- Lordstown Motors and RV retailer Camping World held a joint press conference today, saying they are teaming up to electrify camping vehicles as well as to service Lordstown's Endurance electric trucks.
- The first vehicles will be "Class E" electrified travel trailers that are powered via battery packs instead of the traditional generator when hookups are unavailable.
- Camping World is also working with Good Sam to make sure there will be charging stations for these trailers and for a future electric RV.
Lordstown Motors, the Ohio-based EV startup, has been in the news for its plan to produce the Endurance electric pickup for fleet sales. But the company has also been busy taking a look at the current rise in RV usage and enthusiasm for van life. To that end, it's teaming up with Camping World to build electrified travel trailers and, eventually, an electric RV that both companies are calling a Class E RV.
On the service center news, Lordstown sees the proliferation of Camping World locations as a good match for the small Midwestern city. Camping World would service Lordstown’s Endurance trucks and possibly in the future sell the trucks as well. This would free up Lordstown from having to build out its own service centers. It would also help jump-start electrification within the RV industry, which both companies talked about during a joint press conference from Ohio today.
The partnership will also yield electrified RVs and travel trailers. Lordstown will likely adapt its platform to accommodate an RV and will work on a battery for travel trailers that can be integrated by companies such as Thor that build fifth wheels. Those vehicles will be available through Camping World. The retailer's CEO, Marcus Lemonis, said the company will spend $4 million updating its infrastructure to handle electrification, which would include training its service and call centers to include the needs of Endurance trucks and electrified travel vehicles. They will also work with Good Sam (of which Lemonis is also the CEO) to ensure they have EV charging stations for both electric RVs and trailers at Camping World locations.
Camping World plans to have a mock environment ready for testing by June 2021 and an electrified trailer available to test in 2021. Consumers should see them on sale in 2022, the company projected.