The following is a report from Electrek.
Ahead of initial production scheduled for 2024, electric RV startup Lightship is offering a peek at the efforts that went into its flagship L1 towable trailer.
Lightship is a San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado-based startup that heralds itself as the first all-electric RV company. It was founded in 2020 by Ben Parker and Toby Kraus – two industry veterans with notable tenures at Tesla.
The travel trailer is unique in its aerodynamic, modular design and comes equipped with its own all-electric powertrain and battery pack, alleviating the towing capacity for the vehicle in front of it.
Today, Lightship shared details of the L1’s development process – particularly the keen focus its creators put on aerodynamics – as it works to deliver a true one-of-a-kind electric RV.
The startup simulated thousands of hours in a virtual wind tunnel using advanced modeling software and help from Angus Locke, who was the lead aerodynamicist on the Tesla Roadster.
This cost-saving technique helped Lightship analyze the airflow behavior around competitor trailers and compare it to its own electric RV designs, enabling its final concept. The startup’s founders also gathered their experience in passenger EVs to develop L1’s unique “Dual Mode” design, which allows for a roomy cabin with 7-feet, 6-inches of headroom when parked in “Camp Mode” before telescoping its hard-sided walls down to “Road Mode,” thus reducing the Coefficient of Drag and Frontal Area by 35-40%.
Read about the Lightship in the Electrek report here.
