In a lighter moment at TFLtruck HQ, we decided to take a look into the future of EV trucks. How? By seeing whether “Tweety”, our tiny 2015 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, could tow a progression of trucks: Our Mopar-modified 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, a stock 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss, and finally, our heavily-modified Super Tremor Ford F-250 with a Four Wheel Camper in the bed. The idea is to show how hard—or is it “how easy?”—it is for a minuscule electric motor to haul big and heavy loads. The results should give us some admittedly unscientific insights into whether EV trucks of the future will be up to the task.
Smart ForTwo’s Secret Sauce
Out of the factory, the Smart ForTwo EV packed all of 74 horsepower and 95 lb-ft. torque. An aftermarket tune from Steinbauer boosted those numbers to 89 horsepower and 115 lb-ft. torque. Is it enough to pull a roughly 5,000-lbs. Jeep Gladiator, then a nearly 5,800-lbs. Chevy Trail Boss (once you factor in our Roofnest pop-up tent on the bed and André at the wheel), and finally our 9,000-lbs. F-250/camper combo? Check, check, and check!
So what to do now? Strap together all three trucks and attach them to the Smart EV, of course. The combined weight of trucks and drivers is nearly 20,000 pounds. Can it do it? You’ll have to watch the video below to find out exactly what happens.
Note: Also, Andre and Roman attempt to pull the big Ford with their bare hands.
