(Serious Q) - I'm thinking of starting a new company. Input please?

[buttershrimp]

An electric RV makes a lot of sense, and it makes a ton of sense for it to be a Tesla one.

Like lets say some ingenious person extended/converted a Model X to be a camper Van. Okay, not the best platform but the best we got right now.

Here are the problems it's solves.

You don't need a second battery as you can use the vehicle battery
You don't need any heating/cooling of the lithium battery as it already has that.
You can use the camper ground 220V hook up for charging the battery and for all the stuff in the RV
AC can easily run off the vehicle battery since it's a large battery. No need for a generator or adding batteries.
You can use Solar to charge the battery for all the RV stuff (stove, fridge, etc). Plus it might get you some miles in a desperate situation.

When it's all said and done it makes a lot of sense to have an Electric Camper Van.

Honestly, it makes so much sense, now if I could add solar and powerwalls and skirting around the wheels to hide them to pass various oppressive neighborhood design boards, I'd make it my homestead. Heck, the Tesla semi outperforms a diesel with half the motors... you might even be able to talk Tesla into selling you the Semi with fewer motors. Sign me up.

 

[Cosmacelf]

It’s too big of a platform for an RV. And dude, starting an RV manufacturing business is, well, listen to your wife on this one.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

Man....Elon designed a semi for long haul, and now there are oil field trucks, camper trucks, ...all kinds of things that were not part of the original design. This is indeed a disruptive design. I predict there will be a dozen new designs within a few months based on the Tesla Semi.
Now making a business out of this design - first problem i see is getting the raw goods to modify. With dozens of truck orders being placed, Elon wont have the time to build you a stripped down unit for years. But keep up with the dreams guys!!! I'm more glad every day that I bought a handful of stock, and my own MS.

 

[AudubonB]

Good points all - definitely keep them coming. A few responses:

* the so-called "Semi" shown at the Reveal is, in fact, already stripped down. A good number - I counted somewhere between twelve and fifteen - cab variations were shown, in model form, in front of the demo vehicle.

* I always listen to Jenny. Doesn't mean there's not a transcranial otic pass-through, though.

* What may or may not be too big for an RV most definitely does not mean it's too big for a motorhome. Take a look at the pix I showed of motorhomes/toterhomes in post #1. ALL those incorporate a Class 8 tractor. Which leads to....

* CDL / No CDL. As a general rule, if GVWR is <26,000 lbs, there is no issue: no CDL necessary. As a state or provincial rule, the decades-long trend of monstrouser and monstrouser motorhomes has chipped away at the above so that, for example, if one shows one has added a toilet of some sort and a few other standard modifications, one receives an "RV" title and again, no CDL necessary. But what is okay in one's home state may be null upon crossing into the next one. Motorhome owners are accustomed to this. As far as I and some others - but not all; I understand that fully - are concerned, just get a CDL. No big deal unless you've got a drug problem.

 

[jbcarioca]

OK, here goes. I am NOT an ardent admirer of this genre. But, several (!) of my friends from high school have devoted their lives to RV's of various stripes. I dunno why, but I've heard them extolling the virtues of various types for longer than you've been alive M'Lord. So, here are my comments...

the higher end market is usually underestimated, it seems to me. A big factor in resistance is having a giant truck as base. My friends from OZ, the Nordics and Germany are Sprinter/Transit advocates depending on their brand preferences.

Now, as commented about, having every RV park in the world with decent L2 A/c of one stripe or another plus the pretty easy build of a Tesla semi based vehicle I'll argue you can do wonders, for a handful of reasons:
1. Effective range of ~400 miles or more will pretty much cover almost any RV driver. Many of the vehicles now sold have similar ranges. The. ability to charge overnight plus use Super/Mega Chargers makes this pretty painless. I strongly suspect you'll have no problem having Tesla provide multiple native charging capabilities (a la Tesla China) so carrying adapters would not need to be an issue. After all there's lots of spare space, and cosmetics aren't a big deal.

2. Aerodynamics can be excellent because of the seamless installation, assuming you have decent engineering talent.

3. The built in sensors can easily be tuned to provide unequalled vision and whatever automation levels appear.

4. if you order, say, 100 LR Semi, Tesla will be inclined to cooperate. After all they do know what the truck market is about.

5. There must be a fair number of fleet RV rental outfits that will happily be customers.

However:
1. This is a BIG vehicle.

2. By the time it's done it'll cost at least $400,000. Not a deal breaker but is a market limiter.

3. There's roughly three years of design, prep and Tesla-time to cope with.

4. The capital costs will be high for an unknown potential.

In penultimate conclusion, there are few BEV markets for which the normal natural stopover locations are already equipped with some type of 'refuelling' capability. Of course there are many questions. IMHO, this idea simply will work.

In ultimate conclusion, if you cannot convince Jenny don't do it. Five startups I did with Gina. Several others she nixed. She has a family background with lots of startups, so I am predisposed to trust her. Such ventures require dedicated family attention when one has a family.

This one is very high risk with weirdly high rewards too. You've never been impeded by excess timidity, so don't start now!

 

[buttershrimp]

It’s too big of a platform for an RV. And dude, starting an RV manufacturing business is, well, listen to your wife on this one.

Who wears the electric pants in the family?

 

[T34ME]

The industry is ripe for a “disrupter” that (as you rightfully pointed out) can be enthusiastically embraced by the next generation of campers and glampers. My wife and I would never be caught dead at a camp ground with a gigantic bus-sized coach. But would we entertain something “big” that could sleep our family, run clean and quiet, be easy to drive, and offer a “from the ground up redesign” approach?

Yes. Yes we would.

I have always been a fan of the old GMC RVs. They were way ahead of their time. When I see one on the road today, they still bring a smile to my face. I have never owned an RV and never will, but I sure would be tempted by an electrified GMC RV.

 

[NeverFollow]

One interesting aspect about mobile home is that they can be considered as a home, providing then some tax deductions.

In the case of a fifth-wheel trailer, I wonder if the tractor, such as a full size pickup truck, can be also included.

If so, this could be a real tax advantage when owning such big truck!

 

[postpast]

It is a cool idea and if done right I think there could be a market. A couple of issues I forsee;

1) RV's spend a great deal of the time sitting. It is very common to have them sitting for 3-6 months at a time not being used. How much vampire drain would there be from a 1MV battery? A 1% a day drain would probably make an electric RV much less efficient than a gas RV.

2) I think a Dual Driver is the only way to go. A 28fter based on a semi is way overkill and people in the market for a half million dollar RV are going to want more space. Will there be any complications of moving the motors to the rear? Will Tesla allow you to move the motors and extend the wiring while still providing the warranty, charging and support?

3) When would this business be viable? It could be three years before you got a Semi to rip apart and start engineering on. If you plan to have this out in 2022, what will be on the market then?

 

[WannabeOwner]

By the time it's done it'll cost at least $400,000. Not a deal breaker but is a market limiter.

Here we go: "Founder Edition" @ 10% deposit for the first 125 customers. There's $5-mil to play with ...

sitting for 3-6 months at a time not being used

Presumably that's a problem with a 12V battery too? do RV owners have a 12V trickle charge cable trailing across to their RV anyway?

What about:
"Darling: I've decided to buy the PowerWall we talked about" ...
"Great. What size did you get?"
"The 1MWH version"

If this was a 5th wheel construction couldn't owners rent-out the Tractor as a day-to-day trailer-puller delivery vehicle? Looking like 100% business-cost-writetoff against tax at that point ...

I'm approaching retirement age and really surprised at the number of my Peers who are all-of-a-sudden investing in RVs. Over here its vans-converted-to-campers, but I can see it being popular amongst the Oldies.

Only thing that puts me off is the single-driver position, I like to have company (up front) driving long-haul.

There is a clear upside to having "camper mode" constant electrical power for heating / cooling. Personally, being a bit of an eco-warrier, I'd look at thermal insulation too, to cut the requirement for heat/cooling as much as possible. If you are not already familiar with it you might like to look at Spacetherm Arogel - not cheap, and awkward to work with ... sorry about that! - we've used it in building our Passive House in areas where there was not enough space for more conventional insulation.

 

[WarpedOne]

Only thing that puts me off is the single-driver position, I like to have company (up front) driving long-haul.

Break down the rear cabin wall and mount two rotating captain chairs.

The more I think about it, the more it is obvious - this will happen... just do it, be amongst them.
Start a kickstarter project and pay full 200k for signature editions. You want to get one as soon as possible.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Break down the rear cabin wall and mount two rotating captain chairs.

They are still behind the driver though, aren't they?

Although: thinking about it, this thing will be Full AP, so me and the Missus will be in the back having a Martini

 

[WarpedOne]

... and make that driver captain seat also rotatable.

 

[jbcarioca]

I completely forgot:

It must have a garage suitable for a (your choice) Smart EV, iMiev, Wiz, Zippy, Honda Micro-Commuter, a CirEcar or even a Garia. Lots of choices small enough to fit in and be recharged by your eco-friendly Class 8 Motorhome.

Now we're about to reach ~$600,000. There is a market for this, no question.

It ain't gonna be me, but I'll not be offended at all to know people who have these. I know people who'll definitely do it.

 

[AudubonB]

Hadn't I written to garage a Roadster II ? I thought I included that in my initial scratchings.
The terrific feature of a Roadster is that the garage need be no larger than the car itself: you Summon it in & out, so needn't carve out leeway for either door openings or height more than car itself.
A little on the heavy side, however.

Crowdfunding is terrific. I'm not sure, though, that even I have the cachet of Mr Musk to be able to pull off the "Pay Now - We'll Work Out The Overall Design Later" trick.

 

[jbcarioca]

They are still behind the driver though, aren't they?

Although: thinking about it, this thing will be Full AP, so me and the Missus will be in the back having a Martini

Does this you WannabeOwner of Audi's Founder Edition? No problem, just send him GBP 500,000 now. Then you'll received the fully loaded FE which will have an automated martini prep (whether you wish for the original, or any American variety with your choice of gin), as well as you selected interior decor and your choice of Renault Twizy, Smart EV or other similar UK sold BEV that will fit in the garage of your Founders Edition.

Unlike the Founders Edition vehicles sold by Tesla directly this one comes with a discount rather than a premium. There will be only 500 Founders Editions available so order now!!

Note: ordering >ten Founders Editions will have additional benefits which will be described by the Founder himself, @AudubonB. Said tweets will, by regulation, have the same enforceability as the tweets provided by the CEO of the country in which he resides.

 

[jbcarioca]

Hadn't I written to garage a Roadster II ? I thought I included that in my initial scratchings.
The terrific feature of a Roadster is that the garage need be no larger than the car itself: you Summon it in & out, so needn't carve out leeway for either door openings or height more than car itself.
A little on the heavy side, however.

Crowdfunding is terrific. I'm not sure, though, that even I have the cachet of Mr Musk to be able to pull off the "Pay Now - We'll Work Out The Overall Design Later" trick.

Oh, I'm so sorry I missed that. Is the Roadster also a Founders Edition? Does that mean the UK price rises if the Roadster option is chosen?

 

[PlayaVista]

Reviving this thread because this idea is also stuck in my head for three months as well. I guess aftering having owned 3,S, and X you start to wonder what if I had the Semi (or the Roadster).

I'd imagine the base price of the Tesla Motor Home has to be at least $750K. After reseller fees, customization etc it would not be surprising if this is a $2M vehicle.

Case in point: Inside Will Smith's Luxurious $2.5 Million, 2-Story Movie Trailer

 

[NeverFollow]

I'd imagine the base price of the Tesla Motor Home has to be at least $750K.
After reseller fees, customization etc it would not be surprising if this is a $2M vehicle.

Case in point: Inside Will Smith's Luxurious $2.5 Million, 2-Story Movie Trailer

Can you really call this a 'Motor Home' ?

 

[PlayaVista]

'murrica!

Well, that was just as an example. There are not too many Will Smiths in this world but one just need to sell a few of those to be a profitable enterprise! I can see how Tesla will tow and power that with ease.