Housing is in short supply, water levels are rising, and the earth is only getting warmer. Catastrophic climate events are on the rise, and with each one infrastructure like power plants and roadways take a pounding. But what if you didn’t have to rely on those old things, anyway?
No, it’s not a doomsday bunker: Living Vehicle, a Santa Barbara–based luxury travel trailer maker, has a new off-grid RV, and it’s designed to be completely self-sufficient with a rooftop solar array and a water supply that replenishes by extracting humidity from the air.
Luxury travel trailer maker Living Vehicle’s new RV is designed to operate off the grid indefinitely.
The trailer, called the 2024 HD, is equipped for four-seasons living.
“It comes down to two words,” says company CEO Matthew Hofmann, who also designs the trailers. “Independence and freedom. We’re in perpetual metamorphosis with more and more problems with the power grid, and having a resource where you can completely disconnect gives you personal freedom.”
While the company’s 2022 and 2023 models are off-grid capable, the 2024 HD Pro “is meant to stay off grid indefinitely,” says Hofmann, with a more robust solar array and an all-electric system. (Just in case, there’s propane as backup.)
The trailer features a more robust solar array than its predecessors.
A patio folds down from one side, adding an elevated outdoor area to the trailer’s plan.
Iteration, it seems, is in Living Vehicles’ DNA. “The company is the manifestation of hundreds of other projects we built for ourselves,” Hofmann says. “It was birthed out of the awareness of the compromises we were making by living in recreational vehicles.” He recalls a stint when he and his partner, Joanna Hofmann, the company’s chief creative officer, were living on a boat, where space came at a premium: “Things came down to inches,” says Hofmann.
While roomier than some boats, but much smaller than a one-bedroom—and priced at around half a million dollars, just a little more than the average for a home in the U.S.— the new 236-square-foot trailer is wall-to-wall luxury. It includes a chef-designed kitchen, a rain shower, and a 4K home theater system with wireless hif-fi audio. Like the 2023 model, an office space can be customized for remote work. While out of reach, you can keep in touch with Wi-Fi connectivity provided by an optional satellite.
The bedroom includes more than 150 square feet of storage space, with a six-foot-tall closet.
If it all sounds impressive, Hofmann isn’t satisfied. “The next step is reclamation,” he says. “Like a fully independent vessel for life where you’re not drawing on resources, and not creating waste. I want to create habitats that don’t create a burden on our world.” If it does come to an end, at least we’ll have somewhere nice to escape to.
The “theater” includes built-in storage and shelving.
The trailer is equipped with a rain shower.
