The latest in electrification from Winnebago might not be exactly what you're expecting. Instead of an electrified powertrain, the company has added a new battery pack system that swaps out the generator for something a little more quiet.
The Winnebago Boldt was on display at the RV Experience in Salt Lake City. It's a Class-B recreational vehicle based on a van, not a chassis-cab model or a chassis-only built model.
It starts with the latest Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van and retains the 3.0L six-cylinder diesel with 188 hp. As a bonus with the van, you also get the Mercedes-Benz MBUX voice control infotainment system. To that, it adds Winnebago's Pure 3 Advanced Energy Management System, which was developed with Volta Power Systems.
It delivers 11.6 kWh of electricity, stored underneath the bed in lithium-ion batteries. That's not much by EV standards, but by RV standards it's quite a bit. It's enough to run the vehicle's on-board equipment, including fridge, TV, microwave, and heater, for several hours. There's also a solar-charger on the roof to help top up the batteries which takes the place of a conventional generator for off-grid camping. Fringe benefits include less noise, less maintenance and no gas smell.
This is an insulated van, making it suitable for camping in most weather conditions. The insulation also makes things easier on the batteries, requiring less heating or cooling. It can charge using plug-in power at a campsite or EV charger, or can charge while you drive using the alternator of the diesel engine.
