September 3rd, 2020 by Zachary Shahan
RV life has never appealed a great deal to me. It has had a slight appeal, but it always looked a bit too compromising for my tastes. Until I discovered the Living Vehicle today.
Granted, there are still some benefits to a more fixed living situation, and an important thing to note is the Living Vehicle is certainly not cheap. It starts at $229,995 and various options will add thousands more (each). But the thing is wicked, offers the core luxuries of life that I feel I need, and allows you to travel all over the place and have different amazing views out your window and your front door as you wish — the kind of views, I presume, that can cost millions of dollars on their own.
But the travel/wilderness appeal is nothing new for an RV. Let’s look at what’s especially appealing about the Living Vehicle.
First of all, it puts up to 3080 watts of solar power on top. It can supplement that with a whopping 47,600 watt-hours of energy storage, which happens to be “the highest capacity lithium-ion system available in a luxury trailer.”
Furthermore, thanks to that electrical setup, an electric vehicle driver can use the Living Vehicle to charge their electric car or SUV, and at a considerable 44 miles per charge-hour.
“Our customers value the flexibility to avoid RV parks and stay anywhere with all the luxury comforts of shore power,” said Joanna Hofmann, co-founder and CMO of Living Vehicle. “To enjoy true off-grid living, access to reliable energy is a necessary and life-sustaining resource for safety, health and comfort.” That’s what the Living Vehicle offers. That’s what’s truly different about this RV.
I recommend the video above. The short story is: you can enjoy all the amenities of modern life in the Living Vehicle — air conditioning, washer and dryer, oven, hair dryer.
“Founded in 2017, Living Vehicle has seen customer demand meet their production run in the high-end trailer market for the last several years. More akin to a luxury apartment than an RV, the vehicle blends modern architecture with self-sufficient technology to enable a high-end, off-grid living experience. The luxury trailers leverage advanced energy storage, redundant generation and water conservation technology to preserve and extend utility resources for days or weeks while still supporting high-power amenities like air-conditioning, appliances and entertainment. Coupled with solar and optional liquid propane generation, they offer customers the opportunity to maximize their time off-grid.”
It’s appealing. As I said, I have never been very drawn to RV life, but I’m finding myself drawn to the Living Vehicle. That said, with two very young kids and looking at the price tag, it’s just going to be daydreaming for me at this point. However, a seed is planted, and I imagine if I was 15–20 years older, I may have a much more bullish opinion of the option.
The good news is that evolving technology should make such RV options increasingly available and bring down their cost. Living Vehicle appears to be at the cutting edge. But what will the options be in 2030?
“With the continued disruption of COVID-19, advanced energy is helping us reimagine what’s possible for adventure, safety, and everyday life,” said Jack Johnson, founder and CEO of Volta Power Systems, which has been central to making the Living Vehicle a reality. “More than any other trailer on the market, Living Vehicle uses the Volta system to its fullest capability, creating an off-grid experience never before possible.”
The vehicle can even come with a balcony and solar awning, a home theater setup, Hi-Fi audio, mobile connectivity, a mobile office, and various other options.
If the Living Vehicle is pulling you in right now, you can find out more about it here or can request a brochure for even more detail. You can jump all the way in by reserving one here. Note that I am getting nothing to write so positively about Living Vehicle. I have never even conversed with anyone from the company or representing it. I just find it an inspiring cleantech option.
The United States is a country built on adventure. It is a culture of exploration. We are more settled now than in the past, and that is surely shifting our culture away from our exploratory roots (especially the more we block out or scare away immigrants who have the same exploratory spirit our ancestors had), but there is still a strong desire for adventure, travel, and an untethered lifestyle in much of the population. The Living Vehicle may be the perfect tool to assist in that while also providing the full luxury experience of 21st century life. Is it a match made in heaven?
If you do decide to order a Living Vehicle, if you do so this month, delivery is expected in early 2021. I know — early 2020 would have been a much better time for this. But who knows what’s coming next year. …
All images courtesy Living Vehicle.
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan is tryin’ to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.
Zach has long-term investments in NIO [NIO], Tesla [TSLA], and Xpeng [XPEV]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.