Living Vehicle Launches All-Electric Independence for RVers – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
“Firsthand experience is the best teacher,” said Matthew Hofmann, CEO and co-founder of Living Vehicle, an all-electric trailer company headquartered in Santa Barbara, Calif. The company has been in business for eight years and the goal is full-time-living off-grid and self-sufficiency without sacrificing luxury.
Living Vehicle’s original legacy RVs are “semi-permanent-style” high-end travel trailers and fifth-wheels built for full-time residential use so exceptional detail goes into design, durability and usability factors. The team at LV is headed up by Matthew, along with his father Walter, who have a passion for the outdoors that’s coupled with decades of experience in construction, architecture, design, brand management, marketing, and even creating a publishing business that catered to winter adventurers. Both of them have lived in an LV for years at a time.
Walter explained, “We’re like an architectural firm, which makes us quite unique in the RV space because we don’t approach our design from the RV world; we come at it from the architectural world. We started with a blank sheet of paper and said, ‘What do we want to build that’s really comfortable, off-grid capable and net-zero efficiently responsible.’ We’re very focused on that.” Basically, just about everything in a Living Vehicle is custom-built.
Matthew, an architect by trade who had been living on a boat and in trailers for decades, went on to say, “We started the company out of the very first unit we designed so it was an exercise in overcoming all the limitations that living in an RV has. There are a lot of compromises because trailers really are designed for recreational use. I was doing that [living full-time in an RV] for so long that I wanted to do something better. Living Vehicles aren’t just for recreation; they are built like a tank.” The shell of an LV is all aluminum—no wood is used in the construction—and the RVs are four-season-capable: “You can take it well below freezing,” Matthew claimed.
Before the Hofmanns started building “luxury unplugged” trailers, they spent 20-plus years doing custom trailer renovations and refurbishing Airstreams. Matthew said, “I got way too familiar with Airstreams…I’ve probably renovated over 400 Airstreams.”
Living Vehicle’s systems are connected by an ethernet cable to allow communications over the LV’s network so the owner and Living Vehicle have the ability to access all online. The owner can control all systems when away from the trailer, plus the team at LV can give a heads-up if something needs to be addressed.
Off-grid trailers being the company’s specialty, the Hofmanns’ latest project is the 100-percent-solar-powered resource-generating CyberTrailer modeled after Tesla’s Cybertruck, due out later this year for the 2026 model year. Additionally, Living Vehicle will have four updated models for 2026: its flagship GT39 and GT32 fifth-wheels and the HD30 and HD24 travel trailers.
Smart Home on Wheels
Before we dive into what is new on the horizon for Living Vehicle, let’s take a look at one of the company’s impressive legacy models with a GVWR of up to 18,000 pounds that Matthew said “is for full-time living with a separate living space, a separate sleeping space and a separate bathroom. It’s very robust; it’s like a luxury yacht.”
We got a chance to walk through a preowned 2021 30-foot HD29 model in May 2024 when Matthew was on a guest panel at Electrify Expo’s Industry Day in Long Beach, California. The topic was on the environmental implications of widespread electrification and Matthew’s point was that “we’re not doing this all at once—this is a process that is happening over time and has been decades in the making. We are making good progress, and we will get there. I come from a unique view when it comes to distributed energy. I feel there isn’t a whole lot of discussion about how efficient are these EV vehicles, the range…400 miles is the golden ticket right now…or miles per kilowatt. At Living Vehicle, our goal has always been a net-zero self-sustaining living solution.”
The aforementioned HD series is an impressive sight: From the outside, it was clear how robust this sleek trailer is—Matthew’s description of it being built like a tank appeared spot-on. A raised, self-supporting deck/patio opened outward from the curbside, much like the rear ramp/patio on a toy hauler, and a 4-foot-wide aluminum solar awning winged upward, shading the patio and covering much of the length of the trailer. The retractable awning lays flat against the trailer to protect the windows during travel and then can be tilted toward the sun when in camp. The “automated deck,” as Matthew calls it, is rated for 1,500 pounds and operates via a winch system so with the push of a button, it goes back up against the wall of the trailer. Additionally, the Living Vehicle HD’s roof was lined with solar panels, bringing the total to 3,600 watts of solar power.
Living Vehicle trailers are built on an aluminum chassis with a custom tongue-and-groove aluminum decking that integrates into the chassis. “Very little steel is used in the construction,” said Matthew, “but a steel axle box distributes the load from the axles so when turning the rig there are no high stress points. We also have two steel plates inside of the A-frame.”
Stepping through the door on fold-up steps, we were greeted with a 6-foot-8-inch ceiling and an array of control panels, with a luxurious lavatory to the immediate left. Beyond that, the state-of-the-art living/kitchen area with a 13-cubic-foot residential fridge was showcased in a flood of light due to the patio (with a sliding glass door) that increases living space. An L-shaped dinette converts into additional sleeping space. “Everything is heavy-duty, commercial quality designed to last,” said Matthew. “We design quality first 100 percent of the time. As a licensed architect, the objective is form follows function.”
Glossy, nonporous white walls and ceiling are powder-coated aluminum and easily wipe clean. Solid-surface countertops are set at residential height, and cabinets and drawers are CTech and made from powder-coated aluminum. The CTech kitchen island is removable via four bolts so it can be used as prep space on the deck. Ample cabinets are dedicated for storage since the electronics, lithium-phosphate batteries and water heater are stored underneath, accessible by a marine-style hatch in the kitchen’s floor. Everything is enclosed and ventilation circulates into the basement space so that the floor stays warm.
Matthew designed the deck/patio to get RVers off of the dirt: “Any home I’ve lived in has had some sort of outdoor living space and it’s never in the dirt and it’s typically on the same level—especially near the living area or kitchen—so that if you’re going to be barbecuing, for instance, it’s a seamless transition from one space to the next.”
The amidships bathroom exudes a spa environment with its black walnut paneling and wood treatments, wood flooring, a rainfall-nozzle showerhead, a bowl sink and an anti-fog lit mirror. Available on all Living Vehicle trailers is an optional wall heater that is mounted below the towel rack, so a warm towel can be at the ready after showering, plus towels won’t stay damp. A composting toilet is tucked in across from the open shower so there’s lots of legroom when sitting on the commode.
As with the living area, the front bedroom, entered through a sliding door, is light and bright with its glossy white ceiling and walls accentuated by large windows, a skylight and CTech dresser drawers with a solid-surface counter set at residential height. A queen walk-around bed and double-door closet round out the features. This particular model was outfitted with a Wi-Fi-enabled washer/dryer that blends into the cabinetry, a projector and a movie screen. LV’s optional Good Housekeeping package includes a washer/dryer, a dishwasher and a central vacuum.
Next Up: The CyberTrailer
Living Vehicle’s latest venture is the dual-axle solar-powered resource-generating CyberTrailer designed to be paired with an electric tow vehicle. The CyberTruck’s futuristic contours and durability served as inspiration for this new 27-foot travel trailer. As the name suggests, the CyberTrailer can be towed by a Cybertruck, as well as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T. Don’t have an EV tow truck? The CyberTrailer will freely roll behind half-ton-towable gas and diesel vehicles as well. Intended to be a more portable travel trailer than the company’s legacy models but with similar capabilities, targeted GVWR is in the 9,000-pound range.
Matthew said, “Our newest product—the CyberTrailer—is a self-sufficient vehicle designed to not only power itself but to add power back to the grid or to the very vehicle it’s towing. This is an interesting paradigm shift when you take it on a microscale and look at the vehicles themselves and how they not only reduce the energy demand on the grid but also generate power themselves.
“We’re literally about being a charging station so that when you get to your destination off-grid you don’t drain the batteries on both your trailer and the tow vehicle. Instead of just 1,000 watts, we’re pumping a lot of power on the roof and maximizing for natural resources to pull the power wherever you are so when you get into the woods, or to your destination, you can power the unit and power the tow vehicle.” In addition to solar panels lining the CyberTrailer’s roof, solar panels top dual awnings that double as shields to protect the windows when the trailer is on the move.
The Hofmanns are all about maximizing the natural resources, plus they are not big fans of RV parks or overpopulated campgrounds, “So the limiting factor is how much you carry with you, whether that’s water or waste capacity or battery capacity—energy,” said Matthew. “You can run every system in these units off of the energy system. There’s 240-volt, electric vehicle charging built into these; you can extract the power to run all of the systems. Our core is being able to go off-grid and stay off-grid as long as possible.”
Matthew said that they are integrating a lot of new technology into the CyberTrailer: “When talking about tank capacities, the real gain here is water generation. We’re going to include a system that extracts humidity out of the air…like when you see water dripping off the roof of an RV when the A/C is on; it’s the same core concept. With the CyberTrailer, it’ll be able to produce up to 13 gallons of water every day. It’s in conjunction with the concept of going off-grid and staying off-grid; it’s not just energy, that energy is being used to do other things—power your tow vehicle, power the water-generation system, and then coupled with water recycling where we’ll be able to recycle up to 95 percent of the gray water. So, we’re rethinking the way an RV’s tank capacities are thought of.” The goal is to create a self-sustaining eco system with gray-water recycling, water generation, natural electricity generation and minimizing waste.
The CyberTrailer’s open floorplan makes for a visually connected space and various living-working-lounging-sleeping-cooking-entertaining configurations. As an example, after wrapping-up a meal, remove the dining table and the space can be transformed into a workstation (Starlink-ready) with the wall-mounted, fold-down office-table-for-two and a front-row view to the outdoors. When it’s time to get some shut-eye, opposing sofas can be joined to make a bed. Or use the space as a garage—floor tiedown anchors included—for safely transporting toys such as e-bikes, which can also be charged with the CyberTrailer.
Interior height is set at over 7 feet in this main area, where a rear folding patio with awning and gear-hauler ramp connects the outside with the inside. And just in case the abundance of windows and the giant “window” at the back of the trailer when the ramp is down don’t offer enough natural light for you, a skylight running much of the length of the CyberTrailer allows for even more sunlight. At the front of the trailer is the bathroom and a storage area; ceiling height is more than 6½ feet.
Owners control the CyberTrailer’s systems via Apple iPad Wireless Control and there’s nationwide service, as with Living Vehicle’s other trailers. Backup power sources will be available with “highly efficient DC power generation so that if everything doesn’t go perfect and the sun decides not to come out that day you still have backup power in place. Or say your electric tow vehicle runs out of power, you can still leverage this hybrid technology to run your systems or power a truck.”
Base price for the CyberTrailer is $175,000. Those interested can reserve one with a $100 refundable deposit.
Updates for 2026
In addition to the CyberTrailer, Matthew Hofmann said that they are working on an even more advanced lineup for 2026. The 39-foot GT39 fifth-wheel, the largest offering in Living Vehicle’s lineup, includes features aimed at RVers prioritizing luxury off-grid living with its master suite, full kitchen with commercial-grade appliances and a bathroom mirroring spa-like comfort. A 7,000-watt solar system supports long-term stays. The GT32 fifth-wheel, at 32 feet, retains many of the design elements of its larger sibling but in a more compact package. For those who prefer a bumper-pull, the company’s 24-foot HD24 and 30-foot HD30 are offered in versatile designs with the same durable materials. The HD24 is Living Vehicle’s smallest trailer, making it very adaptable with its walk-in gear closet and Euro Loft sleeping space.
The 2026 models continue to reflect Living Vehicle’s ethos to create a self-supporting product that empowers enthusiasts to pursue their outdoor passions in a sustainable way, essentially creating a “freedom machine” that will get people out in nature and keep them there for an extended time.
More information can be found at livingvehicle.com.
