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Airstream/Thor introduce the eStream concept

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In attempting to keep this thread alive, has anyone heard of a timetable update for the eStream? While having 80 some-odd years of build experience gives Airstream a terrific advantage, making the engineering jump to creating a trailer that efficiently and reliably powers itself most definitely is Terra Nova for them.

That said, it should be a far, far less daunting process than that which confronts both Lightship or our unloved Bowlus - which I have described elsewhere as exemplifying a glorious victory of marketing over engineering.

We would very willingly place ourselves at the front of the Guinea Pig list for an eStream.
 
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Is there a group for tesla airstream combos?
 
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18 months since Airstream announced the eStream concept and still no news as to when it might be available for sale or if the idea has been shelved. I was hoping to hear something by now.

Charging two vehicles is a real problem on a road trip. Will the Airstream support fast charging? For a Tesla, that's a double problem - now you have to park the trailer at a CCS charger and the Tesla at a Supercharger, at least until Tesla officially supports CCS in the Americas.
Now that Tesla’s NACS has firmly established itself as the charging standard for North America (Ford, GM, Rivian, etc. will adopt it, all commercial charging networks are onboard, and even VW is considering it) I wonder what DC charging connector Airstream will use for the eStream. Of course Tesla Supercharger locations are not designed for 22 ft long vehicles and the arrival of 19.3 ft Cybertrucks and chargers to accommodate them still doesn’t make it feasible. Charging an eStream at any DC charging station will be awkward if not impossible.

So I see eStream charging as primarily occurring at serviced campgrounds at L2 speeds using a NEMA 14-50 or L1 with a TT-30 plug. Which would be fine with me. Of course if I’m only at a campsite for one day that’s not enough time to charge eStream and X but I usually stay several days at a site.
I think other innovative RV makers will jump on this concept (referring to the eStream)
So far, in North America only a California startup called Lightship has built a prototype trailer that can power its wheels while being towed but it’s not for sale yet. I’m not aware of any other powered RV trailers.
 
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Yes, the world changed a bit since my prior post:
  • Tesla chargers (now called NACS) are on a path to be the dominant standard in the US
  • Newer Tesla vehicles officially support CCS via an adapter
While still no firm availability dates for the eStream, Lightyear, or other new travel trailers. At the moment, Bowlus and Safari Condo are the best options for us EV-RV pioneers, in my opinion.
 
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There is actually someone who has been towing his 25 foot, slightly modified, double axel Airstream with a Tesla model 3 for about two years now. He deleted the AC, and pulled his propane tank in closer to the body of his rig to improve aerodynamics. You can look him up on Airforums as Andy T. He lives in Canada so I assume AC is not so important to him.

Personally I am not a fan of all the wood in my Airstream (Globetrotter 27’) and would like Airstream to use TRUE aircraft quality aluminum in its place (similar to what Bowlus does) to reduce weight. I would also delete the unnecessary Televisions as I never use them and instead watch movies on my laptop. They could add Starlink as a standard item instead. Putting the AC where propane currently sits is a great idea to improve aerodynamics. Somebody needs to design flexible solar panels that could roll out as awnings. Not sure why this is not a thing already.
 
There is actually someone who has been towing his 25 foot, slightly modified, double axel Airstream with a Tesla model 3 for about two years now. He deleted the AC, and pulled his propane tank in closer to the body of his rig to improve aerodynamics. You can look him up on Airforums as Andy T. He lives in Canada so I assume AC is not so important to him.

Personally I am not a fan of all the wood in my Airstream (Globetrotter 27’) and would like Airstream to use TRUE aircraft quality aluminum in its place (similar to what Bowlus does) to reduce weight. I would also delete the unnecessary Televisions as I never use them and instead watch movies on my laptop. They could add Starlink as a standard item instead. Putting the AC where propane currently sits is a great idea to improve aerodynamics. Somebody needs to design flexible solar panels that could roll out as awnings. Not sure why this is not a thing already.
Andy is the proprietor of Cam-Am RV and has made his name on retrofitting sedans of all types to tow Airstreams. Not sure I agree with the safety or advisability of his projects, but they do exist.
 
There is actually someone who has been towing his 25 foot, slightly modified, double axel Airstream with a Tesla model 3 for about two years now.
People have been towing Airstreams with EVs for years now. Certainly a Model 3 has the necessary power, though there are other considerations as well that make a 3 a less than ideal tow vehicle.

The point of this thread is Airstream has announced a new trailer with an electric drivetrain that powers the wheels, which can dramatically reduce the energy used by the tow vehicle, whether it is an EV or an ICE.

However, it is now over 2 1/2 years since the eStream announcement and it is still not for sale. I am beginning to think that Airstream has decided not to put the eStream into production because it will be very expensive and projected unit sales are too low to justify the investment in manufacturing resources or, the necessary technology to make the eStream function safely in the real world is beyond Airstream’s capability. Or maybe both.
He lives in Canada so I assume AC is not so important to him.
Just to correct what appears to be a misapprehension on your part; not all of Canada is covered in ice all year. 😄 In fact summers can be quite warm in the southern half of the country where just about everyone lives. And with anthropogenic climate change Canadian summers are increasingly hotter. Even the Canadian Arctic is experiencing heat waves these days.
 
Still no news about eStream production, but today Airstream announced a new model, the 25 ft “Trade Wind”.

Inspired by the groundbreaking work done in the one-off eStream Concept Travel Trailer,
That sentence, with the words “one-off”, does not give me confidence that the eStream will ever be anything more than a concept vehicle that never goes into production. I’m giving up on it. :(

The Trade Wind model includes 810Ah of Lithium batteries, a 3000W inverter, and 600W of solar panels. Apparently to Airstream this is groundbreaking technology. It’s not. My Safari Condo Alto trailer has 600Ah of Lithium batteries, a 3000W inverter, and 735W of solar panels. I made those mods years ago.

What was groundbreaking about the eStream was the electric drivetrain that powered the wheels, but the Trade Wind model doesn’t have that feature. It does have a sort of new feature, an “optional rear hatch” that opens up the back of the trailer, more than the BaseCamp model and similar to another Airstream concept designed by FA Porsche (which doesn’t even exist as a full scale prototype).

Airstream is stuck in the past and can’t seem to move forward into the fully electrified future.
 
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