of nights. I don't think I'd have fancied being in a T/Tent.

Hi 

In reply to EV cars they have a long way to go before EV vehicles become the norm it certainly won't be in the next 20 years.

Where are all the precious metals going to come to build the battery there is only a limited supply of materials in the earth for the thousands of cars that would be built. Also the amount of electricity needed for charging. I could see lots of vehicles parked up on the motorway waiting for a charging point at a service station that's if you could find one that works.

Cheers

We had a trailer tent many years ago, which fitted in the garage and had far bigger beds with a nice size kitchen that swung out from the rear of the main ,unit,  which i will say was not used year round as with the modern caravan, although with modern heaters ,if they can keep as some say an awning warm?  with  modern insulating material,they could be worth a look 

Like a number of posts in this thread, this is total nonsense. EVs are here to stay and there will be a massive escalation over the next few years. VW just announced that by 2023 the price of Lithium batteries will have halved making the costs comparable to an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). Nobody who has driven an EV would ever want to go back to a noisy, smelly, high maintenance ICE. 

The charging infrastructure is poor but grid capacity is not the issue. Tesla solved this on day one and everybody else needs to catch up.

Hydrogen from electrolysis is only 40% efficient. Fuel cells are only 40% efficient and do not have the power/torque characteristics for a motor vehicle so a battery is also needed. Storage and distribution is an issue. Hydrogen may happen but there are many issues to resolve.

At present, battery technology is not advanced enough for an economic tow car or motorhome but this will change. Electric trucks are being designed so higher powers are possible.

Interesting link

As a no nonsense man Hitchglitch. I notice you swiftly moved on, in your reply about the charging infrastructure which is the absolute achilles heel of the introduction of EV's. In order to save the world we are likely to incur increases in carbon emissions for a number of years. When you add together all the additional manufacture of batteries, charging stations, street parking requiring works often using diesel machinery, etc. Some reports have indicated the EV's will need to cover over 20,000 miles before there is a tangible reduction in CO2 emissions, when the above costs in CO2 terms are considered. Then there is the life expectancy of batteries to factor in, and the availability of the of the materials to make them due to worldwide demands. So when considering the advantages of electric vehicles in reducing emissions be aware they are not as efficient as you might think. Still worth doing though. As Tesco says "Every little Helps"

Tesla solved the charging “problem” - they put the chargers in before selling the cars. Unfortunately, with the fragmented market it really needs investment upfront which doesn’t fit with a capitalist society. 

Every manufactured product has an environmental impact; oil extraction, Lithium mining, Aluminium smelting etc. You can control the environmental impact at the point of extraction/manufacturing but it’s much more difficult to control emissions from vehicles which is why EVs have a positive environmental impact.

Anyway, that apart, I bought my EV because electric drive is more suited to motor vehicles - massive instantaneous torque, silent running, low running cost and simpler maintenance. Apparently my car has 20 moving parts compared with an ICE vehicle which has thousands. As the ad used to say - once driven, forever smitten.