MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Lobster on September 07, 2016, 08:07:46 AM
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We took possession of a new Mountain Trail Camper and al I can say is perfect, perfect, perfect. We took it out for a long weekend maiden voyage. With the electric open/close it is so much easier than our old camper.
Looking forward to some good camping in the future.
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Nice, hope you have many happy times tripping around.
Hem
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They are a seriously nice bit of gear.
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Bewdifuuuul. Great pics too. Enjoy
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Awesome purchase - enjoy!!!
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Certainly looks the goods!!!
Hope you use it heaps and enjoy it....
Brian
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Hey congrats Lobster. Great looking camper :cup:
:cheers:
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Flash as a rat with a gold tooth. ;D
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I do seriously like their campers, enjoy.
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Bootiful... How does it tow? And did it set up as fast as the videos show? Nick and co have it down to a fine art form...
The quality of the MT Campers are amazing...
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Looks VERY nice.......VERY clean though too...... ;D
Well done. Enjoy.
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Bootiful... How does it tow? And did it set up as fast as the videos show? Nick and co have it down to a fine art form...
The quality of the MT Campers are amazing...
It tows great behind the Patrol. Our first and second attempt was not as fast as the 4min in the videos, but certainly a lot faster than our previous camper and the fact we were reading the manual step by step. It was definitely better as we felt that we didn't exert much effort in setting it up.
I certainly got my first beer quicker.
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very nice.. :cup:
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It looks like this is a quick set up awning. Is the awning wide enough for longer stays? i.e. do you have another set up with a wider awning and walls?
What are your favourite features so far?
Sorry - lots of questions...
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It looks like this is a quick set up awning. Is the awning wide enough for longer stays? i.e. do you have another set up with a wider awning and walls?
What are your favourite features so far?
Sorry - lots of questions...
yes the awing is ok for longer stays n my opinion, wife has a different opinion. And Yes we do have another awning that has the walls. This would take a little longer to set-up as it has more poles. but the awning still stays attached when closing it up. We brought both awnings at the wife insistence. she wanted the ability to have the walls when we stay in areas longer. Personally I don't see it and it will in all most probability live in the garage on top go the cupboard.
The touring awning is fast setup with 2 poles and a brace pole in the center. I like the idea of no center poles and ropes to trip over.
The whole camper is my favorite feature; there is nothing to dislike about anything.
I test the batteries over 4 days without solar charging and we were using one compartment on high freeze most of the time and the other on very cold. The Redarc management said at the end of the days we still had 5 days of power. Not sure how accurate this would be but I was impressed that over the four days I still had plenty of power without charging.
As for water, I think we were still frugal as our previous camper had a 60lt tank. This one has the 120lt and 60lt. We used about 1/4 of the 120lt. The wife commented that now when we are camping on long weekends she can have 20 minute showers.
The only thing the wife does not like about the camper is the shower nozzle. It one of those that you have to hold the button down for water flow. We will change it to one MTC recommended for continuous flow that turns off at the nozzle.
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Brilliant report.
You've probably seen this before - but this may help you with the battery voltage scenario. The aim is to not allow the batteries to go below 50% State of Charge. i.e. a touch higher than 12volts.
Looking forward to more photos and adventures.
McT
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Very good Lobster we also picked our EDX same as yours from Albury on the 1/9/16, did first maiden trip last weekend was great.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Hey Lobster, I had a close look at one of these at the Newcastle show last year and they are a seriously good bit of gear, beautifully made in every way. Let me ask you a serious question, when I had a look they were north of $53k, did you have any doubts about laying out that sort of money and still having to sleep under canvas?
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Hey Lobster, I had a close look at one of these at the Newcastle show last year and they are a seriously good bit of gear, beautifully made in every way. Let me ask you a serious question, when I had a look they were north of $53k, did you have any doubts about laying out that sort of money and still having to sleep under canvas?
As ours is fully options with all the bells and whistles it was well north of $53K. We had our previous Heavy Duty Cape York hard floor camper for 15years and as we are getting long in the tooth, the opening and closing of the old camper was becoming a chore. We looked and some caravans and even though some were very nice and cheaper than our new camper they didn't suit our needs for camping and storage. We still wanted to camp in areas where it would be difficult, but not impossible, for a caravan to get too. And after talking to her Aunty and Uncle who had a new caravan that flipped on the highway due to cross winds, she was somewhat skeptical to caravans. We even looked at some hybrid's but they were really far too expensive for our taste. Then the wife read about the Mountain Trail Camper (MTC) winning the camper of the year in the magazine and we went to the Brisbane Camping Show to mainly look at the MTC. After seeing how easy it opens and closes and the quality of the finish, my WHMBO was putting the deposit down and organizing delivery before I even finished looking it over. She had made up her mind so fast it even surprised me.
As this will our final camper we chose to have all the options, extra annex with wall, dual 100amp lithium batteries with solar charging, extra water tank and hot water heater.
So in all to answer your question about any doubts about laying out that sort of money and still having to sleep under canvas? the answer would have to be no. Some people may question the price but you get what you pay for. If you compared some of the campers at the show close to that range and when you pressed your finger against the side and the metal flexes, you can understand the difference.
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As ours is fully options with all the bells and whistles it was well north of $53K. We had our previous Heavy Duty Cape York hard floor camper for 15years and as we are getting long in the tooth, the opening and closing of the old camper was becoming a chore. We looked and some caravans and even though some were very nice and cheaper than our new camper they didn't suit our needs for camping and storage. We still wanted to camp in areas where it would be difficult, but not impossible, for a caravan to get too. And after talking to her Aunty and Uncle who had a new caravan that flipped on the highway due to cross winds, she was somewhat skeptical to caravans. We even looked at some hybrid's but they were really far too expensive for our taste. Then the wife read about the Mountain Trail Camper (MTC) winning the camper of the year in the magazine and we went to the Brisbane Camping Show to mainly look at the MTC. After seeing how easy it opens and closes and the quality of the finish, my WHMBO was putting the deposit down and organizing delivery before I even finished looking it over. She had made up her mind so fast it even surprised me.
As this will our final camper we chose to have all the options, extra annex with wall, dual 100amp lithium batteries with solar charging, extra water tank and hot water heater.
So in all to answer your question about any doubts about laying out that sort of money and still having to sleep under canvas? the answer would have to be no. Some people may question the price but you get what you pay for. If you compared some of the campers at the show close to that range and when you pressed your finger against the side and the metal flexes, you can understand the difference.
Fair points Lobster, I guess if you have to deal with the canvas factor then the auto fold up helps ease the hassle in a big way. I was interested to hear what your thoughts were because on my last trip I had half a dozen owners of high end hard floor campers approach me for a look through my hybrid. All said the same thing, their campers were brilliant but they were sick of dealing with the cold nights and damp canvas pack ups. Fact is we all compromise in some way, hybrids aren't perfect by a long shot. Hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new toy.
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Just reading this and thought I would add that I think this bit.
dual 100amp lithium batteries
Would make this bit incorrect.
You've probably seen this before - but this may help you with the battery voltage scenario. The aim is to not allow the batteries to go below 50% State of Charge. i.e. a touch higher than 12volts.
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Actually - good point - What is the 'acceptable range' for the State of Charge for Lithium? Does it differ that much from AGM Deep Cycle Batts?
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Very nice, I am sure you will enjoy many adventures with your set up. :cheers:
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Actually - good point - What is the 'acceptable range' for the State of Charge for Lithium? Does it differ that much from AGM Deep Cycle Batts
Lithium batteries have a much higher depth of discharge. Experts will be along directly.
Nice camper!!
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Actually - good point - What is the 'acceptable range' for the State of Charge for Lithium? Does it differ that much from AGM Deep Cycle Batts?
Lithium batteries have a much higher depth of discharge. Experts will be along directly.
I barely classify as an amateur let alone an expert but from my understanding 12.6v is 100%, about 11.4v is 50% and about 9v is roughly 0% (can probably actually go a lower), as richee said you can discharge lithiums down to 0%/9v so when the OP has 200AH of lithium batteries it's roughly equivalent to 400AH of AGM batteries. These figures probably aren't perfect but would be close.
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I barely classify as an amateur let alone an expert but from my understanding 12.6v is 100%, about 11.4v is 50% and about 9v is roughly 0% (can probably actually go a lower), as richee said you can discharge lithiums down to 0%/9v so when the OP has 200AH of lithium batteries it's roughly equivalent to 400AH of AGM batteries. These figures probably aren't perfect but would be close.
Lithium have an extra 40% discharge over lead acid.
Lifepo4 recommended 70% discharge.
eg 100ah lead acid have 50ah discharge, lifepo4 have 70ah discharge = 40% gain
Lifepo4 have a flatter voltage discharge curve than lead acid. Better to work on ah discharge rather than battery voltage.
If youve spent the money on lifepo4 then put a BMS on it and work on 70% discharge, ie 100ah lifepo4, 70ah discharge is flat.
Lithium cycle life vary on discharge rates. 80% is considered safe but lowers cycle life.
Around 3000 cycles at 80% and 5000 cycles at 70% discharge.
Cheers Glen
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Just reading this and thought I would add that I think this bit.
Would make this bit incorrect.
Would you prefer I say 2 x lithium 100AH (amp hour) batteries? To be politically correct.
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I barely classify as an amateur let alone an expert but from my understanding 12.6v is 100%, about 11.4v is 50% and about 9v is roughly 0% (can probably actually go a lower), as richee said you can discharge lithiums down to 0%/9v so when the OP has 200AH of lithium batteries it's roughly equivalent to 400AH of AGM batteries. These figures probably aren't perfect but would be close.
That would be a correct assumption and my understanding as well.
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http://www.evworks.com.au/page/technical-information/lifepo4-care-guide-looking-after-your-lithium-batt/
http://www.cobox-ebikes.com/296/basic-understanding-of-lipo-li-ion-and-lifepo4.html
https://www.ev-power.eu/BatteryPacks/
Cheers Glen
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Lithium have an extra 40% discharge over lead acid.
Lifepo4 recommended 70% discharge.
eg 100ah lead acid have 50ah discharge, lifepo4 have 70ah discharge = 40% gain
Lifepo4 have a flatter voltage discharge curve than lead acid. Better to work on ah discharge rather than battery voltage.
If youve spent the money on lifepo4 then put a BMS on it and work on 70% discharge, ie 100ah lifepo4, 70ah discharge is flat.
Lithium cycle life vary on discharge rates. 80% is considered safe but lowers cycle life.
Around 3000 cycles at 80% and 5000 cycles at 70% discharge.
Cheers Glen
I think part of the confusion around lithium batteries is the differing battery chemistry and the continual evolution of the technology. What I said was in relation to Li-ion which is different to the LiFePo4 you have talked about but not sure what the OP has. A BMS would be the way to go for Lithium as you said and is what the OP is using from his comment but I think there wouldn't be too many campers that would get anywhere near to 3000 cycles in the expected life of the battery let alone the 5000 so I think 80% and even lower would be more than fine in this situation.
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I would assume they would be Lifepo4 batteries, Lithium ion arent stable and have been known to explode.(just ask Mr Samsung) Not recommended for caravan and camper installs.
Being over twice the price of AGMs you need to get 10 years+ out of Lifepo4s to justify the outlay.
The reason manufacturers recommend not to discharge below certain voltage is to avoid permanent cell damage.
Just going by what ive read and what suppliers recommend when setting up my system. The supplied low voltage cut out switch on my system is prest at 11.5v
Cheers Glen
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I would assume they would be Lifepo4 batteries, Lithium ion arent stable and have been known to explode.(just ask Mr Samsung) Not recommended for caravan and camper installs.
Being over twice the price of AGMs you need to get 10 years+ out of Lifepo4s to justify the outlay.
The reason manufacturers recommend not to discharge below certain voltage is to avoid permanent cell damage.
Just going by what ive read and what suppliers recommend when setting up my system. The supplied low voltage cut out switch on my system is prest at 11.5v
Cheers Glen
You are probably right about them being LiFePo4 but my guess is it's probably more about longevity than safety, the problem with the Samsung batteries is a manufacturing issue more than a chemistry issue. From my understanding most electric car's phones, laptops etc have Li-ion batteries and are safe.
3000 deep discharge cycles in a camper situation in my head looks like something like this, assuming say 20 weeks use per year 1 cycle per day is 140 cycles per year, that works out to over 20 years and that is assuming high use regular deep discharges which would never be the case. Discharging below certain amounts can damage/kill a battery but most of the time the discharge rates are set to ensure cycle amounts that would never happen in a camper.
As 12v LiFePO4 are 4s and 12v Li-ion is 3s, your 11.6 cut out is 2.9v per cell which is the equivalent to 8.7v in a 3s Li-ion set up.
sorry about the thread hijack OP, if it's bothering you maybe get one of the mod's to move the offending bit's to a new thread.
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Agree with apologies OP, not meant to get side tracked.
Check with your batteries manufacturer, and go by their recommendation.
Cheers Glen