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Is towing with an EV prohibited in the Netherlands?

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ecarfan

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Hello fellow Tesla enthusiasts,

I searched this forum for the answer to my question, but since I don’t understand Dutch I do not know if this has been discussed before. I was camping with my Model X and caravan (this one Caravanes (Alto) – SÉRIE F17 – 1743 | Safari Condo ) and a nice Dutch couple were camping nearby. They were interested in my caravan, and told me that towing with an electric car is not allowed in the Netherlands. They could not explain why that was the law but insisted it was. I was suprised to hear that. Is it true?

I was camping in Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.

DB325326-BC7F-4457-A938-84A19B44F5BD.jpeg
 
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Hello fellow Tesla enthusiasts,

I searched this forum for the answer to my question, but since I don’t understand Dutch I do not know if this has been discussed before. I was camping with my Model X and caravan (this one Caravanes (Alto) – SÉRIE F17 – 1743 | Safari Condo ) and a nice Dutch couple were camping nearby. They were interested in my caravan, and told me that towing with an electric car is not allowed in the Netherlands. They could not explain why that was the law but insisted it was. I was suprised to hear that. Is it true?

I was camping in Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.

View attachment 310620
They are wrong, It is a allowed to tow with an Model X.
 
I think the law is that you can only tow with a vehicle equipped with an OEM approved towing solution. I think the only EV that currently has an OEM towing solution is the Model X. (The Jaguar i-Pace is supposed to have one at some point as well.)

So you can't buy a third party tow bar and put it on a Model S or Model 3 and tow a trailer legally.
 
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I think the law is that you can only tow with a vehicle equipped with an OEM approved towing solution. I think the only EV that currently has an OEM towing solution is the Model X. (The Jaguar i-Pace is supposed to have one at some point as well.)

So you can't buy a third party tow bar and put it on a Model S or Model 3 and tow a trailer legally.
That is exactly the problem. It doesn't only hit Tesla Model S and future Model 3 owners, but everyone owning an EV (but also ICE). The towing weight must be officially stated by the car manufacturer: Tesla has done so for the Model X (if the tow-hitch is ordered from them). So it has nothing to do with a car being electric (it can happen to ICE-cars too!) but it is the it is the result of the low willingness of some manufacturers to offer their products with the necessary data for inspection.
 
It's only allowed to tow anything big in the EU if the car homologated for towing anything big. The Model X is the only Tesla with that EU stamp of approval. So there is never a "not allowed in The Netherlands", because the car is approved for the enire EU. ;)

Putting a tow hitch on a car without the homologation process -> can only put a bike rack on there.
 
In case anyone's wondering why The Netherlands would have such a law, it's because it's a country where caravanning is very popular (although popularity has declined there), and, the Dutch have something of a reputation for, er, value-seeking, so the authorities were probably particularly concerned that the, er, value-seeking behavior didn't lead to unsafe towing.
 
In case anyone's wondering why The Netherlands would have such a law, it's because it's a country where caravanning is very popular (although popularity has declined there), and, the Dutch have something of a reputation for, er, value-seeking, so the authorities were probably particularly concerned that the, er, value-seeking behavior didn't lead to unsafe towing.
Well .... No. I would love the give the credit for this rule to the Hague :D , but it is really an EU-measure.
And for the record: a towbar is useful for my wife and me to take along our bicycle trailer (with our e-bikes on it).
 
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That is exactly the problem. It doesn't only hit Tesla Model S and future Model 3 owners, but everyone owning an EV (but also ICE). The towing weight must be officially stated by the car manufacturer: Tesla has done so for the Model X (if the tow-hitch is ordered from them). So it has nothing to do with a car being electric (it can happen to ICE-cars too!) but it is the it is the result of the low willingness of some manufacturers to offer their products with the necessary data for inspection.
To add this, I used to have a Toyota Auris Hybrid (internally a Prius) and although I could fit a "tow hook" I was only allowed to put a bicycle rack on it as the car was approved for towing 0kg.

So what the rest already said, only a Model X is currently approved.

What's pretty cool is that the Netherlands has a public car registration database you can query. Registration is attached to a vehicle and thus is transferred.

You can see it here: Ovi

Use my Model S for example: 8SGN12

You'll see under under "Gewichten" (Weights) that at under O.1 and O.2 the car has been approved for 0kg of towing.
 
@Defiant: correct! Renault is one of the manufacturers that did NOT do this. Their EV (Zoe) is very capable to do towing (this was confirmed by the german TÜV) but Renault does not want (?) to apply for homologation. Why?? no idea.

Capable and useful are two things. The X is also very capable of towing but driving 100-110km/h with a large caravan will give you a useless range.
For short trips with a heavy load the X will do perfect.

A caravan has the aerodynamics of 20-40' container.
 
Thank you everyone for your helpful replies, now I understand the situation.

@RobsEV it is certainly true that a large caravan produces a lot of aerodynamic drag. There are threads in the Model X forums about that.

When I tow my 5.2m / 1089kg caravan on a level, dry road with no headwinds, at 88Km/h (the maximum legal towing speed in California) I use about 936Wh/mi (it can be lower or higher depending on temperature, winds, pavement smoothness, etc.)

So with my X100D, in my opinion I have a useful range, especially considering the many Tesla Superchargers in North America. I just returned from a trip where I drove 436km in 8.5 hours (including two charging stops) to get to my campground. It was easy. I have more trips planned for this year, some of which will be much longer and spread over several travel days.
 
Thank you everyone for your helpful replies, now I understand the situation.

@RobsEV it is certainly true that a large caravan produces a lot of aerodynamic drag. There are threads in the Model X forums about that.

When I tow my 5.2m / 1089kg caravan on a level, dry road with no headwinds, at 88Km/h (the maximum legal towing speed in California) I use about 936Wh/mi (it can be lower or higher depending on temperature, winds, pavement smoothness, etc.)

So with my X100D, in my opinion I have a useful range, especially considering the many Tesla Superchargers in North America. I just returned from a trip where I drove 436km in 8.5 hours (including two charging stops) to get to my campground. It was easy. I have more trips planned for this year, some of which will be much longer and spread over several travel days.

Even Though your consumption is more than 3 times what I normally use driving the S solo, I think this is very low. :)

Max 80-90 km/h is much more economic then 100-110 km/h but the all semi's drive around 90-95 km/h and you don't want them overtaking you.
I've never towed with an EV but are used to driving with large caravans behind ICE cars. (Total length 7,35m max weight 1500kg)
There the fuel consumption increases 30-40% when increasing the speed from 80 to 110 km/h.
With a diesel ICE it will get a you 1.000 km with only a single stop and solo much more than that without a stop.:eek:
(Was with my BMW 320d. It is questionable whether this is save.)

Never the less we cannot continue driving ICE cars and therefore also our caravan is also for sale.;)
 
For the metric crowd: 936 Wh/mi is 582 Wh/km.

Voor de Nederlandse lezers: 936 Wh/mi is 582 Wh/km. Dus reken op minder dan een halve actieradius met je Model X.

Yup, and until now I'll do better than 180Wh/km with the S. I already have a trip with only 164Wh/km.
My son in law is baffled because this Audi A3 E-tron uses around 250Wh/km and he very careful driving electric.
 
Max 80-90 km/h is much more economic then 100-110 km/h but the all semi's drive around 90-95 km/h and you don't want them overtaking you
Yes, 80-90 is more energy efficient than 100+ and that is part of the reason I tow at the slower speed, but I drive at 88 because that is the maximum legal speed when towing in California.

As for the semi trucks, it is true that in the US they typically go much faster than I do, but I don’t concern myself with them. They simply go around me. They are not a problem.
 
Yes, 80-90 is more energy efficient than 100+ and that is part of the reason I tow at the slower speed, but I drive at 88 because that is the maximum legal speed when towing in California.

As for the semi trucks, it is true that in the US they typically go much faster than I do, but I don’t concern myself with them. They simply go around me. They are not a problem.

I've travelled the US north east coast and Semi's are driving much faster there then in Europe.
In Europe they are only allowed to drive 80KM/h but they are driving around 90-92KM/h with the build in speed limiter. There are a lot of small minded semi drivers that get frustrated when you drive 1 or 2 KM/h slower then they are doing and cannot pass you. When the speed differences are bigger you don't get this issues. Therefor you don't have this problem in the US and is the reason I choose the drive in Europe faster then the Semi's.