LightShip Update 7/28/25

[turbopilot]

I stopped by the LightShip factory on Monday, July 28 to get an update. A significant amount of progress has happened since my last visit in April of 2025. First, most of the production assets and tooling is now in place for serial production at the factory. And the factory stock of parts is building as production has commenced.

In the image above is the chassis build up area. There are 3 chassis out of view behind those racks in various stages of build up. On the floor in front of the racks are 4 more chassis sets ready for production. I was told one of those was my chassis.

In this view you can see 18 new composite floor assemblies which along with the 4 in process builds suggest 22 new LightShips will soon be here.

And here is customer ship #1. This is the first build of the AE.1 Cosmos customer series. This is also the paint color I ordered for my Cosmos. To date four full prototypes have been built. The original "concept" vehicle that was partially functional for display only. Then three "functional" prototypes that were actually used for camping (previously reported by me). And now the first serial production unit is in the final stages of assembly. I am told this unit will be reserved for more testing while the other Cosmos LightShips on the line are going to customers in the next few months.

There have been some significant changes moving to the serial production versions. So many changes that LightShip has asked me to not show as much detail (thus that grey circle in the image above) as I did with the early prototypes until the first customer units are released. Suffice it to say there have been extensive changes to the chassis and the entire AeroHub structure is much different than the prototypes. When the LightShip is released to customers I will be free to describe the changes in more detail.

The most important thing to note is that the LightShip is built to an automotive standard, not a typical RV standard. All the components are at an automotive grade or even aircraft grade of precision, fit and finish. The entire electrical is system employs automotive CANBUS technology, compared to the typical "free wire" electrical systems found in even high end RV's.

This is best demonstrated of my point with this interior shot of the first production Cosmos. Those are automotive style wire harnesses strung along the ceiling and sides of this Cosmos. You will not find that most high end Class A RV's.

I am very impressed with what I see and can't wait to get my Cosmos LightShip in a few months. Once the first customer rig is in the field I will be able to talk more about the LighShip and all the changes that have happened. Even more exciting are some of the new features on the drawing board right now to be rolled out with future models. I suspect some new features will be available as firmware updates like we see in a Tesla.

Bottom line, LightShip is going to redefine the concept of traditional RV's. This product is an electric RV but it is not some "Green" environmental play. It is simply a better way to built an RV that happens to be electric.

Much more to come.

 

[Holdmybeer]

I'm skeptical however, if I read it correctly, of the claim that it can produce enough solar KW to keep an EV towing vehicle charged while underway. It is priced lower than I expected, but like the Cybertruck, I suspect it won't take long to saturate it's limited market.

 

[turbopilot]

I'm skeptical however, if I read it correctly, of the claim that it can produce enough solar KW to keep an EV towing vehicle charged while underway. It is priced lower than I expected, but like the Cybertruck, I suspect it won't take long to saturate it's limited market.

I am not aware LightShip ever suggested the solar output would support TrekDrive. I am told the LightShip in tow of a pickup truck, following in the aerodynamic wake of the pickup would require about 15 kWh at highway speeds to allow the tow vehicle to return to about the same MPG efficiency as it would have not towing. The kWh demand is about the same as a Tesla Model 3 moving along in free air.

The LightShip solar array is rated at 1.8 kWh under idea Summer conditions. So there is no way solar is going to support the full demands of Trek-Drive continuously active. But there are other strategies on the horizon to use Trek-Drive in other modes to increase tow vehicle efficiency. More on that when I can talk about it.

By the way the first LightShips coming off the line are the expensive "founder's edition" (Cosmos) trailers. The lower trims are now available that are priced competitively with Airstream trailers.

 

[Holdmybeer]

That sounds more reasonable, I likely misunderstood the claim. But I’m skeptical nevertheless than it can do that.

 

[turbopilot]

That sounds more reasonable, I likely misunderstood the claim. But I’m skeptical nevertheless than it can do that.

Not following. Do what?

 

[josephpRV]

I was on the fence as to whether or not to place a deposit on one of the post-Founder series trim models until I could believe the range numbers that were being marketed. I actually managed to convince the Lightship team to allow me to take it on a Test Drive a couple of months ago to test out the Trek Drive system. Their tow-vehicle was an R1T, same spec as my R1T so the range numbers with and without TrekDrive made sense to me.

I was surprised to walk away very impressed with the range estimates. Without TrekDrive it used 50% more energy (or halved my range) for what I would normally expect. With TrekDrive I was getting about 85% of the range I would normally get on a similar route. It was only a short test, and only a single data point, but as I told the team, I was impressed.

I actually just got an email today about color selections and am hoping for a late Q1 ... probably Q2 delivery, we'll see. Excited to see those changes under the canopy as I thought that was the least polished aspect of the entire concept.

 

[turbopilot]

 

[turbopilot]

I was on the fence as to whether or not to place a deposit on one of the post-Founder series trim models until I could believe the range numbers that were being marketed. I actually managed to convince the Lightship team to allow me to take it on a Test Drive a couple of months ago to test out the Trek Drive system. Their tow-vehicle was an R1T, same spec as my R1T so the range numbers with and without TrekDrive made sense to me.

I was surprised to walk away very impressed with the range estimates. Without TrekDrive it used 50% more energy (or halved my range) for what I would normally expect. With TrekDrive I was getting about 85% of the range I would normally get on a similar route. It was only a short test, and only a single data point, but as I told the team, I was impressed.

I actually just got an email today about color selections and am hoping for a late Q1 ... probably Q2 delivery, we'll see. Excited to see those changes under the canopy as I thought that was the least polished aspect of the entire concept.

Good to have you here. I have been telling the LightShip guys the aerodynamic efficiency improvement in some ways is better than TrekDrive. The 50% range extension with the aerodynamic profile is free. No waiting at charging stations. I suspect both EV and ICE/Hybrid owners are not going to use Trek Drive except in special cases, instead opting to arrive for camping with a full LightShip battery. 77 kWh supported with 1.8 kWh of solar will last a long time.

When I pulled the LightShip with my own HEV I was getting 16 MPG without TrekDrive. That will gives me a 500 mile range and any nearby gas station will give me another 500 miles in 10 minutes.

 

[Holdmybeer]

It's damn near magic.

 

[josephpRV]

View attachment 29257

Yeah, I just saw the video. Based on my (simplified) interpretation of the results focused on the R1T, they're seeing a 2.9x gain in efficiency for the LightShip vs. a Standard RV. That makes sense to me given both the aerodynamic advantage as well as the TrekDrive.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would have expected a similar range gain to efficiency. I guess the battery capacity may have something to do with that. Haven't worked that out yet.

My brief testing numbers have a different premise which correlate more closely to my use case. My base case is Range and Efficiency without a Trailer, my use case is Range and Efficiency with Trailer.

Unfortunately I deleted the data I recorded, but from my recollection:

My R1T gets 2.1 m/kWh without Trailer,
Their R1T got 0.9 m/kWh with Trailer and without TrekDrive and
Their R1T got 1.9 m/kWh with Trailer and with TrekDrive

It was a short trip under both test cases, but one that gave me enough confidence to take the next step.

 

[turbopilot]

Yeah, I just saw the video. Based on my (simplified) interpretation of the results focused on the R1T, they're seeing a 2.9x gain in efficiency for the LightShip vs. a Standard RV. That makes sense to me given both the aerodynamic advantage as well as the TrekDrive.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would have expected a similar range gain to efficiency. I guess the battery capacity may have something to do with that. Haven't worked that out yet.

My brief testing numbers have a different premise which correlate more closely to my use case. My base case is Range and Efficiency without a Trailer, my use case is Range and Efficiency with Trailer.

Unfortunately I deleted the data I recorded, but from my recollection:

My R1T gets 2.1 m/kWh without Trailer,
Their R1T got 0.9 m/kWh with Trailer and without TrekDrive and
Their R1T got 1.9 m/kWh with Trailer and with TrekDrive

It was a short trip under both test cases, but one that gave me enough confidence to take the next step.

Bottom line EV, HEV or ICE, 50% of the improved efficiency is based on aerodynamics the other 50% is TrekDrive at the cost of depleting the 77 kWh house battery.

There is a third mode I have been working on with LightShip on. It is a demand, hybrid mode of TrekDrive that would only provide power to the TrekDrive system when the tow vehicle was operating in an inefficient range of the power curve. One thought is to balance this demand with the solar energy collected during the drive so that the LightShip battery state of charge would not be impacted on your drive to the camp site. If you try to preserve the LightShip battery at 100% on your drive, then all of the 1.8 kWh output of the solar panels may not be used.

 

[Blackstone]

Yeah, I just saw the video. Based on my (simplified) interpretation of the results focused on the R1T, they're seeing a 2.9x gain in efficiency for the LightShip vs. a Standard RV. That makes sense to me given both the aerodynamic advantage as well as the TrekDrive.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would have expected a similar range gain to efficiency. I guess the battery capacity may have something to do with that. Haven't worked that out yet.

My brief testing numbers have a different premise which correlate more closely to my use case. My base case is Range and Efficiency without a Trailer, my use case is Range and Efficiency with Trailer.

Unfortunately I deleted the data I recorded, but from my recollection:

My R1T gets 2.1 m/kWh without Trailer,
Their R1T got 0.9 m/kWh with Trailer and without TrekDrive and
Their R1T got 1.9 m/kWh with Trailer and with TrekDrive

It was a short trip under both test cases, but one that gave me enough confidence to take the next step.

Appreciate you guys putting in the good work here. From what I recall, the TrekDrive only kicks in above a certain speed (15mph?) Maybe that can explain not hitting the full 2.1m/kWh?

 

[josephpRV]

Appreciate you guys putting in the good work here. From what I recall, the TrekDrive only kicks in above a certain speed (15mph?) Maybe that can explain not hitting the full 2.1m/kWh?

TrekDrive only runs between 15–65 mph, so achieving full baseline efficiency will be tough, but the test numbers were still impressive.
Using their Gen2 R1T (mine’s a Gen1) may have skewed things slightly, and I think in real-world driving being steady speeds, highway aero gains and TrekDrive engaged more often you’d see even better results.

 

[Blackstone]

TrekDrive only runs between 15–65 mph, so achieving full baseline efficiency will be tough, but the test numbers were still impressive.
Using their Gen2 R1T (mine’s a Gen1) may have skewed things slightly, and I think in real-world driving being steady speeds, highway aero gains and TrekDrive engaged more often you’d see even better results.

Agreed they are impressive! Good points, I think the aero benefits will be more apparent at highway speeds over long(er) distances.

 

[turbopilot]

Agreed they are impressive! Good points, I think the aero benefits will be more apparent at highway speeds over long(er) distances.

The optimization of TrekDrive has just begun. In April LightShip said the 15 mph cut in speed was a starting point to be further refined with experience in future firmware updates. TrekDrive is a unique feature but it does compete with a goal of maintaining maximum LightShip battery SOC reaching your destination without finding a charging station. I suspect in common use TrekDrive will be used most often to tactically balance the range of the tow vehicle for contingencies like strong head winds or the desire to reach a more favorable destination before recharging or refueling.

The 50% improvement in range from aerodynamics alone in LightShip is the biggest breakthrough. Something not offered by any modern RV and first offered in any RV with the old HI-LO towable that went out of business in 2010.

@Blackstone are you a LightShip position holder?

 

[Blackstone]

The optimization of TrekDrive has just begun. In April LightShip said the 15 mph cut in speed was a starting point to be further refined with experience in future firmware updates. TrekDrive is a unique feature but it does compete with a goal of maintaining maximum LightShip battery SOC reaching your destination without finding a charging station. I suspect in common use TrekDrive will be used most often to tactically balance the range of the tow vehicle for contingencies like strong head winds or the desire to reach a more favorable destination before recharging or refueling.

The 50% improvement in range from aerodynamics alone in LightShip is the biggest breakthrough. Something not offered by any modern RV and first offered in any RV with the old HI-LO towable that went out of business in 2010.

@Blackstone are you a LightShip position holder?

Yep, we’ve got an Atmos reserved. Trying to learn what we can while we wait for early next year

I’ll be towing with an EV truck, so will be critical for range extension for us between charging stops. Charging every 2-3 hrs works out well for bathroom breaks for the family anyhow. Being newer to RVs, we’ll likely stick to traditional campgrounds with hookups to start, so we can recharge the camper over night/weekend (and maybe the truck if the campground allows) But definitely plan to get more off grid with time, where arrival SOC will definitely be more important

 

[turbopilot]

Yep, we’ve got an Atmos reserved. Trying to learn what we can while we wait for early next year

I’ll be towing with an EV truck, so will be critical for range extension for us between charging stops. Charging every 2-3 hrs works out well for bathroom breaks for the family anyhow. Being newer to RVs, we’ll likely stick to traditional campgrounds with hookups to start, so we can recharge the camper over night/weekend (and maybe the truck if the campground allows) But definitely plan to get more off grid with time, where arrival SOC will definitely be more important

Good to have you here. My delivery is "sometime" in October. I saw my parts on the floor at the factory they just need to put them together.

The whole issue of the best tow vehicle for the LightShip is evolving as we learn more about the LightShip capabilities. I plan to pick up my LightShip in Broomfield and immediately wring it out for a week or so. Maybe by November there will be some good customer first hand information.

If you know of any other position holders send them over to this forum. Right now RVForms.com appears to be the only source hosting a dedicated LightShip owner's forum.

 

[Blackstone]

Thanks! Will do! We’re looking at a January-April delivery window, so we’ll see where things land. Looking forward to learning all the tips and tricks from you first few

Our family made the jump to EVs exclusively 7 years ago, so been waiting for something like this for sometime. We’ll, I guess if I don’t count the diesel John Deere in the barn

 

[turbopilot]

Our family made the jump to EVs exclusively 7 years ago, so been waiting for something like this for sometime. We’ll, I guess if I don’t count the diesel John Deere in the barn

Just posted a new update on LightShip EV choices.