Pebble Flow

[turbopilot]

Production intent release.

 

[J&JD]

The factory is only about 2 miles from my home. Think I’ll ride down and take a look.

We test-drove the $135,000 Pebble Flow, the Tesla of the RV world

Remote-controlled RVs are here, and they’re made in the Bay Area.

sfstandard.com

 

[Voyageurs]

Kim did a good job with that video. I prefer the size of this one over their competition the light ship which I think is 29 feet.

I also like the single axle.

Price is also more reasonable considering that it has a 1.1 KW solar system and the equivalent of 5 power walls for home power back up including 50 amp 240 volt power. One can make use of it 365 days of the year instead of 6 or 8 weeks of the year.

 

[turbopilot]

Kim did a good job with that video. I prefer the size of this one over their competition the light ship which I think is 29 feet.

I also like the single axle.

Price is also more reasonable considering that it has a 1.1 KW solar system and the equivalent of 5 power walls for home power back up including 50 amp 240 volt power. One can make use of it 365 days of the year instead of 6 or 8 weeks of the year.

A few corrections to your post. LightShip is 26' 7" long, not 29'
There are 3 sizes of Tesla power walls 5kW, 7.6kW and 11.5kW. The Pebble Flow has a 44 kW battery, big by typical RV standards but pretty small in the EV world. LightShip's battery is 77 kW about the same as a long range Tesla Model Y.

Single axle sounds great because of weight savings. But this is a 6,800 lb GVWR trailer. Airstream trailers (which are not powered) add 2 axles beginning with the 23' models with a 6,000 lb GVWR. Pebble Flow has included an upgraded tire but they have no spare tire. Most two axle trailers can continue driving on 3 wheels and reduced speed. For the Pebble Flow if a tire blows and the patch kit does not work you are stuck.

Now the good news. It is less expensive for the premium trim. So it fills a useful role for anyone wanting a smaller EV trailer to test the technology.

One feature I did like (not yet available on the LightShip) is the ability to run the traction motor in rolling charge mode. That means if you are towing a Pebble Flow with an ICE equipped vehicle you can command the traction motor to go into continuous generator mode and charge the 44 kW trailer battery rolling down the road. Basically burning gas to create electricity. LightShip said their traction motor can do the same thing, they just have not enabled that feature yet in software.

As to 4 seasons use, the only limitation to use the LightShip all year is the unavailability of tank heaters. LightShip acknowledges that is an easy thing to do and is on their list. Remember the first production vehicle delivery at best is at least 7 months from now. I am guessing there will be many changes by the time of the first delivery based on customer feedback.

 

[Voyageurs]

A few corrections to your post. LightShip is 26' 7" long, not 29'
There are 3 sizes of Tesla power walls 5kW, 7.6kW and 11.5kW. The Pebble Flow has a 44 kW battery, big by typical RV standards but pretty small in the EV world. LightShip's battery is 77 kW about the same as a long range Tesla Model Y.

Single axle sounds great because of weight savings. But this is a 6,800 lb GVWR trailer. Airstream trailers (which are not powered) add 2 axles beginning with the 23' models with a 6,000 lb GVWR. Pebble Flow has included an upgraded tire but they have no spare tire. Most two axle trailers can continue driving on 3 wheels and reduced speed. For the Pebble Flow if a tire blows and the patch kit does not work you are stuck.

Now the good news. It is less expensive for the premium trim. So it fills a useful role for anyone wanting a smaller EV trailer to test the technology.

One feature I did like (not yet available on the LightShip) is the ability to run the traction motor in rolling charge mode. That means if you are towing a Pebble Flow with an ICE equipped vehicle you can command the traction motor to go into continuous generator mode and charge the 44 kW trailer battery rolling down the road. Basically burning gas to create electricity. LightShip said their traction motor can do the same thing, they just have not enabled that feature yet in software.

As to 4 seasons use, the only limitation to use the LightShip all year is the unavailability of tank heaters. LightShip acknowledges that is an easy thing to do and is on their list. Remember the first production vehicle delivery at best is at least 7 months from now. I am guessing there will be many changes by the time of the first delivery based on customer feedback.

Great info. Thanks for the detailed post.

I prefer single axle trailers. But that’s me.

 

[Neal]

https://rvbusiness.com/pebble-to-release-semi-autonomous-flow-travel-trailer/