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Startups like Evotrex, Pebble, and Lightship are heavily pushing “active-assist” trailers. These are campers with their own built-in battery packs and electric motors designed to eliminate EV towing range anxiety. They basically push themselves down the highway to take the load off your tow vehicle, letting you go longer between charges.
It sounds brilliant at first glance and it may legitimately be the answer for many people. But, putting all of that battery in the trailer comes with some limitations and problems that many people aren’t talking about. It’s time we addressed them!
Before we dive into each problem, I want to quickly tell you how I figured most of this out: by getting actual experience traveling all over the country pulling trailers with EVs. Between my Bolt EUV and my Silverado EV, I’ve towed over 13,000 miles visiting national parks, state parks, and really cool boondocking locations on other public lands.
If this is a topic you’d like to follow more, I’d like to invite you to check out my personal project, Charge to the Parks. We are dedicated to proving you can explore America’s wildest and most beautiful places on electric power. If you want to follow my daily adventures and see what I’m testing next, come hang out with me on BlueSky, too.
