Outdoors

Living Vehicle's H2O-making, solar-winged RV slashes all ties to grid

Living Vehicle's H2O-making, solar-winged RV slashes all ties to grid
Living Vehicle ups the self sufficiency on its MY2024 lineup
Living Vehicle ups the self sufficiency on its MY2024 lineup
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Living Vehicle loads its 2024 lineup with more off-grid capabilities than ever
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Living Vehicle loads its 2024 lineup with more off-grid capabilities than ever
Living Vehicle enhances its expandable solar power system for up to 4,400 watts of panels
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Living Vehicle enhances its expandable solar power system for up to 4,400 watts of panels
Along with the new HD and LT models, Living Vehicle has detailed compatible LT-LVT and HD-LVT (Living Vehicle Trucks) models – upfit packages designed for the best towing compatibility and performance. The company doesn't offer the trucks itself but will work with customers and make recommendations for preferred upfitting specialists
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Along with the new HD and LT models, Living Vehicle has detailed compatible LT-LVT and HD-LVT (Living Vehicle Trucks) models – upfit packages designed for the best towing compatibility and performance. The company doesn't offer the trucks itself but will work with customers and make recommendations for preferred upfitting specialists
Living Vehicle has made more room on the roof for its expansive solar charging system
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Living Vehicle has made more room on the roof for its expansive solar charging system
Both the 2024 HD and LT have a fold-out front deck
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Both the 2024 HD and LT have a fold-out front deck
Setting up the Living Vehicle HD deck
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Setting up the Living Vehicle HD deck
Enjoying life off-grid
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Enjoying life off-grid
Living Vehicle offers about as many options as standard features, including a home theater system and hi-fi audio
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Living Vehicle offers about as many options as standard features, including a home theater system and hi-fi audio
Slide-out kitchen pantry
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Slide-out kitchen pantry
Convertible dining lounge with lift-away top bed
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Convertible dining lounge with lift-away top bed
Dining lounge switched back to day mode
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Dining lounge switched back to day mode
The kitchen includes a movable island for versatility
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The kitchen includes a movable island for versatility
Living Vehicle ups the self sufficiency on its MY2024 lineup
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Living Vehicle ups the self sufficiency on its MY2024 lineup
Living Vehicle offers Core, Max and Pro packages with different amounts of solar charging
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Living Vehicle offers Core, Max and Pro packages with different amounts of solar charging
Different views in every direction is one of the joys of off-grid living, whether for a night, a vacation or full-time
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Different views in every direction is one of the joys of off-grid living, whether for a night, a vacation or full-time
With a fully off-grid electrical system with backups and a water-making system, the new Living Vehicle HD-Pro feels quite at home on the range
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With a fully off-grid electrical system with backups and a water-making system, the new Living Vehicle HD-Pro feels quite at home on the range
The 2024 Living Vehicle HD can serve the role of a luxurious glamping RV or a
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The 2024 Living Vehicle HD can serve the role of a luxurious glamping RV or a transportable wilderness cabin
The Living Vehicle HD has a dry bathroom that would look at home in an seven-figure mansion
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The Living Vehicle HD has a dry bathroom that would look at home in an seven-figure mansion
The Living Vehicle HD comes standard with a queen bedroom but now has the option of a king
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The Living Vehicle HD comes standard with a queen bedroom but now has the option of a king
Living Vehicle upgrades and splits its 2024 lineup with the 30-ft HD (left) and the 24-ft LT (right)
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Living Vehicle upgrades and splits its 2024 lineup with the 30-ft HD (left) and the 24-ft LT (right)
HD floor plan and features
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HD floor plan and features
Living Vehicle HD with king-size bed
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Living Vehicle HD with king-size bed
2024 Living Vehicle LT floor plan with front bunk room
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2024 Living Vehicle LT floor plan with front bunk room
2024 Living Vehicle LT with front storage room with available washer/dryer
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2024 Living Vehicle LT with front storage room with available washer/dryer
2024 Living Vehicle LT with front mobile office space
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2024 Living Vehicle LT with front mobile office space
2024 Living Vehicle LT floor plan, options and features
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2024 Living Vehicle LT floor plan, options and features
A highlight of the 2024 Living Vehicle, the WaterGen atmospheric water generation system integrates neatly with the onboard plumbing to supply daily fresh water
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A highlight of the 2024 Living Vehicle, the WaterGen atmospheric water generation system integrates neatly with the onboard plumbing to supply daily fresh water
View gallery - 27 images

Living Vehicle trailers have always straddled the gap between recreational campers and full-time micro-homes, and now they're taking a big step toward becoming frontier-style off-grid homesteads. The new 4-season HD-Pro hoards a Tesla Model 3's worth of battery power and backs it up with an expandable dual-awning solar charging system. So go ahead and plop it down in the middle of a snowed-over meadow like the one in the photo and stay the season ... or a lifetime.

Since Living Vehicle's launch in 2017, it was always clear the California company was chasing after a different breed of customer than the average camping trailer company. It's right in the name – an LV, not an RV. It's been working hard to push its trailers farther and farther away from the grid while keeping them loaded with the amenities any good coastal Californian demands no matter where they are. And the new HD-Pro does it better than any previous model.

Living Vehicle upgrades and splits its 2024 lineup with the 30-ft HD (left) and the 24-ft LT (right)
Living Vehicle upgrades and splits its 2024 lineup with the 30-ft HD (left) and the 24-ft LT (right)

We thought Living Vehicle might be content to just carry its 2023 model over to 2024, after adding impressive updates like a convertible work studio/bedroom, atmospheric water generator and up to 58 kWh of battery capacity. But it keeps right on moving with the 2024 model, splitting its series into two, led by the new 30-foot (9.1-m) triple-axle HD-Pro flagship.

Along with the added axle, HD-Pro upgrading begins with a 72-kWh lithium-ion battery bank meant to pull the trailer totally off-grid. Large as it is, that EV-size battery won't last forever when running the Living Vehicle's significant residential-style amenity set through the 18-kW inverter, so Living Vehicle also boosts the size of the solar array.

It moves the air conditioner off the roof and down to the basement, making room for a 4,400-W solar spread that stacks over the roof during the ride and expands out at camp via two deployable awnings. The HD-Pro also includes Level 2 EV charging in case the owner needs to charge up a vehicle to drive back for a visit with civilization.

Living Vehicle has made more room on the roof for its expansive solar charging system
Living Vehicle has made more room on the roof for its expansive solar charging system

The company says the HD-Pro is designed to live completely off-grid, self-sufficiently powering equipment including the 240-V dual-zone electric heating system and 24-K BTU air conditioner. To keep the interior properly isolated from exterior temperatures ranging between -4 and 120 °F (-20 to 49 °C), it relies on a rigid closed-cell foam insulation package. It says the A/C operates with a very high SEER rating of 21, ensuring the most efficient use of cooling energy.

While the LV HD-Pro is designed to operate self-sufficiently, that might not mean running 100% emissions-free, 24/7. Living Vehicle offers available backup power sources that can include a propane tank, generator, tow vehicle-installed alternator and added deployable solar panels, ensuring that LV campers/residents don't get left in the dark by harsh storms and other inclement weather that can diminish solar charging.

Living Vehicle further empowers true off-grid living with an optional water-making system that can literally pull drinking water out of the air. Capable of delivering up to 5 gallons (18.9 L) of fresh potable water per day, the integrated WaterGen system extracts water vapor from ambient humidity, runs it through a multi-stage filtration process, and transfers it to the fresh water tank. The system is designed to effectively reduce or replace the need for water delivery, well drilling or off-site water tank fill-ups.

A highlight of the 2024 Living Vehicle, the WaterGen atmospheric water generation system integrates neatly with the onboard plumbing to supply daily fresh water
A highlight of the 2024 Living Vehicle, the WaterGen atmospheric water generation system integrates neatly with the onboard plumbing to supply daily fresh water

The HD model comes standard with a front queen-bed master suite, but offers the option to upgrade to a king-size bed. The bedroom also houses a full-height closet and a shelf/dresser unit that can be optionally swapped out for a washer/dryer combo.

Living Vehicle offers several other bedroom layouts, including a bunkhouse with four single beds. The Mobile Office layout centers around a Murphy queen bed that flips away into a mobile workstation that can be fully loaded with Apple hardware.

The Living Vehicle HD comes standard with a queen bedroom but now has the option of a king
The Living Vehicle HD comes standard with a queen bedroom but now has the option of a king

Strolling back through the interior, the dry bathroom just behind the bedroom has a china toilet and separate shower. A composting toilet is also available. The residential-style gourmet kitchen includes standard and available equipment like a three-burner induction cooktop, electric oven, movable countertop island, 368-L refrigerator and dishwasher. The fold-out patio is located across from the kitchen, offering a 1,500-lb (680-kg) rating for outdoor dining and relaxing.

The rear of the HD is dedicated to a dining lounge with L-shaped sofa. The adjacent dining table can drop down for use as a coffee table, turning the space into a casual living room. The furniture also converts into a queen-size guest bed. Available lift-away beds give the HD a maximum sleeping capacity of eight people.

The kitchen includes a movable island for versatility
The kitchen includes a movable island for versatility

All the HD-Pro's power, off-grid capability and interior appointments will cost the modern pioneer a pretty penny, as the trailer starts at US$639,995 before one even has a gander at a long, enticing options list that counts a "zero gravity lounge," 4K home theater system, Starlink satellite internet, and all-terrain navigation package among its entries.

But that's the family flagship. Those who don't need to stock up on solar power like the sun is in its death throes can quickly shave tens of thousands off their final price. The $459,995 HD-Core scales power back to a 22-kWh lithium battery bank and 2,000 watts of solar, and the $549,995 Max has a 43-kWh battery wired to 3,000 watts of panels.

Enjoying life off-grid
Enjoying life off-grid

Still too rich for your blood? For MY2024, Living Vehicle will also soon launch the LT, a smaller 24-foot (7.3-m) two-axle model that comes with Core, Max and Pro packages that have the same battery and solar specs as the HD series. The LT will start at $359,995 and bring a simplified floor plan with a smaller front room that can be specced as a storage and gear room, bunk room or mobile office space. Beyond that, it has a similar layout to the HD that and includes a dry bathroom, rear sofa/bed dining lounge, island kitchen and fold-down deck.

The short intro video combines some gorgeous scenery with a closer look at many of the 2024 Living Vehicle's features.

Epic Living Vehicle HD30: The Future Unleashed!

Source: Living Vehicle

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10 comments
10 comments
paul314
Do even as many people buy these things as buy hypercars? (Of course, with a "work" version, I wouldn't be surprised if going off the grid gets you a tax break.)
kornpophunter
For $600K you would think the rooftop solar array would tilt, even just a bit ;) . Methinks. Just add notches to the beams, hinges, and some pneumatic cylinders, etc cetera. They can repay me for my obvious suggestion, by parking (at least the smaller) one in my driveway...
Uncle Anonymous
I like the idea of off grid, but I think the reality would be a little different. For example, with water production being a max 5 gallons a day, the occupants will not be showering very often or doing a lot of washing for that matter. The solar array is good, but, in the winter it snows, so is there some means of cleaning the panels? Otherwise, there's going to be a heck of a drop in output. Then there is the battery pack, the battery is listed as lithium, now is that lithium-ion or lithium iron phosphate? Lithium-ion isn't the safest, and in a remote location, a battery fire could be deadly.

Now, having written the above, I still like these units, and I'd love to have one. But, selling my home in order to buy one of these trailers isn't in the cards. 🙂
vince
That's what we all need--off the grid and the selfish monoplies controlling the grid. Did you know that in St George, Utah, using Saint George electric provider, they will charge you as much as a hundred dollars a month just for using your own solar. A $18.50 a month charge plus a use charge. In other words, the more power your system provides the more they charge you for the electricity you feed to the grid. That's highway robbery!!
vince
They need to start making homes with no connections to the grid as well. Only in this way can homeowners avoid the utility ripoffs for having solar, etc. Utility companies are making it so that breakeven never occurs as they put so many multiple costs in each customers bills to make them end up paying as much as their original electric bill even after adding solar. So no savings is possible.
michael_dowling
Gotta say this one is different. No CO2 polluting power sources. Wonder if you could recharge your EV from the roof panels? Even if it took a few days,it would be neat.
TpPa
30' for me Please, with everything, would someone mind prepaying for me Please, you can call it a ho fund me if you would like for a disabled old fart.
Thanks
jerryd
Poorly designed solar, body as way too heavy, clunky. They should have gone with 25% of the weight flexible solar and built the body a lot lighter.
clay
$360,000 USD...

Wow.

Other than the ridiculous price, its a very cool unit.
ljaques
That is =the= most well appointed trailer I've ever seen. They seem to be waaay too proud of it, though. Build it, lighter & better with composites, for $125k, if that. Leave off the bling and it could be classier, too. I wonder if they'll build 100 of these, all told.