GM killed Brightdrop - hopefully helps RCV

[Tony de Veyra]

I bought it converted from Grounded RVs. They had options, and things have changed with tariffs, but I paid 180k for the van plus conversion.

There are many on brightdropforum building them out themselves.

How do you like it? Was it the 600 or 400 model brightdrop?

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[Redmond Chad]

It is the 600, with the big battery and all-wheel drive. I have put about 8,000 mi on it.

I really like both the van and the conversion. Neither has been completely trouble-free, but once we get the kinks worked out I think we're going to enjoy this a lot.

 

[VSG]

But they haven't, so i bought an AWD extended-range Chevy Brightdrop converted to a camper van. Other than the noise in the cab at freeway speeds, i like it a lot.

Does this mean you're getting rid of your A2124? I've been looking for one of those ...

 

[Redmond Chad]

The A2124 was a really nice trailer. But we already sold ours.

 

[Tony de Veyra]

The A2124 was a really nice trailer. But we already sold ours.

Wow, really funny you mention that, as my wife and I are looking at the A2124, the Polydrops and some kind of Electric Camper Van (like the GroundedRV) as options for our next rig and next adventures…

 

[Redmond Chad]

We had a gas Sportsmobile pop-top camper van from 1996 to 2013. We'd switched both of our cars to EVs in 2009, and that camper van was the only gas vehicle we missed, so we have been waiting...and waiting...for an electric camper van to come along.

When COVID hit in 2020 - and not yet knowing how long it would last or how it would affect travel - we decided to stop waiting for a camper van and try a trailer. My wife wanted a (near) king bed and full bathroom. I wanted the most efficient thing I could find that met that criteria. The A2124 seemed to fit the bill (maybe a Bowlus would have been a tiny bit better, but for a few multiples of the price). After waiting well over a year, it finally arrived in Dec 2021.

We towed it with my wife's Model X at first, but were unhappy with a few aspects of that so I got my R1S in 2023. It's a far better tow vehicle. Mine is a quad with the 20" AT package, so rated at about 284 miles. I switched the AT tires for AS, so I figure it's good for about 300 when not towing. We pretty consistently were in the 200-mile range when towing the A2124. We had no issues with the trailer. We liked everything except for the triangular dinette up front. Even that was really OK for just the two of us, though it quickly got uncomfortable if we tried to fit more people in there. Well, I guess the insulation could have used an upgrade too - it's not good for winter camping.

In March of 2025 we finally ordered a Grounded RVs camper van based on the Brightdrop. We sold the A2125 in April, and picked up the camper van in July. The interior space - if you include the cab - is fairly similar, and total travel length is MUCH shorter. Efficiency is almost identical (1.6mi/kWh in good weather just over 60mph; of course it drops in bad weather and higher speeds), but the Brightdrop has a 173kWh battery as compared to the 132kWh battery in my R1S, so we can travel farther. It does charge slower though; just 120kW. Though in cooler weather it often keeps that rate up to 83%. (When really hot it can drop to ~88kW as low as 33%, though usually it makes it to at least 50%).

The van has had a couple of minor issues - unprogrammed fobs, sticky passenger door, disconnected rain sensor, loose wiper blade arm.

The camper upfit has had a few minor issues; the one major issue was that it was overweight. Grounded just switched from wood to aluminum + recycled plastic; we got the first new van and apparently they didn't actually weigh it before we picked it up. They have made a number of changes (and shipped me a loaner van while they did the work) and are still working with us on some more. I assume that their future vans will not have this issue.

 

[Ralph]

Just a week or two ago Walmart delivered using a BrightDrop for the first time. Not a big GM fan, but was hoping that more of the incessant deliveries from various vendors and shipping companies would be utilizing EVs.

I have to assume that if Walmart had committed to purchasing large numbers GM would have supplied them. Given Walmart's commitment to energy efficiency and EV charging, I wonder what went "wrong".

 

[Redmond Chad]

I don't know if Walmart had committed to a large purchase yet, they likely were still testing a small number.

But even if all went well with the test and Walmart wanted to buy a bunch of them, it is likely that the thing that went wrong was the tariffs. They are built in Canada, so they suddenly became much more expensive.

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