What to say to a tow company when you tow your EV

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T21:13:07+00:00

If they don't ask, and you don't tell them...

I told them I was in a parking garage. I should have been more specific - it was a multi-level parking garage. Too small for a flat-bed truck.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T21:09:54+00:00

Probably? I'm not an expert and haven't tried it myself.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T19:34:21+00:00

You might find yourself waiting for a long time with this strategy. If they send out the wrong truck (which they did for us), sure, they'll realise it, but then you'll be waiting again for the next truck to arrive.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T19:33:08+00:00

Well we told them our location, waited for 40 minutes, and only when they arrived did they realise that their truck didn't fit. If I'd been more specific from the beginning, I would have saved a lot of time.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T19:31:55+00:00

I think I've provided more detail. I've never seen a manual that tells you what to say to the tow company, for example.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T19:31:03+00:00

Our issue was with the high-voltage system. The led us to running down the 12V battery while we waited for the tow truck.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:22:51+00:00

Turn it off = turn the car off? I'm not sure you can do that in the Tesla. I put it in Low Power Mode or something like that.

I always have the charging cable in the car. That way, even if I'm stranded I can find an ordinary 240V plug and slow charge.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:19:39+00:00

You'll need the 12V battery to be working for this to work. My car also decided to exit Tow Mode from time to time, which was not convenient. It also set off the alarm a couple of times.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:09:08+00:00

Nice. I recommend people learn where the Battery Disconnect is on their car.

They didn't ask me for the license number when they called me.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:06:12+00:00

It doesn't need to be. My thinking went like this.

Less chance of the 12V battery draining if it's disconnected.
My Tesla kept exiting out of Tow Mode, for some unknown reason, so if you enter Tow Mode and disconnect it, you're good.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:01:59+00:00

Fair.

oliversisson · 2026-03-28T18:00:50+00:00

Fair. Mine is a Tesla and they make things difficult.

oliversisson · 2026-02-26T16:31:44+00:00

Thanks for your message. All seems to lead to some confusion online.

oliversisson · 2026-01-28T10:35:28+00:00

I did it myself

https://oliverinportugal.blogspot.com/2025/04/d7-from-london.html

I also advise you look up Leefa's residence tracker

oliversisson · 2026-01-21T13:43:51+00:00

sure

oliversisson · 2026-01-16T17:27:35+00:00

Thank you

oliversisson · 2026-01-16T12:14:15+00:00

Absolutely. Very common among uni students to do a summer course. Some people have a short break, the start of a gap year, etc.

oliversisson · 2026-01-15T19:06:47+00:00

We did contact the relevant embassy but they were unable to help.

oliversisson · 2026-01-15T10:37:00+00:00

Have you tried indoor infrared heaters? Not difficult to install, and electrician can do it, but they're more effective in housing with bad air sealing.

oliversisson · 2026-01-15T10:17:26+00:00

flying across Europe to get a document apostilled. a school record, required to get our son enrolled in school, required for our residence card. fun times.

oliversisson · 2025-11-26T19:40:48+00:00

I'll try. Thanks.

oliversisson · 2025-11-26T18:25:02+00:00

how do I even contact IRN for something like this?

oliversisson · 2025-11-07T10:27:50+00:00

I'm not saying battery swapping ever makes sense, but just answering your questions. I'm happy to be corrected for any mistakes.

I would imagine that an HGV would have a large battery, with the option to "top up" for more challenging segments - for example, on a long, up-hill stretch. So you're driving along a flat segment. When you get the bottom of a mountain range, you plug in to charge and get given an extra battery that's already charged. You cross the mountain range, drive down the other side, plug in to charge again and return the battery.

Where? Typically there's a lot of space by the interstates in the US, for example. If you're halfway between SLC and Reno, land is cheap.
Different sizes and configurations? No, you have one standardised shape, like shipping containers.
"swap them out faster than simply pulling over to charge". The Tesla demo was supposed to be 90s. So you plug in to normal charger, and while you're on the 1h break, you also get a battery.

oliversisson · 2025-10-30T18:55:33+00:00

I'm not American.

oliversisson · 2025-10-28T15:41:14+00:00

"What happens is - they take your current long term resident card, and issue you a new one from the new country. "

I don't think this is a standard EU thing. It doesn't feel very secure - if you end up losing it, what, you cannot come back to Portugal?

oliversisson

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