2020 Overland Explorer Vehicles (OEV) CAMP-X pop-up slide-in pickup camper (renamed "Back Country" as of 2023)

[Chadx]

Thanks for the images and details.

Would really appreciate some images of the recent CAMP-X changes. Like the REDARC being in the box on top of the counter, images of under the sink and the under-sink cabinet openings (my 2020 right side is blocked by an outlet and breaker box) and how the shorter wider propane compartment pushes into the undersink area, pics of the front two turnbuckle ports (are they now insulated doors or are they still the screw-off marine ports?), etc. Also, is your dinette floor aluminum or composite panel?

That BattleBorn GC3 battery looks like it would be a great fit. I don't see anything on the BB website that says the GC3 has internal heating elements, but I didn't download the owners manual. It also doesn't show up when you go to their "heated battery" section. Perhaps the heating solution for the GC3 is an external heater? I do see that there is a internally-heated version of the standard shape 100Ah and the GC2 100Ah.

It's a shame two regular BB 100ah can't fit in there without trimming, but so close. If trimming off the tie down would make it fit, that would be good (but may void battery warranty). And also a shame a more economical LiFePO4 can't fit like the SOK 100Ah or taller 206Ah because they are both too wide for the tray. SOK makes a plastic-cased marine version of the 206Ah, too, but it is even wider with the lid bolt molding sticking out over 9". The two aluminum cased versions would fit with the tray removed. The 100Ah would come up fairly close to the end the compartment. The 206Ah would extend out, but with the handles removed, would be within. Two of those would give 412Ah for about $2,058 delivered. Or, if 206Ah is enough, one could remove the drawer and glide, locate the battery at the rear of the compartment and then a simple plastic or foam separator and then one would have a nice 12" cubby. That would be 206Ah for $1,029. I'm sure wish my CAMP-X had this compartment. I couldn't fit any economical brand lithium in the compartment. Only the BB would fit and only a single 100Ah. I love the new setup. There are a lot of other great brands out there, too, that I'm not as familiar with. Will be fun to see which combos fit in the new tray or with tray removed. A lot of great quality (and HORRIBLE quality) choices out there now. Others have mentioned some other quality brands previously.

Quick run down of Battleborn and SOK options:
SOK 100Ah $570
BB 100Ah $799 (nonheated version)
BB Gc2 100Ah $859 (nonheated version)
SOK 206Ah $1,029.
BB GC3 270Ah is $2,359.00
BB D8 270Ah is $2,259
SOK 206Ah x 2 = 412Ah for $2,058

Keep us updated with images when you pick your battery and get it installed. Did you get a Inverter? If it's a monster one, max draw on that might make a difference on what battery will work for you, but anything less than 1,500watts I think any 100Ah or larger lifepo4 will handle it.

 

[MisterSmith]

Thanks for the images and details.

Would really appreciate some images of the recent CAMP-X changes.

Like the REDARC being in the box on top of the counter

images of under the sink and the under-sink cabinet openings (my 2020 right side is blocked by an outlet and breaker box) and how the shorter wider propane compartment pushes into the undersink area,

pics of the front two turnbuckle ports (are they now insulated doors or are they still the screw-off marine ports?), etc.

Right side is a screw off marine port:

Left side is an insulated lockable door.

Also, is your dinette floor aluminum or composite panel?

My dinette floor is ice cold aluminum

Here's the water tank area

The water tank appears to measure 24.215" x 15" x 15"

Regarding the battery issues:

There is a Battleborn GC3 heated version, the heating elements are inside (not sure why it's not on their site). I have two of them in my trailer. If you remove the tray from the battery bay, you have a huge amount of options for mounting other batteries, you just lose the convenience of the slide out tray. I'm pretty loyal to Battleborn because they're one of the only companies on the market today with UL approved LiFePO4 batteries. Most won't care, but I feel better with a UL approved product that's assembled and tested here in the USA.

I think I'll be going with a COTEK 2000 Watt 12V Pure Sine Inverter. I normally use Victron, but they're better for larger installations and a bit heavy. Updates will follow.

 

[Chadx]

Great images and detail. Thank you!

I love how much room and how accessible the undersink area is with the 2021 and 2022 updates. And if one wanted to replace the sink with a larger/deeper unit with separate faucet, looks like there is plenty of room. And now all the plumbing is run at the top of that compartment so the entire cabinet floor is useable. In my 2020, the pipes run along the floor at the rear of the cabinet and so I had to protect them from containers and the cabinet floor space less useable. Little but constant improvements that just keep improving the usefulness.

Regarding the REDARC, I saw a video a long time ago with the reasoning behind the red trigger. I see that in your picture and noted it in the images I did in the CAMP-HBE thread, but I don't recall it's function. Seems it was something to do with a reset, but I don't know what would ever need a reset with a REDARC, so perhaps that memory is incorrect. Anyone know?

"The water tank appears to measure 24.215" x 15" x 15". "
I cracked up at that comment. Love the precision. So that calculates to 5448.375 cu inches divided by 231 gives approximately 23.58603896103896 gallons of water (not that one would fill all the way to the top of the tank plus that is outside measurement, so actual capacity is a gallon or so less if one subtracts about 0.2" from each dimension. The advertised 20 gallon seems a reasonable size for them to spec.

The driver's side, front turnbuckle access port door is a huge improvement. My 2020 has the marine port there and it's one thing I dread each spring when I load and fall when I unload the camper. I have to have my entire torso in the under-fridge cabinet and feel like a contortionist trying to get the turnbuckle hooked up and closed. Don't quite need to dislocate a shoulder to get in there, but not too far from it. Ha. Removal of the turnbuckle is much easier, of course, but that access door gives so much easier access. That being said, even in my camper, with the front left one such a pain, the other three are so fast and simple that the overall tie down process is still faster and easier than my previous FWC which consisted of me laying on the floor for all four turnbuckles and reaching through a small port. I really appreciate the rear of the CAMP-X being the same width as the rest of the floorpack so the rear turnbuckles are easily accessible while standing at the back of the pickup. And the are between the camper and pickup bed wall is accessible for storage unlike the FWC that blocks access to the pickup bed.

Thanks for the info on the BB GC3. Makes sense they have a heated version for a battery obviously geared towards RVs, but strange they don't advertise it (unless it's an intentional but temporary removal from their website due to supply issues).

 

[MisterSmith]

Regarding the REDARC, I saw a video a long time ago with the reasoning behind the red trigger. I see that in your picture and noted it in the images I did in the CAMP-HBE thread, but I don't recall it's function. Seems it was something to do with a reset, but I don't know what would ever need a reset with a REDARC, so perhaps that memory is incorrect. Anyone know?

They explain it's a momentary switch to fool the REDARC into reading the voltage in your truck battery..


Skip to 7:30 into the video

 

[Chadx]

They explain it's a momentary switch to fool the REDARC into reading the voltage in your truck battery..

Thanks. That's the vid. The description is still kind of confusing, but listening to it several times, it sounds like it for more than reading voltage of the pickup battery. They mention it causing the REDARC to "see" the pickup battery voltage and that the house battery will start to charge (which it typically doesn't do unless the pickup is running and so the voltage is high enough to trigger and charge). That makes it sound like the house battery will start to draw from the pickup battery when the pickup isn't running and convert that voltage/amp to a voltage/amp that will charge the house battery. There are also disconnect voltage/SOC settings in the REDARC they could be talking about. Or perhaps, related to lithium running down too low and BMS disconnecting and the REDARC not seeing the battery and wanting to trick the REDARC to sending current to wake up the lithium and reconnect BMS. I'm going to reach out to Arnold as it's not clear from that video. I'll share response.

 

[Chadx]

Clarification from Arnold on the momentary switch and in what situation one would need to use it.

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"The momentary switch:
If the house battery is drawn down below an acceptable voltage as seen by the Redarc. The owner can use the momentary switch to satisfy/trick the Redarc into seeing an acceptable voltage from the truck battery, the Redarc will then allow the house battery to charge by solar first (if it sees available power coming from it a min 9V’s), if not, then shore power, if not and then the alternator. The Redarc always defaults to solar as a source of power first and then whatever else it can find in its absence. It will not charge frrm your truck battery, it needs to see the alternator power.

This will also trick the Redarc in the event the BMS trips with a lithium.
W/O the momentary switch, in a low voltage house battery situation the owner would have to remove the battery and charge it."
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So, my take on this...
This is primarily for a situation where you have your REDARC set to cut off at a certain voltage or certain state of charge (you should have the REDARC set to first send you a warning so you have time to reactive before it disconnects).
If your house battery has disconnected, you may not be able to go into the REDARC settings to lower them and get it all reconnected. So, having this momentary switch is a way of resetting the REDARC rather than disconnecting it, charging the battery with some other means, reconnecting it, or any of that. Simply ensure you have an active charging source connected to the REDARC (Solar, shore power, or running pickup engine/alternator), reset the REDARC using the momentary switch, and the REDARC will reconnect and start charging your battery.

Regarding that last line of "the owner would have to remove the battery and charge it." to reset a LiFePO4 BMS, I don't think one would have to physically remove the house battery, but one would definitely need to use a Lithium compatible charger to "wake up" the lithium battery BMS. Some smart chargers won't do that because they will only start to send charge if they detect voltage above a certain threshold and that won't be there is you BMS trips (due to being discharged, below freezing temps, etc.) Sounds like REDARC switch will also get the REDARC to send current to a "BMS disconnected" lithium battery and so wake up the BMS.

One thought of caution, that should be tested/confirmed, is if the REDARC would send current when the temp is below freezing and in lithium setting. But then, the lithium battery shouldn't reconnect if it's internal temp sensor is below freezing. AGM have no such internal sensor and one should NEVER charge any lead acid battery that is both dead and below freezing. This because, unlike a charged lead acid battery, a dead lead acid battery will physically freeze. So if using this momentary switch to force a REDARC to send current to an AGM battery that is dead or low voltage, make certain it is not below freezing/frozen. The temp at which a lead acid battery can freeze changes with the voltage, so a battery can freeze even if not completely dead and simply has low voltage. So please use caution in any situation where an AGM (or any lead acid battery) is discharged and in below freezing temps.
One source notes the following:
"Even at a 40% state of charge (11.95v), electrolyte will freeze if the temperature drops to approximately -16 degrees F. When a battery is fully charged the electrolyte will not freeze until the temperature drops to approximately -92 degrees F. " and a completely discharged battery can freeze somewhere between 32F and 20F.

 

[Chadx]

Teaser Alert

Me: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Arnold: To see a CAMP-FX
Me: What is a CAMP-FX?

While the exact above exchange is fiction, Arnold did mention an upcoming new model which is a sister model to the CAMP-X. It will be called the CAMP-FX and it is a flatbed CAMP-X! I won't mention the features he shared quite yet (I did warn this was a teaser), but it will be the same general layout as the CAMP-X but with room for added features and many additional storage features.
He mentioned they will start sharing glimpses on their instagram channel first and the current plan is for them to update the OEV website with model, specs and images in mid-April. The CAMP-FX will debut at EXPO West 2022 and then released later in the summer. I'll likely start up a new thread for the CAMP-FX in the coming months when the first glimpses are released.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Teaser Alert

Me: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Arnold: To see a CAMP-FX
Me: What is a CAMP-FX?

While the exact above exchange is fiction, Arnold did mention an upcoming new model which is a sister model to the CAMP-X. It will be called the CAMP-FX and it is a flatbed CAMP-X! I won't mention the features he shared quite yet (I did warn this was a teaser), but it will be the same general layout as the CAMP-X but with room for added features and many additional storage features.
He mentioned they will start sharing glimpses on their instagram channel first and the current plan is for them to update the OEV website with model, specs and images in mid-April. The CAMP-FX will debut at EXPO West 2022 and then released later in the summer. I'll likely start up a new thread for the CAMP-FX in the coming months when the first glimpses are released.

Oh boy. Nice exclusive you got, well done. Sounds interesting.

I did recently see on Hallmarks Instagram they are building a custom 1/2 1/2. Driver side is built as slide, so presumably could have external storage built as on a flatbed. The passenger side is built for a flatbed, so no slide in cutout. The driver side has the kitchen and the HVAC.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Clarification from Arnold on the momentary switch and in what situation one would need to use it.

---------------

Would be great if he was active in the 3 OEV threads.

 

[HowardH]

Hmmmm. It’s a Camp FX a HBE?

 

[Ninelitetrip]

Hmmmm. It’s a Camp FX a HBE?

Sounds like it’s the same size as a CAMP-X just in flatbed form Howard.

 

[HowardH]

So a foot shorter.

 

[sg1]

HBE is 8 ft, the Xis 6.5ft. The FX will probably have rear entrance if it has basically the same layout as the X with a lot more storage. Sounds interesting.

 

[Chadx]

From the info given to me so far, the CAMP-FX is the same length and floorplan as CAMP-X (rear entry with the same counter, dinette and galley locations) simply expanded on the bottom (exterior footprint) to be a flatbed model. Flatbed form factor will allow for much more built in storage options (some accessed from inside and some from outside) since the footprint is full width, like the HBE, rather than indented to fit between wheel wells of a pickup bed. There are a couple more features, but I'll hold off until the final designs are complete and OEV starts revealing hopefully in the next few weeks. Then I'll start a CAMP-FX thread. No sense in starting the other thread now and have the first 3 pages be speculation. I'll start is when the first post can have some solid content.

 

[Ninelitetrip]

I wonder if they see a market for a 7 to 8 foot CAMP-X? Not everyone wants to pay for a tray and would prefer to keep the pickup bed.