Hitchless towing

[yukongold]

Hitchless towing?
The future is coming - - and it's gonna be cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajs57ELvPiM&t=1s

[TitanMike]

An interesting concept however where's the benefit. In my mind there's no benefit for the RV world as now what was previously a non-powered vehicle (the trailer) now has to have essentially the same powertrain as the tow vehicle. Only thing removed is the driver.

Perhaps it would have an advantage in the motor freight industry where two trucks could be moved with only one driver but why? Today we have trucks that can move three trailers with only one driver so where's the benefit?

Like I said, "Interesting".

[Rhumblefish]

Oh, I don't know - theres a little potential for the Motorhome group to run with a toad that doesn't need to be physically attached to the car.

Or, on the TT side, for a lead vehicle with travel trailer to bring a second car behind it, so that all the drivers and passengers can stay in one car together (thinking about a family with a little kid and a baby. Whole family in one car gets the addition of a parent that can caretake the baby while one driver manages the TV, TT and unconnected toad). Family now has a TT and a get around mobile onsite.

This last one would come in handy if one parent wants to stay in camp with the kids (AND have a vehicle at their disposal), and the other has work/commitments that they need to be present for.

[IsleDog]

as they said in the video, i cant see the market asking for this. its an interesting concept but i dont understand what the need would be. and i wont even get started on what happens when that communication system is hacked or is disrupted.

Kudos to Toyota for getting it to work.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by IsleDog

as they said in the video, i cant see the market asking for this. its an interesting concept but i dont understand what the need would be. and i wont even get started on what happens when that communication system is hacked or is disrupted.

Kudos to Toyota for getting it to work.

After giving this some more thought I believe Toyota did this, designed and built their prototype, in order to grab a handful of patents. This way anyone who figures it's a real need and a viable product will have to come to them for permission to pursue.

[BehindBars]

This looks like the answer to a question nobody asked.

In the motorhome/toad world, I can tow my car and it has no notable impact on the motorhome fuel economy. If the toad was self driving and following, it’s engine would need to propel it, and overall fuel costs would rise. So, tell me, why would I want to do this?

[JimM2109S]

My boat's outboard is cooled from the water it is run in. I don't see how I'd be able to cool the outboard while it is hitchless following the Ranger, and I really don't believe the 90 2s will accommodate a prop replacing fan blade large enough to push it fast enough to keep up with the Ranger. I'd also have to get a different tongue jack - haven't seen one with a 15" wheel yet.

I see this as a useless concept. TitanMike probably has the best reason for this concept - patents.

[GalsofEscape]

hum - my mind went to the electric vehicle issues with range loss ... would this enable a fully electric vehicle to tow a trailer without loss of range? the trailer could have a huge battery bank to give the trailer its own range, and the electric vehicle only needs to supply the directions? or enable any vehicle to "tow". just thinking outside a weird box.

[NavyLCDR]

What happens when someone cuts in between the tow vehicle and the towed vehicle? Does the towed vehicle honk at them and give them a robotic finger salute?

[yukongold]

From the RV Magazine article:
https://www.rv.com/rv/towing/toyota-...ure-of-towing/

"Recently, Toyota shared that it is working on a way to eliminate those issues entirely. The company says that it is developing a hitchless towing system that removes the physical connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer or dinghy. Instead, it replaces the hitch with an autonomous driving system that would allow trailers and cars to follow along entirely on their own.

Toyota says that it has been developing the system for a number of months now and will soon begin testing it on actual roads. However, despite making impressive progress, the technology is probably years away from making its way into a production vehicle. Still, it holds a lot of promise for the future when semi-autonomous electric travel trailers could tag along behind even a small car that wouldn’t normally be able to tow a camper."

For now the trailer would need a separate drive system. As fast as technology advances, who knows what is coming. It wasn't that long ago that cooking without heat (microwave), charging your phone without plugging it in, or even voice control of items (Alexa, i.e.) would have been considered science fiction by the average person.

Not having to invest in a big, heavy, expensive truck would be a bonus, IMO. Not having to worry about payload would be a bonus, too. Biggest change (for now) that I see is that the tandem axle in the middle of the RV would need to be replaced with axles fore and aft like a car/truck for stability.

[yukongold]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

What happens when someone cuts in between the tow vehicle and the towed vehicle? Does the towed vehicle honk at them and give them a robotic finger salute?

In the video they mention that they are maintaining a large distance between the vehicles for now, during testing. That implies that the distance between vehicles is arbitrary and changeable. Setting the distance to 3-4-5 feet would not give another vehicle room to cut in. As someone mentioned, a bigger worry may be what happens if the signal is lost or hacked or the computer locks up? Another glitch might be what happens if several of these systems are in close proximity to each other? Would the signals interfere with each other?

[TitanMike]

Still, it holds a lot of promise for the future when semi-autonomous electric travel trailers could tag along behind even a small car that wouldn’t normally be able to tow a camper."

Wouldn't the statement in bold really turn the travel trailer into just an semi-autonomous "Motorhome"?


Another thought, when these "paired vehicles approaches a stop light that suddenly turns yellow, how does the second vehicle avoid running the inevitable red light? If they maintain any significant gap I can foresee anxious motorcyclists ending up as "hood ornaments".

[GalsofEscape]

Originally Posted by yukongold

From the RV Magazine article:
https://www.rv.com/rv/towing/toyota-...ure-of-towing/

"Recently, Toyota shared that it is working on a way to eliminate those issues entirely. The company says that it is developing a hitchless towing system that removes the physical connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer or dinghy. Instead, it replaces the hitch with an autonomous driving system that would allow trailers and cars to follow along entirely on their own.

Toyota says that it has been developing the system for a number of months now and will soon begin testing it on actual roads. However, despite making impressive progress, the technology is probably years away from making its way into a production vehicle. Still, it holds a lot of promise for the future when semi-autonomous electric travel trailers could tag along behind even a small car that wouldn’t normally be able to tow a camper."

For now the trailer would need a separate drive system. As fast as technology advances, who knows what is coming. It wasn't that long ago that cooking without heat (microwave), charging your phone without plugging it in, or even voice control of items (Alexa, i.e.) would have been considered science fiction by the average person.

Not having to invest in a big, heavy, expensive truck would be a bonus, IMO. Not having to worry about payload would be a bonus, too. Biggest change (for now) that I see is that the tandem axle in the middle of the RV would need to be replaced with axles fore and aft like a car/truck for stability.

Yep - progress over the years has certainly changed alot of how we live our lives....