One of the biggest trends in the modern RV space is the simplification of appliances in order to avoid carrying around two or three different kinds of power sources when one can do the job. Airstream thinks it has an even better answer with its first-ever all-electric travel trailer. The new Airstream Basecamp 20Xe is a reasonably affordable camper featuring 10.3 kWh of batteries on deck and some solar power to keep them charged. The batteries power everything, from the stove to heater.
If you’re a bit of an old-school RVer like I am, you’re used to carrying around different power sources for your rig. Before every trip, you, like me, probably make sure that your house battery is ready to rock and you have enough propane to cook, warm your water, and operate your furnace. If you’re going off-grid, you might even carry solar panels and either gasoline or diesel for a generator. That’s a lot of stuff to consider!
Over the past few years, multiple RV manufacturers have been toying with the idea of having a single source of power for most or all of the equipment found in an RV. Bowlus has for years been marketing its Volterra, a travel trailer that works entirely off of a bank of batteries. The Lightship AE:1 and the Pebble Flow are also both entirely electric. If you’re still into internal combustion, you can get single-fuel RVs like the Airstream Rangeline as well as plenty of camper van conversions. These are designed to have their appliances run on the same gasoline or diesel that fuels their engines.
The idea with all of these RVs is to simplify the experience on your end, and now Airstream wants to join in on the all-electric party with its latest incarnation of the Basecamp trailer.
Airstream’s Most Popular Camper
I’m somewhat surprised to tell you this, but Airstream’s most unorthodox trailer is also its most popular. You’d think that most Airstream buyers would flood into showrooms for a famed “silver bullet.” Instead, the hottest Airstream for the past several years was inspired by one of the first-ever Airstreams.
That’s the Basecamp, and here’s what you need to know about it, from my retrospective:
The original Basecamp launched for the 2007 model year and was inspired by founder Wally Byam’s Torpedo plywood teardrop camper from the 1930s (below), the very first Airstream product. Airstream’s idea for the 2007 Basecamp was to build a compact, lightweight camper that still had every amenity and plenty of space. In other words, the Basecamp is more or less Airstream’s take on a teardrop trailer. That camper was discontinued in 2008 right before the Great Recession hit.
Airstream says that over time, it refined the Basecamp concept to include an onboard bathroom, more kitchen space, and upgraded appliances. This work resulted in the 2016 release of the Basecamp 2.0. It weighed in at just 2,585 lbs and still featured that riveted semi-monocoque aluminum structure that Airstream still is known for. That’s an Airstream that could be towed by many of today’s crossovers!
Back in 2016, Airstream said it designed the Basecamp to “rekindle the desire to explore nature and get outdoors.” While the Basecamp was the most outdoor-friendly Airstream, the company saw potential in it going off-road, too. In 2019, Airstream announced the X-Package, which adds a three-inch lift kit and Goodyear all-terrain tires. As of 2022, the Basecamp isn’t just one of the smallest Airstreams, but it’s also what Airstream says is its most popular model. And the most popular Basecamp is the 20-foot floorplan.
Airstream says the Basecamp has been its most popular single model since its launch in 2016. Customers love its smaller size and lower base weight. So it makes sense that Airstream is rolling out its latest tech on the most popular model first.
In February 2022, Airstream teased what could be the future of its brand. The Airstream eStream featured an 80 kWh battery, a powerful self-drive system, and featured fully electric appliances. Yep, Airstream and its German partner Dethleffs pioneered the tech that startups like Lightship and Pebble have advanced in their RV builds.
Unfortunately, it’s still a bit unclear what’s happening with the eStream. In the past, Airstream reps told me that the eStream was under active development to be produced. Then, in late 2024, another Airstream rep told me that the eStream had been shelved as just a concept. I’ve reached out to Airstream to see what the current status of that project is.
What we do know is that Airstream has been taking some of the technology from the eStream and has trickled it down into its existing products. First came the 2024 Airstream Trade Wind, a trailer with a similar design as the Flying Cloud but featuring 9.72 kWh of lithium house batteries and up to 600 watts of solar.
The New Airstream Basecamp 20Xe
Now it’s time to see the latest evolution of eStream technology. The new Airstream Basecamp 20Xe takes Airstream’s most popular floorplan – the Basecamp 20X with a 20-foot floorplan and a mild off-road kit – and makes it fully electric. That’s the little ‘e’ at the end of 20Xe. From Airstream:
The Basecamp 20Xe features a fully inverted 30A electrical system with a 3,000W inverter, 600W of rooftop solar panels, and a 10.3kWh lithium Battle Born® battery bank. This provides ample power to explore remote locations while running the optional air conditioner and microwave. The fully inverted system ensures that every outlet is functional, allowing seamless use of laptops, phones, and other essential devices. The unit also comes equipped with an upgraded solar prewire port near the A-frame where up to an additional 300W of solar panels may be plugged in to boost solar harvesting capabilities while going off-grid.
This sounds similar to the Trade Wind, which uses a triplet of chassis-integrated 270 Ah LiFePO4 Battle Born batteries. Those batteries are 12-volt packs, which provide house power when the trailer is parked off-grid.
The Basecamp 20Xe is really just more of the same. However, now every single appliance in the trailer from the heater and cooktop to the water heater can run entirely off of the battery bank. Thus, Airstream is hailing this trailer as its first-ever all-electric production camper.
Now, I will note that while this is a pretty big deal for Airstream, it’s not that impressive for the RV industry as a whole. Using 12V batteries for your all-electric trailer might not be the most efficient way of doing things. For example, in the Trade Wind, a Victron inverter kicks 12 VDC power up to 120 VAC. This was never contained in the press release, but something I was able to figure out during my tour of that trailer. Ideally, you would do something like Lightship or Pebble where you’d have a large high-voltage battery powering a purpose-built electrical system.
Relative to some campers, the Airstream’s 10.3 kWh setup here isn’t even that impressive when it comes to capacity. The Bowlus Volterra has a 17 kWh battery. Meanwhile, the clean sheet design Lightship AE:1 has a 77 kWh battery, all of which can be used for house power or for the traction motors. Even the base version of that trailer, which doesn’t have a drive motor and uses its battery entirely for house power, carries a 40 kWh pack.
However, Airstream would be quick to note that trailers with bigger batteries and more solar either aren’t in production yet or are not mass-production trailers. It is true that Airstream is packing some of the most power in a mass-produced trailer. Those other trailers are also often way more expensive, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that later.
One thing I found interesting about this trailer is that, as Airstream notes, the engineers did decide to keep the propane around as a backup fuel source. From Airstream:
The Basecamp 20Xe’s LP tank shroud houses a 20-pound propane tank that can be used as an alternative fuel source for interior heating and hot water functions. The combined water heater and furnace system can operate on multiple fuel settings, including all-electric, all propane, or a mix of both. A recirculating feature in the wet bath reduces water waste by redirecting cold water from the hot water heater into the fresh tank until it reaches the desired temperature. And for additional water conservation, an optional composting toilet is available as an upgrade. For cooking flexibility, a removable single-burner induction cooktop can be used both indoors and outdoors via a 110V outlet.
Technically, this means the Basecamp 20Xe isn’t all-electric. But by Airstream’s logic, you don’t have to use the propane if you don’t want to (you can even fully remove the tanks), so it’s good enough to be called all-electric.
In addition to the electric bits, Airstream says you’ll get the Airstream X package, which gives you Dexter three-inch lift blocks, knobby tires and stone guards. It’s not a true off-roader, but you should be able to take it down a fire road without breaking it.
As far as dimensions go, you’re looking at a 3,750-pound dry weight and 20’2″ total length. In terms of stores, you get 23 gallons for fresh water, 28 gallons for gray water, and 21 gallons for your waste. The beds inside allow up to four people to sleep, though that’ll depend somewhat on how large and how friendly those four people are.
I Bet It’s Going To Fly Off Of Dealer Lots
Airstream says you’ll get all of this for the price of $76,900.
A standard Basecamp 20 starts at $56,900 and the Airstream X package costs $3,000. So, you’re at $59,900 before the all-electric stuff. That means Airstream says that 10.3 kWh of batteries are worth $17,000.
So, why do I think these things are going to fly off of lots? Well, The Basecamp 20Xe is really just doing the same mods that many Airstream owners do on their own. You can replicate the Basecamp 20Xe’s parts for roughly $10,000-ish from Battle Born and Renogy. However, the Basecamp 20Xe offers all of it from the factory and with a warranty. There’s no need to take a base camper and electrify it yourself.
So, the Basecamp 20Xe is not the best all-electric camper on the market and not super innovative, either. However, it does appear to be tailored specifically for Airstream’s fans. It’s basically a modded camper from the factory, which is pretty cool. With some luck, I’ll get to test one of these out for myself and see if it gets anywhere near the hype.
Photos: Airstream/pattern Depositphotos.com
The basecamp has always been insanity to me. Its basically a really well made 12 foot cargo trailer with one bearded entrepreneurs worth of wood cabinetry and they want Lexus money. FYI, the upgrade cost for 10kw of batteries isn’t far off what I am going to be spending to install 3x that battery amount with inverters and controllers for my house. I also respect that my incredulity will affect Airstream sales exactly none amount.
Is this an camper or a mobile operating room? It looks sterile and uninviting. What are the acoustics like inside this? Seems like it’d be all echoey with mostly hard surfaces.
“This was never contained in the press release, but something I was able to figure out”
Go go good journalism!
Dumb questions on E-trailers.
Can they be charged via the tow vehicle’s power?
Can they be charged via regen braking?
I watch enough crap in England about narrowboating to know that sometimes solar isn’t enough to keep up with demand, especially on cloudy days in the winter. Being able to top off the batteries for days that solar isn’t going to give you a lot of juice seems like something an RVer might need.
Maybe. Although I would assume that you could plug into a 240V outlet and top off the batteries overnight without any problem at any RV park.
I would guess that there is a dcdc converter included in this package where you would need to wire some heavy gauge cables from the tow vehicle to the back to power around 20-40 amps of power for charging. But that seems like a loosing battle against 10 kwh of battery. Even at a full 40 amps, thats 20 hours of driving to make up all 10 kwh. Most trailers top up their house batteries around 8-10 amps through the 7 pin. I mean, even on a really nice sunny day with the extra solar plugged in, you aren’t going to get more than half that battery recharged without a load…and if its sunny you are going to want that AC unit.
That’s why I’m thinking regen braking. As the trailer helps with braking, the battery charges. 10 kwh of battery is like 9 standard Prius batteries, which if only being used for regen and not power might be able to be charged in an hour or two of regular driving.
My idea would be to put a load cell on the trailer hitch area. Tell the trailer what you are towing with and then tell it to charge. The load cell takes the vehicle up to say 80% of the tow rating (with a limit based on the trailer). This “drags the brakes” and make the tow vehicle work harder, but charges the battery quickly.