Towing the RAV4

[Promedic]

I know it`s not recommended to tow the RAV4 EV with the front wheels on the road.
Last week i had to drive with "LO" on the GOM to a charging stations. I got the station with the very last electron of the battery.
My Question know: if the car would stop some miles before, can I tow the car to the charger?
Its much easy to get someone with a rope than to find a towing truck.
For the mechanical problem (no towing eye) I can find a solution.
How far can I drive in turtle mode?
If I can switch the car to "ready" Is it better to tow in "neutral" or in "drive", or in "drive with recuperation"?
Does anyone have experiance with this?

 

[jimbo69ny]

I know it`s not recommended to tow the RAV4 EV with the front wheels on the road.
Last week i had to drive with "LO" on the GOM to a charging stations. I got the station with the very last electron of the battery.
My Question know: if the car would stop some miles before, can I tow the car to the charger?
Its much easy to get someone with a rope than to find a towing truck.
For the mechanical problem (no towing eye) I can find a solution.
How far can I drive in turtle mode?
If I can switch the car to "ready" Is it better to tow in "neutral" or in "drive", or in "drive with recuperation"?
Does anyone have experiance with this?

I have no personal experience with this but I am sure others can contribute real world examples.

However I can say if you tow the car with it in "Ready" and all 4 wheels on the ground, your car will regen if it is in drive. If it is in neutral, it will not gain any power. However by keeping it in drive you will be increasing the drag on the vehicle that is towing you. Meaning their vehicle will be working a little harder and burning a little more fuel. Try pushing the car while it is in drive and compare that to pushing it in neutral and you will see the difference.

 

[dstjohn99]

I don't see any difference between coasting down a long grade in D or B, or being towed in D or B aside from the mechanical tow connection. I've been meaning to make a template so I can cut access holes in the front bumper cover that would allow access to the tow bar mounts and fit the factory ICE hole covers. But it's not very high on the priority list.

 

[Promedic]

I found a solution for towing the car without drilling holes in the bumper: :idea:
I bought two cargo slings (2to, 2m) and an elastic towing rope. The slings I fixed through the big hole in the triangular control arm (see pictures).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aq1qigwejpma1rr/IMG_0911.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8sxh8ev1cv3beck/IMG_0906.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e70vze6n9cmnfhj/IMG_0899.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gkzzn24twc6pwqw/IMG_0901.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8vagq9s1o2iqygh/IMG_0905.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9btqm9lhgjrkfx7/IMG_0908.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7nldgg0fejgvh8y/IMG_0910.JPG?dl=0[
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aq1qigwejpma1rr/IMG_0911.JPG?dl=0
It´s better to be prepared if really necessary.

 

[jimbo69ny]

I found a few rv tow behind bars that fit the Rav. Not cheap though.

http://www.campingworld.com/roadmaster-sterling-all-terrain-tow-bar

 

[n3ckf]

I have exactly once, ran out of battery while driving the Rav4.
I called AAA and they sent a flatbed truck.

Even though i had literally run out of charge, there was enough charge that 30 min later when the truck arrived, i could put the car in Neutral so that the wheels would unlock while it was being winched onto the flatbed (but i sat in the car the whole time then shut it off and when it was on the flatbed). We reversed the process at the nearest charging station (which was only 2 miles away, *almost* made it...)

Even my Tesla Model3 has warnings about towing the car with 4 wheels on the ground so i'm guessing there's a really good reason to never do that.
(I doubt you'd hurt anything in a few hundred feet like that but i wouldn't try to actually *charge* the car like that)

 

[CharlesMog]

Not sure what category this falls into, but does anyone know of a tuner that helps with towing? Im looking at buying an RV to tow behind the Jeep, and was wondering if any of the tuners out there had a towing option.

Thanks

 

[Alex UA]

Set such a hook, attached to two bolts of the front mountings of the electric motor mount

https://ibb.co/rQ1z5NZ
https://ibb.co/4fgSwXN