Bought a T@B 400 Boondock yesterday! Furnace and battery question, please…

CruiserCamperChris

Hi! My name is Chris, and my wife and I bought a 2021 T@B 400 Boondock yesterday from PPL Consignment. It is in showroom condition. Hardly used. But the people at PPL didnt know a lot about it. 

1. They could not find the batteries. I am sure they are under the bed frame somewhere, but before i take a screwdriver, i thought i would ask here.

2. they told us that the HVAC uses a heat pump to warm the air through the central duct system. But as far as they could tell, the gas furnace only has vents in the bathroom. Surely they must be mistaken. Where are the furnace vents?

thanks! Glad to have found this community!

Michigan_Mike

The batteries are under the bed.  The Alde heating unit (is basically a small boiler unit) is a radiant heat type system.  I haven’t seen the 2022 units and don’t know the configuration of your unit but the heat in my 2019 radiates up through the edge of the bed in the rear of the trailer, there is a radiator in the bathroom area and heat also radiates up near the front of our trailer.  

CruiserCamperChris

Thanks. So do you need to unscrew some screws to lift up the bed boards to find the batteries? Must be on the passenger side.

[Deleted User]

Beautiful couple and camper!!! Welcome! We will take great care of you here on the forum. I would suggest you start out in the "Owners Manuals/PDF FIles" section.  There is a wonderful "unofficial" owners manual there that will help you get started. It's not for a 2021 model but it still has alot of very helpful info.  Once you are inside that section go to "T@B 400 Resource Guide" and the file is attached there.  

Yes to your last question. I actually permanently just remove the screws so I can get in there easier as needed. 

kurt

I have a TAB 400 boondock, and also wanted to see what the batteries looked like.   
They are under the bed, and the cover boards are attached with the square or star head screws ( can't remember which ones), but the screw heads on my camper had soft heads and striped easily. I had to drill several of the screw heads off before I could lift the boards up. The batteries look heavy, and to remove them will require a strong back. There is very little working room to lift them straight up and out.
So some things are best left alone until needing to be repaired/replaced.  I included the photos I took, showing the batteries, wiring, fuses and control boxes/boards.

Kurt Gotthardt
NH

 

Denny16

Welcome aboard.  You should be able to download the TaB400 2021 manual from nüCamp, see list of guides/manuals in the left forum menu.

As for the battery location, the batteries are two 12VDC AGM, service free type, batteries under the central part of the rear bed/bunk.  Under the driver’s side is the Alde heating system, and water system, including the water pump.  You need a square drive type screw driver to remove the battery cover behind the lift up panel in the central storage area under the mattress.  Here is what it looks like with the cover off:

The batteries are in the back center compartment, along with a 1200 watt inverter.  The Alde and water systems are under the driver’s side.  On the outside of the of the trailer on the driver’s side is the Nautilus control valve panel, where you select the water system camping mode.  You fill the water tank from here also.  There is a manual and good explanation of the Nautilus system here on the forum.  Again check the manual section for details.

Under the front dinette on the driver’s side seat, is the CoolCat AC and filter (under a little lift up flap under the seat cushion).  This is both an AC and heater (in heat pump mode only).  Again there is a manual for this unit also.  

I would recommend finding a nüCamp dealer near you and have them check the TaB out and make sure all is well and operating normally.  They should be able to give you a walk through also.  Another source is to find another TaB400 owner near you to go over the trailer with you.  You should look in all the lockers and drawers, and you should find the nüCamp manuals package/bundle.  If you do not find them, you may be able to contact nüCamp to get replacement manuals.

We bought a slightly used TaB400, and it had all the manuals in one of the galley drawers.  We also have a gray nüCamp dealer near us, who went over the trailer for us, answering our questions.  This forum is also a great resource, do a subject search to get details about the TaB’s various systems.
 Cheers 

[Deleted User]

@CruiserCamperChris, where are you located? Denny16 is right many 400 owners will jump at the chance to show a newcomer the ropes.  

qhumberd

So welcome again @CruiserCamperChris! This forum was of great help to my wife and I in learning about our 2019 T@B 400, which we got lightly used as well. If you wanted to read one thing it would be the "Unofficial Guide" which was from another owner on the forum. I can tell by your picture you have the CoolCat AC system, which has a heat pump function for mildly cold temps, and the rest should be similar to other 400s. First thing I would check is the status of the batteries with a volt meter or even a small 12V cig lighter plug in meter to see the resting charge (not plugged into shore power). If they are not in good shape a multitude of other things might not work right. I cannot tell if you have solar installed but if you do that should make it easier to check on your batteries. Your Alde furnace is covered in the Guide well, and the only difference with the Guide and your 2021 is the water system as you have the Nautilus, which should be intuitive (I have been told).

And for safety check your tires and axle bearings and service them along with the trailer brakes.

Its fun learning about all this stuff but it takes a bit of time so be patient and ask any question you need.

All the best

pthomas745

Welcome to Tab School.  Nothing we like better here than questions.  Class is in session 24/7.

The Alde website has your manual.  You need the one for the Alde 3020.

https://www.alde.us/manuals-and-documents/

The Alde FAQ might not make much sense for a while...but it is a great resource.

https://www.alde.us/faq/

Sharon_is_SAM

Check out the Category area.  All kinds of manuals and resources under “Owners Manuals”.

TABNewbies

Welcome, we have the same caravan. Echo the comments above and for this model year as newcomers to T@Bing some items that met us first ...

The fuse issue
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/14620/tab-400-converter-fuse-location#latest

Axle maintenance
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/14332/tab-400-2021-bearing-maintenance

The table issue
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/13952/t-b-400-2021-bd-lower-table-rail-fell-off-the-wall#latest

In case you need it this year (or for next) 
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/11969/tab-400-boondock-2021-winterizing

And as a closer .... a shelf for the shower ....
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/180532#Comment_180532

CruiserCamperChris

TabbyShack said:

@CruiserCamperChris, where are you located? Denny16 is right many 400 owners will jump at the chance to show a newcomer the ropes.  

I am in Dallas.

CruiserCamperChris

qhumberd said:

So welcome again @CruiserCamperChris! This forum was of great help to my wife and I in learning about our 2019 T@B 400, which we got lightly used as well. If you wanted to read one thing it would be the "Unofficial Guide" which was from another owner on the forum. I can tell by your picture you have the CoolCat AC system, which has a heat pump function for mildly cold temps, and the rest should be similar to other 400s. First thing I would check is the status of the batteries with a volt meter or even a small 12V cig lighter plug in meter to see the resting charge (not plugged into shore power). If they are not in good shape a multitude of other things might not work right. I cannot tell if you have solar installed but if you do that should make it easier to check on your batteries. Your Alde furnace is covered in the Guide well, and the only difference with the Guide and your 2021 is the water system as you have the Nautilus, which should be intuitive (I have been told).

And for safety check your tires and axle bearings and service them along with the trailer brakes.

Its fun learning about all this stuff but it takes a bit of time so be patient and ask any question you need.

All the best

Thanks! It did not come with a manual. We have downloaded it. It does have solar. I will take your advice and check the passive voltage of the two AGM batteries. Does the Solar System always keep the batteries topped off? I trickle charge my other infrequently used classic Land Cruiser, but i suppose that is not necessary with these if the solar panel is supplying a daily trickle charge.

Denny16

BTW @qhumberd, the 2021 TaB400 Boondock has solar, as all TaB Boondocks from 2021 froward include the solar as part of the Boondock package.  Good point about the solar.

@CruiserCamperChris, yes, the Solar system will keep the batteries charged.  Since your camper has solar, you can download the Victron smart phone app, and use it to check your battery and solar charging status, and regulate the solar charging.  If entering 0000 to pair your Victron with the app doesn’t work, you will need to reset the Victron, which requires the code number on the back of the Victron.

The Victron charge controller is behind the drawer under the wardrobe locker (or large fridge if you have that option).  Youmwill need to remove it from the bulkhead to get at the number on the back. I suggest using your phone to take a photo of the Victron back, so you can read the number in the photo.
cheers

williedean

Welcome to the forum. We also have a 2021 BDL. One thing you will learn about NuCamp from this forum is that they make frequent changes to their units within model years. So you can't always assume that your unit has all the same features as another 2021 unit. 
Relative to the electric system, here are four important things to know.
1. There is an overload switch in the outside storage compartment mounted on the back wall of model 2021 T@B 400s. This can get accidentally tripped by objects being pushed around inside the storage area. So if you find your electrical systems not working, this is one likely cause. You can press a yellow (?) button on it to reset it.
2. Also in the storage compartment is an ON/Off switch that turns off power to the camper downstream of the battery. The solar system can charge the battery whether this switch the switch ON or OFF. This is primarily used when storing the T@B. With this switch off, the batteries will not drain power, even over several months of storage. So no need to remove batteries or access them with a trickle charger.
Make sure the switch is on during use or towing of the T@B. This provides power to  your emergency brakes on the T@B, so it should always be on for towing. 
3. If you plan to frequently camp off grid (no shore power) I suggest you consider getting a Smart Shunt from Victron. This provides excellent monitoring of your power consumption and battery level. 
4. You have an inverter that is probably only connected to one 120V outlet. It is the outlet next to the inverter switch in the bedside cuddy. it allows you to plug low power 120V devices into the outlet when not connected to shore power. When off grid remember to keep the inverter turned off when not in use because it will put a drain on the battery even if there is not a device pugged into it. We frequently  camp without shore power and never run the inverter so  that we can extend battery life. This is less of an issue if you are in a region of the country, like the southwest where you can count on frequent sunshine for the solar system.

Enjoy your new T@B. We have loved ours.

CruiserCamperChris

thank you @Denny16 , my iPhone is connected and i see how many watts my solar panel is producing!

CruiserCamperChris

@williedean thank you for taking the time to explain all this to me. I learned so much.

CruiserCamperChris

thank you @kurt @Denny16 @TABNewbies @TabbyShack @pthomas745 @qhumberd and all the others for welcoming me and taking so much time to answer my questions.