Towing a teardrop camper?

[dmacarthur]

I have seen some references to towing a utilty trailer, in fact my neaghbor has a small contruction crew and uses his Leaf with a trailer. But, anyone camped in a small teardrop? I am fine with the horsepower in the Plus, and also with the mileage, other issues?

[alozzy]

According to Nissan, the towing capacity is zero. So, it's a bit of a guessing game. Personally, I wouldn't tow more than 1000 lbs as my worry would be the strength of the frame. That's because the battery pack is 1/3 of the vehicle weight, so I suspect the frame isn't exactly heavy duty.

Also, make sure your insurance company will cover you, in the event of an accident.

[dmacarthur]

Ah yes the dreaded insurance scam...... having bought insurance for fifty years and never made a claim, it would stand to reason that I would be turned down now..... and the smallest teardrops are well under1000 pounds..... probably too small to get in and out of tho...

[countryleaf]

When we were test driving the '19 Leaf, I asked the dealer what the tow rating is. He said: Oh, I'd say 2 or 3 thousand pounds. Take that for what it is worth. When we were camping on the Oregon Coast this last Summer, there was a Tesla there that had a fairly good sized trailer it was towing (I'm guessing 5 or 6 thousand pounds). I know it is kind of apples to oranges regarding the Leaf, but I would be pretty comfortable towing 1 to 2 thousand pounds with my Leaf. I did install a 2-inch receiver on our new Leaf a few months ago (for a bike rack). It is fastened to the frame very solidly and should be up to the task (As I recall, it (the hitch) is rated for up to a 5,000 pound trailer). As far as brakes goes, If you are small enough, you do not have to have trailer brakes (I believe that limit is around 3,000 pounds). I would guess that your miles/KWH would be about half normal driving while towing. I think it would be great to tow a trailer with a Leaf (think of the free charging at your campsite)! Just my thoughts.

[dmacarthur]

When we were test driving the '19 Leaf, I asked the dealer what the tow rating is. He said: Oh, I'd say 2 or 3 thousand pounds. Take that for what it is worth. When we were camping on the Oregon Coast this last Summer, there was a Tesla there that had a fairly good sized trailer it was towing (I'm guessing 5 or 6 thousand pounds). I know it is kind of apples to oranges regarding the Leaf, but I would be pretty comfortable towing 1 to 2 thousand pounds with my Leaf. I did install a 2-inch receiver on our new Leaf a few months ago (for a bike rack). It is fastened to the frame very solidly and should be up to the task (As I recall, it (the hitch) is rated for up to a 5,000 pound trailer). As far as brakes goes, If you are small enough, you do not have to have trailer brakes (I believe that limit is around 3,000 pounds). I would guess that your miles/KWH would be about half normal driving while towing. I think it would be great to tow a trailer with a Leaf (think of the free charging at your campsite)! Just my thoughts.

I agree countryleaf that half of the miles/kwh would be acceptable..... although from an aerodynamic and road resistance perspective I would think that a 1000 pound trailer would not halve the mileage, maybe knock a third off? gonna have to wait and see I guess.....

[GerryAZ]

LEAF has much larger brakes than similar size ICE cars and plus model has plenty of power/range so no technical/mechanical issues. Obviously, Nissan's lack of official towing rating introduces potential legal issues (insurance and warranty, for example). I suspect you might lose about 1/3 of range, assuming highway driving.

[countryleaf]

When we were test driving the '19 Leaf, I asked the dealer what the tow rating is. He said: Oh, I'd say 2 or 3 thousand pounds. Take that for what it is worth. When we were camping on the Oregon Coast this last Summer, there was a Tesla there that had a fairly good sized trailer it was towing (I'm guessing 5 or 6 thousand pounds). I know it is kind of apples to oranges regarding the Leaf, but I would be pretty comfortable towing 1 to 2 thousand pounds with my Leaf. I did install a 2-inch receiver on our new Leaf a few months ago (for a bike rack). It is fastened to the frame very solidly and should be up to the task (As I recall, it (the hitch) is rated for up to a 5,000 pound trailer). As far as brakes goes, If you are small enough, you do not have to have trailer brakes (I believe that limit is around 3,000 pounds). I would guess that your miles/KWH would be about half normal driving while towing. I think it would be great to tow a trailer with a Leaf (think of the free charging at your campsite)! Just my thoughts.

I agree countryleaf that half of the miles/kwh would be acceptable..... although from an aerodynamic and road resistance perspective I would think that a 1000 pound trailer would not halve the mileage, maybe knock a third off? gonna have to wait and see I guess.....

Yes, we will see, please keep us posted. BTW, I see that you purchased your '19 the same day we got ours!!

[palmermd]

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=13428&p=320022


my original post. for some reason the image does not show in the thread, but I found someone who put it on reddit. But the discussion in the MNL thread is still relevant.



https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/co ... p_trailer/

[webeleafowners]

Check out the tag trailers by Nukamp. They would work. Nice substitute for a tent.

We are probably going to pull a Tab 320 with our Tesla model 3.

https://nucamprv.com/tag-trailer/

[LeftieBiker]

Nice. Two questions: how much are they, and can you use the kitchen if it's pouring rain or snow outside?