All Electric

[Jake62]

I was recently at the Ocala RV Show and went thru Roadtrek's "E-Trek", which was an all electric coach, with no generator or propane, but had 640W of Solar, as well as Lithium Ion batteries.

Anyone talk to any Airstream Exec's at any of the RV shows on the future of the AI to go towards an all electric coach? Airstream wasn't at Ocala.

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Jake62

I was recently at the Ocala RV Show and went thru Roadtrek's "E-Trek", which was an all electric coach, with no generator or propane, but had 640W of Solar, as well as Lithium Ion batteries.

Anyone talk to any Airstream Exec's at any of the RV shows on the future of the AI to go towards an all electric coach? Airstream wasn't at Ocala.

Many of us have, many times. The response I got seems to be consistent with the response others have gotten: "We're looking into it".

Keep in mind, Airstream isn't a company to make huge changes from one model year to the next. Wally Byam's mantra was "we don't make changes, we make improvements", which over the years has translated into small "improvements" year by year. Going "all electric" would be a pretty big "change", so if they stick with their existing philosophy, I don't this happening soon. Of course, if they DID want to make a "change", doing it on the new MB Sprinter chassis that's coming out later this year might be a good time to do it.....just sayin'.....

[Nightmare67]

Not trying to nit-pic but just bringing to our attention.
The e-trek does have a generator. It’s engine driven from main engine.

It shows how difficult it can be to be an all electric rig AND self sufficient. Also, all electric is expensive as the e-trek is at the high end of Roadtrek‘ price-list.

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Nightmare67

Not trying to nit-pic but just bringing to our attention.
The e-trek does have a generator. It’s engine driven from main engine.

It shows how difficult it can be to be an all electric rig AND self sufficient. Also, all electric is expensive as the e-trek is at the high end of Roadtrek‘ price-list.

I believe the OP's point was no propane or diesel generator like what's found on most B vans.....

[Lily&Me]

I believe the 2016’s have an all electric version, as at least one member here has it.

If you are going to be plugged into electric every night, might work well, but one night of dry camping and the battery is run down to nothing.

I wouldn’t opt for all electric, but the propane for the stove and hot water heater.

Maggie

[Jake62]

Just to clarify, Roadtrek calls their "2nd Alternator" a replacement for a generator. It is not a generator. It's a second alternator, which charges the Lithium Ion batteries when they need to be recharged, thru the power of the diesel engine.

The other point by Maggie, Roadtrek "states", for what that's worth, that you can run the A/C unit, as well as other devices, between 9-12 hours. Then, with the autostart feature, the 2nd Alternator will charge your depleted batteries within 30-60 minutes. I'm not sure this feature is worth the money, but it would be nice to have one fuel source for the AI.

[Nightmare67]

Feels like we’re getting into semantics here. In the Roadtrek brochure under Coach Features it lists a generator as an option. Further, in a video made by Roadtrek it calls the unit a “Under hood generator or G/U”
Here’s the link to the video by Roadtrek.

https://youtu.be/WEJQaC_UCXg

From the brochure:

[LB_3]

Air conditioning is hard to do with batteries but if you’re having to run an air conditioner all night you’re either out at the wrong time of year or traveling in the wrong region of the country.

All the other items that use propane can arguable be done better with batteries (induction cooktop) or with other fuels (diesel furnace and water heater).

[Nightmare67]

LB, what’s really cool about the Roadtrek is they have “Volt start”

So if you went to bed with the AC running off the inverter from the batteries, you’d get close to 4 hours then, if you had selected Volt Start, the engine would start and the under hood generator or G/U would top off the batteries in about 40 minuets. Then the engine would shut down and you have another 4 hrs of battery powered AC.

It’s an awesome system.

[sthrngary]

Just like in the Automobile industry, every brand does something that would attract a specific clientele. I think if you went with either brand, you would be very happy. If boon docking is your main focus, then may I suggest you focus on not only the battery/type but also the how the solar panels work with those batteries to keep them charged. The inverter used and if you are needing A/C you REALLY need a generator.

My choice of the Airstream Interstate was mainly based on Mercedes-Benz equipped safety features and Airstream Fit/Finish. I will boon dock maybe 5 nights a year and if I need the A/C I will use the generator. Those are my needs so I made my decision to go with 2018 Airstream Interstate.

Again, either brand is good depending on your realistic needs.

PS: I recommend if you are buying new, to order the unit just the way you want it. Choose your brand, choose your dealer and look at build time.

[Jake62]

Great points!

[Glenritas]

Originally Posted by Jake62

all electric coach, with no generator or propane, but had 640W of Solar, as well as Lithium Ion batteries.

We have an all electric Airstream Tradewind 25' Trailer with no gray water tank or Solar.

That said, This requires full hook ups when Glamping.

The all electric part works great driving down the road to the next full hook up site.

If for some reason we need A/C or microwave or hot water or TV or anything 120volt at say a rest stop we are out of luck.

Yes I know a large battery bank and inverter would help but ...

Anyway my point is all electric has its place and limits dry camping.

In our case the lack of a gray tank prohibits dry camping.

Without Propane, BBQing is out unless one wants to carry a small tank (we do) or bring along charcoal and starter. In either case your no longer all electric.

So Why would Airstream rush to offer an all electric B van for a very limited market ?

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Jake62

The other point by Maggie, Roadtrek "states", for what that's worth, that you can run the A/C unit, as well as other devices, between 9-12 hours. Then, with the autostart feature, the 2nd Alternator will charge your depleted batteries within 30-60 minutes. I'm not sure this feature is worth the money, but it would be nice to have one fuel source for the AI.

I've always been skeptical of RoadTrek's claims. Their numbers just don't add up. Your typical Dometic Penguin II 13,500BTU RV A/C consumes a bit over 1700W in "cooling mode" (i.e. with the compressor running). You're pulling from 14v Li batteries (let's assume the EcoTrek 800 system w/ 800Ahrs, so 640Ahrs usable at 80%). The A/C runs off the inverter, which aside from inversion losses, wants to see a 12v input. To supply 1700W, that's over 140A. If you make a guess and say the duty cycle of the compressor is 50/50, and pick a number for power draw with the compressor off (because you'll see in a second it really doesn't matter), you're looking at 6-7hrs before the batteries are flat. So...on comes the VoltStart. You've consumed over 600A of juice from the batteries. How are you going to get 600A back into those batteries in 30 minutes?!?!? Even with a beefy 200A "underhood generator", it'll take 3 hrs.

The only thing I can see happening to make the math work is they don't let the batteries get anywhere near flat before the VoltStart kicks on. Back of the napkin says VoltStart would likely need to come on about every hour. Since it's limited to 4 "on/off" cycles before you have to insert the key.....nah, I just don't see it all working as easily and efficiently as they'd like people to believe.

The guys that seem to have this figured out is Volta, which is used by AdvancedRV. Their system (batteries, charger, inverter, etc) is 48v. To feed 1700W, they only need 35A (at 100% duty cycle!). With a 200A/48v aux alternator, they can run the A/C full blast for about 3hrs, then run the main engine for 30 minutes to fully replenish the batteries. Rinse and repeat to easily make it through a muggy night in Florida in the summer.

[Pahaska]

The Roadtrek spec says they have an 11,000 BTU AC. My 13.500 BTU AC compressor can just about cool the coach at 100% duty cycle on a hot night. Their 11,000 certainly must run at 100% duty cycle much of the time.

[InterBlog]

"Cool" means different things to different people. Our a/c is 11,000 BTU and it turns our rig into an ice box (by my perception). I wouldn't run it anywhere near to 100% overnight.