Electric Cars That Can Tow

The honest reality of EV towing in 2026: the rated capacities are real, but expect range to drop 40 to 55 percent under load. A 320-mile EV truck pulling a 7,000 lb travel trailer realistically goes 130 to 170 miles between charges. Plan around that and EV towing works. Pretend it doesn’t and you end up stranded.

Below is current rated tow capacity for the EVs people actually shop for, plus where each one shines and falls short.

Electric pickup trucks (the real towing options)

Truck	Max tow	Notable	Estimated range while towing 7,000 lb
Chevrolet Silverado EV WT/RST	12,500 lb (up to 20,000 lb on commercial trim)	Big battery, big range	140 to 200 miles
GMC Sierra EV Denali	12,500 lb	Same platform as Silverado EV	140 to 200 miles
Rivian R1T (Max battery)	11,000 lb	Best off-road EV, mature towing UX	130 to 170 miles
Tesla Cybertruck AWD / Cyberbeast	11,000 lb	Stainless body, dual or tri motor	130 to 160 miles
Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range	10,000 lb (with Max Trailer Tow Package)	Familiar truck, Ford ProPower	110 to 150 miles
Ford F-150 Lightning Standard Range	5,000 to 7,700 lb	Cheaper variant, smaller battery	90 to 130 miles
Ram 1500 REV (in production 2026)	Up to 14,000 lb claimed	New platform, ramping up	TBD

The two numbers that matter when shopping: max tow capacity (rated) and battery size in kWh. A bigger battery is the difference between a useful EV tow truck and a science experiment.

If you tow with a Ford built 2021 or later (F-150, including Lightning; F-Series Super Duty 2022+; Ranger 2024+; Expedition 2022+; Maverick 2022+; Transit 2026; Lincoln Navigator), check whether Ford recall 26C10 / NHTSA 26V104000 applies. The recall covers an Integrated Trailer Module software fault affecting trailer brake output on roughly 4.3 million vehicles. OTA fix pushed March 2026.

Electric SUVs that can tow something

Vehicle	Max tow	Use case
Tesla Model X (Long Range/Plaid)	5,000 lb	Boats, light campers
Rivian R1S	7,700 lb	Travel trailers, larger boats
Mercedes EQS SUV	5,500 lb	Light campers, boats
BMW iX	5,500 lb	Same
Audi Q8 e-tron / SQ8 e-tron	4,000 lb	Light trailers
Kia EV9	5,000 lb	Mid-size campers
Cadillac Escalade IQ	8,000 lb	Larger trailers
Cadillac Lyriq	3,500 lb	Small trailers
Hyundai Ioniq 9	5,000 lb	Mid-size trailers
Volvo EX90	5,000 lb	Mid-size trailers
Polestar 3	3,500 lb	Light trailers

Smaller EVs (small trailers only)

Vehicle	Max tow	What this gets you
Hyundai Ioniq 5	1,650 lb (AWD)	Teardrop camper, small utility
Kia EV6	2,300 lb (AWD)	Same plus light boat
VW ID.4	2,700 lb (AWD)	Small camper
Tesla Model Y	3,500 lb (Long Range / Performance)	Small camper or single jet ski
Tesla Model 3	Not rated for towing in U.S.	Not towable
Ford Mustang Mach-E	Not rated for towing	Not towable
Nissan Ariya	1,500 to 3,500 lb depending on trim	Light trailers

Many small EVs are not rated to tow at all in the U.S. market. Always check the owner’s manual; capacity often differs from European specs of the same vehicle.

The range hit nobody warns you about

A 320-mile rated EV truck pulling a flat-front travel trailer (the worst case aerodynamically) at 65 mph in still air will use roughly 2x the energy per mile. Maybe more with a headwind or in cold temperatures.

Real-world examples reported by Edmunds, Recurrent, and Out of Spec Reviews:

Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range, 6,100 lb travel trailer, 65 mph: about 100 to 120 miles between full charges in mild weather
Rivian R1T Max pack, 7,000 lb travel trailer: about 140 to 160 miles
Tesla Cybertruck AWD, 6,500 lb camper: about 130 to 150 miles
Silverado EV WT (very large battery), 7,500 lb trailer: 180 to 220 miles

Cold weather (below 30 F) drops these by another 15 to 25 percent. Hot weather is less punishing but still worse than mild.

Charging infrastructure for towing

The hardest part of EV towing today is charging while still hitched to the trailer. Most DC fast chargers (Tesla Superchargers v3/v4, Electrify America, EVgo) have pull-in stalls with a wall behind. A 35-foot truck plus trailer won’t fit.

Pull-through chargers exist but are rare. Tesla has been adding them at select Supercharger sites starting in 2024. Electrify America has a handful. RV park 50A pedestals work but charge slowly (about 9.6 kW, so 20 to 30 miles of range per hour for a truck with a trailer).

Practical workflow:

Unhitch at the campsite or rest area.
Drive to fast charger.
Charge.
Drive back to trailer.
Hitch up.

That’s tolerable on a road trip if you’re charging once a day. Less tolerable if you need two stops to get there.

When an EV makes sense for towing

Daily driving: charges at home overnight, 320+ miles of range, plenty of cargo
Local trailer hauling: home base near the destination, short trips
Off-grid camping (Rivian, Cybertruck): the truck powers the camp, no generator needed
High-cost-of-gasoline regions where home charging beats $4/gallon diesel

When an EV doesn’t make sense yet

Cross-country towing with tight time pressure
Towing where DC fast chargers have no pull-through stalls
Below-zero winter towing
Trailers above the truck’s rated capacity (Ford Lightning Extended is 10,000 lb max; that won’t pull a 14,000 lb fifth wheel)

For most travel trailers under 7,000 lb and most people who tow 4 to 8 times a year, EVs are now genuinely capable. For full-time RVers crossing the country every week, a diesel pickup is still the simpler answer.

What’s coming

Ram 1500 REV is in production for 2026, with claimed 14,000 lb capacity on the larger battery. Toyota and Honda have hybrid full-size trucks in development. Multiple manufacturers are working on heavier EV pickups with larger batteries specifically for towing. The infrastructure problem is the slowest piece; chargers are getting more pull-through stalls every quarter.