2026 Lightship vs Pebble Flow All Electric Trailers

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

Looking for opinions on which one of these rigs is better off-road and the insulation aspects. My guess is the smart glass is not very well insulated. My guess is the heat pump will be running all night long when temperatures get below 30 degrees. They are very expensive trailers to only be 2 season.

 

[bb00799]

Looking for opinions on which one of these rigs is better off-road and the insulation aspects. My guess is the smart glass is not very well insulated. My guess is the heat pump will be running all night long when temperatures get below 30 degrees. They are very expensive trailers to only be 2 season.

I believe the Lightship also lower/raising mechanism. Which while cool and will help with range....probably not the greatest for reliability and insulation.

 

[bb00799]

I am also very curious about the Evotrex-PG5 and how that shapes up

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

Neither one of these trailers seems to have much clearance. Along with lots of overhang. Off reading might be problematic.

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

I am also very curious about the Evotrex-PG5 and how that shapes up

Its to tall and heavy for a Scout.

 

[bb00799]

Its to tall and heavy for a Scout.

Dam, I didn't know that the Rivian R1T can get up to 11k lbs

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

Dam, I didn't know that the Rivian R1T can get up to 11k lbs

Yes but thats with a WDH which i would never want to deal with. So the EvoTrex would be to heavy for me even with a Riv or Chevy. If your going off road at all you will need a 3/4 ton truck.

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

Neither one of these trailers seems to have much clearance. Along with lots of overhang. Off reading might be problematic.

Yes maybe smooth dirt roads.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

According to the standards, towing more than 5,000 pounds or up to 600 pounds tongue weight, whichever is lower, requires a WDH or a heavy duty vehicle.

None of the manufacturers rate their light-duty trucks to tow more than 5k without a WDH. Not Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Rivian, or any others. And Scout won't either.

None of the mentioned trailers are lighter than 5k pounds.

Perhaps a newly engineered WDH compatible with off-road use would be helpful, but I'm not clever enough to figure that one out.

 

[bb00799]

According to the standards, towing more than 5,000 pounds or up to 600 pounds tongue weight, whichever is lower, requires a WDH or a heavy duty vehicle.

None of the manufacturers rate their light-duty trucks to tow more than 5k without a WDH. Not Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Rivian, or any others. And Scout won't either.

None of the mentioned trailers are lighter than 5k pounds.

Perhaps a newly engineered WDH compatible with off-road use would be helpful, but I'm not clever enough to figure that one out.

Dam I really did not know that at all.

 

[dreamweaver]

Dam I really did not know that at all.

Hover?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Dam I really did not know that at all.

Most people don't.

Towing is a lot more complex than just putting a ball on the truck and hooking up the trailer.

If you dig into manufacturer guides, you'll find a lot of caveats and constraints. For example, the Ford Towing guide for just the F-150, is a 7-page technical document...

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

According to the standards, towing more than 5,000 pounds or up to 600 pounds tongue weight, whichever is lower, requires a WDH or a heavy duty vehicle.

None of the manufacturers rate their light-duty trucks to tow more than 5k without a WDH. Not Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Rivian, or any others. And Scout won't either.

None of the mentioned trailers are lighter than 5k pounds.

Perhaps a newly engineered WDH compatible with off-road use would be helpful, but I'm not clever enough to figure that one out.

It doesn't appear like these three powered trailers have a A framed tongue that could take a wdh. I am afraid the former Tesla folks who designed these trailers know enough about trailers.

 

[Mousehunter]

You really don't want to tow over 500lbs of bumper weight with a 1/2 ton truck - the suspension is not designed for it (and honestly, the frame might not be either - my father bent a frame towing less than 2k lbs with the help of a pothole). Even with my 3/4 ton, I don't do it. Plus, I think most WDH have built in sway control - it is just safer. Honestly, if you tow heavy - go with a 5th wheel or gooseneck. In theory, I guess I do have 2 7,500lb bumper pulls. One is only used with a WDH, the other is rarely (if ever) filled. I have a better goose neck if I need to run that trailer full. It tows a lot smoother as well.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

It doesn't appear like these three powered trailers have a A framed tongue that could take a wdh. I am afraid the former Tesla folks who designed these trailers know enough about trailers.

It’s tough to tell. There’s a lot of plastic shrouding around the tongues. I don’t think the Lightship would work with a WDH because it has electronics built into the tongue and I think a WDH would interfere with that and probably create safety issues. I suspect the same is true of the Pebble. There’s too little information about the Evotrex. None of them seem safe to tow without a 2500 or 3500 HD truck. And of course, if you’re not pulling with an EV, there doesn’t seem to be much point to the trailers.

I would much prefer just to have a large battery and charger built into a travel trailer instead of all the extra nonsense. If I had the patience for VC funding, I’d go looking for investors. An enterprising shop could build a travel trailer with a battery that’s around the size of the truck battery for not much more than a standard travel trailer. Even with the tariffs doubling their price, prismatic LFP batteries from China are still incredibly priced. For a DIYer like myself...I have looked at eBay batteries from a Lightning or another BEV. I could probably add a battery + charging solution to a mid-sized travel trailer for less than $5k; that’s without volume pricing. And I could still keep it within the 5,000 pound limit if I wanted to avoid a WDH.

 

[Mousehunter]

At current weight density - it would be hard to put in 100kwh AND keep a trailer under 5k lbs.

 

[BartMan Terra Total EV]

It’s tough to tell. There’s a lot of plastic shrouding around the tongues. I don’t think the Lightship would work with a WDH because it has electronics built into the tongue and I think a WDH would interfere with that and probably create safety issues. I suspect the same is true of the Pebble. There’s too little information about the Evotrex. None of them seem safe to tow without a 2500 or 3500 HD truck. And of course, if you’re not pulling with an EV, there doesn’t seem to be much point to the trailers.

I would much prefer just to have a large battery and charger built into a travel trailer instead of all the extra nonsense. If I had the patience for VC funding, I’d go looking for investors. An enterprising shop could build a travel trailer with a battery that’s around the size of the truck battery for not much more than a standard travel trailer. Even with the tariffs doubling their price, prismatic LFP batteries from China are still incredibly priced. For a DIYer like myself...I have looked at eBay batteries from a Lightning or another BEV. I could probably add a battery + charging solution to a mid-sized travel trailer for less than $5k; that’s without volume pricing. And I could still keep it within the 5,000 pound limit if I wanted to avoid a WDH.

Space..my good buddy insists his current Riv Quad Moter Max pack battery truck is close to being equal to a 3/4 ton truck. He feels like the self propulsion of the Lightship or Pebble take tongue weight pressure off the hitch. In my layman's mentality when you set that 600-750 pounds on the hitch ball does it take weight off the hitch when the propulsion kicks in? I am sure it takes 90% of the pulling aspect but doesn't seem like it would effect the downward weight on the hitch. Especially if you hit a pot hole. Thoughts?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Space..my good buddy insists his current Riv Quad Moter Max pack battery truck is close to being equal to a 3/4 ton truck. He feels like the self propulsion of the Lightship or Pebble take tongue weight pressure off the hitch. In my layman's mentality when you set that 600-750 pounds on the hitch ball does it take weight off the hitch when the propulsion kicks in? I am sure it takes 90% of the pulling aspect but doesn't seem like it would effect the downward weight on the hitch. Especially if you hit a pot hole. Thoughts?

I know a lot of people like to think their truck is more capable than it is rated for. The ratings aren’t just for a thing breaking, they’re—more importantly—for the safety of other people on the road.

The images below are screen grabs from Rivian’s owner’s manuals. Rivian do not rate the truck nor the SUV to tow more than 5,000 pounds without a weight distributing hitch.

It’s not about the pulling capability. It’s about the weight on the hitch and the suspension response to the weight on the hitch. A >500 pound tongue load on the hitch will overload the rear suspension of any non-HD truck and could cause damage to the frame.

The Lightship Atmos has a tongue weight of 792 pounds. That’s 158% overloading the R1’s hitch.
The Panos has a tongue weight of 737 pounds. That’s 147% overloading the R1’s hitch.

I would expect he would not be covered by insurance if he damaged property or hurt someone while towing, but it’s probably circumstantial rather than certain.

 

[DaveGunter]

The top spec lightship comes with a WDH.

Pebble says you don’t need a WDH, some people are using one anyway.

No information on the Evotrex and a WDH

Lightship and Pebble both say that the trailer’s propulsion system can control sway.

All of them say that the tow vehicle must be able to to tow the full weight per regulations, no gimme because of the propulsion system of the trailer.

Personally I’d want a 3/4 ton. I don’t feel the rivian is up to it, maybe the Ramcharger, definitely not the Scout.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Oh, and powered wheels does nothing to reduce the load on the hitch.