Interesting new EV travel trailer from Airstream.

[Reisender]

Kinda cool.

https://www.airstream.com/blog/the-airstream-estream-concept-an-electrifying-promise-for-the-future-...

[Mayor30]

I wonder how much heavier it is with the batteries? Also, all electric appliances are going to eat up a lot of power. Anything with a heating element draws a lot of current. It would seem propane to power the stove,water heater and furnace would be a better choice.

[propchef]

There's a guy on the AS forums who is in the final stages of an electric Globetrotter 25 FBT. It's amazing. He's even figured out how to use the generator from his F150 while towing. It's impressive. He uses two diesel Espar heaters for the inside heat. 2-burner induction and a Bosch electric 8-gallon water heater.

He took weight into consideration, both overall (it went down) and where it's placed. It's an amazing build and built to boondock.

[Reisender]

TravelinDog wrote:

austinjenna wrote:
I see it as more gimmicky than anything. They are already overpriced in my opinion and this will just boost the price up more. Just more junk to break.

^^This^^
Airstreams are very overpriced for the cramped space they have inside. Would the battery bank power the furnace, water heater and stove as long as 2 30lb propane tanks? I seriously doubt it.
We had a vintage 1963 Airstream Globetrotter and it was very cramped inside. We recently looked at a $90,000+ Airstream at an RV show and they are still just as cramped inside, though more luxuriously cramped.

I kinda lean this way as well. In a smaller trailer like that it seems a waste to use the battery pack for generating heat wether it be for water, cooking or trailer heat. Maybe something like an Alde hydronic system that allows the user to choose propane or electric or a heat pump with propane backup. But electric for those three heating needs would be limiting in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see what these kind of self propelled trailers actually use for house systems. It will also be interesting to see if they are able to be towed by anything or if the tow vehicle will need some sort of integrating software package. I know there is a group in Europe using an Audi SUV EV as a test vehicle for a similar type trailer.

Interesting times.

[TravelinDog]

austinjenna wrote:
I see it as more gimmicky than anything. They are already overpriced in my opinion and this will just boost the price up more. Just more junk to break.

^^This^^
Airstreams are very overpriced for the cramped space they have inside. Would the battery bank power the furnace, water heater and stove as long as 2 30lb propane tanks? I seriously doubt it.
We had a vintage 1963 Airstream Globetrotter and it was very cramped inside. We recently looked at a $90,000+ Airstream at an RV show and they are still just as cramped inside, though more luxuriously cramped.

[propchef]

BackOfThePack wrote:

EDIT: Sorry, I quoted the wrong post. I was responding to reisender


Not a prototype, but a concept vehicle. This will never see production, it isn't meant to.

The gap now between a very nice used AS and a new TT from just about anyone, especially Lance, is minimal for the return you get.

LOTS of AS owners boondock. The new ones are mostly electric and if you have a Truma w/h it sips the propane. 400 watts will run most everything and that fits easily on the 25s/ The 30+ AS have room for about 1200 watts in panels.

[BackOfThePack]

Believing electricity central to self-containment is a categorical mistake.

Propane is what matters. Followed closely by fresh water capacity.

Propane is what makes camping in this way at all possible.

Electricity is third-order. Needed for furnace fan and (maybe) water pump.
That’s it.

Boondocking? It wasn’t conventional boxes taken the length of Africa or across the Soviet Union sixty years ago, it was Airstream.

And, too expensive? That’s funny They’re cheaper today. It’s you who’ve had a 50% pay cut the past fifty years (family income against productivity).

A trailer with an indefinite lifespan and/or 250k road miles versus a fall-apart that’ll be in the landfill before the finance note is completed (and maybe 75-80k miles).

It’s pretty well impossible to put out an electrical fire with what’s proposed. No thanks

[Reisender]

ford truck guy wrote:
it is really cool.... BUT - - as if Airstream weren't already VERY EXPENSIVE !!!!!! I wold like to see one in person

Yah. Us too. But I think it’s the only prototype so I’m not sure it will ever make it to a show anywhere near us.

I wonder if any other higher end brands will look into it. I know there are about 3 European companies dabbling in it but other than prototypes I haven’t seen anything close to production yet.

Cheers.

[ford_truck_guy]

it is really cool.... BUT - - as if Airstream weren't already VERY EXPENSIVE !!!!!! I wold like to see one in person

[Skibane]

valhalla360 wrote:
I see it more valuable for boondocking than assistance towing.

Percentage of Airstream owners who boondock on a regular basis: Not zero - but pretty close to it.

[austinjenna]

I see it as more gimmicky than anything. They are already overpriced in my opinion and this will just boost the price up more. Just more junk to break.

[valhalla360]

I see it more valuable for boondocking than assistance towing.

Problem with towing it you just added 1000lb in batteries to a 3000lb trailer...and if you use it, you don't get the boondocking advantage of a big house battery bank that can run the place for 3-4 days including the air/con.

[Skibane]

The 80KWH battery pack is roughly comparable to the battery pack size in a typical EV.

While traveling, to charge both the trailer and your electric tow vehicle, you'll either need to use 2 charging stations simultaneously, or allocate twice as much time to recharging them both.

Being able to use the trailer battery pack for dry-camping sounds nice - but you'll consume some of that battery capacity simply getting the trailer there.

Currently, the biggest gripe with using EVs as trailer tow vehicles is the drastic reduction in range between recharges.

Putting a battery pack in the trailer so that it "tows itself" helps in that regard - but then again, so would simply installing a bigger battery pack in the tow vehicle.

I suspect that supplemental battery packs will be a popular aftermarket accessory for some electric tow vehicles.

[Lwiddis]

More than cool! Downright innovative. Don’t like the wet bath and am concerned about lowering the tongue weight but otherwise very exciting.