LightShip Update 7/28/25

[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.

 

[josephpRV]

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

Same. We've been EV only for about the same amount of time and wouldn't even consider towing an RV if it weren't for Lightship. Did any of you contemplate the Pebble?

We put deposits down on both as soon as they were open and subsequently cancelled our deposit on Pebble after seeing it in person earlier this year at Overland in AZ (wasn't fit for our purpose).

@turbopilot, you're obviously going to be one of the first, and I think there's a lot of inherent capability and use case variability which will make for a steep and fun learning curve. Looking forward to hearing those first experiences to build the knowledge base.

 

[turbopilot]

We put deposits down on both as soon as they were open and subsequently cancelled our deposit on Pebble after seeing it in person earlier this year at Overland in AZ (wasn't fit for our purpose).

@turbopilot, you're obviously going to be one of the first, and I think there's a lot of inherent capability and use case variability which will make for a steep and fun learning curve. Looking forward to hearing those first experiences to build the knowledge base.

We really need a thread comparing the LightShip and the Pebble. Both are unique new RV's so I am trying to figure out a way to compare the two without it looking like I am degrading the Pebble. @josephRV, in my opinion you made the right choice. I have been following both LightShip and Pebble from the beginning and have gotten to know Ben, Toby and LightShip team very well with frequent visits to the factor in Broomfield. There is a reason the largest RV company in the world, Thor Industries, invested in LightShip.

Pebble has elected to have their own owner's forum. Interesting to follow along. The first Pebble is now in customer hands with some early reports.

 

[turbopilot]

Lightship begins US production of flagship AE.1 travel trailer and introduces two additional trims

Lightship achieved a huge milestone today: It kicked off production of its flagship electric travel trailer, the AE.1 Cosmos Edition.

electrek.co

 

[turbopilot]

Current image from the LightShip factory. In this view you can see the progress on the three chassis I commented on in the first post of this thread. When I was there 2 weeks ago those chassis were just being built up with no floor. Now you can see that two of those chassis now have the "tub" in place. You can see the chassis at the far end waiting for the tub. These should be ships 2, 3 and 4. Ship 1 I posted in the first post of this thread. It is positioned to the left of the frame. The area shown in this view is the chassis build up area. The area along the wall to the right is the final build out area. Making great progress.

 

[turbopilot]

 

[joshchan]

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.

Thanks so much for posting these helpful numbers!

I was a little surprised to see the “0.9 m/kWh with Trailer and without TrekDrive”, as I saw figures about the same for people towing Airstreams with the R1T (e.g. 1.0mi/kWh here: First 1800 Miles Towing Airstream with R1T), and expected the Lightships’s low-profile and other enhancements would lead to a better figure than a halving of the miles per kWh before factoring in TrekDrive (where you’re using battery power to propel the trailer).

I feel I might be missing something, so I’d appreciate any insights from you knowledgeable folks.

 

[Holdmybeer]

Accounting for drag is often times elusive and counterintuitive. Apparently the coefficients for the Airstream and the Lightship are similar. The seeming paradox for Lightship and the Trekdrive is that its 77kWh battery will fully deplete in ~4 hrs. The 77 kWh battery on the lighship would take ~8 sunny days of non use to fully recharge via the solar panels, so in order to use Trekdrive the battery would need to be recharged before any offgrid destination is reached.

 

[Blackstone]

Thanks so much for posting these helpful numbers!

I was a little surprised to see the “0.9 m/kWh with Trailer and without TrekDrive”, as I saw figures about the same for people towing Airstreams with the R1T (e.g. 1.0mi/kWh here: First 1800 Miles Towing Airstream with R1T), and expected the Lightships’s low-profile and other enhancements would lead to a better figure than a halving of the miles per kWh before factoring in TrekDrive (where you’re using battery power to propel the trailer).

I feel I might be missing something, so I’d appreciate any insights from you knowledgeable folks.

These are the numbers I remember, being more favorable for L1 with no Trek drive vs a “bullet shaped trailer”

Designed From the Ground Up for Efficiency: The Lightship L1 Aerodynamics

The Lightship L1 aerodynamic shape is a key feature that makes it the best travel trailer to tow with an EV (or any vehicle). The team took an automotive design approach, spending over a year on aerodynamics and CFD work to create the most aerodynamic form that enables a zero range loss towing...

lightshiprv.com

 

[turbopilot]

Remember, comparing efficiency between tow vehicles (EV, HEV, ICE) and different types of towable RV's can be misleading without controlling for velocity (speed). Drag increases with the square of the velocity. At highway speeds drag is a much bigger factor than trailer rolling resistance. So small differences in the velocity of the tow vehicle/trailer will yield big differences in efficiency.

Anytime you see comparisons of EV, HEV or ICE efficiency numbers published (ie m/kWh, MPG) without a documented speed for that measurement, it is essentially meaningless.

Most reputable tests of tow vehicle efficiency will use 62 mph as a standard test velocity. That is a comfortable and relatively safe velocity for a high profile towable. I suspect once the LightShip gets into customer hands a new, higher cruise speed will be found to be comfortable and safe.