VW ID.4 As a Tow Vehicle

CatDaddy

I'm publishing this in case anybody else needs this information:

I recently purchased a 2022 TAB 320S Boondock in the Medford, OR area and towed it to Portland, OR using my 2023 VW ID.4 Pro S Plus AWD EV. Here are the specifics:

Tow Vehicle:

Total HP: 295 BHP total from front and rear motors. It's a dual motor EV.

Front Motor Torque: 99 lb-ft

Rear Motor Torque: 229 lb-ft

GVWR: 6041 lbs (2740 kg)

Payload: 949 lb (435 kg)

Towing Capacity Braked: 2700 lg (1224 kg)

Towing Capacity Unbraked: 1650 lb (748 kg)

EV Driving Mode: ECO

Brake Controller: Curt Triflex NEXT (Curt PN 51146) and the vehicle specific wiring harness (Curt PN 51528)

Draw Bar: 1.25" (VW PN 11A092730)

Trailer:

Model:2022 NuCamp TAB 320S Boondock

Tires: 235/75R15 Rainer Apex AT (E rated ST tires)

My ID.4 had plenty of torque and power; no issues starting, stopping or pulling hills, even steep hills even in ECO mode. I didn't try any of the other, higher power, modes because I didn't need them. I didn't experience any sway. It was pretty easy to forget I was pulling a trailer on the highway. My only complaints are a great deal of popping, snapping and bouncing at low speeds and, of course, range. I'm going to get a hitch tightener, which should stop the popping and snapping. I think the bouncing is coming from the Boondock axle and ridiculously rigid tires.

I found that my range was about 60% of what it would have been without the trailer. It seems like speed was not as big of a factor as I expected. On the way down to pick up the trailer, I averaged about 3.3 miles/kWh. On the way back, with the trailer, I got between 1.6 and 1.9 miles/kWh. In the hills north of Medford, I was getting 1.7 miles per kWh.  Once I got north of Roseburg, where it flattens out, I was getting more like 1.9 miles/kWh. The power consumption hardly changed at speeds from 55 mph to 65 mph (the speed limit in Oregon).

I'm getting around 2.1 miles/kWh around town at 40-45 mph. I intentionally drove the ID.4 with the trailer up the steepest paved hill I know of in the area to see how it did. It didn't struggle, but the range when down to 1.5 miles/kWh while pulling the hill.

Overall, I am pleased with how the ID.4 tows, but a range of ~125 miles is really limiting and dropping the trailer to charge is a real hassle. I did manage to pull through to a charger in Sutherlin, OR by testing the off-road capability of the 320S Boondock; it went fine!

I spent more than an hour in the parking lot of a Target in Springfield, OR trying to get charged. There were only 4 chargers there, one wasn't working and another was occupied by a car that finished charging 30 minutes before I arrived.  I dropped the trailer in the far reaches of the parking lot. By the time I finished charging, people had parked all around the trailer, which only added to the stress of picking it up again.

I will probably invest in a rear view camera and maybe a TPMS system for the trailer, a hitch tightener and improvements to make it easier to drop the trailer for charging. There has to be a faster, easier and less stressful way to drop the trailer to charge. I'm open to suggestions.

I got pretty good at backing up the ID.4 to the hitch coupler (without a wheel) but the wheel was more forgiving. However, the wheel is a total pain to get attached; the pin does not easily align to the holes in the jack post. Summoning deities and demons didn't seem to help.

I will post helpful hints and photos for the brake controller installation if anybody is interested. Hint: The OEM plug for the brake controller is NOT where Curt says it is. It is in the kick panel to the left of the dead pedal not under the door kick. Once I found the plug, installation was a breeze.