Dolly towing a Spark EV

[Bigblock427]

Does anyone on the forum have any experience dolly towing their Spark EV behind a motor home?

We have a 2016 Spark that we use for short trips around town and absolutely love it. We want
to take it with us on trips and tow behind the RV. The manual gives instructions on Dolly Towing but says nothing
about unlocking the steering column.

Has anyone on forum have any experience towing their Spark EV?

Thanks for any info on this subject...

 

[Sam12345]

Towed mine on a uhaul dolly from la to el paso no problem. Rear wheels are free rolling

 

[NORTON]

Towed mine home on a Uhaul dolly 800 miles when I bought it out of state.
Dolly towing does not need the steering wheel unlocked.
The dolly has a turntable bearing that allows the car to angle when in turns.

 

[Porsche]

I wonder just how much of a range hit you'd take by using the Spark to tow another vehicle. You could Dolly tow another Spark, swap, and get, maybe not 160 mile range, but how close?

 

[Infinion]

I wonder just how much of a range hit you'd take by using the Spark to tow another vehicle. You could Dolly tow another Spark, swap, and get, maybe not 160 mile range, but how close?

I frequently transport 450 lbs of water in the Spark. It's not a whole lot of weight by comparison to a whole other vehicle, but my trips have averaged 12.7 kWh / 100km with about 48.5% freeway driving and the rest highway (with traffic lights, speed limit 60-80 kph or 43-56 mph) .

Rear wheel pressure increases by about 24 kPa while driving loaded.

There's a video by Bjorn Nyland where adding 400kg of weight in his Kia Soul EV had no penalty even at 120 km/h (225 Wh/km empty vs 229 Wh/km with +400kg)
(https://youtu.be/ChLSfpmnNZE)




There are a few videos also showing the Rivian R1T, a truck with real towing capability, having its range cut by 1/3 to 103 miles from 314 miles at 70 mph with a boxy trailer holding a Tesla Model S. (Out of Spec Reviews, The Fast Lane Truck).

If it was the Spark going at that speed, doubling its capacity, and very unscientifically using this range penalty from a completely different EV, it'd probably manage a range of just over 52 miles.

On the other hand, if the Spark were to travel at 55 mi/h or less, the air drag would be an order of magnitude lower and the range penalty a lot smaller...

 

[NORTON]

I frequently transport 450 lbs of water in the Spark.....

I saw this thread in 'Active Topics' this morning and found that I already added my 2 cents, long ago....

But this picture is great!

As they say in Hawaii, "Is this for you down in garden, Brah?"
You da'Man !~! :!:
I backpacked water to one I had in my yute!
Now I can have one legal, behind a fence.... :mrgreen:

 

[Infinion]

I frequently transport 450 lbs of water in the Spark.....

I saw this thread in 'Active Topics' this morning and found that I already added my 2 cents, long ago....

But this picture is great!

As they say in Hawaii, "Is this for you down in garden, Brah?"
You da'Man !~! :!:
I backpacked water to one I had in my yute!
Now I can have one legal, behind a fence.... :mrgreen:

LOL thanks, and yeah, it is! It's honestly astounding how much utility this thing has with the seats down. Also on the way to the plot I got her stuck in the mud in the Spring when the ground was just really wet and mushy. Turns out the Spark is really good at rocking itself out of getting stuck, you can literally hold the accelerator down gently and run your shifter back and forth between R and D and the response is instant! Sparky deserved a thorough carwash after that.