8,000 Lb Travel Trailer Zero MPG Loss - Lightship RV

[Mavster Mechanic]

I would not mind a perfectly synchronized computerized 8000 pound vehicle tailgating on my ass - just don’t connect it to my unibody hitch. Maybe a wireless connection lol?

The point is; it is feather light to the lead vehicle. The lead vehicle is literally that. Leading (steering) the trailer and not much more.

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[Mavster Mechanic]

I predict a very crowded used RV market with super cheap deals within the next five to ten years. Then it will be a much smaller niche market.

Most RV's only last 10 years.
Older ones get harder to insure.
Some popular always full RV parks won't allow RV's older than 10 years.
"They don't need your business so can be choosy."

If you want to live in one on your own property; you will probably have many to choose from.

 

[Cherokee]

The point is; it is feather light to the lead vehicle. The lead vehicle is literally that. Leading (steering) the trailer and not much more.

Again, the above is true until something unplanned happens.
Then the ‘Oh Shit’ wet your pants thing becomes a reality.

 

[Chops]

The point is; it is feather light to the lead vehicle. The lead vehicle is literally that. Leading (steering) the trailer and not much more.

That part makes sense. It is the pulling off the freeway and navigating the stop & go traffic getting to Loves Truck Stop.

 

[Realtruck]

$150k to $250k would buy a sh*tload of gas for anything you wanted to drive !

Yeah, that is a hard sell for sure but really cool technology!

We bought a 2012 Expedition EL with the 5.4 for $4,500 to tow our 32ft 6800lb trailer. Installed a brake controller and some sumo springs and it tows really well. (Yes, we could have bought a truck but with 4 kids it is a bit difficult so the expedition was the next best tow rig for us)

-Michael

 

[urwatuis]

with enough money time and patience anything is possible. What about tongue weight?

 

[OleFordGuy]

Most RV's only last 10 years.
Older ones get harder to insure.
Some popular always full RV parks won't allow RV's older than 10 years.
"They don't need your business so can be choosy."

If you want to live in one on your own property; you will probably have many to choose from.

Hum 200K min to purchase plus who knows how much to insure and maintain it yearly, purchase a truck big enough to have it hooked to safely, storage fee's for most folks or a building to store it in, pay for a place to park at when one is actually traveling with it - probably a few times a year for the average person. Your saying the rv's only last 10 years and get harder to insure, can't imagine this thing would be any different. Sounds like one big suck ass return on ones investment.

 

[Waterick]

This tech would be really great if they downsize it for application to the typical vehicles people already have for normal usage, ie. like CUV's and the Mavericks, even small sedans. However, it would need to be affordable first.

 

[MaverickDragon]

Mavster Mechanic said:
The point is; it is feather light to the lead vehicle. The lead vehicle is literally that. Leading (steering) the trailer and not much more.

Again, the above is true until something unplanned happens.
Then the ‘Oh Shit’ wet your pants thing becomes a reality.

Exactly.
Of course, in the world of EV semi-autonomous vehicles, nothing ever goes wrong...
Imagine a 4 ton high speed Waymo without a controlled lead vehicle...

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Exactly.
Of course, in the world of EV semi-autonomous vehicles, nothing ever goes wrong...
Imagine a 4 ton high speed Waymo without a controlled lead vehicle...

You can die crossing the street, digging a ditch, or on your way home from church.

Or you can die having fun with a trailer.
The odds are not drastically different in any case.

 

[MaverickDragon]

You can die crossing the street, digging a ditch, or on your way home from church.

Or you can die having fun with a trailer.
The odds are not drastically different in any case.

All true, but with significantly different collateral damage...

 

[Grabbs]

Interesting idea but even if I had the money to 'burn' it's not for me either. In 2019 I bought a RAM Promaster van which I insulated, paneled, carpeted and installed a simple 12V RV battery system. Used it for hauling mostly and it was also my daily driver. When I wanted to go traveling/camping I'd put in my removable camping gear and head out. It worked great for my purposes but in the spring of 2020 COVID hit and camping areas of all types were overrun. One thing the promotional images above don't show is the packed highways, crowded campgrounds, and expensive campground fees.

If I still lived out west where there is ample public land I might have kept the van longer but here in the east the 'boondocking' situation is bleak. Also, due to being inundated and the privilege abused, most Walmart's, Cracker Barrels, Cabela's etc have also banned overnight RV parking. After camping in various ways most of my life (tents, pop-up campers, travel trailer, etc) I traded the van in this spring for the Maverick and haven't looked back. I still have a tent and some nice camping gear but I don't see myself using it much (if at all) anymore.

Same thing traded my van in on a maverick. Have the tow package just in case I want to get a small trailer.

 

[kidshelleen]

Yeah, you obviously didn't buy the Forester new with a total investment of $85k, but the attraction of the Lightship is the coolness factor, not the cost:benefit analysis results. It will appeal to the high-end Burning Man crowd. I would love something "like" it, but I wouldn't want to waste the money to buy or design/build it something like it. Fuel and wear/tear on the vehicle is a non-starter trade-off.

My Mav provides a place to sleep and a way to tow my Cape Horn 17' - good for ocean with the boat and backpacking, camping, or fishing (with or without the boat). A van build-out would kinda do the same, but not be as good as a daily driver (although that's debatable), and would be more expensive. I'll consider the van build-out if I decide to go all digital-nomad-like for a few years. That's actually a consideration when I retire, and before I downsize the earth-anchored domicile.

For a camper trailer for the Mav I'd go with an Aliner. It offers similar more efficient aerodynamics as the Lightship, and some models actually fit the 4K tow rating, and the price doesn't make your eyes water.

If you want something more offroady, look at the nuCamp "Black Canyon" models. In a more minimalist design (too much so for me), HikerTrailers or BoreasCampers. Boreas actually has the best offroad trailer frames I've ever found, but alas, it looks like they're shifting to focus on their SIP panel production and may discontinue the trailer chassis.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

Starts at $150k
Up to $250k
#OMG

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