[dsmking2]

Hi everyone,

I've been researching lightweight travel trailers trying to find ones that would work well with an ID.4. However, it can get complicated factoring in max trailer weight, max tongue weight, and towing efficiency. First hand reports can be useful but I have only seen a handful in different places.

Two trailers I'm considering are the nuCamp TAB320 and the Aliner LXE. Both are around 2000lbs and 200lb tongue weight along with hopefully less impact to range due to drag. My current plan is to rent some of these trailers once I get my ID.4 to see how well they work.

So what travel trailers have people towed with their ID.4? Which ID.4 model do you have, what is the approximate weight, and what sort of efficiency did you see?

Thanks!

 

[vicq]

I rented a nuCamp TAB320 off rvshare.com twice this year. It’s a nice trailer, small, light(er) and teardrop shape, making it more efficient than most other travel trailers.

HOWEVER, I towed it with our Tesla Model Y Long Range. It might be slightly heavier than the iD.4 can handle, and you will want to hook up a harness that can activate the brakes. I haven’t towed with my AWD iD.4 yet, and wasn’t really planning on it, since my experience with the Tesla taught me a ton.

I effectively got 1 mile per percentage of battery with the Model Y. Tried it on two separate occasions in February and March, with outside temps in the 40s and 60s. I used ABRP to plan, even adding extra weight and giving myself an extra fudge factor. Here are some of my takeaways:

1. Plan for no more than 90-100 miles between charging stops. My initial tests going up and down hill had consumption going anywhere from about 500 Wh/mi to over 100p Wh/mi, going 60-70 mph. My second time renting was for a camping trip to a nearby lake.

 

[vicq]

I rented a nuCamp TAB320 off rvshare.com twice this year. It’s a nice trailer, small, light(er) and teardrop shape, making it more efficient than most other travel trailers.

HOWEVER, I towed it with our Tesla Model Y Long Range. It might be slightly heavier than the iD.4 can handle, and you will want to hook up a harness that can activate the brakes. I haven’t towed with my AWD iD.4 yet, and wasn’t really planning on it, since my experience with the Tesla taught me a ton.

I effectively got 1 mile per percentage of battery with the Model Y. Tried it on two separate occasions in February and March, with outside temps in the 40s and 60s. I used ABRP to plan, even adding extra weight and giving myself an extra fudge factor. Here are some of my takeaways:

1. Plan for no more than 90-100 miles between charging stops. My initial tests going up and down hill had consumption going anywhere from about 500 Wh/mi to over 1000 Wh/mi, going 60-70 mph. My second time renting was for a camping trip to a nearby lake.

Sorry… hit the post button by accident.

on the second trip, I had approximately 115 miles between my home and the lake. Had overall terrain drop of about 1000 feet, but had to go through a canyon pass. I reserved an RV camp site in between as insurance to charge going out and back, just in case. Going out there was great. Had tons of reserve when I got to the camp site.

2. Coming back, even with ABRP planning, I did not forsee a strong headwind of about 30 mph. Uh oh! So going 60 mph was equivalent of going 90 mph. I had to drop my speed to 40, and at some spots, ended doing 25 on an interstate highway with 2 lanes in each direction. I can’t even count the number of times I got flipped off and honked at by truckers for about 40 miles. But in the American southwest, DCFC stations are few and far between. The only spots were a town next to lake that I went to, and the town that I live in, approx 110 miles apart. I barely made it to my RV park reservation site to drop the trailer, head 20 miles into town to fill up at a Supercharger, and go back for the trailer.

3. In concept, pulling a travel trailer sounded awesome: Plug the car in at a campsite or RV park along with the trailer and plan, plan, plan the trip carefully. But I couldn’t forsee mother nature’s surprise 30 MPH headwind the whole way back, going 1,000 up in elevation.
If you happen to live in high-density areas like California or the east coast, hauling a travel trailer with an EV MIGHT work. But don’t plan on going more than about 70 miles unless you like to live for adventure and don’t mind your wife telling you what an idiot you are for trying this crazy experiment!

4. The TAB 320 is nice. Don’t pull it with full water tanks (I didn’t). I appreciated the trailer’s brakes, and pulling it with the Model Y was awesome. The instant torque made it a breeze to get to highway speeds. But even going downhill, no regen was happening. You re basically pulling a big parachute behind the car. Watch your speed and consumption or you won’t make it to your destination. The Model Y is a slightly more efficient vehicle, but I was really only getting 1 mile per percentage of battery. I don’t expect the iD.4 to do any better.

5. My travel trailer days are done. I had fun with my experiment, but we are still a few years away from this being practical, from a number of charger standpoint and also from battery size/efficiency one. For now, my iD.4 trailer hitch will be for my bike rack. Maybe I’ll get adventurous and decide to hook up a small boat down the road…

 

[dsmking2]

4. The TAB 320 is nice. Don’t pull it with full water tanks (I didn’t). I appreciated the trailer’s brakes, and pulling it with the Model Y was awesome. The instant torque made it a breeze to get to highway speeds. But even going downhill, no regen was happening. You re basically pulling a big parachute behind the car. Watch your speed and consumption or you won’t make it to your destination. The Model Y is a slightly more efficient vehicle, but I was really only getting 1 mile per percentage of battery. I don’t expect the iD.4 to do any better.

5. My travel trailer days are done. I had fun with my experiment, but we are still a few years away from this being practical, from a number of charger standpoint and also from battery size/efficiency one. For now, my iD.4 trailer hitch will be for my bike rack. Maybe I’ll get adventurous and decide to hook up a small boat down the road…

Thanks for the really useful information. I looked at a bunch of posts about towing with a Model Y and it sounded like people were getting ~100-130 miles with trailers significantly taller than the 320. In fact, someone on an RV forum who had many years RV experience is planning a circle trip around Canada and the US with a Model Y and a Tab 400.

I do live in the east and I expect to be renting trailers for a while to see how they work (although I do find the upcoming Nucamp Barefoot trailer enticing). The ID.4 will be the first car I have with an official tow rating high enough to even think about this. I'm hoping that we can at least do enough to see if this should be more important for future vehicles. But for now city maneuverability is more important than towing which is why I'm getting an ID.4 over a F-150 lightning.

Any other experiences?

 

[CoSolar]

I own the larger [email protected] 400 (larger version of the 320) and tow it with a Toyota Tacoma. The Tacoma has a tow rating of 6400 lbs and the 400 weighs in at 3000 lbs empty. The Tacoma is able to tow the 400 and for short trips it works okay. If you have plans to make long trips I would not recommend towing a 320 with the ID.4. The ID.4 is probably not set up with trailer brakes in mind.
Many people with far more experience than I recommend that your tow vehicle have a tow capacity rating of at least twice the trailer weight you'll be towing.

 

[fireboy92k]

This guy did a trailer tow test in Colorado that I think largely mirrors @vicq posts, but I think it was with an even smaller trailer than you guys are discussing.

 

[Spin]

Many people with far more experience than I recommend that your tow vehicle have a tow capacity rating of at least twice the trailer weight you'll be towing.

It is always prudent to stay under the towing capacity of the tow vehicle, but towing half the weight is being really, really careful. If you apply that rule to the ID.4, you could barely tow a light trailer with a dozen sheets of plywood on it. My Tundra is rated to tow 10,400 lbs. and I have towed over 9000 many times without issue. The most important part of towing is the driver. You should never be in a hurry when towing. A weight distributing hitch is a great addition when towing trailers that are approaching vehicle capacity. Tongue weight should be 10-15% of the trailer-laden weight. Be mindful of the load capacity of the vehicle and include tongue weight when determining that load. Be aware that when towing, dynamic loads can be as much as 5X static loads.

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

Just remember that tongue weight will lower your payload on ID4 what you can safely do.

 

[Spin]

Just remember that tongue weight will lower your payload on ID4 what you can safely do.

Just like any other tow vehicle.

 

[Mike02828]

The most important part of towing is the driver. You should never be in a hurry when towing.

If I had a nickel for every guy in a truck pulling something going 80mph+ in the fast lane...

 

[Spin]

If I had a nickel for every guy in a truck pulling something going 80mph+ in the fast lane...

We could split it and both be rich men!

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

I do know that here in US people who haul for living don't have tools to measure tongue weight before taking on for driving....it is immoral and dangerous ....but eventually they will find themselves with banana bend on the chassis or finishing in the accident....

 

[Spin]

I do know that here in US people who haul for living don't have tools to measure tongue weight before taking on for driving....it is immoral and dangerous ....but eventually they will find themselves with banana bend on the chassis or finishing in the accident....

Tongue weight can be checked accurately with a bathroom scale.