New 400 Model T@B?

Verna

Thanks, Steve and Karen!  You two are the perfect "glamping" couple to try it out!  Heated bathroom floor sounds good!

ericnliz

skwee, I have read reviews, looked at photos, participated in giving input, but to hear from folks that got to actually go live in one...what a treat! Steve and Karen, I for one truly appreciate your write up on the new T@B 400, and in some respects am quite envious of your opportunity. Heated bathroom floor, like Verna, I'm all for that, and what a great idea. How long do you have it for your road test? Please, if you can think of anything else to share, do so, and a hearty congrats on your adventure!

skwhee

Thanks for the responses, Verna, and Eric & Liz. It's been a wonderful two week adventure and we're on the last leg of the journey. We will be arriving in Sugarcreek this afternoon. Tomorrow we will meet with the design team to review the report we have already submitted.  We didn't want to overwhelm everyone with a lengthy post so if we haven't addressed your specific question, please ask. 

Our road test involved picking up the T@B 400 at the factory and heading south. We tested it in a a variety of locations, from full hookups to primitive, from freezing to hot and muggy and drove it on back roads and highways. The retired engineer half of our team loved poking around, checking it out "under the hood" and testing all systems. We even entertained visitors inside. As Clamshell owners we discovered advantages of the indoor kitchen (and the fun of the smoke alarm). At 6'0" Steve loved standing up straight, using the roomy shower, walking around as well as stretching out in bed! We experienced the Stuck Inside All Day due to inclement weather and found the trailer comfortable. It's been a very satisfying experience traveling with this Prototype II that we've been calling Penelope. We're excited for nüCamp, and all of us who have been anxiously awaiting the debut of the T@B-400.

jdargis

Mention convection oven.

marknjudy

Overwhelm away! I want to add myself to the list of interested! If I understand correctly, the new refrigerator running on battery lasts considerably longer than the 3 way on battery? That would be excellent news!

skwhee

jdargis,
No oven, no microwave. (Possibly room for a user added small microwave.)

marknjudy,
We understand from Ed Kauffman the 3way refrigerator draws in the neighborhood of 12 amps. The 2way in this unit draws 3.6 amps. And the Group 31 AGM battery allows an 80% depth of discharge vs the 50% of the traditional Group 24 wet cell battery that most dealers install (about 80+ amps usable for the AGM vs 35 amps or less for the traditional) More amps available and less draw equals more off grid camping.

marknjudy

Sweet!

Cyclonic

It really depends on how you camp, I don't think a microwave or convection oven is needed, and would rather see something like that as an option.

Switching over to the two way only fridge is an interesting concept, that I know a lot of folks are not going to agree with, but from a reliability standpoint it makes a lot of sense.  Is an AGM battery going to be included from NüCamp, or will that have to be provided by the dealer?  Is there space for several batteries in series for added power?  Are they stored inside or on the tongue?

How are some of the new interior features working out?  Is the flooring easy to clean?  Heard good things about the bed, how is it?

Did you get a chance to test the A/C?  Does it do well pushing air throughout the trailer?

TabberJohn

IMO if they want to sell the most units I think they should consider two design options.
Classic traditional (birch) and Euro-style. I bet Classic would outsell Euro.
No doubt there is also a market for an Outback version.

skwhee

In the moment we are traveling north on I-77 toward Sugarcreek. We have a meeting tomorrow with Ed Kauffman and may be more equipped after that to answer specific questions especially regarding the battery/batteries. Also we have some questions to ask before commenting fully on the flooring but we will say that it is very comfortable under bare or stockinged feet. The bed with the FROLI system is very comfortable and we love the stargazer window above the bed! The Dometic 2 burner stove and Dometic deep basin kitchen sink both with hinged tempered glass covers are high quality and are a definite upgrade over what we have in our 2015 T@B-CS. A couple of brief tests of the CoolCat ducted heat pump, a heavier duty air conditioner than in most T@Bs, indicated that air movement throughout the trailer, including the bedroom is good. We actually tested it both in cooling and in heating modes. It''s placement inside a cabinet under one of the dinette seats makes it sound quieter than the CoolCat in our T@B. We like the choice of the CoolCat since it seems to be made for RVs rather than being a residential room air conditioner. 

KBaggins1

We love out T@B but to trade it in for a bigger version of it probably will not happen . We bought a better tow vehicle to get the storage room that the T@B lacks .And I keep looking at the European mfr's products on thia website Practical Caravan - Caravan and tow car reviews, news, blogs, advice, videos and forums and I realize how behind we North Americans are in small trailer design . 

Seanmurry

The Tab400 sounds just what I am looking for.  If you replace the one 12V battery for 2x6v you will double your amps.  Curious on the 6gal black holding tank.  It sounds like you may be moving your trailer often to go dump the black tank.  A cassette toilet I think holds about 5 gal, and much easier to dispose of.  Seems to make more sense to me than a 6 gal holding tank.

DebWild

Awesome news about the roadtrip in the 400 - I cannot wait to see one in person!,,,

dsatwork

These are great questions and comments and thanks to Steve & Karen for sharing their experience with us on their test ride.  I would love to hear more about how the solar system worked? Was it weather that didn't allow the 100 ah agm battery to stay charged by the solar system? How was the power controller to work with?

Cyclonic, In the original video done by Haydocy he said the battery was inside the front basic Tab bucket  with a propane tank, so I doubt there is any accommodation for multiple battery setup.

jcfaber1

I am curious about the size and manufacturer of the fridge.  I am a fan of 12V fridges.  They are much more reliable and space efficient.
Thanks!

John

Cyclonic

dsatwork said:

Cyclonic, In the original video done by Haydocy he said the battery was inside the front basic Tab bucket  with a propane tank, so I doubt there is any accommodation for multiple battery setup.

The guy from Haydocy didn't actually open the box, he may have been assuming from past experience.  That being said, a larger and more secure tongue box would also be a nice addition.

Seanmurry

In the video done by Mandy Lea, posted in page 10 of this forum, where she gets a tour of the Tab400 with nu-camp's Scott Hubel, Scott says the front box is being re-designed and will be able to take two batteries and possibly larger propane, as well as storage for other bits and pieces

DebWild

I see that NuCamp is coming to Pleasanton, CA in January but I don't see any mention of the T@B 400 coming out our way -- any chance it might be shown anywhere in CA sometime soon???

skwhee

Thought we'd pass on some of the things that we learned from our meeting today with Scott Hubble and members of the design team. 

NüCamp plans to begin production of the T@B 400 with a few units to be manufactured in the month of January 2017 and they will ramp up production gradually from one unit at a time to a production line through the spring. Designing a production line is a whole additional challenge. 

The tongue box they plan to use on the 400 should accommodate either a single propane tank and two batteries or one battery and two tanks with room for some other items. 

The flooring is marine grade. It's lovely underfoot and seemed easy to keep clean with a handheld vacuum and damp cloth but could be wet mopped it needed. It's used in a number of yachts and upscale RVs. 

The onboard tanks they anticipate using will probably have the following volumes:

Fresh: 27 gallon

Gray: 16 gallon

Black: 12 gallon

The Walker tent is most likely going to be available but negotiation is not finalized. 

They plan to use a 2way refrigerator/freezer in the production model, although they haven't finalized whether it will be the 2.7CF Norcold that is in this prototype. 

DebWild

Woohoo wow wow woohoo!!!!!! Great news, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seanmurry

This sounds like great news.  12 gal black tank makes more sense than the 6gal in the smaller tabs.  I like the 2 way fridge, with 2x6v batteries and the solar I will be good to go.  Get that production line running, I think the demand for these will be strong

skwhee

dsatwork,
Overall we were pleased with the dry camping capabilities of the T@B 400 but had to use our generator to supplement the solar because we had a less than optimal site, because of partly cloudy weather, and because of short days (only about four hours a day of decent sun on the panel) and low sun angle in mid-December. At best we were gaining 1.2 Amps with the 200W rooftop panel which was pointing away from the sun and 3.8 Amps with the 80W Zamp which was pointing toward the sun.  We did note at one point on a travel day that we were collecting 3.7 Amps with the rooftop panel when the trailer was in a parking lot and oriented almost perfectly. The panel controller is located in the compartment under the drivers side dinette seat but it is equipped with bluetooth and has a nifty phone app that displays collection rate and battery status. 
Steve & Karen 

jcfaber1

Skwhee, so am I understandig correctly that you observed <4 amps charging with 200 watts solar when the camper was parked with good sun?  If so then I wonder if the roof vent was shading the cells?  With a monocrystaline panel, any shading can cause the whole PV to shutdown.  Either that or the wire gauge is too thin.   I frequently get > 10-12 amps with 200 watts.  Yes the time of year is a factor, but I suspect something else is impacting the performance.
John

Seanmurry

Aurinc makes flexible solar panels that are good for boats or RV/s  One advantage they have is they don't shut down if they are partially shaded, as could be the case if a boom or sail blocks the panels.  They are quite expensive but work really well.  They also don't have junction boxes or other protrusions on the surface.  Makes them very neat and tidy

jcfaber1

Seanmurry, I have not hear of that company.  would you care to post a link?  My search did not come up with anything.
Thanks

John

Jfrost6

If he means http://www.aurinco.com/solar-electric_us.html then they are out of business earlier this year.  Hoping I am wrong.

Seanmurry

Yikes, Aurinco looks like they have indeed closed their doors.  Their solar panels were indeed expensive, but had some really nice features, such as capability to work if partially shaded, and no junction boxes.  That is too bad, I for one don't mind paying extra to get a superior product.

DebWild

Saw a FB posting that this company is taking orders!!! http://www.haydocyairstream.com/

Deltaboy59

Pic from the FB post...

skwhee

Now that we've enjoyed the holidays with our granddaughters, we've begun thinking again about the 400 and want to expand upon some previous comments and share a few more thoughts and observations.

The kitchen was amazing. We fell in love with the clamshell kitchen with our 2009 Silver Shadow. When we were ready to upgrade to a T@B, we waited until Little Guy/Pleasant Valley introduced the CS model. In our more than 700 nights in our T@B we’ve been forced to prepare a meal inside no more than half a dozen times. That said, we loved the 400's inside kitchen. With the Fantastic Fan we had no issues with food smells inside the camper. The countertop is spacious especially with the glass tops for stove and sink. The deep stainless kitchen sink is a great place to stash dirty utensils during meal prep.  And the sink has a sound deadening pad underneath. We liked that the flooring has a waterproof foam layer under the woven top layer so that kitchen spills are easy to clean up. There was plenty of kitchen storage and the upper cabinets have soft close hinges!

The LED lighting is in all the right places and ranges from beautiful indirect lighting to bright task lights. Even the closet has an LED light strip placed so that it lights the closet but doesn’t bother someone still snoozing in bed. And the closet or bathroom door when opened can create a bit of privacy between the bedroom and dinette.

We loved the stargazer window above the bed. With the shades that slide up and screens that slide down you can have privacy and a view while lying in bed. The windows throughout the trailer are well placed for cross ventilation and lots of natural light.

There’s an amazing amount of storage. Other than the ALDE compartment on the driver’s side, the entire under bed is storage accessible from the larger cargo door on the exterior and from the interior by lifting the panel under the mid section of the mattress.

The fresh water ports are behind a locked door that can remain locked even when the hose is connected to city water. There’s an outdoor shower. And a really nice feature is the new winterizing valve.  It really made it easy to get the trailer ready to travel north.

The spare tire is located under the frame at the front of the trailer beneath the propane/battery tub and is secured with a cable system.  Fortunately we did not need to test it but expect that it will be much easier to access than the under trailer mount that we have on our current T@B.

Some folks have expressed concern about clearance. Since the first prototype nüCamp has upgraded to a 15" wheel and we experienced no problems but in our meeting at the conclusion of our test drive the design team indicated that they plan on using a different axle in the production model which will give an additional 2" clearance. 

NüCamp plans to locate the 400 assembly line in the new addition to the factory.  They plan to begin production this month initially building the units one at a time as they improve the 400 design and engineer the new assembly line. This month they plan to produce four units and gradually ramp up to full production. The message for those of us who are anxious to get on the road with our own 400 is, practice patience and know that nüCamp will do it right.