Official statement from Scott Hubble concerning the Air8 air conditioner

Sharon_is_SAM

@tepe50, please contact nuCamp so they can register your findings.  

tepe50

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@tepe50, please contact nuCamp so they can register your findings.  

I have mentioned something to Aaron about this but I guess I will make my complaint  perfectly clear when I talk to him again 

TNOutback

@tepe50 best to contact your dealer and let them address it through the claim process.

Pedro

Pedro

Here's a pic I took a few weeks ago that shows the Air8 vent modification

rh5555

If this is supposed to stop the hot air exhaust from getting back into the cold air intake, then it was very poorly designed.  It would probably work better if it was mounted the other way around.

TNOutback

@Pedro @rh5555 that’s the way I mounted the prototype NuCamp sent me last September.  Pointing it toward the street side made a huge difference in reducing the amount of noise on the “camping” side.  It also evacuated the hot air out from under the camper quite well.  Maybe it could be a few inches longer (I did suggest that to NuCamp), but I think it is acceptable the way it is.

tepe50

My 400 is in the dealer right now for the A/C. I’ll see what they come up with. Not crazy about how those propane lines are running in that picture on a new unit. 

AirBoss

This was the factory fix as my T@B400 was shipped. Curious where the "scoop" concept came from. While my unit was in for other warranty service last week dealer called nuCamp and was told there were no other "fixes" related to the ducting for the Air8. Appreciate any feedback. Thx!

TNOutback

@Caschetta I’m in there with you, but I have hope they will figure it out and make things right.  Not much they or we can do until they figure it out, and it would make sense for them to go back to what they know works in the interim.  The move away from the Cool Cat was primarily to lighten the tongue weight so the 400 can be towed by mid-size SUVs and trucks, so the reasoning is still there to find an alternative to the Cool Cat.

Dutch061

Pedro said:

This is very similar to how our 400 BDL looks that I picked up new 3 weeks ago.

Regards,

Brad

Denny16

The scoop might be a dealer mod, rather than a nuCamp one.
cheers

TNOutback

@Denny16 @AirBoss it is a NuCamp prototype.  They sent me one last summer to try out on my 400.  Easy install. It absolutely improves hot exhaust evacuation from underneath the camper, with the added benefit of making the door side of the camper area much quieter when the a/c is running.  It’s an excellent mod and I would hope NuCamp starts to include it with any future Air8 installations, and provides them to dealers for current Air8 owners.

AirBoss

Thanks much, @TNOutback! Maybe I'll reach out to them directly. Cheers! 

Spectre9

They might say this but just saw 2021 model walkthrough  from Air Force Guy and they redesigned and moved axel forward so they could put the Cool Cat back in the replace the ac used in 2020 model.  It will be interesting to see the long term support for this now rare and orphaned 2020 model.

Michigan_Mike

Spectre9 said:

They might say this but just saw 2021 model walkthrough  from Air Force Guy and they redesigned and moved axel forward so they could put the Cool Cat back in the replace the ac used in 2020 model.  It will be interesting to see the long term support for this now rare and orphaned 2020 model.

Support shouldn’t be an issue.  Irregardless of what unit they put in their trailers they will service trailers as they have always done and back up their warranty and go above and beyond to provide customer service.  Although this is a third party situation they will honor their commitment the same way they did when they had flooring issues.   
 

dutsmiller

I have no doubt that their intentions are to make things right, their track-record certainly doesn't suggest otherwise.  My concern is that there may not be a viable option for them to retrofit.

Mconner

I am looking at a 2020 Tab 400.  Will the vent kit fix the problem?  If not, what is NuCamp’s recommended solution?

RFraer

Mconner said:

I am looking at a 2020 Tab 400.  Will the vent kit fix the problem?  If not, what is NuCamp’s recommended solution?

I have a 2020 Tab 400 and I would not buy it again. The vent kit does almost nothing. NuCamp’s recommended solution is to wait and see if they even can find a solution. There is a mention of a upgraded AC unit in the “official statement” but no specifics about when and if it will be available.  They have started a upgrade list but I am not holding my breath.

jkjenn

Mconner said:

I am looking at a 2020 Tab 400.  Will the vent kit fix the problem?  If not, what is NuCamp’s recommended solution?

I spoke to someone over the weekend with a 400 and the Air 8. She lives in Florida and is FT. After the vent kit fix she said she had all of the cool air she wanted. Since she is FT she runs it more than the average person, too.

TNOutback

Mconner said:

I am looking at a 2020 Tab 400.  Will the vent kit fix the problem?  If not, what is NuCamp’s recommended solution?

Neither the vent kit nor the “scoop” fixed the underlying issue for the Air8 performance, but the small scoop certainly made the door-side area outside the camper much quieter.

I did speak with the Elwell engineer on Tuesday, and he confirmed that the pandemic situation has slowed down progress in getting replacement a/c units from the manufacturer, and he did not have a date when they would be ready.  The wiring harnesses for moving the temperature sensor out into the cabin should be available “soon”.

owenbandstra

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this . I'm excited to hear that maybe a Air8 A/C fix is on it's way.  I am also a 2020 Tab 400 owner who is concerned about the A/C unit in our trailer. I understand that the new 2021 models have gone back to the Coolcat A/C. Does anyone know 'officially' why the change back ? Witnessing  NuCamp's passion to continually improve their trailers leaves me wondering if our 2020 model was a poor investment. I have notified my dealer of my concerns.  

N7SHG_Ham

@owenbandstra as just a bystander, I think the AC change to the Air8 was an attempt to lessen hitch weight, not that there was anything wrong with CoolCat or anything better with Air8 except being smaller. The Air8 did do that at the expense of creating a problem at least for some in poor AC performance. In the quest to get that hitch weight down the 2021 models moved the axle forward, retaining some of the other 2020 mods like batteries moved further rearward and then added the proven CoolCat back to the front. All this messing around to get that hitch weight down! It was never an issue with bigger tow vehicles, but I guess they felt a need to cater to the smaller TV crowd and IMO they made some design missteps that were unintended. Hopefully they can engineer a retrofit to the 2020's!

RFraer

I don't understand how the problem with the AIR8 was not discovered before it made it out the production door. NuCamp needs to fire the HVAC engineer that did the field testing. Most of their 2020-400 customers discovers the problem in the first day of camping in temperatures over 85 degrees.

gulfarea

On the two new 320,s I have bought new the A/C was terrible! The real cure would be to go to a split system, a/c compressor mounted on the tong and evaporator core inside. They make small split systems. I don't think we will ever see this, just think how long we have had to put up with the 3 way fridge when a much better 2 way compressor was out there. Art

TNOutback

@owenbandstra we have the 2020 with the Air8, and are anxiously awaiting an upgraded Air8 replacement for our 400.  Despite a few initial hiccups and the a/c thing, we are very pleased with this camper, and can’t wait for this virus thing to be behind us.  We still think it is a good investment.  I sit in this camper every day now, since it has become my teleworking office, and the quality is everywhere to be seen.  One cannot fault NuCamp for going back to the Cool Cat while they sort the Air8 thing out; they are, after all, in the business to sell campers.  For me, I really like the idea of putting the a/c under the bed in the back.  That makes for a huge, easily accessible storage area under the dinette seat.  The former storage under the bed can be very difficult to get to if you have a bed made up, and especially if you’ve put a topper on the bed as we have.

TNOutback

RFraer said:

I don't understand how the problem with the AIR8 was not discovered before it made it out the production door. NuCamp needs to fire the HVAC engineer that did the field testing. Most of their 2020-400 customers discovers the problem in the first day of camping in temperatures over 85 degrees.

I don’t know this for certain, but I would guess it was tested in a “hot room”, but not in direct sunlight.  Our a/c system seems to do okay if it is not in direct sunlight, but the sun overcomes the unit’s ability to cool down the camper.

We “ discovered” the issue on the day we went to pick it up from the dealer, though at the time we didn’t fully realize it.  We confirmed it in the days following while it was sitting in our driveway.  We ended up canceling three camping trips because of it, but once it cooled off in the Fall, we had three wonderful trips before we put it to bed for the holidays.

RFraer

I don’t know about NuCamp’s “hot room” testing results but They should have figured this out while camping in their parking lot.

Verna

@RFraer, just in case you weren’t aware, the nüCamp factory has not been reopened yet from the stay-at-home orders from the state of Ohio. Therefore, in order for them to hear your negative comments, you must write an email to customercare@nucamprv.com and some one in the skeleton office crew will direct your comments to the proper person. 

falcon1970

@N7SHG_Ham mentioned that the axle has been moved forward on the 2021 model TAB400.  Does anyone know by how much it was moved?  On my 2019 TAB400 the center of the wheel hub (which is NOT the axle line) is 140" aft of the ball socket.  Ha anyone measured a later model?