What the eStream represents for Airstream is a peek into our future.
We needed to create a vehicle that put a stake out there.
Something to shoot for, something to aspire to — that represents for us the way to support a
more sustainable way to go. RVing, the opportunity to spend more time off
grid pursuing your passions without having to worry about resource management.
We know that EV electric tow vehicles are coming, they're here now and that's only going
to accelerate in the future. How do we as a company prepare ourselves to
support customers that want to tow their EVs and not have to suffer from constant range
anxiety. Underneath the beautiful skin of the Airstream —
there is a full EV chassis platform that means large scale lithium batteries.
That means motors that actually allow the vehicle to power itself and a whole array of
sensors and control units and electronics to make sure everything works in harmony and it's
both safe and operates flawlessly.
The eStream was designed with three different experiences in mind —
three different modes — and of course our customers have these exact same experiences
while they're traveling. There's a mode for living — that's exactly what
it means — It's living wherever you choose to go or stay
including off the grid.
It's for driving. Driving is being on the road.
It's towing the trailer and have a great experience while you're towing. And, new is the
ability to remote control the trailer to actually move the trailer under its own power
which allows you to never have to back the trailer up again.
We're using automotive technology and automotive scale batteries in the eStream
trailer, that power can also be used to help extend your journey off the grid.
There's enough power in this concept trailer to be able to have all the comforts of home to run
all of the systems in the trailer for an extended period of time off grid,
really helping customers to be able to go wherever they want to go and to stay there as
long as they wish.
When we made the leap to put a powertrain inside of an Airstream travel trailer,
we had to rethink almost everything from the ball backwards through the trailer.
It uses a standard ball, but right behind that is where a lot of the magic occurs.
There's actually a very sophisticated sensor that's continuously measuring the forces
between the tow vehicle and the trailer and ensuring that when the trailer is powered on
the highway, it follows right along the tow vehicle, always traveling stable behind —
Never pushing — using that sensor system at the front of the trailer.
The foundation of the powertrain is to help you have a more sustainable journey to help you go
farther, no matter what you're towing with. But once you have powered wheels in the trailer
is so much more than you can do. Those powered wheels help in a low traction environment.
So if you're towing and you're on a muddy road, you need that extra traction,
uou now have an entire another set of drive wheels to help you.
Those powered wheels also can be locked. So from a theft standpoint you now have the
ability to lock the wheels so that it can't be picked up,
it can't be stolen. The powered wheels also allow us to have an
electronic stability control system that actually can put torque to the wheels so that
if there's ever some sway condition or side wind, we're actually actively bringing that
trailer right back into a smooth and stable tow.
I love that this chassis has the ability to be remote controlled.
Backing up a trailer is one of the most difficult and frustrating and intimidating
things for new customers and sometimes customers that have done it before. With the
remote control capability, we've completely eliminated that. You now simply unhitched the
trailer and with one finger you can drive that trailer back into any tight spot.
You may drive the trailer into a tight campground or it might just be a gas station or
storage or anywhere that you need to maneuver the Airstream —
you can now do it easily and safely without ever having to back up a trailer again.
It's natural for people who have questions about the current electric vehicle infrastructure here in
the U.S. and will this eStream or a product like it be compatible with that infrastructure
— and the answer is yes. For one thing, we built it small enough,
it's a 22 foot travel trailer, so it will fit in a standard EV parking spot.
And the nice part is you can drive it in there by itself,
you don't even have to back it in.
Also many people may not realize but of course campgrounds have power poles in every campsite
— or many campsites — and those service charging stations for slow overnight charging to
replenish your battery.
There are more fast chargers on the way across the nation from several suppliers.
The campground system across the U. S. is looking at putting in charging stations as
well. We're not concerned that there won't be
infrastructure support here moving forward — much of its already in place and much,
much more to come. We intentionally selected automotive technology
for world class quality as well as world class charging capability.
That means high voltage systems in the eStream concept travel trailer.
Those higher voltages allow the vehicle to be charged faster and of course that's a better
experience for the customer.
We know that charging is an important part of the experience and we designed the system to
work at higher voltages because that speeds the charging time —
so you spend more time out on the road enjoying your adventure.
Airstreams focus on sustainable travel,
really goes back to its roots and the eStream represents the next logical step forward for us
in that area. When I talk about Airstream, I'm really talking about one of three areas.
We think about how we manufacture vehicles, we think about how they behave in their carbon
footprint when they're traveling on the road, and then of course when they're in the campsite
you're actually using them to camp.
Now the eStream falls pretty firmly into those second two buckets.
It's a way to travel more sustainably — And that really is whether you're towing with
electric tow vehicle or a traditional internal combustion engine.
You're able to pull it with less energy and extend the range of your EV,
in particular.
But it also reduces fuel consumption in your internal combustion engine.
We started this project excited about a sustainable electrified future but as we
develop these technologies, we realized that these apply to the customers of today.
It doesn't matter what you're towing with. We have the ability to make it more sustainable,
to make it easier, and to help you go farther.
With this concept, we took a holistic approach to the customer experience. That included using
digital technology where we can make things easier for our customers.
There's a critical and new to the world example here — using voice — using Amazon Alexa to help
deliver how-to content. If you imagine literally talking to your
trailer and asking it questions about how to use it or if you're troubleshooting and having
the answers sent directly to your phone.
It's a new way for our customers in less than 10 seconds to be able to get the information
they need, to get back on the road, to learn what they need to know for the next adventure.
Innovation at Airstream is a collaborative process.
We're standing on the shoulders of giants that have a history of innovation all the way since
the founding of the company. Any idea can come from any place and it's the spirit of the
company to bring those together to make sure we're delivering the best product for our
customer. This eStream concept, brought together multiple
suppliers, multiple creative individuals, and scientists and engineers to create something
that we hope paves the way for the future.
When you build a product as innovative and forward looking as the eStream,
you naturally get questions about.. "when will it
come to market".."what will it look like when it gets to market?"
"How soon can I get one?" When you build a concept vehicle like this,
it's really a learning experience both to prove out the technology, proof of concept,
both the hardware and the software, but it's also to gauge public reaction. To see what
people think, see which features they value, and those that they don't.
We know that everything that's packed in the eStream won't make sense for the market as-is,
but there's so many threads, so much can come out of this that will find its way into future
Airstream products. We're really here to learn and understand
what's of value so that we can chart a path forward.
That makes sense for our consumers. We're not doing this for tech sake.
We want to make sure that we're able to deliver elements of this concept vehicle in a way that
improves the user experience in a way that Airstream can be proud of.