The Lightship aero-electric travel trailer is now at Out of Spec's North Carolina track for a full week of testing, and the first tow sessions are done. Kyle filmed the whole thing alongside EV creator and Cybertruck owner Maryanne, plus Lightship co-founder Ben, who was on hand to explain the trailer's Trek Drive system and troubleshoot whatever came up. Spoiler: something came up.
What Trek Drive actually does
The Lightship uses two force sensors at the hitch coupler to measure how hard the tow vehicle is pulling the trailer. Its onboard electric motor, a permanent magnet unit integrating the inverter, gear reduction, and motor into one package on the rear axle, then applies torque to try to bring that measured hitch load down toward zero. The result is that the trailer is essentially trying to pull itself, leaving the tow vehicle to handle only steering and stability forces rather than fighting deadweight. Above approximately 77 mph, the system disconnects electrically (there is no mechanical clutch) because the counter-electromotive force at those speeds is high enough to cause problems. Ben says the cutoff is smooth and the reconnect below that speed is clean.
The Cybertruck: stable, then stuck
Maryanne's Cybertruck is the original dual-motor model with the 124 kWh battery, not one of the recently revised configurations. With Trek Drive off, Kyle brought the combination up to 75 mph on North Carolina roads and found it tracking straight and stable, even with crosswind gusts. Maryanne in the back seat said it felt like nothing was being towed. The Cybertruck's steer-by-wire does not adjust its ratio for towing, so Kyle noted you have to be deliberate and light-handed with steering inputs when a trailer is attached, which is something worth knowing before taking one on a mountain road.
Then the problems started. The Cybertruck developed an issue with the left turn signal and left brake light when connected to the Lightship's seven-pin trailer connector. Lightship says the Cybertruck sends unusual 12-volt signals that required custom tuning during development, and that the combination has worked before, but this unit had an interoperability issue that prevented Trek Drive from being properly activated during testing. The session was called. Kyle and Ben swapped to the Rivian.
The Rivian R1T: Trek Drive on, no issues
The Rivian R1T dual motor max pack hooked up and Trek Drive activated on the first attempt. Kyle could feel the push from behind as soon as the system engaged around 17 to 20 mph. On flat highway at 65 mph, the trailer held a steady 15 to 20 kW of output, enough to offset a meaningful portion of the aerodynamic drag. Climbing a grade at 70 mph, it scaled to 30 kW. At the crest, back down to around 22 kW on flat ground. Kyle noted the Rivian's display compensating for the trailer's power contribution by backing off vehicle output to maintain consistent acceleration. The system cut off cleanly at approximately 77 mph on the trailer's speed display, with a brief jitter that did not upset vehicle dynamics. It reengaged as speed dropped back into range.
On regen, the trailer regenerated alongside the Rivian. Coming off the highway, Kyle recorded 36 to 67 kW of regen through the corner and down the ramp. Cruising efficiency with Trek Drive running was approximately 1.9 to 2 miles per kWh, though Ben noted that figure included time stationary with AC running, so it is not a scientific result for the road portion alone.
DC fast charging: still coming
The Lightship's 77 kWh battery can reportedly handle 150 kW DC fast charging, with a 10 to 80 percent time of around 40 minutes, designed to roughly match the Cybertruck under most conditions. That feature is still arriving via software update. The trailer currently supports AC charging only. The Halifax Supercharger near the team's base has pull-through stalls, and Kyle photographed the Cybertruck and trailer plugged in together, though only the truck was actually charging. Ben pointed out that charging infrastructure will need to start accounting for electric trailers as the category grows.
Lightship says the Cybertruck fix is being worked on, and Kyle says he expects to film it working with the Cybertruck before the week is out. Much more testing with the Rivian R1S and other vehicles is planned.