One of these great joy of camp is silence. There's nothing worse than going into the wilderness, being socially distanced, and then hearing someone at the campsite start up a noisy, smelly gas generator.
Pebble, a California-based company that's building a new travel trailer, is hoping that an electric RV will be just the thing to bring some quiet to a life of luxury.
the gravel flow is a travel trailer with a large battery under the floor. It can run lights, showers, heating, air conditioning, and anything else you might want to use for electricity while in the woods. The battery also powers the towing assist feature, so the Flow can generate extra thrust on its own as you pull it down the road, easing the burden on the vehicle you're using to haul the camper.
Pebble first announced the Flow in 2023, but the company hadn't fully revealed the features it planned to include in the camper until today. In an announcement timed during CES week, Pebble said it will assemble and deliver the first campers in the first half of 2025. They are available for pre-order now, starting at $109,000 but going up up to 135,500 USD if you want. Control its features using the companion mobile app.
in the flow
The Flow has a similar aesthetic to many models today tramwith large windows and soft curves intended to make it more aerodynamic. It looks like a luxurious futuristic spaceship or an ultra-luxurious toaster, depending on how romantic you want it to be. CEO Bingrui Yang is romantic about this: He chose the name Pebble for the company because naturally occurring smooth pebbles tend to bring joy to people, and he wanted the electric camper to do the same. similar feeling of serenity.
I got the chance to wander the cramped confines of the Pebble Flow demo unit at Pebble's headquarters in Fremont, California. It contains everything you would want if you were going out in your RV. Inside is a kitchen with induction cooker, convection oven, sink, microwave and refrigerator. The cabinets offer ample storage and have hidden hatches under the floor for more storage. Most windows open if you need a breeze. In the back there is a queen-sized Murphy bed that retracts into the wall to create space. The dining table can be divided into a second bed at the other end of the trailer. The bathroom and shower are right in the middle of the floor plan. A glass wall separates it from the rest of the interior, but people in the bathroom can press a button to electronically dim the glass if they need a private poop.
For experienced RV enthusiasts, this is probably just standard fare for a trailer that costs well over a hundred thousand dollars. Well, you're right, but what Pebble is hoping for is EV-like add-ons that will make the Flow special.
The Flow is powered by a 45 kWh lithium-ion battery built into the floor of the camper. This size is slightly smaller than the batteries integrated in compact electric vehicles currently on the market and is about half the size of the largest electric vehicle batteries in the automotive industry. Pebble says the battery can power internal systems for up to seven days on a full charge. A set of 1 kW solar panels built into the roof can power the battery while you're on the road, and regenerative charging is activated during towing. It also has truck technology, so you can connect to the Flow to use it as a backup power source or EV charger.
The Pebble Flow is not actually an E-RV in the sense that it can function as a vehicle on its own. You'll need another rig to tow it anywhere. Pebble says that while towing with a hybrid or gas engine can get you farther, you can tow it with another electric vehicle. The 25-foot trailer weighs 6,200 pounds with all the options, so it will take some muscle to move it. The Pebble website shows the Flow being towed by the 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 assisted drag feature can be enabled while the Flow is in motion. While the motors provide decent thrust behind a real car, they're only powerful enough to move the Flow a little using the 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 close enough to get you down on the block. What it allows you to do is maneuver the trailer into position at the campsite without having to use the cart and drag it around. Just detach the Flow, grab your iPad, and steer it like a giant, slow RC car into the perfect position. Using tow assist mode or driving around the campsite will certainly reduce the trailer's battery life for actual camping activities, as you can imagine.
Pebble has a feature called Magic Hitch (it's not really magic) that allows you to use the app to connect the Flow to the tow hitch on your tow vehicle. Simply guide it with the on-screen controls, and when Flow is close enough, hold a button and the hook will use the included camera to find the exact spot to hook onto. Another feature, called InstaCamp, allows you to park the trailer on an uneven surface and then press a button to automatically level the camper.