Hybrid or plug-in hybrid as a tow vehicle?

[bobwirtz]

Hello all,
While we still love going out in our 19 we are more and more concerned about the environmental impact of our Ram 1500 V8 tow vehicle. Given our max trailer weight of 5000 lbs and conservative advice to tow no more than 80% of rated capacity the options in hybrids and plug-in hybrids are few. And, from what I read, while plug-in hybrids have larger batteries their electric use is limited or even shut off when towing, leaving you with essentially a standard gas tow vehicle.
Does anybody have any experience or advice in this area to share?
Thanks in advance,
Bob in Baltimore

[HABBERDABBER]

The Ford electric truck is one option for towing but your range of travel will be quite limited, compared to a gas vehicle. The Tesla pick-up, just starting production and the EV Hummer can be others. For all, you need deep pockets to afford.

Instead of an EV tow vehicle, think about your daily or frequent use for transportation. An EV can work out well. I acquired a Bolt EUV for around town and local travel and really like it. 200-300 mile range (depending on the season) and that fits my needs. But for towing, I have a 6L full size van. A hybrid SUV might do well enough towing an E19.

Are you doing frequent, long distance towing? Limited options, then.
Want to save money and reduce CO2 production? An EV passenger vehicle or plug-in hybrid may be more logical.

[Centex]

Just curious ....

Does your Ram 1500 V8 tow vehicle see other (non-towing) daily-driving use?

Or is it used primarily for towing with only occasional other use (e.g. occasional local hauling of bulky loads, etc.)?

[bobwirtz]

We use the truck mostly for towing and occasionally for usual pickup stuff (dump run, etc.). A month can go by in which it is not used at all except for a quick startup and run to keep it in shape.
Our daily car is a 2008 Prius with 197K miles. It can't last forever, and it would be great if we could find a single-vehicle solution. I don't think that is likely (at least, not today) but I can dream.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by bobwirtz

We use the truck mostly for towing and occasionally for usual pickup stuff (dump run, etc.). A month can go by in which it is not used at all except for a quick startup and run to keep it in shape.
Our daily car is a 2008 Prius with 197K miles. It can't last forever, and it would be great if we could find a single-vehicle solution. I don't think that is likely (at least, not today) but I can dream.

In that case IMO you are doing your best to be environmentally friendly while also supporting your preferred lifestyle within the limits of current technology and market availability.

IMO there's currently no tow-vehicle alternative that would yield significantly reduced environmental impact without imposing potentially significant other compromises (particularly if you consider total life-cycle environmental impacts including materials sourcing, etc).

Yes, there may be other tugs offering incremental emissions improvements / mileage gains, but with your use-habits if your Ram is well-maintained those global-environmental benefits are likely not going to be significant over the life-cycle of the vehicle (and your Ram will likely still be on the road in the hands of another driver).

Note I'm speaking in the current context, and yes, that could change with rapid evolution of technology and what becomes available on the market.

Given the info provided I'd advocate keep the Ram, keep it in optimal condition, drive it prudently, and focus on your most efficient Prius replacement options in anticipation that will be your next vehicle purchase.

One opinion, trying to consider the 'big-picture' admirable goals, just for your consideration.

[YakRV]

Hi, Bob. We have a 2021 F-150 (non-plug-in) Hybrid. Ford calls it the PowerBoost. While we appreciate the improved gas mileage when we’re not towing, and enjoy the convenience of the built-in 7.2kW inverter/generator, the PowerBoost adds little to nothing for improved mileage while towing. The 3.5L V-6 turbo engine that does all the work towing (Ford calls it the EcoBoost) gets about 11-ish to 14-ish mpg while towing our 21C depending on conditions. Towing capacity for the PowerBoost is listed at around 12,700 lbs. The payload capacity takes a bit of a hit due to the weight of the hybrid battery system. Ours is around 1600 lbs. Hope that helps.

[bobwirtz]

Our Ram gets 12-15 mpg in 2 wheel drive Tow/Haul mode if we keep it at 60 or less.
Looks like the practical solution (today, with a 19) is what has been suggested: keep the truck in good shape and use it only when necessary.
Thanks, all, for sharing your experience.

[Downsized]

We tow with an electric SUV. But it wouldn’t work with your 19 foot escape. Consider the Rivian or Ford Lightning. It should be a good match to your 19 foot escape. We met a fellow coming from a recent escape rally. They were pulling something like a 17 foot escape with a Tesla model Y like ours. They seemed happy with it. But for something like the 19 the Lightning or the Rivian would probably be a better fit. Maybe try a test tow with the lightning. Check out the local ford dealer.

Here is our EV RV combo. We have toured all over Canada and extensively in BC. Nice combo for us.

[Tosh]

I also have an F-150 Powerboost, pulling a 21NE. In tow-haul mode, the truck has the ICE running all the time except when it's in park. So, I get about 14 MPG when towing. The hybrid advantage is realized when we're driving around the campground and surrounding areas, with no trailer. Then, the MPG is usually 23 average. My cruising range is about 450 miles when towing.


I wouldn't expect more than 100 miles range if I was driving an F-150 Lightning, and that truck would cost ~35% more than mine did.


I have my sights on the plug-in hybrid F-150, rumored to be in development now.

[Downsized]

Originally Posted by Tosh

I also have an F-150 Powerboost, pulling a 21NE. In tow-haul mode, the truck has the ICE running all the time except when it's in park. So, I get about 14 MPG when towing. The hybrid advantage is realized when we're driving around the campground and surrounding areas, with no trailer. Then, the MPG is usually 23 average. My cruising range is about 450 miles when towing.


I wouldn't expect more than 100 miles range if I was driving an F-150 Lightning, and that truck would cost ~35% more than mine did.


I have my sights on the plug-in hybrid F-150, rumored to be in development now.

A lightning pulling a little 19 foot escape will typically see 250 to 300 kilometres range towing at 90 kph ish. Most of the Lightning and Rivian owners we have talked to who pulling trailers are towing smaller profile trailers. For medium or larger units I would think your 100 mile number is not far off. Current lightnings and Rivians are well suited to smaller profile units but probably not a good choice for someone who wants to make time on a cross country trip.

Everybody travels and camps different. What works for one might not work for another. To each his own.

[Jon Mayer]

If your Ram is in good condition and has years of good life ahead, your most environmentally effective choice would be to replace the Prius when it needs replacement with a small vehicle (plug in or hybrid) for normal use and keep the Ram for towing. Between the environmental cost of replacing a good vehicle and the environmental cost of using a large vehicle as an everyday vehicle, you wouldn’t be doing anything remotely environmentally friendly.

[BruceW]

I think the recently announced 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser might be just the ticket. Expensive at $65,000 or so, but much less than the old $90,000 gas guzzling Land Cruiser. It has a Hybrid 4 cylinder Turbo drivetrain which produces gobs of torque and can tow up to 6,000lbs. It gets around 27mpg combined as I recall. Might be a replacement for my VW Touareg Diesel someday.

[apollo]

We've got a Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV that we use to tow our E19. Rated for 5000lbs, has a hide away hitch for when not in-use and the air suspension also auto levels the SUV out after lowering the trailer tongue on. It'll tow in hybrid mode just fine--even pure electric mode but you can also switch it to full time AWD mode which keeps the gas engine on and allows for a little peppier acceleration off the line if that's your preference.

Normally it gets around 35 mpg highway, but towing drops it down to 16. However around town we rarely use any gas as pure electric range is more than enough for local errands. My real world tank range is typically 550 miles on a single tank under normal use and 280ish while towing.

The caveats are that you can't use a weight distribution hitch and it's not pre-wired or easily wired for a brake controller, but the Prodigy RF solves that.

In hybrid mode, it'll switch to electric only at lower speeds even when towing so you get to drive around camp pulling silently... at least until you put it in reverse and the backup chime turns on.