What’s the future of electric cars and caravans?

The move to electric cars and reduced emissions is gaining momentum across the developed world. But, when it comes to caravanning, the big question is whether electric cars can cope with towing our caravans?

The bigger your caravan, the more power and weight you need in your car to tow it safely. You might think that electric cars don't have the torque to tow a caravan. That's not necessarily the case.

However, one company, Dethleffs, revealed an interesting concept caravan in Germany last week. They believe they have a solution to make towing with an electric car easier.

Caravan with its own motor

Dethleffs showed their new caravan concept, the 'E.Home Coco.' The lightweight caravan has a built-in dual-motor axle powered by a lithium battery mounted in its floor.

The dual-motor axle in the E.Home Coco reduces the tow load on the electric car. In effect, the lightweight 'e-caravan' should mean that caravanners can tow it with smaller electric cars.

The power unit in the caravan provides 80-kWh, which means it has more power than, say, a basic Tesla Model S, apparently. Roof-mounted solar panels top up the E.Home Coco batteries.

And, a control unit manages the power sent to each wheel on the single-axle caravan. There is around 347 lb-ft of torque which the control unit delivers intelligently to each wheel. This should improve its stability and performance.

No more motor movers?

too. When you get to your pitch, you can unhook the caravan from your car and use the smartphone app to manoeuvre it into position.

The company plans to begin testing its claims of reducing the tow load on electric cars in early 2019.