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
One of the hard truths of campers is that there is a limit to how much aero can do to improve things. No matter how low you get the Cd, they still have the frontal area of a sail and tow similarly.
The 29 mile test sounds pretty suspicious to me also. That’s a pretty short trip to draw any kind of conclusions from. The absolute nearest state park to me is probably that far away, and I don’t bother camping there because it’s so close it’s not worth the hassle. I’m betting they picked 29 miles that were ideal for an EV towing and expected people to extrapolate that it would do that well all the time. I want to see them run through an entire charge and see how far they get. My bet is nowhere near 239 miles. Maybe if it’s all downhill. 😉
My A-frame popup camper has more usable space, sleeps 4 comfortably, and I can get over 15 MPG towing it with a GX460 on 55mph B-roads. It takes less than a minute to put up or take down.
This polygon thing is ridiculous.
I’ll take a used Airstream Nest, please, with the dinette/bed combo, for less.
40 large for no fridge and those beds??? In the immortal words of Driver Nephi: Get fucked.
I wouldn’t be physically able to sleep in that thing. Just looking at the pics of the “beds” makes me weirdly claustrophobic.
“I wouldn’t be physically able to sleep in that thing”
I think we can get you in there with some Vaseline and a shoehorn.
And for sleeping, one quick knock to the head and we’ll have you physically sleeping in that thing in no time!
Lol!
A cheap basic trailer seems like good deal, until you do the math and realize these guys are charging almost $40k for something that makes a Cricket trailer look like a Toyota Century. Send them back to school to deliver fundamentals instead of pretense.
As somebody with a degree in Architecture, I’m not at all surprised to hear that a company with a such complete bullshit mission statement is being run by people trained in Architecture. The entire degree is a BS in BS.
As a practicing architect with 20 years of experience… I can only assume you were asleep the entire time you were in school.
Do you have a professional degree? That would be a B.Arch or an M.Arch. Not a B.S. There’s a difference. You can’t be an architect without one. (Not true in every state if you feel like splitting hairs… but I’ve run into (1) registered architect without one).
Most people have no idea what architects actually do. Amazingly… it sounds like you are one of them. That’s unfortunate.
Registered architects have to sit for (when I took mine) 7 half-day long exams covering, in addition to your “BS,” Building Codes, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, structural systems, seismic design, sustainability, civil engineering and site grading, building “envelope” performance and project management. Plus they have to demonstrate they can actually design stuff. Plus the 3-year internship after getting your degree.
I earned a Bachelors of Science in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois. The degree is a BSAS, but the running joke in school (I certainly did not make it up) is that we were earning a BS in BS, because of all the bullshit yarns you learn to spin in project reviews.
My degree would only qualify me to be an Architect in Illinois, IF I did an additional years worth of internship and passed the licensing exams. The smart thing to do, had I chosen to stick with Architecture, would have been to continue on and get a Masters in Architecture, but I decided to go into education instead and got my Masters in Technical Education.
If you can’t admit that Architects can spin a yarn of fantastical bullshit a mile long, well, then … I guess you’re just an Architect.
No… if you did two more years of school and _then_ three years of an internship and _then_ sat for and passed all of your national exams… you could be an architect.
To get a professional degree… it’s either a 5-year undergraduate program, a 4-year Architecture BS and a two-year Master’s… or a 3-3.5 year Master’s with some other Bachelor’s degree. The program must be NCARB-accredited. Yours was not
Respectfully… you are a long ways off.
Architecture meets at the crossroads of art and science. As a creative field, there can be some BS to describe projects. For the good ones… the BS isn’t necessary.
Which is exactly what I said. I took a 4-year program. If I did four years of internship instead of three, and passed the national exams, I could have gotten licensed in Illinois only. Which would have been a stupid move. I don’t know anybody who chose that path.
I know I’m not an Architect, or almost an Architect, and I never claimed to be either. All I said in my original comment about myself, was that I have a degree in Architecture, which is true.
You are going a long ways towards proving that Architects are often blowhards.
I won’t disagree that architects can come across as blowhards. I may be guilty of that here.
I think it’s occasionally the result of frustration that most people don’t really appreciate/understand what an architect _does_. It takes a lot of training to become one. It’s a profession with a significant impact on both public safety and quality of life. I used to TA for a class called “Introduction to the Built Environment.” Say “environment” and people tend to think of nature. But most of us spend 95% of our time in an artificial, “built” environment. How it is designed… really matters. A lot of it, particularly at the urban scale has, unfortunately, been designed poorly. More often than not… that’s not the fault of the architect.
Despite the education requirements and long hours, it isn’t particularly a particularly lucrative profession (in the beginning, at least). Ironically, many young architects are hit with a pay _cut_ when they get licensed. Yes… you get a raise. But you lose overtime… which can be a substantial portion of your pay in the early years. Imagine… study countless hours and take a bunch of stressful exams so that you can take on liability as a licensed architect… and get a 10% pay cut for doing so.
So… apologies for any rudeness. But I get a little touchy at labeling architecture as a “BS” degree. Do architects sometimes go overboard talking about symbolism? Perhaps. But I’ll challenge you to look at great works of architecture and tell me that sometimes… it’s not BS. And “we” are all better for it.
As a closing note… the trailer design… is pretty crappy.
Fair points. I love great architecture. I proposed to my wife on one of the balconies of Fallingwater (and lets be honest, talented as he was, FLW was a world class blowhard asshole). I was delighted when my school added Architecture to the curriculum, so I could start teaching it again, as it was the only thing I missed from my transition from teaching high school to teaching middle school.
I know much more then most how much education it takes to be an Architect. I completed the first big step, stared down the barrel of the rest, and said, “Fuck that noise.” I love teaching, so I have no regrets. I had to do graduate school either way.
Unfortunately I think the social standing of Architects is greatly compromised by the fact that our built environment is so chockablock with bad architecture. My social standing as a teacher is compromised by the fact that so many people think I just do it so I get the summers off. Nobody says shit to my face, but I hear what is said behind my back.
I also think architects are exactly the type of creative and multi-disciplinary professionals I would expect to find in the roles described in the article.
Mercedes, your math is wrong. 75 kWh/0.313 kwh/mi =240 mi range. Not 149.
Actually given my normal (lifetime average 70-75 mph, 70k miles on a 2020 MY) highway consumption is something like 280 wh/mi, getting 313 is pretty decent tbh. Probably a 20-30% reduction compared to without a trailer at the same speed. That is similar to driving in a light headwind or at 0C territory.
Still not something I care about, but hey, for those that do. The only crappy part to me is that this design seems very. very. very. specific to the MY shape, and I’m not sure if even it helps the other CUV-esque EVs much, let alone bigger ones.
Oh my gosh you’re right. Want to know the seriously dumb thing I did? I calculated kwh/km not kwh/mi. I sometimes have calculators for quick numbers while I’m trying to write fast and forgot to switch units from KM to MI. Double-checked by hand and it’s actually darn good range for towing. That means the trailer’s aero benefits are stellar!
Shit happens heh. Only reason I knew something was up was that for my MY, 375 is my internal bogie for 200mile range. Had one trip from Pit to WI where i90 was 40 mph (wind warning) sustained and I was burning through >400 wh/mi unless I tailgated a semi.
The trip is normally a 3 or 4 stopper, that one took 7! stops.
“Also mind that the test route happened at 55 mph, a speed that makes you a rolling roadblock on many highways.”
It is also the absolute speed limit for all towing vehicles in California which looks like where the road test took place.
If the speed limit is higher (as it is in California for non towing vehicles) just stay in the right lane and you won’t block anyone, just like these folks did on this road test.
Huh! That makes a bunch of sense! Out here you’ll see signs limiting campers, semi trucks, big pickups, etc to 60 mph. Though, if you’re a passenger vehicle towing something not registered as a camper you can just go the regular highway speed limit. And you can go the regular speed limit in Wisconsin.
None of that seems to matter as everyone drives like they’re on the Indy 500, anyway. It’s wild to see an overloaded Suburban just booking it down the Interstate at 80 with a trailer wobbling behind.
Towable campers can be loosely split into two groups. (a) sleeping pods with minimal amenities that you can’t stand up in – teardrops, etc. and (b) full-bore, with all/most of the amenities of home and you can stand up in them.
Now and again, some manufacturer will try and dance around the line. Something like a low-spec Scamp or an Aliner, but they wind up being neither fish nor fowl. This camper seems to do just that.
Honestly, I think an Aliner would be the best thing behind a CyberTruck. When collapsed for travel, it should fit inside the aerodynamic hole punched by the truck, but you can stand up in it when camping.
Not sure how much capital they invested or who supplied it, but this is on a glide path to failure. Assume they’re building it in California so they’ll be paying some significant wages to get factory minions above the burger flipping skill level.
Yeah, that tracks. I went to architecture school and that sure sounds like the drivel that comes out of a lot of student’s mouths.
I like the idea of making an efficient camp solution for EV, but it seems like they are overthinking it. We’ve known for a long time how to make efficient trailers – smaller frontal area. You can make a very comfortable camper that tows efficiently if you drop it down. Either with soft or hard sides. Mine is a 21 foot box with 2 king beds, a twin, a full bathroom and it doesn’t wreck my mileage. Even towing at high speeds (80) and up and over mountain passes I average around 12-13 towing with the GX, where I would normally get 18-19. A neighbor has a hard side camper about the same size they pull with a 2nd gen Pilot and stay in the teens (probably driving slower than I do).
Optimizing the shape is a good start, but they missed the big one – just make it lower until you need the space.
> Even towing at high speeds (80)
Yikes my friend.
safe and legal, not sure what the problem is.
Often dry rotted trailer tires for one.
Same as if someone was driving around with bald or dry rotted tires on their car too, right? Its a pretty bad faith argument.
Problem is the CA trailer limit of 55 has everyone’s panties in a twist. I genuinely did not know that this limit does not exist outside of CA until y’all told me on Oppo, and now it does seem ridiculously antiquated having seen all the pickups and SUVs towing 30+ ft trailers at 75-80 without issue on the I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson.
I’m not 100% on board with this. Frontal area is big, but look at commercial aircraft or those add-ons attached to semi-trailers. It seems to me, that the biggest aero gains come from tapered asses. The current Bowlus trailer is a the ultimate iteration of this. The Airstream Basecamp would be next as a blend of space utliization/fuel efficiency/cost. This comes in at the bottom end of space utilization, but comes out way ahead in cost and price. Lots of tradeoffs, as mentioned in the article.
Those need constant volume. If they could smoosh trailers down and still have them carry the same volume, Mary Poppins style, they would. If you are forced to have a given volume you have to do those other tricks.
I have yet to see an EV tow anything, ever, so this whole premise of EVs towing campers just seems… tremendously stupid. I already have difficulty with the logic of towing around a house, but towing around a house with something that is obviously very, very bad at towing is extra dumb.
Please, can we get to using these batteries in smart, helpful ways instead of painfully stupid ways?
Alright now for positives. I like the windows. The inside looks bright and airy, where most campers are usually the opposite.
I sold my 14ft Jayco Baja (lifted) camping trailer to a guy with a Model Y. His hitch was so low and the trailer sat so high it looked ridiculous as it didn’t sit anywhere near level. I even flipped his tow ball for him so it wasn’t quite so bad, but still really bad. I was shaking my head as he drove away…
I actually made money on that thing to boot. He paid me 2k more for it than I paid brand new at the dealer a year prior.
Lol, yikes.
Getting more money for a camper than paid new is quite the feat. Guy must’ve been really excited to camp within his own county.
Plans this summer include camping for a week towing my Aliner Ranger 12 with my Model Y. That’s a popup so it’s not exactly the largest brick. It knocks 25-33% off the range of our ICE vehicle so it’s not the worst. I’m figuring worst case I’ll be stopping every 100 miles. I’ll see. The torque was great towing it around the neighborhood.
Pop-ups seem to be the ticket if you’re really serious about not tanking your range.
I am fascinated by the experiment. Report back!
Will do!
Not a camper but I’ve been towing my 21ft boat behind a ford lightning for the last 2 months. Best tow vehicle I’ve ever owned. Range is not an issue for me as I live within 50 mi of anywhere I want to fish.
Certainly if you’re staying local, or maybe if the function of your EV to tow is to bring a boat (docking for the summer) or camper to a single place once a year, it makes a lot more sense.
I have just once and do a lot of trailer camping. Was a state park in PA and a Tesla pulling a tiny teardrop trailer pulled in next to us. About 20 minutes later, my wife is on the other side and says “Are you seeing this?”. I peek over and they are still trying to back it into the site. Mind you, I was pulling a 43′ 5th wheel at the time and normally I can back it in with one shot. The road was wide with just a field of grass on the other side. For me, it was a 1 out of 10 in terms of difficulty.
Their trailer could not have been 10′ long. Finally, I had to go over and suggest they just drop the trailer and push it in by hand since the front jack was wheeled. They said no and proceeded to go another 15 minutes or so trying to back it in. They unhitched and had no wheel chocks. Set it up tilted way back. We’re way too far back in the site to be able to plug in the electric. I quickly gave up trying to help them. Hate to say it, but they were the atypical snooty Tesla owner. They stayed 1 night and left a bunch of trash in the campsite. I can only assume they expected the state to clean the site like when you get maid service for your hotel room.
TLDR; saw one EV tow a trailer in all my years and they did not disappoint.
Short trailers are the worst. Any little twitch sends them off course. Longer trailers, to a point, are easier.
I get a “modern version of the yuppie neighbors from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation” vibe from that.
I towed a 12′ Uhaul trailer with my MDX a few summers ago and got 12 mpg.
I managed to tow an 8′ Uhaul trailer with the XC70 and got around 21-22 mpg, but I was puttering along at 60 mph most of the way.
I’ve pulled a couple of popup campers with a Hyundai hybrid and gotten 56mpg on the Interstate
If you’re building an aero trailer, you’d think that going stripped down and making the efficiency your selling point might be a better move than claiming a level of luxury, especially if you aren’t offering that luxury. I can appreciate what they’re doing, but they aren’t offering a compelling package.
I think the best idea for EV trailers at this point is to make them low. Tent trailers or other pop-up or slide-up options could be made more aerodynamic and you’d have something that doesn’t tower above the tow vehicle. I think you could have something this size with even better towing range. Or you could compromise your aero with width, not height, and be a bit more comfortable.
But I’m not an expert (or even much of a camper user) and there may be issues with that idea that I’m not seeing.
TrailManor makes long campers that telescope up and down. They’re towable with a minivan.
I purposely picked a smaller Aliner to be able to tow with atypical tow vehicles. Plans this summer include towing with my Model Y. I’ll see how that goes.
I do like the TrailManor setup. The design is even nicer than some of the other pop-ups. I think a company looking to do an aero design would be way better off adapting that than a tall trailer.
Hope the Model Y Aliner towing goes well!
I have no idea what these types of campers cost, but $39K seems like a lot for something so bare bones. And only 9 gallons of water?! I know water is heavy, but if you’re bringing home with you, it seems like more than 9 gallons would be nice.
You’ll go through 9 gallons in a shockingly short amount of time, especially if you aren’t used to using a camper. My 17ft trailer carries 40 gallons which really isn’t a ton either. I never fill it up though because of weight. We usually only go to sites with hookups when we use ours. That way I can put about 10 gallons in for things like flushing the toilet and hand washing on the road.
What is the width of this? To me it looks like a 60 inch axle, which is good for boats, but looks really narrow for a RV.
5 feet, 8 inches. I didn’t even mention how narrow it is!
I only noticed how narrow it was with the build picture. I’m sure that width works for smaller campers, but this looks like you’re trying to live inside a banana for a get-a-way.