The Guest Suite
I have been drooling over this setup for as long as my buddy,The Hoppy Carver has owned it - and my patience has officially paid off! This is a prototype aluminum Kayak/SUP/Toy hauler custom-built by Needmore Trailers, thoughtfully fitted with an iKamper SkyCamp Mini rooftop tent. It serves as the absolute perfect addition to my Electric Nomad Truck, seamlessly supporting extended camping trips and quick weekend outings alike. It effortlessly transports watercraft and heavy outdoor gear while providing an incredibly cozy, dedicated sleeping space for visiting friends. I am also exceptionally excited about the boat-ferrying potential this opens up for down-river paddling trips! I recently jumped on the opportunity to purchase it, let's take a closer look inside.
I immediately put the new rig to the test on a weekend mountain excursion and observed virtually zero negative impact on my driving range. The initial trip metrics were fascinating: after configuring the trailer's exact physical dimensions into the Ford F-150 Lightning's native "Trailer Mode" software feature, the truck's computer prepared me for a massive range reduction of around 30%!
I hought that was an incredibly steep, silly penalty for a streamlined hauler weighing under half a ton. If that software penalty had actually held true in reality, the trailer purchase would have been virtually worthless for my travel lifestyle. Fortunately, this rig is definitely not a brick. It cuts through head-winds beautifully, unlike my Old Travel Trailer. After driving a few miles down the highway and allowing the computer's rolling efficiency algorithms to catch up with actual data, the dashboard updated to show that the real-world range impact was negligible.
This scenario perfectly demonstrates how much of the mileage penalty experienced by electric vehicles is tied directly to wind resistance and aerodynamic drag rather than pure physical mass. At least, that seems to be exactly how Ford has programmed the Lightning's onboard computers to calculate trailering variables.
You might ask: after getting my core Electric Nomad Truck setup completely dialed in, why would I choose to add an external trailer like this? In addition to all of the utility benefits I have already outlined, this platform allows me to hitch a ride with others on camping trips where I might not want to deal with public charging networks—such as when navigating through the notorious EV desert known as West Virginia. This versatile rig will beautifully support both local electric adventures and future cross-country journeys.
