Global Courant
Graduates from Tesla, Rivian, Proterra, Lucid and Zoox have used their expertise in automotive EV design and development to illuminate the stagnant RV industry with their company called Lightship.
Founded in 2020, the first-ever all-electric motorhome manufacturer was founded by men and women on a mission to move travel trailers light years ahead. The first intergalactic space traveler is the purpose-built, all-electric Lightship L1 battery powered travel trailer – EV not included.
The company’s co-founders, Ben Parker and Toby Kraus, are well versed in breaking the mold, to innovative, outside the box thinking in a segment perfectly content with, well, inside the box. thinking paths.
Both were previously employed by Tesla while that all-electric start-up really shook up the car market, Ben and Toby are rethinking and electrifying from the ground up. Even with the name Lightship, you can hear it testifies to the duo’s past immersion in Tesla culture.
This trailer is not traditional as it has been retrofitted with an electric heart instead of propane and electric (via gas powered generators) systems. It takes a perfectly clean-sheet approach, resulting in an aerodynamic, self-driving travel trailer with a seamless, connected, all-electric ecosystem, including devices, functions and modern amenities.
Lightship says the L1 is three times more aerodynamic than a traditional travel trailer, which is very important when it comes to maximizing the range of the tow rig (or fuel savings). You can only understand how good an idea of aerodynamics would be if you’ve pulled a brick-and-mortar traditional travel trailer before.
This trailer has no extendable parts, but the roof does slide up for more space. The idea is not necessarily new, but the execution is newer. It’s like a really modern, sophisticated, hard “slide-up” pop-up camper.
The Lightship L1 shows that it is manufactured by Tesla guys and has a self-powered system. It has up to 80 kWh of built-in battery capacity, which helps the travel trailer propel itself to aid in towing, resulting in minimal loss of efficiency for the towing vehicle by aiding rather than hindering the starting process. It also works perfectly in conjunction with the travel trailer’s battery system (backed by up to 3kW of solar power) to provide a week of off-grid power without recharging, Lightship said.
The Lightship L1 can accommodate four to six occupants, depending on configuration, and is 27 feet long (slightly longer than the new Toro Bravo 4×4 Silver Spear) and 8 feet wide. The gross vehicle weight (that is fully loaded) is 7,500 pounds.
Main image: Monica Gonderman
