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Reader Question: We want to use our electric car for our next caravan holiday, but are worried about finding charging ports along the route. Are there apps that show charging spots suitable for caravans?

Answer: There are several apps that can show you where electric car charging ports are in France. 

These range from apps provided by vehicle manufacturers, port providers, the French grid operator, and third-party apps. 

Some also have a review and comment system, allowing up to date information to be passed on between drivers. 

It is worth trying a few and seeing what works best for you.

For longer journeys on major roads, official traffic watchdog Bison Futé has a showing available ports. 

Read more: How many electric vehicle charging ports are in France and where?

Park the caravan if necessary

If you need to charge your vehicle at a stop on the motorway or elsewhere, the space to park your car while it is being charged may not be big enough to fit both your vehicle and a towed caravan. 

In this case, you will need to unhitch the caravan and park it somewhere (either in the normal car park or ‘lorry/heavy goods’ area depending on the stop in question). 

Having said this, at least one network of charging areas, , promises that its charging areas, which include many in France, are suitable, as the spaces are in an open format similar to service station petrol pumps. 

It offers an app to help locate them, but we are not aware of other apps that specifically offer to help find caravan-accessible charging areas. 

Having said which, many of the latest Tesla ‘Supercharger’ charging sites are reported to be suitable, often with the car entering the port front first, but leaving room for the caravan behind. It states its Tesla app can help you locate them under a ‘Trouver un chargeur’ tab.

Read more: Understand the rules for caravans in France

Ensure you can tow your caravan 

In the early 2000s it was highly unlikely anyone would consider towing caravans with an EV, however the longer range of recent models has made it more feasible. 

You can check the vehicle handbook to see that it is suitable for towing, as some EVs are not adapted for this. Also, a car has limits as to its towing capacity, which you can check on the carte grise registration document (if you subtract the figure in line F2 from that in F3, you get the weight the vehicle can safely tow). 

Depending on what licence categories you have, there will also be a limit as to the combined weight of car and caravan that is legal, which can be a drawback for EVs as they are usually heavier than petrol or diesel cars due to the battery. Some caravan manufacturers are now taking account of this to create lighter models. 

Drivers on a standard ‘B’ licence can drive and tow vehicles up to a combined weight of 3,500kg without needing additional qualifications, covering a few types of caravans (note incoming EU laws are eventually set to change these limits). 

If all of this is in order, you can tow your caravan on an electric car. 

Several campsites now offer electric vehicle charging ports, allowing you to charge your vehicle before leaving a site, giving you extra mileage before needing to stop.

Check the camp’s services to see if these will be available. A number of unofficial websites provide Europe-wide maps of camping locations with electric vehicle charging ports.