Towing a camper with an EV is currently not for the faint of heart. Even the best electric trucks suffer from huge range loss when towing a typical travel trailer. Polydrops thinks it has the solution with ultra-lightweight and ultra-aerodynamic trailers that look like they came out of a videogame with low graphics settings. The Polydrops P21 is the company’s largest trailer yet and it’s all about being slick from its wedge front, boat tail, and aero spoilers. It looks like the perfect pairing for a Tesla Cybertruck.
It’s been pretty well documented that towing a camper trailer with an EV will sap its range. Most of the headline-grabbing trucks from the Rivian R1T to the Ford F-150 Lightning see their range get sliced in half or worse when towing a large-ish camper. The guys at the Fast Lane Truck found that the Tesla Cybertruck is not much different. They towed a 7,500-pound trailer with a Cybertruck and found that the realistic towing range was closer to 115 miles.
To be clear, towing a trailer with an ICE-powered vehicle also demolishes fuel economy. However, ICE trucks carry large fuel tanks permitting longer stints between refueling stops and you can almost always refill an ICE truck in a handful of minutes without removing the trailer first. Unfortunately, trailer-friendly pull-through charging stations are still relatively new, so topping an EV back up often requires a convoluted song and dance of detaching the trailer first, charging, and then hooking back up. Or you can be like Polydrops and let the trailer stick out into the parking lot:
Some RV manufacturers have realized range and charging are problems and that’s why trailers in development from Airstream, Pebble, and Lightship all have their own drive motors and traction batteries. While these trailers are said to preserve a tow vehicle’s original range, thus reducing the number of charging stops, now you have to charge both your truck and the trailer, which brings us back to the original problem.
The solution from Polydrops is different. The company recognizes that range loss from towing is a huge deal. However, instead of loading its trailer down with motors, it’s building trailers that help retain range by slipping through the air.
The RV Company That Isn’t An RV Company
Polydrops makes the bold assertion that it isn’t an RV company, but an energy company that makes RVs. The company started its path by building RVs, but its ultimate goal is “aiming to influence customers to learn the benefits of less energy-intensive living.” This is inspired by what life is like in South Korea where the Polydrops founders come from.
Polydrops was founded in 2017 as an architectural company by students Kyunghyun and Jieun. They wanted to design a mobile living space that looked good, was aerodynamic, and could be towed by anything. They also wanted to design a new way to put a trailer together to ensure proper insulation from the outdoors. The original Polydrop was funded by the sale of Kyunghyun’s Kia. The guys took their build across the country, where they found people wanting to buy the unit. Later, they found an investor who helped them kickstart Polydrops as a company. The company continues:
Polydrop is not intended to be a conventional camping trailer. Instead, it serves as a personal space that can be transported to any location. While the concept of a mobile living space may seem similar to that of a camping trailer, there is a crucial distinction. Our belief is that a personal space should provide a sense of comfort and coziness, regardless of the external environment. For this reason, we place a strong emphasis on insulation and energy efficiency in our designs. The shell of the trailer must be designed to protect its inhabitants from harsh outdoor conditions. Insulation and energy efficiency are fundamental components of our design process, as we strive to create a truly personalized and comfortable living space.
I must disagree with this mission statement a little bit. Many of today’s conventional camping trailers are built to be rolling hotel rooms to shield you and keep you out of the outdoors. They have multiple televisions, fireplaces, and interior decor mimicking a home. Yes, they’re built poorly, but they’re supposed to be like bringing a home on the open road.
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, here, but building a trailer to be a personal cozy space regardless of what’s going on outside isn’t revolutionary, and neither is packing a trailer with insulation. Some of the earliest RVs in history were built as personal spaces. Still, what the Polydrops crew has built looks out of this world.
The P21
Until recently, the Polydrops lineup consisted of super lightweight and aerodynamic polygonal tiny teardrop trailers. The company says its originals like the P17 were inspired by space capsules and are built like F1 cars. The founders of Polydrops are architectural designers and car enthusiasts, so they like adding touches from both worlds to their trailers.
Now, if you’re like me, you like to stand up in your camper and you want a bit more space than is offered by a teardrop. For that, Polydrops has been developing the P21, its first-ever camper with standing room. This trailer is supposed to be a second home on wheels, but without punishing an EV owner for wanting to stand up in their camper.
This trailer was designed with Computational Fluid Dynamics to provide the slickest possible profile while it’s being towed behind a vehicle. Here, I’ll let the company explain:
Its sleek wedge front reduces drag, allowing for seamless airflow and optimal performance on the road. Complemented by a distinctive boat tail, this design ensures smooth airflow detachment, minimizing turbulence and enhancing stability, making every journey a harmonious blend of style and functionality.
The P21 comes standard with a fully flat underbody to maximize aerodynamics. Without the full flat underbody, exposed elements such as the frame, wiring, and suspension components not only cause drag but also generate excessive wake, negatively impacting the trailer’s aerodynamics.
P21’s rear spoiler is an aerodynamic feature that helps to reduce wind resistance and drag. The spoiler is designed to create a smooth, laminar flow of air over the trailer’s surface, which helps to reduce turbulence and improve stability.
The company says it hooked up a P21 prototype to the back of a 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range Dual Motor and performed a 29-mile round trip test at 55 mph. The test revealed an energy consumption of 313Wh/mi. The company didn’t elaborate any further, so I ran some calculations. According to Tesla, a Model Y Long Range Dual Motor has an EPA estimated range of 308 miles and a 75kWh battery. Running this vehicle at 313Wh/mi will drain the battery in about 239 miles. Also mind that the test route happened at 55 mph, a speed that makes you a rolling roadblock on many highways.
(Correction: Looks like I ran an incorrect calculation. The projected range here should be 239 miles. I regret the error.)
However, it’s worth noting that EVs are at their least efficient on the highway. Motor Trend got 229 miles of range out of an empty Model Y on the highway. Motor Trend then hitched up a brick of an open U-Haul trailer loaded to 2,250 pounds and took that down the highway, where the publication got 99 miles of range out of the Model Y.
At 21 feet long and 7 feet, 6 inches tall, the Polydrops P21 is a much longer and taller trailer than an open U-Haul cargo trailer but weighs between 1,200 pounds and 1,800 pounds. It would appear that the trailer’s aero is phenomenal! Polydrops pitches this trailer to EV owners but also says that it should also be great for ICE owners as the aero can help pump your fuel economy back up. I believe it.
The P21 is so light because it rides on an aluminum tube frame with a Timbren independent suspension and features aluminum wall sheeting. The company doesn’t say much more about its construction other than the fact that buyers get thick, seamless insulation.
More weight-saving measures are seen inside, where Polydrops has gone for more minimalism. The trailer’s interior is function over form featuring wood for cabinetry with exposed fasteners and little work to integrate all of the parts seamlessly. The primary queen bed in the rear transforms into a dinette and optional is a smaller bed up front for children. If you don’t opt for the front bed, you get a storage platform in its place.
The trailer is bare in its standard state. The standard trailer features all-electric systems including a heat pump, 1300W of solar panels, a 5kWh LFP battery, and a shore power cable. If you want more than that, you’ll have to pay to add them. Options include a kitchen unit, a bathroom unit, the kids’ mattress, and a refrigerator. Yes, the refrigerator is a separate option from the kitchen.
The kitchen gets you an induction stove and a microwave. The bathroom adds a sink basin, a portable faucet, a 9-gallon water tank, an electric water heater, a shower pan, a portable shower, and a 2.6-gallon portable toilet.
Not Really A Second Home
Here’s where I do something I don’t like to do. Polydrops is pitching this as your second home away from home and one that provides “uninterrupted travel experiences” but I don’t see it.
Let’s start with that interior. That queen bed is long enough for someone 6.6 feet tall to sleep in. However, if you are a tall person, you’re going to have to figure out how to deal with the fact that the bed tapers off at the top. The kid bed is worse at just 5 feet long and it also has an aggressive taper.
Now, let’s turn to the add-on packages. The kitchen package doesn’t include the sink you’ll need to clean your food or the refrigerator to cool your food. The bathroom package is realistically just the sink basin because everything else is off-the-shelf portable stuff. Then there’s the water tank. 9 gallons is nothing. I’m not sure you could shower a whole family and cook a meal with 9 gallons. Even the cassette toilet is half the size you get with other campers. All of that ignores that the refrigerator is still a separate option.
At the very least, the power on board seems pretty good, but that’s because there’s not a whole lot to power in there. Besides, you’ll probably run out of water before you run out of battery. I also haven’t noted the price yet. It’s $38,900 before you add in the options packages. It seems you’re paying more for the aero than the camper content.
All of this is a shame because I like the concept of a super aerodynamic camper trailer. However, I wouldn’t use this on a weekend trip without making a bunch of changes first. Still, it’s a decent first effort for a slick lightweight EV trailer. If this seems like a great fit for you, Polydrops is taking preorders right now for deliveries beginning in Q4 of this year.
Images: Polydrops
