The future of rv/ev towing electric trailer

[swngdncr]

Of all things, ran into the owner of this company camping overnight at a harvest hosts site in sierra foothills. This might be our next rv/ev. https://www.lightshiprv.com/
This would take care of the range issue….

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[O’Majestic1’slightnigF150]

Lightship had better hurry and be able to differentiate their products.

https://www.airstream.com/air-lab/concepts/estream/

 

[ryan]

Can you charge while driving? I'm guessing no but I guess I haven't tried it.

 

[RickLightning]

Lightship had better hurry and be able to differentiate their products.

https://www.airstream.com/air-lab/concepts/estream/

Lightship startup.

Airstream and other players are multi-billion companies.

 

[swngdncr]

Can you charge while driving? I'm guessing no but I guess I haven't tried it.

I don't know, but looking at the E-stream with all the panels on the roof, I would think that you could charge while driving.

 

[Tony Burgh]

It would be great if the trailer batteries could charge from 30 amp bed plug while charging the Lightning. PERV? Maybe not that acronym.

 

[climateguy]

If you are towing with something like an F-150 Lightning, you've already got a propulsion unit capable of towing that trailer. It makes no sense to add a trailer with its own propulsion unit. Who expects a trailer to drive down the road itself?

This trailer would be useful for the extra battery capacity it adds to the combined tow vehicle/trailer unit, which is said to be 40 kWh. 80kWh is optional. Considering this is a "concept" item, stand by for actual real data. Chevrolet says they will sell a Chevrolet Bolt 65 kWh battery for $17,000 or so.

The Lightning extended range battery is said to be around 132 kWh, so adding a trailer carrying an extra 40kWh adds 30%. 80kWh adds 60%.

As far as the solar panels on it go, the claim on the webpage is "solar generation capacity" is "up to 3 Kw". This isn't going to translate into 3kWh stored into a battery.

Leaving the battery it contains and the solar panels on top of it aside, this trailer doesn't seem to be aimed at buyers who consider how much things cost compared to what they want to use it for....

 

[invertedspear]

It makes no sense to add a trailer with its own propulsion unit.

Sure it does, as long as it's working in-concert with the tow vehicle, having it's own propulsion eases the load on the tow vehicle and makes it so you can go further. Down-side is the complication of now having to charge both the tow vehicle and the trailer at charge stops.

I think the optimal solution in the RV space is to improve aerodynamics and light weight materials before focusing on things like self-propulsion. But these trailers seem to want to do it all.

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