I saw this Opus pop-up, It's nice in a more primitive way. I could live with something like that but my wife likes having a more private bathroom. They had a helicopter hover over it, I suppose that is meant to say it can stand up to wind. We are thinking of going bigger than what we have currently but I thought it was a good camper. Anyone else see anything interesting.
Air Opus Off Road Pop-Up Camper Review (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vbMyq1zXnQ)
I've seen the video of the Opus. Pretty slick unit but don't think I'd be happy with one.
I've only watched a few YouTube videos. The one I liked was the guy who tested out mouse deterrents. He placed (one by one) Irish Spring soap, dryer sheets, moth balls, and a few different oils in a container with food. Set up a nighttime camera and recorded. They ate the soap, chewed up the dryer sheets, oils only made them nervous, and moth balls only kept them from going in for food for a few minutes of circling the container.
We watch all the time, We keep our eyes out for something that is frailly friendly. As the kids get older we find ourselves wanting something with more room one day also something where the kids can be closed off. We would also like to travel more so having a second bathroom would be a bonus. I was looking for one we really liked, but found these two below which were not bad.
5th wheel with mid bunk room (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GAVHhr5OY0)
Two bed two bath 5th wheel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZupGiisqukQ)
would need to upgrade our TV, it's on the one of these days list.
Every now and then I will set and watch some videos on various camper types.
I don't look for the videos but I have clicked on some that show up in my feed, if they look good to me.
I remember someone posting about getting an F150 Lightning reservation. I was watching a video this past week where they hitched a identical 5000 lbs loads to both a Rivian and an F150 Lightning to see how they compare towing. Looks like the Rivian charges faster but the F150 seemed to be more efficient on the road. Maybe I will create an EV charging section, could be a whole new avenue/market.
Rob showed me some videos with electric trucks, there was one where a truck was pulling an airstream trailer. A neighbor down the street has an electric truck, Rob was talking to him about it about a month ago. I will tell him to get on and tell you about it. The only thing I can tell you is it was kind of an olive green color.
The wife said to come on and post about the neighbor's truck.
I don't know the guy very well, I have talked to him before about his Tesla. He traded his Ram Pickup for a Rivian pickup. He said it was on order for a long time but he just got it a little over a month ago. It's nice. He said he is thrilled not to be paying for filling up his old truck.
over where I live Teslas are everywhere. I have even seen a few Mach-Es, several Audis even the Porche EV. So far have only seen one Rivian, it pulled into the parking lot where my shop is right behind me.
I think
Quote from: dno on Jul 15, 2022, 11:17 PMI remember someone posting about getting an F150 Lightning reservation. I was watching a video this past week where they hitched a identical 5000 lbs loads to both a Rivian and an F150 Lightning to see how they compare towing. Looks like the Rivian charges faster but the F150 seemed to be more efficient on the road. Maybe I will create an EV charging section, could be a whole new avenue/market.
I think that may have been me, if you find that link again, can you post it. I would be interested in seeing that. I would also be interested in an EV camping section.
Quote from: CamperDan on Jul 17, 2022, 08:39 PMI think that may have been me, if you find that link again, can you post it. I would be interested in seeing that. I would also be interested in an EV camping section.
I think this may be it:
Ford F-150 Lightning & Rivian R1T Tow Over The Entire Rocky Mountain Range (Massive Charging Issues) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEtStnltwOo)
That's interesting, I looked at other videos that were related, it seems to me the electric trucks loose more than half their range. I expect they would loose range but this was more than I thought it would be.
I've seen that one and some others. I agree it does look like they tend to loose a higher percentage of range towing than the ICE trucks. It may be better on level ground. We are only at the beginning of towing with electric vehicles. Just think how far EVs have come over the past 10 years. I think this will only get better.
I think it was airstream that is developing an electric drivetrain for the towable trailers that will assist the tow vehicle buy using the trailers own electric motor to extend the range. I'm sure this will add quite a bit to the cost of a trailer so you would need to figure that into your math.
I'm still very interested, most of our trips are not more than a couple hours away and of course we usually have power at whatever campground over a minimum of two days to help recharge the truck. Aside from the range it looks like towing with an electric truck is a dream. That F-150 Lightning is getting great reviews.
I agree, perhaps the shorter trips will be okay, but if you have to take a longer trip the charging seems a bit too frequent and then there is the charging stall themselves, they don't seem to be setup well for pulling a trailer. I would not want to unhitch for every charge, that would get old fast. Adding an electric powertrain to a camper sounds great in theory, I'm betting that would happen mainly on the higher end campers. I can't imagine they would electrify a pop-up camper, it would likely double the price of the camper.
Don't get me wrong I like these new breed of electric cars and trucks, they are definitely cool and I'm curious to see how it all evolves. I do believe that this push to electrify everything is premature. I think the technology needs to bake a little longer. Perhaps it will get there, I can't say but how many people can afford $80K for an electric truck. I think paying over $40K is nuts. Is anybody stopping to ask if this push is really a good idea right now. I also think the government has no business picking winners and looser. Consumers will drive the market ultimately.
Sorry, I didn't mean to get started on a rant.
CamperDan, I saw that about Airstream as well. There are also some former Tesla guys that have started a RV business with the goal of "electrifying" RVs, they are planning to start with a travel trailer since it is the most common type of RV. I will try to follow both those projects.
ConnCamper: I agree, I think the consumer can pick the winners and loosers. If a product is good, people will buy, if not they won't. We are also at the beginning of the charging infrastructure and while Tesla generally does a good job of keeping their chargers working, the same can't be said about other charging networks such as Electrify America. I here there is an average of 25% of the charges are not working. There are also a number of other connectivity issues that can make charging far more painful. I'm sure it all gets better with time, but if you mandate everyone buy EVs then it's going to be painful until it all gets fixed.
I will have to try and find some links I found for some small light weight trailers that I might even be able to tow with my model Y. We are currently at my in-law's house so will see if I have time when we get home. So far all the trailers I have seen being towed by both the Rivian and the lightning have been fairly big. But what I'm looking for I would think should be less of a problem for those trucks, perhaps an issue for me though.
I have watched as many videos on towing with an EV as I can. Most of them seem to be where there are lots of hills to climb which of course will have a drastic impact on the range. Even a gradual climb seems to have a negative effect on the range. I would be very curious to something showing an EV towing and electric powered camper (ERV, ET or EPT).