10 years from now this will be the norm. Airstream already has a concept that actually has its own motor system as well to assist it so it can be towed by and EV without greatly hampering its range. Thin film solar awnings are also in the works.
Well, I am as impressed with the ERV as I am with Simone. I'm serious. She didn't just present the item under review in a thorough, yet concise way, but she genuinely seemed to be well versed in all things EV and has the brains to understand and interject to each point. Well done.
It’s be great to also add in a wheel/hub motor or two that run off the batteries for pull assist up to appropriate highway speeds. That would reduce the towing vehicles load and increase overall efficiency.
I have absolutely no interest in caravans (I jumped into the vid for the tech) but I stayed for the presenter. Loved the very chill, knowledgeable, sweeping delivery (credit, of course, to the excellent production team, as well. Beautiful shots and flow). If I were a camper, I have to concede, that this would not be a bad way to go at all. Retreat clearly chose not to simply ride on the tech, as the sell point (and ignore design and function) but have offered up some serious elegance, comfort and practicality. Again, though, I probably would have lasted half the time I did if it wasn't for the very natural, laid back, informative presenter. Hats off.
Family adventures are a breeze with these spacious teardrop caravans. They comfortably accommodate the whole clan, and the thoughtful layouts keep everyone organized. It's the perfect way to create cherished memories with your loved ones.
To tow with an Australian EV for a truly off-grid experience, just wanted to point out that you can buy lightweight 7-8 metre long caravans under 2,000kg, and add a 3kW solar battery system to it. That way you can charge your EV towing car with it as well, might get about 20km daily range, as well as extra daily usage of about 3kW like mentioned in video. Camp somewhere for a week, then travel 100-150km, and so on, forever. No petrol, no charging stations. Just totally off-grid. If you park longer than a week, and your car is fully charged, you can then run the air-con all day during sunlight in summer because you'll have plenty of solar to waste. 4x 300Ah 12V batteries gives you 14.4kWh, and get a 5kW off-grid Growatt inverter, and 8x 375W solar panels for 3kW total. Might cost you 10k max for that system. Caravan second-hand maybe 20-40k. Your biggest cost will be your towing EV, but if you already have one (a model X or IX), then you're already set.
I like it, Simone! Great presentation! I look forward to more from Southern Cross country! Kinda big for my needs, but the concepts are sound, & the trailer could be smaller, with similar amenities. Possibly also with portable solar panels, due to the smaller trailer roof! Drive carefully, & smile often!
I love this story, We recently went camper and caravan shopping and specifically asked for no gas, but every single company said "You Have To Have Gas!" Super annoying, but we are slowly converting our camper to all electric.
Interesting. In Europe an RV would always mean it has a motor and is self-driving, I think. That here would be a caravan. Definitely cool, just too heavy eg for a Model 3 to pull.
@@nicklachen5060 exactly, max is 950kg. well many sedans do like Audi A6/8 etc but not when it goes beyond the weight of a normal caravan (like 1.5-1.8t). problem is if the caravan is too heavy for any EV to tow it , it is a bit weird to make it electric 🤷♂️
I love the concept, I think they will make it more useable, like most things, it is just time and development. The ice duel cab they were towing it with is probably at it's limit before putting anything inside the caravan, like maybe essentials such as food or bedding. No Prado, Pajero, or most duel cab Utes like Ranger or D-max will be legal pulling it either. The van must needs to be very much designed differently to make it something people can use.
@@tesla-spectre That's just a Braking and Tow hitch receiver design problems with the Stock Factory setup. A properly braked trailer / caravan and modified beefed up tow reciever on a Model 3 has no problem towing 26feet AirStream. Which is about 4,000 lbs ~ 1800kg. This has been proven real world usage. Problem is the Range is barely even useable.
Great review Simone, you're always very informative with the reviews you do at CarTell and it's great to see you part of the Fully Charged Team, looking forward to all the amazing EV products you'll be able to cover from Australia and share to the world.
This is absolutely perfect for my needs! They need to bring this to the US now. Tons of Rivian and F-150 Lightning owners would want this. (My existing travel trailer is 3.5 tons, so that's not a problem.)
@@leigh5336 I know at least one company is importing+modifying F-150 Lightnings for import to Australia. (Because someone complained on an F-150 Lightning forum that they were $200,000, and blamed it on Ford price gouging. Nope, the importer's fault, not Ford's since Ford doesn't offer it there yet.)
@@leigh5336 you mean capability of towing it while staying within our GVM laws or said GVM laws change (they wont they haven't change in decades the only thing that changed is GCM is out and its tow rating now in Vic for now there steadfast on 4.5T GVM)
We build this by our own a month ago with a old caravan and I am off grid since then! Its awesome. And I am also towing my caravan with an EV since 2 years. But until now I have to still charge my car on the grid :D
Nice. Id love to see an integration into VPPs (virtual power plants). As RVs are mostly parking at home this one could be assisting grid stability with its Solar and battery.
From the sounds of it, most are retro-fitted 'legacy' designs, using cheap panels and minimal batteries, etc.... so this would be more of a 'ground-up' EV design, with all the benefits that usually entails.
Thinking about it though guys, it might be clean and green but the vehicle towing it is pumping out some fumes towing that up a mountain pass or across open tundra. And, an electric tow vehicle won't be able to stray far from a power point/charger if this beast weighs 3.5 tonnes. That is some weight to lug around, plus bikes, food, luggage, cargo and of course, people. Amazing bit of kit though, and quite reasonably priced considering what you're getting. Like the girly said, it's a power bank on wheels.....
Great job by Simone. The ERV is really nice but also expensive (though reasonable value for what it is) and a cumbersome hassle for more casual use cases. I would love to see something like an ID Buzz Cargo Camper that is off-road capable, kitted out with a bed, toilet, wash basin, small kitchen with small fridge/freezer, small desk that folds out, with solar covering the roof.
Non electric ones in general are very expensive, it's not exceptionally more expensive than a normal one. Wish they were cheaper in general that is true.
This was a great review, in fact, probably the best review on this channel. You covered everything people want to know, not just how nice it looked inside or outside. We actually got some technical info. Great job Simone.
I cannot help but wonder, if you did have a EV down there which was capable of towing this, would the electrical connections between the RV and EV allow the solar panels to provide power to the EV while towing? Even if that feature isn't in the works, I'm sure that the RV could trickle charge the EV once they stop and set up!
Yes it would as there are AC outlets that are connected to a 5000 watts inverter. Just turn down the charge speed of your EV. So it will be at a slow rate and only during a few hours a day because the rest of the electricity will be needed for the RV. So when the sun is good and your usage is frugal, you will be able to do so You might consider carrying some extra solar panels in the RV and ask how to plug them into the system.
@@HansKeesom Put the extra panels on an awning that folds out over the door with tent sides for more space when parked, just like the front tents available on 1970s campers.
Another fantastic episode and closer to home, in Oz! The best part is the electric Weber. Being off-grid capable for months, just imagine those grey (and not so grey) nomads in Australia not relying as much on FF to power their adventure, and moving with the seasons to match the RV's solar capabilities.
Really nice presentation, cheers Simone. Very professional but still casual. I think this caravan is a great start and has many cool features. I cant help feel though I personally would concentrate on keep the weight right down, build it complete aluminum including the main sub frame. I have plans for a cyber truck to tow a van with two powerwalls installed near the front and use the solar power and battery capacity to put back into the car. Also needs to be as aero dynamic as possible to make the whole thing more efficient. Anyway that's my plan, but for now I await the first long range efficient powerfull truck to arrive in Australia. Thanks again for your presentation.
Would love to see a large lightweight CIGS panels installed on a caravan...I would also add panels hanging from the sides that can angle up when stopped...they even have rolled up cigs panels that unroll for an overhang canvass...what I love about this unit is the builders limited all roof construction to mostly solar panels, keep all those stupid ac units, vents, and roof windows off the roof!!!
Well presented, a natural flow when presenting this ERV. I like this product a lot, due to it multi function to explore anywhere your heart desires. Great content as always!
All it's missing is an electric motor on the rear axle whih could regen while stopping and charge the batteries further. Also, would help with getting up to speed from a stop. Would not even need to be a large unit at all.
Great to see some Aussie content and presentation on this channel, great job Simone. I would say this is not the first all electric RV in Oz but definitely one of the first. North Coast Campers SPNX hybrid is all electric, and been around for a few years now. Also we have a LPG free hybrid on order, but because we are offgrid camper in cooler weather, we retain Diesel for Hot Water and heat (would be nice if there was a diesel Electric HW/heat system so Diesel only used when power is low).
Very nice. A bit 'advertorial' in its gushingness, but it is a well-designed bit of kit. Pity I have to buy a diesel van/truck to lug it around. Something like that (bit less fancy) in LWB Buzz/Vivaro/Transit form is where a lot of us want to go.
3.5 tonne is right on the tow limit of a lot of utes and you'd be crazy to tow it with one of them. You really want an actual truck to tow something this big. I think it's cool but just too big and heavy for me. Would be good if they applied the same kind of design to something smaller and lighter. It would also be cool if you had enough excess power generation to slowly charge up your EV over a couple of days but then you wouldn't get very far towing this with current EVs as others have said so that's of limited use as well I guess.
It is a very heavy van and will use so much extra energy to tow this 3.5 tonne van compared to the 2.5 tonne vans that are common. The progression of this concept has to be fitting electric motors to the caravan axles so that the powering is spread between the car and the van, as is the battery capacity. I don't recall any mention of the power consumption of the air conditioner. In the depths of winter on a cold, gloomy day it will be significant. Otherwise, it is good to see progress towards energy self sufficiency.
Fortunately, towing energy is more about aerodynamics than mass, especially if your EV has regenerative braking that collects the kinetic energy from the heavy load. Acceleration cost does grow with mass, but that's the energy recovered by regen brakes.
I would not have installed the AC unit under the bed, when there is a huge real estate on the back of the RV, instead of the huge logo. That way you get the space under the bed for more storage, and you won't have to put up with the start and stop noise of the AC unit. If any part of the battery pack gets damaged by a rock or even a stray bullet, your RV will burn down in less that 5 minutes and there is nothing you can do but stand back and watch. Can't wait for Sodium Ion batteries to start mass production. Only then, will I consider buying an EV. Lithium Ion is way too expensive, resource intensive, and the risk of fire is too great for my liking. Of course many others will disagree, which is fine too. They are free to buy whatever they like. I like this new presenter. Hope to see more of her in the future.
Well… nice advertisement! I suppose that fatcats who can afford one, as well as an EV pickup to tow it, will be lusting for this glamping trailer. I think what I appreciated most was getting to "meet" Simone.
Man the great retirement getaway trip around Australia just get electrifying exciting. Can't wait for continuous charge while driving in a cybertruck or similar
Thanks it looks pretty impressive. The only downside that I can think of is that it's slightly counter-intuitive to the Australian mindset of always looking for shade; sure, solar PV doesn't need direct sunlight, but it helps, so one option might also be to have some moveable/stowable panels for those times when you just have to get into the van into the shape... The other issue - but this is also common to any van with solar panels - is the risk of tree branches or other missiles falling on them; but, hey, that's life.
In Europe, Weinsberg have been selling the Caracito all electric caravan for a few years, but it is a different concept: no batteries, much lighter and really designed to be plugged in at the camp site. That said, Knaus is now selling some versions with a battery designed to power the caravan for about a day. This ERV works better in Australia though - great video.
G'Day Robert - See you got yourself a Jillaroo down there in Oz mate. Cracka-Jack. Rippa-Beauty-Bonza-Bottla Cobber!! Noice looking bit of kit - can go walkabout outback and sidle up to a Billabong and have a billy-tea and damper!!
I dream of having a Cybertruck pulling this, with a way to charge the truck from it. Throw in a water purification module, and I'd be free to go anywhere, off the grid! I could live anywhere with no connections.
So great to hear the correct power terms used watt hrs. . For some bizarre reason most companies advertise in amp hrs. which it totally useless for correct calculations. As for towing with an electric vehicles is a joke about 100mile limit then charge for a very long time yep that includes the lightning and others.
Welcome Simone and thank you for an interesting presentation. The idea of dragging a 3.5 ton trailer with a sealed interior, air con and an electric toaster vast distances on dirt roads doesn't seem an attractive prospect or a desirable way of being at one with such beautiful countryside, off grid or not. And even if an EV capable of towing it were available, charging such a vehicle sufficiently, off grid or otherwise, would seem problematic. Certainly no wins for the environment either. But it is always interesting to see how such concepts put together.
Finally, some companies are becoming clever! This eRV is great, seems to have comfort without being too over-the-top, clever design. The price is dear, but all-in-all understandable. I wish they had tried to reduce the weight to the maximum, playing around with light materials (aluminium, etc).
