Kulba teardrop trailer with an electric car: real-world test

We’re getting more and more questions about the impact of a teardrop trailer on the energy consumption and driving range of an electric car. It’s hard to give an exact calculation, but we’re happy to share the real-world experience of our testers, Jan & Laura. Over several weekends they tried different teardrop models to see how a teardrop trailer affects the driving range of an EV.

Test 1: Autumn camping trip with friends

• When: October
• Temperature: approx. 15°C
• Group: 4 adults + dog
• Car: Skoda Enyaq 85v / 77kWh battery
• Trailer: Kulba Rebel with Thule Approach L rooftop tent
• Trailer weight: 660kg + rooftop tent = 730kg total

Jan & Laura headed out with two friends. With four people in total, they chose a teardrop trailer with an extra rooftop tent so everyone had enough sleeping space. To limit the extra drag from the tent, they went for a slim, foldable model: the Thule Approach L.

First, their consumption that week without a teardrop, at an average speed of 100 km/h: Jan achieved an average of 19kWh/100km.

That weekend they drove to a Campspace in Wachtebeke. Most of the journey was on the motorway at a maximum of 100km/h. With the Kulba Rebel and rooftop tent, consumption increased to 25.5kWh/100 km, which comes down to 34% higher consumption.

Charging experience

With a teardrop trailer behind the car, you can’t use every charging station, mainly because of the extra length and reduced manoeuvrability. Drive-through chargers are by far the most practical. At most fast chargers along the motorway, this isn’t an issue. In apps like A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) you can even set this as a filter.

One clear advantage of a teardrop trailer that’s under 4 metres long: you can easily park it in a regular parking space and then go charge the car separately. Unhitching the trailer and parking it takes at most 5 minutes, and then you simply drive to the charger. Meanwhile, you’ve got your outdoor kitchen with you, so you can cook or enjoy a relaxed lunch - a perfect break on a travel day.

Charging strategy on the road

We noticed it’s wise to always charge with enough reserve. Hills or traffic jams can cause consumption to rise quickly. That’s why Jan & Laura chose to charge up to at least 80% each time. The last 20% charges more slowly anyway, so shorter but smarter charging stops are more efficient overall.

Test 2: Valentine’s weekend in freezing temperatures

• When: February
• Temperature: around 0°C
• Group: 2 adults, baby & dog
• Car: Skoda Enyaq 85v / 77kWh battery
• Trailer: Kulba Woody
• Trailer weight: 600kg

For a Valentine’s weekend, Jan & Laura went out again, this time with their 11-month-old son Florian and their dog. Day and night the temperature hovered around freezing, although it was sunny during the day.

This test was carried out with a Kulba Woody instead of the Rebel. The Woody is slightly lighter thanks to smaller wheels and a different finish. There was no diesel heater, and a few cabinets had been removed and replaced with a child’s bed (140 cm). Their destination was a Campspace in Serskamp, mostly accessible via regional roads (no long motorway stretches).

Because of the cold, the car’s general reference consumption without a teardrop rose from 19 kWh/100km (October) to 23.5kWh/100km (February).

With the Kulba Woody attached, they ended up at 30.5kWh/100 km, which is about 30% higher consumption.

The Woody is lighter, and there were only two adults in the car instead of four. From this we can conclude that freezing temperatures did not significantly increase the additional consumption caused by the teardrop itself. The cold mainly affects the base consumption of the car, not the percentage overhead from towing.

How to optimise consumption

Want to keep your energy use as low as possible? Then 90km/h is the sweet spot for cruising speed. At that speed, you often end up driving in the slipstream of trucks, which noticeably reduces energy consumption.

In our tests, this lowered consumption by an average of 3kWh/100km. For longer trips, this is likely the ideal approach. For shorter driving days, you can of course drive a bit faster and simply charge at your destination.

In summary

• Expect roughly 30–35% extra energy consumption when towing a teardrop trailer with an EV.
• Cold weather raises the car’s base consumption, but doesn’t dramatically change the percentage overhead from the trailer.
• 90km/h is an efficient cruising speed, especially when you can drive in a truck’s slipstream.
• Drive-through chargers and planning via apps like ABRP make travelling with a teardrop trailer and EV very manageable.
• A teardrop trailer under 4 metres is easy to park separately, so you can charge the car without hassle.

To conclude, here's a quick overview:

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This article and the test results were provided by Droplife, official Kulba teardrop trailer dealer in Belgium. The tests were carried out using their rental fleet of Kulba teardrop trailers. Curious to learn more or experience it yourself? Get in touch with Droplife!