RV News: A CyberTruck-Inspired Trailer, Free Glamping with Grand Design, and E-RVs Going Mainstream
Plus new products from Overland Expo, shifting industry trends, and more.
We’re all anxious to get the long weekend underway, but before we can enjoy the unofficial start of summer, we have plenty of RV and camping industry news to share first. Here are a few things you might find interesting, with links to read more while you enjoy some downtime over the next few days.
- Living Vehicle Announces All-Electric CyberTrailer: We’re big fans of the Living Vehicle travel trailers here at RV.com, as evidenced by our regular coverage of the brand’s products. Last week, the upscale towable manufacturer announced a new addition to its line-up that will be coming in 2025. Dubbed the CyberTrailer, this new model clearly draws inspiration from the Tesla CyberTruck. A full list of stats and specs isn’t known yet, but the LV website promises an all-electric camper that is 100% solar-powered, the ability to create water from the air, remote control via an iPad, and a folding deck that transforms into a toy hauler ramp. Despite its name, the CyberTrailer will be compatible with other electric trucks—like the Ford F-150 Lighting and Rivian R1T—as well as all gas-powered models. Starting price is $175,000. Find out more here.
- Grand Design is Giving Away a Free Summer of Camping: As Grand Design prepares for the arrival of the Lineage—the company’s first motorized RV—it is also gearing up to send one lucky person (plus a guest) off on an exciting summer camping trip. This past week, the company announced the Summer of Glamping giveaway, which starts with a pop-up camping experience in New York City, and then extends to free camping across the US from June 7-September 2, 2024. The winner will also be awarded a $1,500 stipend and a gift basket loaded with goodies. Of note, June 7 is when the Lineage makes its official debut and will presumably be unveiled at the NYC camping experience. To sign up for a chance to win, click here.
- Are Electric Motorhomes About to Become More Common?: Several RV manufacturers have hinted that all-electric motorhomes are on their road maps for future vehicles, but none have revealed exactly when those plans could come to fruition. But we may actually be closer to that reality than we think, as this week, Harbinger Motors announced that it has orders for 4,000 electric chassis with plans to begin delivering to manufacturers by the end of 2024. That alone is interesting, but even more so is that Thor Industries is one of the investors in the company and is set to take delivery of some of those chassis. What that means for future announcements remains to be seen, but 2025 could see the release of the first commercial electric motorhome from a major manufacturer. Read more here.
- Outdoorsy Shares Data on Cross-Generational RV Camping Trends: Online RV rental platform Outdoorsy released a major study of camping trends this week that offers plenty of insightful data. The report is entitled “Generations in the Wild 2024” and takes a look at how baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Y are going camping these days. The research shows that more than 50% of respondents preferred RV travel in a motorhome, as opposed to towing a trailer. It also showed that 67% of baby boomers camp on public lands, while Gen Z was most active, with 65% saying they plan five RV trips or more each year. To dive deeper into the stats, click here.
- Boomers Make a Comeback: Speaking of baby boomers, this week, Go RVing revealed that campers of that age group have made a comeback. In March of this year, 55% of the website’s traffic came from visitors who were 55 years old or older. That’s up substantially from the past few years when boomer RV participation fell off dramatically during and immediately following the pandemic.
- Midland Introduces a Handheld Radio That’s Repeater-Compatible: Two-way radios are extremely useful when traveling and camping in an RV. They allow us to stay in contact with others on the road and provide the ability to chat with friends and family at the campsite even when cell service isn’t an option. At Overland Expo West last week, Midland took the wraps off the GXT67 Pro walkie-talkie, which brings a very useful feature to the table—compatibility with repeaters. That might not sound exciting, but if a repeater is nearby, it can greatly extend the range of a radio. Additionally, the heavy-duty walkie-talkie offers 5 watts of power, a 16-hour battery life, and IP67 dust and waterproofing. MSRP is $199.99. Click here for more info.
- Redarc Reveals GoBlock Portable Dual-Battery System: Mobile power solutions provider Redarc also revealed a new product at Overland Expo West last week. The company unveiled the GoBlock, a 100Ah dual-battery solution for use in a vehicle or as a portable power station. The unit works in conjunction with Redarc’s PowerDock, enabling connections with other devices and products. It can even be used to recharge a dead vehicle battery, bringing it back to life in as little as 15 minutes. Find out more here.
- Entegra Coach Homecoming Welcomes 500 Attendees: The RV rally season is upon us, and Entegra Coach has kicked things off in a big way with its annual Homecoming event. The gathering took place on May 14 – 17 at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN, where more than 500 fans showed up to take part in the festivities. Attendees took part in classes, seminars, group chats, and a variety of other events, including getting a sneak preview of RV manufacturer’s 2025 line-up. Read more about the event here.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the three-day weekend, and we’ll be back next Friday with another round-up of the most interesting RV news.