A latest video at Out of Spec Opinions reveals us one thing actually cool Kyle discovered at Overland Expo Mountain West. In contrast to lots of the automobiles on the market, it’s made to not burn a single drop of gasoline, regardless of being a totally purposeful RV! It’s the results of a partnership between GMC and EarthCruiser, a outstanding builder of overlanding campers and RVs. Right here’s the embedded video, however you should definitely scroll down for a abstract and a few commentary:
One of many issues that makes this overlanding RV so uncommon is that it was constructed by GMC and EarthCruiser, nevertheless it’s not deeply managed by GM. As an alternative of eager to promote all of them by sellers and wanting management over the challenge, GM lent its engineering employees to the collaboration with out a lot anticipated in return. EarthCruiser will keep full management over the design, and can promote it both as a part of a full automobile or as an add-on that anyone can have put in on their present Hummer EV.
In case you noticed this on the highway and didn’t know what it was, you may suppose it got here out of a manufacturing unit in a single piece, and that’s as a result of the businesses labored so carefully to verify all of it labored properly collectively. Paints are a precise match, aerodynamics are optimized (as a lot as they are often for an enormous automobile like this), and all the things seems to be prefer it belongs.
All collectively, it’s a really succesful RV, not to mention an EV. Like a inventory Hummer EV, it has an enormous battery pack and loads of room. It’s not probably the most environment friendly EV, solely getting round 300 miles from a 200+ kWh battery pack, however this performs in its favor in RV type as a result of it doesn’t lose a lot (as a result of it was already fairly dangerous on effectivity). Regardless of the dimensions, it’s nonetheless very succesful because of the electrical torque, superior computer-controlled motor coordination, and rear-wheel steering. In different phrases, it acts like a automobile that’s a lot smaller, and thus doesn’t really feel a lot totally different with this camper on its again.
The set up seems to be nearly totally reversible. All the pieces attaches with out everlasting modification apart from a modified entrance T-Prime roof, the place they added a hatch to permit folks to climb immediately from the entrance passenger seat to the RV (when folded out). In case you had a spare T-Prime panel, you could possibly swap it out and no one would ever know the camper had ever been on it after elimination.
On the outside, there are a number of enclosed cargo areas, in addition to {an electrical} entry door and a plumbing entry door. On one facet, you may retailer restoration gear and different stuff you’d need outdoors, and on the opposite facet, there’s an out of doors bathe that folds out, and is powered by an environment friendly electrical water heater that attracts solely round 400 watts. The onboard battery is about 6 kWh, and has about 600 watts of solar energy charging it. Different electrical home equipment, like an electrical cooktop, heater, and compressor fridge, additionally run from the battery.
Hummer hasn’t supplied V2L functionality but, however as soon as it does, it’ll be doable to cost the camper’s battery pack immediately from the automobile’s battery pack. However, within the meantime, EarthCruiser has tried charging the Hummer EV from the home battery, and when it’s full, it gives about 1 mile per hour of sunshine that strikes the photo voltaic panels, so it’s doable so as to add a tiny little bit of vary from the photo voltaic panels (in the event you don’t want the vitality for one thing else, after all).
The inside isn’t big, however has sufficient room for a few folks to sleep, cook dinner, eat, bathe (inside or outdoors, use the toilet, and luxuriate in nature by the massive home windows within the folding portion’s tent sides. It’s constructed with premium marine-grade supplies that don’t seem like they’ll put on out or crumble (like is the case with many cheaper RVs). Up inside the highest (which rises in about 40 seconds utilizing electrical motors), there’s a big mattress, the hatch to the inside of the Hummer, and even some small cupboard space underneath the froth mattress.
All the pieces is made for simple dismantling and repair, which makes it doable to simply work on any facet of the RV. Main techniques like electrical, plumbing, and home equipment are all accessible just by eradicating just a few screws/bolts utilizing an Allen key, and pulling a panel or two out of the way in which.
Getting one put in will in all probability require a visit to Bend, Oregon, in your Hummer EV, however different set up and buying choices could also be introduced as soon as it’s up on the market. Ultimate pricing isn’t accessible but, however Kyle estimates that it’ll seemingly be accessible for round $100,000. Mix that with the Hummer EV and also you’ll pay round $200,000 for an entire electrical RV, which is fairly low cost if you understand how a lot RVs go for nowadays!
The businesses are in all probability going to supply the Hummer EV in some unspecified time in the future as an built-in package deal that one can finance as an RV as a substitute of getting to shell out money for the camper after entering into an insane cost for the Hummer. RV loans have a tendency to permit for for much longer phrases, that means that this package deal may find yourself being inexpensive for a lot of extra folks than you in all probability suppose.
When requested about different automobiles coming sooner or later, EarthCruiser’s rep mentioned, “We wish to do extra with electrical.” Particular plans weren’t revealed, however related campers are in all probability going to be accessible sooner or later for different automobiles, just like the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lighting, and others.
Some Ideas On This Rig
One factor that basically stood out to me is how helpful they’ve made the Hummer EV. We’ve bagged on the automobile repeatedly for being mainly the least environment friendly electrical automobile round, however the inefficiency has left loads of room to do one thing like this with out making it a lot worse. As an alternative of being an costly “mall crawler” that folks will purchase for bragging rights, this turns the Hummer EV into one thing extraordinarily helpful off-road and for journeys into the backcountry.
It’s additionally excellent news for everybody with a Cybertruck order in. The Hummer EV doesn’t have a giant mattress with straight sides to make it appropriate with normal slide-in truck campers, however it appears that evidently overland and RV builders are making ready to supply issues like this tailor-made to non-standard vehicles. So, if EarthCruiser itself doesn’t provide one thing like this for the Cybertruck, another person in all probability will quickly.
Featured picture: screenshot from the embedded YouTube video above (honest use, commentary).
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