Introducing the Lightship L1

We founded Lightship with the mission to bring RVing, a beloved and massively popular part of Americana, into the electric age. We set out on countless road trips into the great outdoors, in all manner of recreational vehicle, where we met RVers of all walks of life and experienced the pastime ourselves. We came to understand viscerally that there was a unique opportunity to create an RV that was not only sustainable but was also vastly better than anything available powered by fossil fuels. We got to work building our first product to provide seamless and serene outdoor travel experiences and we were excited by the conviction that in creating a sustainable product that upleveled the RVing experience, Lightship could be an (electric) engine for change.

Today, the first milestone toward that vision became a reality. We are proud to announce the launch of the Lightship L1, the first purpose-built, aerodynamic, all-electric travel trailer. We began from a clean sheet and developed the L1 as you would an electric vehicle, with efficiency built into its very DNA. We designed a vehicle body that is three times more aerodynamic than a traditional trailer. We then created a proprietary powersystem architecture, effectively combining an automotive electric vehicle battery and powertrain with a residential scale solar system. The L1 is able to propel itself to enable near zero range or mile-per-gallon efficiency loss for the vehicle towing it and power a suite of all-electric appliances in the vehicle interior, all while harvesting and storing clean energy from the sun.

Our amazing Lightship team, which includes alumni from Tesla, Rivian, Proterra, Lucid, and Zoox, leveraged their experience in automotive EV development and design to create an electric travel trailer like no other:

• A hyper-efficient design that is three times more aerodynamic than a traditional travel trailer for longer range and greater efficiency, which means a 300-mile range electric vehicle (EV) used to tow it remains a 300-mile range EV, and a 25-mpg gas truck remains a 25-mpg gas truck. 
• An electric powertrain with up to 80 kWh of onboard battery capacity allowing the trailer to propel itself and achieve near-zero range or efficiency loss for the tow vehicle.
• A no-compromise battery system that can provide a week of off-grid power without charging. Coupled with up to 3 kW of solar power, the RV can power the living needs of its occupants and eliminates the reliance on propane and other fossil fuels. 
• An ecosystem of all-electric appliances, connected features, and modern amenities for a seamless camping experience.

Starting today you can reserve the L1. Production is expected to begin in late 2024.

The L1 is just the beginning. Our trajectory is towards building products of greater and greater affordability, availability, and accessibility. We will never stop improving our products and learning from our customers about ways to make their Lightship travel and camping experience better and more enjoyable. We’re on a journey to invite more people into the pastime of RVing because we believe that the more people are able to connect with nature and each other, the more they will want to preserve the outdoors for generations to come. We’ll see you out on the road!