Only need trailer brakes if the gross weight is above 3000lbs in my jurisdiction. I also keep the speed reasonable when towing to prevent jackknifing or oscillation.
I think I implicitly assumed that the 40% reduction in range you mentioned was due to a larger load than it sounds like you are carrying. It would be interesting to see if the car was using regenerative braking less with the increased load. Also the break down of where the extra energy is going (i.e. aero, rolling resistance, hills and acceleration etc). Would depend a lot on the type of driving you are doing, but I would have imagined that extra mass is less of a problem for electric vehicles since there is the opportunity to recover potential energy.
Its the aerodynamics for sure that kill my range and double my per mile energy usage. Petrol tow vehicles have so much more energy density available to them, their aerodynamics are less of an issue.
Still, no problems towing a Waverunner to the beach or an antique sewing machine to a friend’s house from a craigslist find.
