LightShip 4 Now Starting Customer Evaluation

[turbopilot]

I now have LightShip 4 and it has entered a phase of intensive evaluation by me In the low deserts of the SouthWestern US. We are fortunate that near Summer time conditions have been the rule this Winter in the low deserts of Arizona and California, so I am going to take the opportunity to give my LightShip a full Summertime workout.

I completed initial testing of both TrekDrive and "In Motion" NACS charging today. When in camp mode or storage mode the LightShip will charge up to 7.2 kW, while in motion, with a NACS connector umbilical attached the F-150 PowerBoost 7.2 kW inverter generator. This is a major milestone for me because it means I will rarely, if ever, need to visit a Supercharger to charge the LightShip while having the flexibility to plan a trip to arrive near 100% state of charge at my destination.

I also confirmed today that my F-150 modified PowerBoost and LightShip will delivery 17 MPG at sea level, no wind, at 62 MPH. By comparison my 25' Airstream in tow of the PowerBoost would yield 12 MPG under the same conditions. All this with TrekDrive turned off. This is exactly the same performance I saw last April pulling a LightShip prototype in nearly the same conditions.

Much more to come. It appears I am the first customer to take delivery and also have the right local conditions to test this RV (near Summertime conditions). So we are entering a new phase of the LightShip story as customers begin to experience this RV. Other deliveries of the Cosmos edition LightShips will happen in the next few weeks, so hopefully we will have other new owners join this discussion and share their experience.

 

[Blackstone]

@turbopilot congrats! I plan to live vicariously through you these next few months. And please post LOTS of photos. Thanks!

 

[josephpRV]

Congratulations, and +1 on vicariously living through you as I patiently wait for mine!

 

[turbopilot]

@turbopilot congrats! I plan to live vicariously through you these next few months. And please post LOTS of photos. Thanks!

More details from this week. This has been quite a week. Because I am the first "retail" customer of the LightShip, I was honored to be visited by several LightShip employees this week including Ben Parker. The group also included Craig Fedor, Senior Manager, Service at LightShip, Chris Mcllhenny, Manager of Customer Success, Samantha Parris, Associate Creative Director at LightShip.

Over several days we configured and debugged my LightShip after its trip from Denver, then we shot several videos about LightShip. Those video shots included a detailed discussion of the LightShip electrical systems and HVAC systems with Craig Fedor. I did a walk around video with Ben Parker comparing the initial prototype LightShip to the production version, then finally we shot a great "fire side chat" with Ben Parker detailing the history and the physics behind the LightShip aerodynamic design. I hope those sessions don't get too heavily edited. They were long and detailed but provide a lot of useful information for future LightShip owners.

Upon arrival we had some initial problems getting the high voltage battery to charge. I had a variety of NACS portable chargers available but only a new version of the Tesla portable NACS charger shipped in the second day from Denver worked reliably.

During our towing tests we could not wake up TrekDrive. Craig Fedor spend a few hours working with the support teams in Denver and San Francisco downloading data from the LightShip to figure out what was going on. Everything seemed normal but it would not kick in above 15 MPH in Road Mode. Finally, Craig power cycled the TrekDrive controller (it lives deep in the AeroHub next to the heat pump compressor) and TrekDrive came to life. Right after that Craig applied a new firmware update, so hopefully that problem is behind us. If not I know how to fix it.

As a Cosmos customer you get a few more "goodies" than the current models offer. Some of those will be shipped to me later but one surprise was that I was given 1,000 stock option shares in the company as part of the Cosmos package. I think that was added to the Cosmos package after I placed my order but somehow I never was notified. So I now (full disclosure) have a financial interest in the success of the company. Smart idea by the LightShip founders.

I am now planning some test trips with the LightShip but right on cue a major weather pattern change is happening out West. We have had Summer weather most of the Winter season but that is about to change in Arizona, particularly in the high country. So plans will change.

For now I moving stuff over from the Airstream to the LightShip and working on a way to "harden" the 7.2 kW umbilical connection between the PowerBoost and the LightShip NACS port.

 

[Rory (Lightship Team)]

Glad you’re out here to recount your experiences, turbo pilot! Our first 4 VINs (there is a Lightship VIN000, hilariously) went to folks who have significant public presence and for that reason wanted to keep their experiences private. We really appreciate you being the first public voice of the customers! And want you to be as impartial as possible, despite the token 1000 options. And, as I said over the phone, have fun!!

 

[turbopilot]

Continuing doing some base line metrics on the LightShip before loading it up with stuff. The "as delivered" hitch weight for LightShip 4 is 690 lbs. This measurement was done absolutely frame level, a one degree change in the pitch of the frame up or down can add or subtract around 30 lbs to the hitch weight.

I will weigh again as I load up the LightShip with everything needed for camping plus water. However, this starting hitch weight is very good news for those on the edge of tow vehicle load carrying ability. My guess is once the storage area is loaded up the hitch weight will be very close to 10% of vehicle full gross weight of 8,300 lbs. This is exactly what I was hoping for because a light hitch requires much less force to be exerted by the weight distribution hitch.

 

[turbopilot]

I will weigh again as I load up the LightShip with everything needed for camping plus water.

New data point. Just loaded the LightShip with 400 lbs of water in the tank and another 80 lbs in the hot water tank. New hitch weight about 10 lbs less than before a full water load. That means the fresh water is perfectly centered right over the center of gravity of the Lightship. Perfect spot. Water load will not impact hitch weight.

Loading the water was wetter than I expected. Hot water tank drain was open (as it should be for transport in below freezing conditions) so I poured about 10 gallons on the floor before I caught it and turned off the drain valve.

 

[turbopilot]

Continued today working through the transfer from my 25' Airstream to LightShip 4. The Airstream is set up for camping so I am moving everything I need over to LightShip 4. The tongue weight of the Airstream is 900 lbs without water. I know from experience a full load of water will add around 20 lbs to the tongue weight. So full of water for both RV's the Airstream has 230 more pounds on the hitch.

The Airstream tongue weight today.

I am now beginning to load some of the "goodies" that came with the Cosmos. Things like water hoses, RV toilet paper, a torque wrench, reflectors, stacked plastic blocks, and wheel chocks all came with the LightShip. It all fits in the gearage easily. The gearage is actually much bigger than it looks. It easily has more cubic feet than all the Airstream lower storage areas combined.

Overnight I left the water system pressurized. No leaks this AM and full pressure on the faucets before turning on the water pump. I let the hot water heater go through a full cycle. It maintained a temperature of 134 F, that is a little high. I am going to see if there is a temperature setting for the tank. The hot water heater is under the forward facing bench seat, next to the 110v CB panel.

One of several features still in development is remote access via the Atlas tablet. The Atlas tablet will only work on the local LightShip WiFi network. This is problematic for remote storage since there is no way to monitor the LightShip electrical systems. As a workaround I am setting up a web cam in the LightShip to monitor the screen of the Atlas tablet. Fortunately, with the tablet powered in the holder the screen only dims from a normal bright setting, but stays on, so a web cam can monitor the "Energy" page.

I understand LightShip can view the parameters of the LightShip (including SOC of the batteries) via the cellular connection in the VCU, but they are not currently offering a monitoring service for LightShips in storage.

For the last few nights I have been experimenting with leaving the LightShip unplugged in "Storage Mode", then plugged in with "Storage Mode" and tonight it is plugged in with "Camp Mode". I have a 50 amp connection where it is stored. The advantage of running in "Camp Mode" is that the 110V circuits are turned on. Only the 12 volt circuits work in "Storage Mode".

 

[josephpRV]

@turbopilot ... perhaps a little early in the journey, but any first impressions of the product that differed wildly from your pre-delivery perceived impressions, both positive and critical?

 

[turbopilot]

@turbopilot ... perhaps a little early in the journey, but any first impressions of the product that differed wildly from your pre-delivery perceived impressions, both positive and critical?

Actually I did a video walk around with Ben Parker last week on exactly that subject. This was my first opportunity to see a completed serial production LightShip. Last August I saw the first serial production unit partially assembled. I previously camped in and drove the prototype. It would take pages to describe all the differences. The prototypes, as you would expect, were a little "rough". Fit and finish is much improved, but the really big improvements are under the floor in the chassis and in the aero hub. I think wildly different is the short answer.