Rain pelted my face and the wind whipped through my jacket as I crouched on the frozen soil next to the Winnebago eRV2. The electric camper-van prototype was my home for the night at the Portage Lake State Campground in Michigan’s Waterloo Recreation Area, and the vehicle had just informed me that the 15.0-kWh “house” battery—which powers accessories such as the interior lighting, climate control, and refrigerator—had stopped charging. The system predicted that if I continued consuming energy at the current rate, the battery would be dead by the early morning.
As I crawled around in the dark, checking the connections to the electrical hookup, my neighbor told me the power was out across the entire campsite. This was a problem. While other campers began using their gas-powered tow vehicles to run their appliances, I had no such luxury. The eRV2—which follows the 2022 e-RV concept and previews a production electric RV—is based on the Ford E-Transit and uses that vehicle’s stock 68.0-kWh battery.
Range Constraints
While the chassis battery can transfer juice to the so-called house battery, the trip out to the campsite made me hesitant to sacrifice precious driving miles. Even sticking to 60 mph in the right lane, I still drained nearly half of the charge on the approximately 40-mile trip to the campsite. Ford quotes a 108-mile range for the high-roof E-Transit, and Winnebago says its testing revealed an average range of 120 miles. But the eRV2 traveled just 70 miles at 70 mph—we couldn’t do our standard highway test at 75 mph as the Winnebago tops out at 74 mph—and the dashboard readout never displayed more than 90 miles during our time with the vehicle, possibly due in part to the cold weather.
Winnebago claims the eRV2 can boondock—run completely off the grid—for up to seven days, but that requires keeping the climate control off. With the overnight temperature dipping down to 30 degrees, that didn’t sound like a good option. The eRV2 also has roof-mounted solar panels—supplemented by foldable panels stowed in the cargo hold for a total output up to 900 watts—to help extend battery life, but the gloomy skies nullified their usefulness.
Hoping to preserve the remaining driving range, I conserved energy by dimming the lights and lowering the heat, keeping a close eye on the charge monitor while cooking dinner on the eRV2’s portable induction cooktop. Those small adjustments eked out enough juice for at least an extra day, but luckily the campground’s power returned a few hours later and electrons began flowing back into both batteries through the E-Transit’s 11.3-kW onboard charger. By morning, the house battery was full, and the chassis battery was back to 75 percent. Still, the outage showed that the eRV2’s off-the-grid capabilities are severely limited by inclement weather and the disappointing range.
Winnebago acknowledges that last obstacle, which is a result of an electric van market that’s focused on local deliveries rather than long range. Customer surveys revealed a desire to break up their road trips into three-hour chunks—with half-hour stops to rest—and Winnebago believes it needs about 200 miles of range to achieve that. While the original e-RV concept used an aftermarket powertrain, Winnebago now appears committed to a factory setup, so production will likely wait until the next-generation E-Transit launches—reportedly late this year with a target of 175 miles of range.
A new platform hopefully will bring quicker charge times too. We couldn’t perform our normal 10 to 90 percent charging test on the eRV2, but anecdotally, the DC fast-charging capability was a bit disappointing. We knew it would take a long time to top up from 80 percent all the way to 100 before heading to Portage Lake, but we needed all the juice, and that took an hour and 17 minutes. The next day it took half an hour to go from 49 to 80 percent, with the charge rate peaking around 73 kW. Ford claims a 115-kW peak fast-charge rate for the E-Transit and, as is typical, the peak is only achievable when the battery is at a low state of charge.
For context, a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5—one of the fastest-charging EVs—took 33 minutes to complete the charging test, peaking at 231 kW, while a 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV—among the worst performers—needed an hour and 24 minutes to hit 90 percent, maxing out at 53 kW.
Driving the eRV2
While the range and charging need improvement, the rear-mounted electric motor’s 266 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque make the eRV2 perky enough to easily keep up with traffic. The high seating position, expansive windshield, and sizable mirrors provide excellent visibility, and the accurate steering and tight turning radius make maneuvering in tight spaces easier than expected.
The ride is truck-like, with the semi-trailing-arm rear suspension dishing out harsh jolts over bumps, although it smooths out at a highway pace. The lack of an engine note makes wind and road noise more apparent, and big bumps produce loud rattles from the cabin behind. The eRV2 doesn’t feature one-pedal driving—energy regeneration on liftoff is minimal and cannot be adjusted.
Comfy Camping
Upon reaching camp, it was easy to settle into the smartly laid-out cabin, which packs many amenities into a small space. The refrigerator and sink are complemented by the portable cooktop that neatly stashes away in a pull-out side table, while another table folds up behind the driver’s seat, which swivels 180 degrees. The bathroom includes a removable cassette toilet and a shower. Setting up the bed takes minimal effort—a slatted wooden support slides out and the mattress simply unfolds. The production version will have Wi-Fi, but the router wasn’t operational in the prototype. Still, the well-lit cabin—the brightness and color of each bank of lights can be individually adjusted—allowed me to disconnect from screens and read a book.
You can monitor the eRV2 via the center screen and an accompanying phone app. The display shows battery levels, freshwater and gray-water tank levels, and refrigerator and cabin temperature. It also allows control of functions such as lighting, the water heater, and climate control. Some issues arose with the app’s Bluetooth connectivity and the accuracy of the tank readouts, but Winnebago promises to iron out those kinks.
In the morning I cooked breakfast outdoors, thanks to a table that lifts up when the side door is open, revealing strategically placed outlets to power the cooktop. The setup lets you enjoy the surrounding nature while still providing easy access to the fridge. Strangely, the eRV2 is missing a trash can, and the hooks behind the couches aren’t exactly in an ideal spot for hanging a trash bag. The water tanks could also use more capacity. One night of cooking, washing dishes, and a brief shower used nearly the entire freshwater tank.
Winnebago aims to launch the production version next year. It will carry a price premium over the company’s gas-powered Class B RVs, which run between $140,000 and $245,000. Winnebago needs to extract more miles out of the powertrain, but the eRV2 otherwise nailed its mission by forcing me to disconnect, slow down, and appreciate the scenery with its comfortable cabin and relaxing driving experience.
Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com
