Pebble Flow trailer and Rivian in the wild

[taylor.coyote]

Pulled in to Dumbarton Quarry Campground (great place to stay if needing a place in the east bay / San Francisco). A Rivian pulling a Pebble Trailer pulls in.  The driver un-hitches the trailer and uses his I-Pad to back/drive the trailer in place. Next the leveling jacks automaticly lift the trailer off the ground and self-level.  

I spoke with the owner and this is the first shakedown night from the factory in Fremont, Ca . The owner said he should get a range of 200+/- miles with the Rivian/Pebble combo. The Trailer motors are said to add about 100 miles to the Rivian's range vs pulling a standard trailer.  I have to say it's very cool and makes our Oliver / F250 look and sound like a dinosaur.  Regardless of how cool, this guy is way braver them me. I like being able to carry a couple of fuel cans for a bit more range (more than double the Riven/Pebble combo).  We need early adopters and I'm not that guy. I wish him the best.  Yes, the Pebble is very cool.

 

[CRM]

Nice, though I hope they come in other colors.... 

[routlaw]

And at what cost. It looks nice, saw some earlier videos of this thing in action. Hardly qualifies as camping IMO. He might get 200 miles up in down the roads in CA but try that east of the Sierra or around the Rocky Mountain Range those towing distances will drop dramatically. 

[jd1923]

EV trucks don't go where we camp, 100+ miles from a charging station, and that is one ugly trailer. Keep your diesel truck and Oliver and we'll keep ours too! 😎

[Dumbyellowdog]

I saw this combo going north on 5 yesterday! Searching google for it led me here.

We have a Silverado EV with 450 miles of EV range / 225 miles towing our 7500lb Bigfoot 25’. We’re currently on BLM land near Death Valley. Coming from Ram 1500 Hemi you’d be surprised, the range differences to gas aren’t that big. In a pinch you can even “fill up” via a 50A RV park, sometimes for free! And the torque / braking power are unreal! We fly up hills and down them again, barely touching the brakes. You gotta try it to understand.

[taylor.coyote]

I perceive EV technology to be very cool and loved by several friends. Respectfully, range anxiety is not for me. 225 mile range would be very confining for our off the grid style of travel. I'll let the charging stations become better developed and dependable, EV ranges to increase and the let early adopters scout out this new frontier.  I'm old enough and my F250 6.7 is young enough that it may out last my ability to drag a trailer around.  Best to you and hope your EV tow vehicle serves you well.

 

 

[jd1923]

13 hours ago, Dumbyellowdog said:

We have a Silverado EV with 450 miles of EV range / 225 miles towing our 7500lb Bigfoot 25’. We’re currently on BLM land near Death Valley. Coming from Ram 1500 Hemi you’d be surprised, the range differences to gas aren’t that big. In a pinch you can even “fill up” via a 50A RV

Sold our Bigfoot Class-C for an Oliver! Their trailers are very popular, especially in Canada. I was on their forum for 3 years, added inverter/solar and other mods to our BF.

The one and ONLY reason to own a Ram is to tow behind a Cummins! Hemi 1500 not. 🙃

Our range is 500+ miles, 400 fully loaded, towing on mountain roads, based on using 30 of a 35 gal tank.

Take 50A charge from campsite for free? Not cool. We camp 2 of 3 nights without hookups.

Agree with @taylor.coyote re range anxiety. Finally with 900 Ah LiFePO4 house batteries we have no SOC anxiety!

Fill up the TV tank, have two 30+ gal water tanks full, waste tanks empty, no worries for 7-10 days in the wild! 😎

Edited January 3 by jd1923

[Dumbyellowdog]

I’ve had the conversation too much too much to argue about it, but so many people have ‘reckons about an EV when they’ve never even driven in one, let alone towed across the country. 
 

it’s cool, people should be happy with their choices. I’m sure you can explain to a casita owner why you’d never go back from your Oliver, and most EV owners will explain to oil burners why they’d never go back, but to do so would just be futile if the person doesn’t know what they’re missing. 

[jd1923]

On 1/3/2026 at 5:17 PM, Dumbyellowdog said:

many people have ‘reckons about an EV when they’ve never even driven in one, let alone towed across the country.

Yes, that would be me and about 99% of truck owners!

We purchased an older, used Oliver at half the price of a new one, and an older truck for the sole purpose as the tow vehicle. I’ve made MANY upgrades to both vehicles and total money invested would just pay for an averagely optioned new GM EV truck! Then there would be near another $10K in AZ sales tax.

I understand the power/torque EVs have and other benefits. If I was a young man, I’d buy one for daily use. I'm not sold on practicality as a tow vehicle, especially in the West where 200 miles towing is just the first half day on the road.

In a similar vein, I would LOVE an electric dirt bike (not an e-bike). Seen the Varg bike, for example. Way faster than my Honda! Ride mountain roads in pure silence, Wow, it would be great! Bought my Honda in 2003, completely rebuilt it 5 years ago, new tires, HD Springs, hand guards and other accessories. It does all I need, paid for years ago and it’s a great ride, perfect for me. That $15K Varg would be cool though. 🤣

Edited January 6 by jd1923

[Rivernerd]

On 1/3/2026 at 5:17 PM, Dumbyellowdog said:

I’s cool, people should be happy with their choices. I’m sure you can explain to a casita owner why you’d never go back from your Oliver, and most EV owners will explain to oil burners why they’d never go back, but to do so would just be futile if the person doesn’t know what they’re missing. 

Thanks for providing your view on towing with an EV.   I have three questions:  (1) what, if any, hardware is needed to "fill up" (recharge) your F150 EV from a 50A RV pedestal; (2) how long does it take and (3) how long does a "fill up" (recharge) take from a dedicated EV charging station?

[ScubaRx]

I can pump 35 gallons of diesel and go pee inside the trailer while Tali walks the dog, goes inside the station for a snack and uses the bathroom and be back up to speed on the interstate in under 15 minutes. I’m then good for at least another 400 miles or until one of the three onboard bladders gets full again.

I have no idea how long this would take with an EV and no desire to find out. 

[DanielBoondock]

On 12/31/2025 at 5:59 AM, routlaw said:

 He might get 200 miles up in down the roads in CA but try that east of the Sierra or around the Rocky Mountain Range those towing distances will drop dramatically. 

No actually it's the opposite. I just came up the Eastern Sierra, 5k ft to 8.2k, dropped 10% on the battery and gained back 8% on the other side. Regeneration which ICE vehicles don't enjoy. It's even greater with a trailer since you reduce the gain down, I put it at 0.5, so the brakes get used very little (just feathering to smooth out stops). I'll admit even I was a little surprised, I wasn't expecting it but these EV's love that kind of backcountry road travel. On the freeway they suck energy just like ICE, especially when driving into the wind. 

On 1/6/2026 at 9:23 PM, ScubaRx said:

I can pump 35 gallons of diesel and go pee inside the trailer while Tali walks the dog, goes inside the station for a snack and uses the bathroom and be back up to speed on the interstate in under 15 minutes. I’m then good for at least another 400 miles or until one of the three onboard bladders gets full again.

I have no idea how long this would take with an EV and no desire to find out. 

Well I'll tell you anyhow 😅That exact same scenario with an (Silverado or Sierra) EV adds 25 minutes. But in compensation, at home you never have to drive to the gas station and fill up since you charge off the house. Free in my case since I have solar. Over the course of the year I think it comes out ahead, time wise. When traveling I'm happy to get a longer break personally, but to each his own. 

On 1/2/2026 at 7:32 PM, taylor.coyote said:

Respectfully, range anxiety is not for me. 225 mile range would be very confining for our off the grid style of travel. I'll let the charging stations become better developed and dependable, 

Things have changed quickly, as they do with technology. My truck has 500 mile range not towing freeway driving, 375 miles freeway towing, depending on conditions of course. If you like off grid camping, with an EV you get essentially unlimited silent power. I charged up the house batteries off the truck while everybody else ran noisy generators. As for charging being undependable and scarce, that's no longer an issue. Last and this year especially the networks have been throwing it in at a ferocious pace. We just drove 6k miles to pick up the trailer without a single charging issue, or a single problem finding it. Even in the deep south, hey even little Hohenwald has fast chargers! But public fast charger infrastructure is in the knee of the 'S curve' of technology adoption. Just as happened with gas stations in the early 20th century. 

Anyhow on the Pebble OP, IMO it's solving a problem that has already been solved. On another forum a member bought one, they're getting 1.7 mi/kWh with the Pebble. But I get 1.3 mi/kWh with the Oliver - so it's a lot of expense, complication for little benefit. Oliver isn't kidding when they say it's an aerodynamic trailer, in ideal conditions it's a 35% loss which compares favorably with the usual 50% loss you'll see with other trailers. 

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, DanielBoondock said:

But in compensation, at home you never have to drive to the gas station and fill up since you charge off the house. Free in my case since I have solar.

"Free" does not account for  your investment in solar hardware, and the opportunity cost of those dollars.  When we priced solar installation on our home in central Idaho in 2016, it did not "pencil out" vs. the cost of buying grid power.  When the need to replace even LiFePO4 batteries at least every 10 years, solar panels every 20  years and the loss of investment earnings on the $50K plus cost of the system were added up, that investment made no sense for us, even with federal tax credits at the time.