Pebble Flow EV Travel Trailer: Glamping goes electric
One of the great joys camping is the silence. There’s nothing worse than going into the wilderness, away from society, and then hearing someone start up a loud, smelly gas generator at the next campsite.
Pebble, a California-based company building a new travel trailer, is hoping an electric RV is just the thing to bring some peace and quiet to glamping life.
The Pebble river is a caravan with a big old battery in the floor. It can run the lights, the shower, the heat, the air conditioning, and anything else you need power for in the forest. The battery also powers a towing assist feature, so the Flow can give itself an extra boost when towing on the road, reducing the load on the vehicle you’re using to transport the RV.
Pebble first announced the Flow in 2023, but to date has not revealed the full range of features the RV will be equipped with. In an announcement scheduled for CES week, Pebble says the first Campers will be assembled and delivered in the first half of 2025. They’re available for pre-order now, starting at $109,000 but going up to $135,500 if you want to control its features with a companion mobile app.
In the river
The Flow has the same aesthetics as many current models Electric vehicleswith large windows and soft, curved elements designed to make it more aerodynamic. It looks like a futuristic luxury spaceship or a really big fancy toaster, depending on how romantic you want it to be. CEO Bingrui Yang sees this very romantically: He chose the name Pebble for the company because the naturally occurring smooth stones bring joy to people, and he wants the electrified camper to convey the same feeling of serenity.
I had the opportunity to stroll through the tight confines of a Pebble Flow demo unit at Pebble’s headquarters in Fremont, California. It offers space for almost everything you need when traveling in an RV. Inside there is a kitchen with an induction hob, convection oven, sink, microwave and refrigerator. The cupboards have plenty of storage space and there are concealed hatches in the floor for even more storage space. Most windows can be opened if you want to let in the breeze. In the back is a queen-size murphy bed that retracts into the wall to create space. At the other end of the caravan, a dining table can be converted into a second bed. A bathroom and shower are located right in the middle of the floor plan. A glass wall separates it from the rest of the interior, but the person in the bathroom can electronically frost the glass at the touch of a button when they need a private defecation.
To the experienced RV enthusiast, this all probably seems like the standard price for a travel trailer that costs over $100,000. Well, you’re right, but Pebble is hoping its EV-like add-ons will make the Flow special.
The Flow is powered by a 45 kWh lithium-ion battery installed in the floor of the RV. That’s slightly smaller than the batteries installed in compact electric vehicles currently on the market and about half the size of the automotive industry’s largest electric vehicle batteries. Pebble says the battery can power indoor systems for up to seven days when fully charged. A set of 1 kW solar panels installed in the roof can partially recharge the battery while driving, and regenerative charging is activated when towing. It also features vehicle-to-load technology, so you can connect to the Flow to use it as a backup power source or electric vehicle charger.
The Pebble Flow is not actually an electric motorhome in the sense that it can function as a standalone vehicle. You’ll need another team to haul it somewhere. Pebble says you’ll likely get further with a hybrid or gas engine vehicle, but you can also tow it with another electric vehicle. The 25-foot trailer weighs 6,200 pounds loaded with all options, so it takes some elbow grease to move it. On the Pebble website you can see the Flow being pulled by a Cybertruck. (While I was at the company’s headquarters, I noticed a matte black Cybertruck in the parking lot. It belonged to Pebble’s CTO, who talked about it a lot while I was there.)
The electric towing assistance function can be switched on when the Flow is in motion. While the motors provide decent thrust behind a real vehicle, they’re just powerful enough to roll the Flow around a bit using a smartphone app, even though it only moves about 1 mile per hour on its own. That’s enough to spin it in a very slow circle, but not nearly enough to get you down the block. This allows you to maneuver the trailer into place at the campsite without having to push and drag it with your car. Simply disconnect the Flow, grab your iPad, and steer it to the perfect spot like a giant, slow-moving RC car. As you can imagine, activating trailer assist mode or driving around the campsite will significantly reduce trailer battery life during actual camping activities.
Pebble has a feature called “Magic Hitch” (it’s not actually magic) that allows you to connect the Flow to your tow vehicle’s hitch using the app. Simply guide it in using the on-screen controls, and when the flow is close enough, press and hold a button and the hitch will use the attached camera to find the exact spot to hook up. Another feature called InstaCamp allows you to park the trailer on an uneven surface and then automatically level the caravan with the push of a button.
