I’m in the market for a truck camper, this is on the list but it would have been incredibly nice to have a monocoque shell. My concerns are durability, thermal bridging/leaking with this seam. I live in Alaska and will see extremes and need to know that this is going to endure those elements as it can often be the difference in being comfortable or even being in danger.
Well, you basically have two monocoque shells joined in this case. Does that count? Ha. There are no internal frames or other structure for the vacuum-infused tub nor the one piece upper half. The two structures are bonded around the entire seam, on two planes, with the proprietary process. And in addition to being permanently bonded, there is the several inch tall trim, which is an extension of the upper mold of the roof section, that hangs down around the entire seam, protecting it even more.
These shells don't have frames and so there is no thermal bridging anywhere on the shell. I winter camped in an HT for four days/three nights with night time temps at 15F, 3F and 17F (ambient temp; not wind chill). The only frost was on the aluminum frames of the Arctic Tern windows when I opened the window shades in the morning. Had full water on board and only minor issue was a couple inche section of the gray water tank drain-hose had iced up when I tried to drain it first thing in the morning. The water tank and two gray water tanks are in the heated basement inside the insulated envelope, so no freezing issues with those. In this case, that sink's gray water drain hose was touching the uninsulated aluminum door overnight so the one little section that was touching the door iced up. Simple solution was tucking the drain hose a bit further back so it's wasn't resting directly on the door and it thawed out. One could also could put something insulating between the door and hose. I'm leaving our LT on all winter this year (had removed it last winter), so I'm going to proactively insulate my gray water door.
While the HT is a new model camper, it's really only the windowed hardwall part of the top section that is new for this model. While issues are possible with any new design, in my experience, everything in these campers is overengineered and well thought out and done. Since the main camper tub and roof section itself have been used for the LT for several years, it's really been put through it's paces by a lot of owners. I'd be confident that the HT will hold up. I, for one, drive trails with our LT that are rigourout enough that my wife often gets out and walks rather than rides. Ha. A wheel off the ground is a common occurrence. No structural issues to date (took delivery of our LT in March 2024 so have run it two seasons so far). If you have any specific concerns or questions, hit up the STC team directly as they are really open about talking through any questions or concerns.
Informationally, below is a picture of the window frame frost after opening the shade in the morning it was 3F (ambient; not wind chill). Pretty reasonable considering the temp.
