Air Currents a mythical brand in the United States: you know these all-aluminum trailer with streamlined shape? Here is Airstream the brand that markets these caravans. We are in a historic moment where the transition to electric is affecting all mobility sectors and leisure vehicles are part of the group. The news of an electric Airstream concept is therefore very interesting and testifies to the efforts in this direction also on the part of major brands.
eStream: the electric caravan
‘electronic flows‘ is the name of the concept. The question many will askWhat does a caravan have to do with electric mobility?‘ Well, several current models are already equipped with a battery-powered device called ‘movers‘ which allows you to maneuver the caravan effortlessly during camping operations. electronic flows, presented by the owner of Airstream, Thor Industriesextends this concept and uses a motorized axle with ZF electric traction so as not to weigh on the shoulders of the towing vehicle.
In practice, the caravan, in the concept presented, is able to communicate with the vehicle (even electric) towing it and adapt your speed to it. In this way towing the caravan must not have an impact on the autonomy of the towing vehicle. Even when braking, the trailer should work more actively than current trailers, which have a system that activates the brakes depending on the pressure exerted on the tow hook. The caravan uses solar panels on the roof to recharge the batteries when stationary.
Thor Vision Vehicle: the hydrogen-powered electric motorhome
instead a real pure motorhome, Thor Vision Vehicle, still based on the same ZF powertrain, but naturally equipped with higher capacity batteries. The vehicle has a range of 300 miles, or about 480 kilometers, and to hit that threshold (competitors’ concepts have typically been around 120 miles) it uses a hydrogen fuel cell system, which extends the range. autonomy and can provide energy to the batteries and the vehicle even far from the mains. Among the small precautions to improve autonomy, the replacement of the bulky mirrors which generally equip motorhomes and vans with cameras.
At the moment, we are not yet talking about prices, but generally Airstream products are at the high end.