AFTER OWNING OUR T@B A WHILE...

JPRoland

  It's been about nine months since I wrote about our Maiden Voyage in our new 2021 T@B 320S Boondock. We were so excited and fascinated initially by the quality that I thought it would be good to see how we feel about our T@B after nine months of use. My wife, Sara, and I have now driven about 5000 miles and have spent 40 nights in our 320S Boondock. The learning curve is certainly there but after a while it is a breeze. We have stayed in snow, rain, and hot sunshine.

  We have cooked many times on the kitchen gas burners and in the microwave. I have also cooked numerous times on our Napoleon portable grill that I attach to the propane connector on the T@B and I use the grill at the site, if provided, too. That's four different ways to cook! We have successfully used the shower and it has been absolutely hot and great, especially after watching a video that suggested using a fold-up plastic bucket to help you shower more efficiently. On the exterior the finish looks perfect. I wash it with a soft RV brush and use a gentle car wash detergent that is very diluted. The air conditioning and heat systems have run flawlessly and the Fantastic fan is so strong. It solves so many air flow/humidity issues that can arise.

  On the road the T@B tows like a dream. The biggest problem is remembering that it's back there. I have used the anti-sway bar and I have gone without. I don't see a big difference, although when I swayed badly the other day after slipping off the shoulder I wished I had it on. The Nautilus water management system makes it simple to hook-up to city water, sanitize, or fill the fresh water tank. Even a caveman like me can do it. Having that extra pump switch in the compartment along with the automatic light is handy. The solar energy system is very efficient and it's cool to see how it is performing on my phone.

  The T@B has been a true bright spot in our lives this past year. But it would not have been nearly as much fun if this little trailer wasn't designed and constructed in such a high-quality fashion. There were a few minor things like me breaking a cushion and a nut falling off the front step, but these were super-easy fixes. Another nice thing about Nu-Camp is they are very supportive and want you to be totally satisfied. We have now been to the factory and have met Austin in Service and have corresponded with Abby from the Warranty Department and they were both as kind and as professional as you could ask for. I was also proud to see how ecologically-minded NuCamp is. Their factory is using solar power and various ways of decreasing their energy consumption and being a good neighbor in Sugar Creek. We also saw a patch of land where they were in the process of building a training facility. So, after nine months of ownership, I am proud to say that I am even more excited about owning our NuCamp T@B than I was then! It has been excellent in every way. 

dragonsdofly

@JPRoland, slightly older t@b, many more miles(44/45,000) and over 300 nights on the road, but our sentiments exactly!

Sharon_is_SAM

@JPRoland - glad you are enjoying your purchase!  We still think we hit the jack pot by buying a nuCamp product.

CJax

@JPRoland... great to read your thoughts, as we are about 10 months behind you! (Picking ours up this month!) We are so looking forward to it. Thanks to you and others on this site that keep validating that we picked the right product.

Q: Which model of the Napoleon portable grill are you using? Any modifications needed to run off the T@B connector? Would you recommend that grill as heartily as you recommend the nuCamp? (We are in the process of accumulating our "kit" as we wait for the trailer.)

Cheers,

scottincarmel

Having just picked up our new 2021 T@B 320S-BD a few weeks ago, it's great to hear that all is well with yours. Knock-on-wood, mine has been flawless so far.

DharmaScout

So far we've been on the road 46 days in our 2021 320S, traveling from Wisconsin to San Diego. Overall I agree with JPRoland, it's been a great little camper and concur on all the positives listed. However, here are some big issues that cropped up.

Isotherm fridge

• It seems to use a lot of power. When boondocking, it's difficult making it through the night without the battery going down to nearly 50% of charge. And forget going a day without solar! I constantly fiddled with the cooling setting, turning it to a lower number at night when the fridge stayed closed, higher during the day when we were in and out of the fridge more. We finally swapped out the battery with a Battleborn lithium. Problem solved. We boondock a lot.
  
• If outside temps are above 80F degrees, it has a difficult time keeping temp below 40F degrees. Anything above 85 outside, forget it, the fridge can't keep temp below 50. Food spoiled a coupled times. It's not like it's running all the time, more like it just gives up and stops cooling. 

Seat Cushions / mattress

Flimsy cheap foam! Indentations where we sleep and sit, and we both weigh less than 150lbs. Super uncomfortable. Finally had to get a sleeping pad to go over top. Still not comfy. For such a high end camper, this is the weakest part. Everything else is so well crafted, but these foam seat cushions are the worst.

Tongue box latches

One of the rubber latches broke! The other was nearly gone. It's a clever design, but give me a simple metal buckle! Rubber doesn't hold up to the elements. Couldn't order replacement directly from NuCamp, had to go through our RV Dealer, who then ordered from NuCamp who then shipped to us while on the road. Took a couple weeks. Good thing we had family on the west coast where we could have it shipped to.

JPRoland

CJax we ordered the Napoleon Travel Q 285 portable grill and removed the regulator. We love it. I agree with you Dharma Scout about the cushions. I tried to upgrade at the factory and their suggestion was for me to take them to an upholsterer. I have since stuffed some high-quality foam in each cushion. I'd love to take these to an upholsterer, but I don't want the down-time. 

2Cougs

So sorry to hear about your cushion foam.  We have a 2016 and our foam has held up so well over the past 5 years that when I split the cushions (to make it easier to roll up the bedding and put up the table) and recovered them, I didn't even think about replacing the foam. 

gooselady

The seat foam was much stiffer in the older T@bs and many complained about the hard surface.  I feel the current foam is much softer and nicer to sleep on.  I use a 2" topper on the 2021 T@B.  I used a 4.5" topper on my 2015.  Whether it is fair to catagorize it as "cheap", well everyone has an opinion, but it is definitely softer.

The Isotherm fridge is a wonderful upgrade from the Norcold but requires solar for boondocking (hence the addition of rooftop solar in the newer models).  Since I only boondock and I was worried about this constraint, I had two 6V batteries installed in series.  This gives me enough charge to boondock several days without issue, however I am a single traveler and a low user of power in general.  Since I still have my 120W panel leftover from the 2015, I will add an additional solar connection and I should have no worries about power, and maybe even get to use the overhead fan.

Chopin

We got our 2021 320S in December and have camped away from home 24 nights so far. Love it and fully agree with original post. A few very minor issues but nucamp responded immediately to help resolve. 

Bufford

is the 320 S comfortable and a large enough living space for two people for one to two months at a time?
we are five eleven and five six in height and medium builds.

Denny16

Yes, if you do not want or need to stand straight up inside.  At 5’9” the only place I could stand up without stooping was in the very center where the roof arches up.  The galley is small, but useable, and a 5’6” or shorter person can stand comfortably in front of the counter, at 5’11” you will not be able to tans straight up.  The CS-S model changes this to an outside galley on the back.  The washroom is small, and has limited standing room.  At 5’4”  my wife could just standup in the shower area, but I couldn’t, I would need to sit on the toilet to shower.  You really need to go look at one, get inside and go through the various motions of living inside the TaB, and decide if this is doable for you.

We decided the 320 was a little too small, and I would not be comfortable, and likely hit my head often on the overhead.  I had a sailboat with a small cabin I slept in, but it only had sitting height, and standing room was only in the hatch area.  I didn’t want to go back to that small a space for camping.  So we decided on the TaB400.

The TaB 400 has enough standing room for a 6’ person, a fixed bed that doesn’t need to be converted from a dinette/seating setup, and a separate dinette area that makes a comfortable bunk, which I often use, while my wife uses the rear bunk.  Two people can move about quite easily inside the camper.  The washroom is larger, I can stand up inside to shower, and have good legroom whilst using the toilet.  The galley is longer, with more counter room and more storage for pots, food, etc.  We have the wardrobe model withnthe 2-way compressor fridge, and the extra storage for clothes is nice for long outings, easy to stay organized.
 Cheers 

Sharon_is_SAM

@Bufford - I think it depends on how much you need to be inside.  If you take trips in warm weather a side tent becomes your living area.  If the weather is cold, being stuck inside a 320 for days on end may not be fun.  We completed 2 months on the road August to October and we were very comfortable and used the heat inside minimally.  

VictoriaP

Bufford said:

is the 320 S comfortable and a large enough living space for two people for one to two months at a time?
we are five eleven and five six in height and medium builds.

I’ll add to all the good points Denny made. The 320s bed is 70x71 (the CS-S is even smaller). For tall people, this alone can be a dealbreaker unless you tend to sleep curled up or intend to modify the bed. At 5’6”, the 320 feels pretty small to me, and I can’t imagine being comfortable with never being able to stand upright while inside.

As far as two people in there? Depends 100% on the people. My late husband and I got along very well, but there is NO way I would have traveled for a month or two at a time with him in a 320 (a 400 would have been fine). My first season with this rig, I still had my 50 pound senior dog, and he was always underfoot in such a small space, I cannot imagine trying to do the things I need to do with a second adult human in there. Two people also means more issues with the limited available storage—you’ll be carrying nearly twice as much food, gear, and clothing as I do for solo travel. The 400 has more room to stretch out, more room for all that gear, and no height issue for those taller than 5’7”.

But I know quite a few couples who are fine with the 320 even on extended trips. I second Denny’s comment, you need to go see both for yourself. Tell the sales guy to scram, you need time to evaluate which rig will fit your needs, and then spend that time actually acting out all the motions of day to day living. Set up and tear down the bed. Lay on it for at least twenty minutes to get the feel of trying to sleep in that space—think about if you’ll need extra cushioning and in the 320, where you’ll store that during the day if you intend to use the dinette for meals. Pretend to get dressed…even the shorter partner will find that pulling a shirt on overhead means staying aware of the ceiling height. Squeeze into the bathroom and see if you can comfortably do what you need to in there. Visualize how you’ll store everything. 

Then repeat all this in the 400. It’ll all be more comfortable with more space, obviously. But is that comfort important to you, or can you both live with the compromises of the 320?

AnOldUR

We’ve always been about doing more with less. Our 320S is a perfect example of that. Over the last year we’ve made our little space into the most comfortable living area we could manage. Last year our longest trip was 3+ weeks and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We’ll be traveling extensively this year, so both the T@B and our relationship will be put to the test. So @Bufford, what everyone is saying here is great information. In the end it will depend on you and what you’re comfortable with.

Bufford

Thanks all of you for the insights, will be looking at 320 and 400 in early March. I will reread your comments before I go. 

Mickerly

We looked at the 320S and immediately decided it was small. The 320CS is a different story all together. The kitchen is outside. There is more storage and counter space than you would find in kitchens in trailers twice this size. We have a 'dresser' inside. Again, storage space you wouldn't find in most trailers.

Yes, the bed is small. Yes, it's a sit down toilet. Since we spend most of your time outside, these are small players for us.

Would a 400 be better is we were sitting out several days of rain or on the road for a couple of weeks? Probably. Both of us still work. For us, the trailer is for camping 3 or 4 days at a time. It works great. NuCamp makes 5 different trailers. One of them will fit what you need to do.

SLJ

We tented for years, then went to a B campervan, then a motorhome. For us our T@B 320S BD beats them all. It's our hard shell tent with all the amenities. I'm 5'11" and I have no problem with the bed length. Bathroom is much better than the one we had with a tent. Can get into the sites we couldn't with the motorhome. We also use it for antique shows and music festivals. You can't beat 17 MPG in the hills.

Slackers

Another CSS owner here and agree with what @Mickerly wrote.  Depending upon how you like to do things you can enjoy adventures lasting longer than 3-4 days too.  We pulled ours for about a month covering about 4000 miles and visiting 10 National Parks/Monuments. We enjoyed sites with and without hook-ups but didn't venture to rougher dirt-road accessible campgrounds where a higher clearance better departure angle trailer like the Boondock 320s (and possibly 320s) is better suited.

JPRoland

I guess it's time for an update. We have now owned our 320s Boondock for almost four years and we just got back from another great trip. This Tab continues to blow me away. We have had zero problems and get nothing but compliments from people that see it. We are just weekend campers and use it for trips to see our kids (we like our own rest room.) We continue to do our maintenance and it performs like a champ. We did have all of the cushions re-stuffed and re-covered so they are plush and easy to wipe clean. That was a big improvement! We are very happy NuCamp campers! We are anxious to go back and visit the factory just for the Amish restaurants and wonderful cheese makers. The factory is a cool place to visit.

bergger

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear how much you are still enjoying it.  We've had our 2021 400 for just over 4 years and still love it too!   A factory visit is on our bucket list as is a trip to the uCamp rally.  For now that will have to wait but we look forward again to our local T@borado Rally!  For anyone who has not gone to one of the smaller local rallys that Mandy and Kendrick put on I highly recommend going to one.