The Ultimate EV Towing Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Towing With An Electric Truck

If you’re reading this EV towing guide, you’re probably thinking about towing with an electric truck or SUV—Rivian, Silverado EV, Sierra EV, Ford Lightning, whatever you drive. I’ve been towing EVs and trailers for over two years, and in this EV towing guide I’ll walk you through safe limits, what affects range, charging while towing, driving tips, and essential safety checks so your next trip is efficient and stress-free.

Table of Contents

• Quick outline
• Understanding tow ratings and how to calculate safe limits
• What impacts EV towing range (and real-world numbers)
• Charging while towing: planning and apps
• Charging reality: time and cost
• Driving, handling and regenerative braking
• How to maximize towing range
• Essential safety checklist before every towing trip
• Final thoughts

Quick outline

• How to determine safe towing capacity and tongue weight
• What impacts towing range (real-world examples)
• Charging strategies and apps to use
• Driving, handling and regenerative braking tips
• Safety checklist before you leave

Understanding tow ratings and how to calculate safe limits

Tow ratings shown by manufacturers (for example, Rivian R1T up to 11,000 lb or Silverado/Sierra EVs up to 10,000 lb) are useful, but they don’t tell the whole story. The critical number for safe towing is payload—what you can safely carry in the tow vehicle which includes the weight placed on the hitch (tongue weight).

Follow this simple math to find your max safe tongue weight:

1. GVWR - Curb Weight = Maximum Payload
2. Maximum Payload - Weight of people & cargo in the tow vehicle = Remaining payload capacity
3. Compare that remaining payload to the vehicle's published maximum tongue weight (usually ~10% of trailer weight). The lower of those two numbers is what you can safely put on the hitch.

Look for the GVWR on your trailer (see image above) and find the tire & loading sticker or payload info inside your tow vehicle to get the numbers you need.  Your vehicle may also have a trailering information sticker as well which will have the GVWR, Curb Weight, and Max payload listed out for you.

Example calculation

• Our Silverado EV RST Vehicle sticker lists max combined occupant + cargo = 1,543 lb (max payload).
• If two people + gear = 500 lb, remaining payload for tongue = 1,043 lb.
• If the vehicle’s maximum tongue weight allowed is 1,000 lb, then max safe tongue weight = 1,000 lb (lower of the two).

Also check your owner's manual for when weight distribution is required—many manufacturers require a weight-distributing hitch above a certain trailer weight (commonly 5,000 lb; Silverado EV specifies 7,000 lb). If required, get that hitch professionally installed.

What impacts EV towing range (and real-world numbers)

Whether gas, diesel, or electric, towing affects range. For EVs, aerodynamics and rolling resistance matter most. A travel trailer is a “worst case”: a large box on wheels with poor aerodynamics and multiple axles increases rolling resistance and wind drag dramatically.

Key factors that affect towing range:

• Aerodynamics of the trailer (boxy travel trailers are worst)
• Number of axles / tires (single axle < tandem axle < triple axle)
• Ground clearance and overall drag
• Weight comes into play on hilly routes (weight matters pulling uphill)
• Battery size (larger battery = longer between charges)
• Speed—above ~60–65 mph efficiency drops quickly
• Weather—wind direction, rain/snow, and cold temperatures

Real example from our towing trip: a Silverado EV with an EPA range of ~460 miles (no trailer) dropped to roughly 200 miles 100%→0% when towing a large travel trailer near the truck’s tow limit. My recorded average efficiency on a 500-mile snapshot was about 0.8 mi/kWh (I saw highs near 1.0–1.1 mi/kWh and lows down to ~0.6–0.7 mi/kWh depending on speed, weather, and terrain).

The 70% rule (practical charging window)

On road trips I use the “70% rule”: avoid charging above 80% and avoid running below 10% to reduce time lost in slow top-of-charge charging and on the low side to protect yourself in case a charger is down. That means you practically use ~70% of the battery on a road trip. For example, a Silverado EV with a 205 kWh pack and an observed towing efficiency of 1.0 mi/kWh would give ~205 miles from 100→0, but using the 70% rule you'd plan for roughly 0.7 × 205 ≈ 144 miles between stops. If efficiency is lower (e.g., 0.8 mi/kWh) your usable range shrinks correspondingly.

Charging while towing: planning and apps

Charging is the elephant in the room. When towing, careful planning and the right tools are essential.

• Use A Better Route Planner (ABRP) premium to model your vehicle, trailer drag, and realistic charging times. I strongly recommend the premium subscription for road-trip planning.
• Use PlugShare to check charger reliability and user feedback—enter a conservative towing range (e.g., 150 miles) and use the radius tool to plan stops.
• Use Google Maps to inspect charger layouts and confirm whether a charger is pull-through or trailer-friendly before you arrive.

Pull-through chargers are ideal when towing a trailer. If a pull-through isn’t available, look for “trailer-friendly” locations where you can unhitch and park the trailer safely while charging. Unhitching and re-hitching took me about 10 minutes each time on our trips—plan for that overhead.

Don’t trust the EV’s built-in predicted range when towing—do the math yourself: usable kWh × observed mi/kWh = expected 100% range, and then apply the 70% rule for conservative planning.

Charging reality: time and cost

Expect charging to add significant time to a long trip. On a ~900-mile drive we spent between 5 hours 20 minutes and 5.5 hours charging—some of that due to chargers not delivering advertised speeds or being unavailable. Even with ideal chargers, charging stops are still substantial on long-haul towing trips. Charging cost while towing is slightly higher than fueling a comparable gasoline truck for the same trip, but if you don’t tow often, the EV savings most of the time usually offset the occasional higher tow-trip cost.

Driving, handling and regenerative braking

Electric trucks have advantages and quirks when towing:

• Instant torque helps you merge and accelerate more confidently than many gas trucks—don’t abuse it, but it’s useful.
• Regenerative braking (one-pedal driving) recovers energy on deceleration and reduces wear on vehicle brakes—turn it on and use it while towing to extend range.
• Always take a test drive after hooking up and set the trailer brake controller gain properly. The controller determines how much the trailer brakes engage when you apply the tow vehicle brakes—get this dialed in before a long trip.

How to maximize towing range

These practical tips help you stretch each charge:

• Keep speed around 60 mph for the best trade-off between progress and efficiency. Speeds 75–80 mph can drop efficiency dramatically (often to ~0.5 mi/kWh or less with a big trailer).
• Reduce speed if you’re short on range—dropping to 55, 50 or even 45 mph can improve efficiency significantly and help you reach a charger successfully if your battery is really low.
• Minimize aerodynamic drag: lower roof cargo, hitch aerodynamic aids where possible, and choose flatter routes if feasible.
• Keep tire pressures at manufacturer-recommended cold PSI on both tow vehicle and trailer—underinflated tires hurt efficiency and safety.
• Travel at night where charger availability and access are easier; if possible, stay overnight at a campground and use your portable Level 2  EV Charger to save on DC fast charging time/cost the next day.

Essential safety checklist before every towing trip

Safety is number one—this applies to EVs and ICE vehicles alike. Don’t skip these checks:

1. Weigh the trailer fully loaded (including fresh water) and note tongue weight. Know your trailer’s actual loaded weight versus its GVWR.
2. Balance and distribute load so approximately 60% of trailer cargo weight is in front of the trailer axle(s).
3. Confirm you have the required weight-distributing hitch if towing above the vehicle’s threshold (e.g., 5,000 or 7,000 lb for some EVs).
4. Check tire pressures on tow vehicle and trailer; inflate to manufacturer recommended cold PSI.
5. Tighten lug nuts to trailer manufacturer torque spec in a star pattern before every trip (our Grand Design spec = 100 ft-lb).
6. Bring adapters: Tesla to J1772, Tesla Supercharger adapter (where compatible), and a 7-way adapter that resolves PWM camera power issues on certain GM vehicles so you can keep your backup camera working while towing.

Lastly, leave early and allow extra time in your schedule. Rushing is the enemy of safe and enjoyable towing. If you plan conservatively and use the strategies in this ev towing guide, towing with an electric truck is absolutely doable—and enjoyable if you embrace the adventure.

Final thoughts

Towing with an electric truck or SUV takes more planning than towing with a conventional truck, but the advantages—instant torque, regenerative braking, and lower running costs (when not towing) most of the year—make it well worth it. This ev towing guide should give you a solid framework: calculate safe tongue weight, understand how aerodynamics/axles/speed/weather affect range, plan charging stops with ABRP/PlugShare/Google Maps, and run through the safety checklist before you head out.

If you have a specific vehicle/trailer combination you want help calculating or planning for, drop your questions below and I’ll help you work through the numbers. Safe towing and happy trails!

What do you think about our EV Towing Guide? Share your thoughts and experiences!

If this helped you, please considering buying me a coffee.  Did I get something wrong?  Let me know in the comments section or visit our Link Tree to contact us