Startup Lightship on Wednesday launched a production version of its battery-powered travel trailer.
Originally called L1, the trailer is now known as AE.1, and it's about to debut production by mid-2025 at the company's Broomfield, Colorado, Lightship facility. The first 50 units will be Cosmos Edition models price of $250,000but Lightship expects tax credits to drop the effective price to $239,900.
Launched in 2023, the Lightship trailer uses a battery pack not only for the electrical equipment, but also to propel the trailer. The propulsion system means the EVs it tows won't lose range, and internal combustion vehicles will get more mpg, Lightship claims. At the time of its unveiling, Lightship said 80-kwh package would allow a 300-mile EV towing a trailer to “live a 300-mile EV.”
Lightship AE.1 Cosmos Edition
Battery power — supplemented by a solar roof — allows campers to avoid the noise of a generator or the danger of propane tanks, Lightship notes, while enabling features like an “automotive-grade” climate control system and a full bathroom and kitchen, the latter equipped. with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, convection oven, and induction cooktop.
The start of production has fallen slightly from Lightship's original target of late 2024, and the asking price of the Cosmos Edition is much higher than the $125,000 base price previously announced. That probably applies to one in three extras grades—Atmos, Panos, and Teros-that will follow the Cosmos Edition. That launch version will first be offered to reservation holders before it opens up to all customers, and Lightship is also taking reservations for three other classes.
RV life with electric vehicles will require new approaches, and Lightship isn't the only company working on them. Airstream in 2022 unveiled the eStream, a travel trailer that has been redesigned to improve EV range, or mpg in gasoline or diesel vehicles. Colorado Teardrops connect the battery pack to the trailer and tow vehicle, and then use it to recharge it.