F ocus on AMERICAN ELECTRIC RVS
US manufacturers embrace electric power If there’s one thing this industry seems to agree on, it’s that the future is allelectric. Ever more manufacturers are producing concept prototypes, we even have a handful of production models. In this magazine we’ve previously covered developments in Europe and Austral Asia, here we look at the USA
THOR Vision Vehicle (TVV)
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n the United States the big news is that, THOR Industries Inc. has revealed its eMobility strategy for electrification of the RV industry. At a highly charged presentation at the 2022 Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa in January the world’s largest RV manufacturer proclaimed “Welcome to the Future”. Key to that future are two electric concept vehicles unveiled at the show. These are specifically designed to create a radical improvement of the RV user experience in an electrified RV world. In a presentation led by Thor’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Martin, he said “We’ve been focused on an electrification ‘eMobility’ strategy for a number of years and have made substantial progress on our journey. Early on, we determined that success for us would not be to simply put our name on the side of an electric chassis built by a third-party electric chassis manufacturer. Instead, as the industry leader, we harnessed emerging technology and co-developed flexible, scalable and customizable platforms on which our family of companies will build distinct products, providing a best-inclass RV user experience.” The first concept vehicle is a motorhome dubbed the Thor Vision Vehicle (TVV). It’s built on an electric chassis co-developed with Ford performance specialist Roush, and includes a number of unique elements designed to maximise chassis performance. The TVV boasts a targeted driving range of up to 300 miles (482 km) courtesy of a ‘fuel cell’ range extender to recharge
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the onboard traction and house batteries. Thor reckons 300 miles is well within the average non-stop travel distance of most RV users. To achieve this range Thor has gone to great lengths to streamline the aerodynamics of the vehicle. For example, the roof is completely smooth with the air-conditioning and other functions mounted inside the roof space. Flush fitting solar panels and a virtually full-length skylight, complete the picture. What’s more, the door mirrors have been replaced with tiny cameras on sticks and screens at each end of the dashboard. The vehicle’s range is further helped by the use
