EDITOR’S NOTE: THOR Industries, during last week’s Elkhart RV Open House, unveiled the world’s first hybrid Class A motorhome, the THOR Test Vehicle. The vehicle is built on an electric vehicle (EV) platform developed by EV manufacturer Harbinger. THOR and Harbinger collaborated to integrate a low-emissions gasoline range extender that can recharge the electric battery system, delivering an estimated 500 miles of range. RVs utilizing the hybrid platform will be commercially available in 2025 from the THOR family of companies and are expected to qualify as a Near-Zero Emission Vehicle (NZEV) under the Advanced Clean Truck legislation, adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Among those taking test drives of the prototype were several journalists from mainstream media outfits such as Motor Trend Car and Driver and Forbes. What follows is a selection of that coverage.
Thor’s Hybrid-Electric RV Is a House on Wheels That Drives Like a Car
(Motor Trend) No one buys an RV for the driving experience. You own a house on wheels so you can visit the world’s wildest places and sleep in civilized bliss. So you can spatchcock a chicken while camping. So you can take a washing machine with you on vacation.
RV travel is about the destination, not the journey of steering a 35-foot box through traffic, which explains why the chassis and powertrains underpinning today’s RVs have hardly changed in the past 40 years even as cars have become computerized and electrified marvels. “Modern” motorhomes are noisy, clumsy machines with the body control of a one-year-old who missed his nap and acceleration that feels like it could be measured in minutes, not seconds.
That’s about to change with arrival of the first plug-in hybrid motorhome. Next year, RV manufacturer Thor Industries and commercial EV startup Harbinger plan to launch a production Class A motorhome driven by an electric motor drawing power from nearly one ton of lithium-ion batteries and a gas-burning four-cylinder spinning a generator. That powertrain is packaged in a medium-duty chassis that Harbinger designed from a clean sheet, which gave engineers the opportunity to rethink the steering, suspension, and brakes, too. Having driven the prototype pictured here, it’s hard to overstate the transformative effect of all this. Harbinger and Thor have created an RV that’s almost car-like in how it drives.
Click here to read the full report by Motor Trend.
Thor electric RV concept packs a 140 kWh battery and 500 mile range
(Elektrek) The latest electric RV concept from Thor is a Class A motorhome with big batteries, electric drive, and a range-extending generator. Will this PHERV (?) make it to production?
Visually similar to Thor’s existing Vegas Class A motorhome and co-developed by Thor and commercial EV manufacturer Harbinger, this “world’s first hybrid RV” combines a gas-powered range extender that can generate electric power to feed the RV’s huge, 140 kWh battery packs. The batteries then send power to Harbinger’s eAxle (a proprietary electric axle that combines a motor, inverter, and gearbox into a single unit) at the back of the RV’s ladder-style frame. Along with the range-extender, the batteries should be good to deliver, “an estimated 500 miles of range.”
Click here to read the full report by Elektrek.
THOR hybrid vehicle launches RV industry into EV world
(WVPE) Last week at the 2024 Elkhart RV Dealer Open House, Thor Industries unveiled a new vehicle: the first hybrid class A motorhome. Thor collaborated with Harbinger Motors to develop the test vehicle that debuted at the three-day event.
Despite early concerns that electric motors might struggle with larger vehicles like RVs, Thor’s test vehicle boasts an estimated 500-mile range. It runs on an electric motor and battery system, recharged by a low-emissions gasoline range extender. Solar panels on the motorhome’s roof also provide additional charge.
Thor operates many subsidiaries, including Airstream, Heartland RV, Jayco, Dutchmen, and Keystone RV. The company has yet to determine which subsidiary will offer the hybrid vehicle, but according to a release from Thor, RVs with the hybrid chassis will become commercially available in 2025.
Click here to read the full report by WVPE.
This Plug-In-Hybrid RV Will Offer 500 Miles of Anxiety-Free Range
(Car and Driver) An electric RV without the range to get you out of your current ZIP code is a bit like an umbrella peppered with holes. There’s not much point. But, with the increasing push toward electrification throughout the entire automotive industry, RV manufacturers are looking for ways to join in. Airstream parent company Thor Industries is offering up a new plug-in-hybrid motorhome that should get you much farther afield than the next county.
The Thor Test Vehicle (very creative name) is a partnership between Thor and the EV manufacturer Harbinger. The brand describes the Test Vehicle as the world’s first hybrid Class A motorhome. The camper features a 140.0-kWh battery pack with an 800-volt system that allows for DC fast-charging. The standard range is around 150 miles, though that number jumps up to roughly 500 thanks to a small internal-combustion range extender.
Click here to read the full report by Car and Driver.
THOR, Harbinger Unveil Hybrid Class A RV With 150 Mile EV-Only Range
(Forbes) One of the joys of vacationing in a recreational vehicle is saving big money on the cost of lodging, but that’s partially offset by how much fuel they guzzle. Starting next year, however, RV enthusiasts will have a choice that greatly improves how far they can travel on a tank of gas, while also giving them the option of cruising without using any.
Leading RV manufacturer THOR Industries and electric vehicle company Harbinger took the wraps off the world’s first hybrid class A RV on Monday. Class A RVs look like buses and are built on commercial truck or bus chassis.
Click here to read the full report by Forbes.
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