Supertramp Flagship LT pop-up slide-in pickup camper

[Chadx]

Great looking rig! And congrats!
Boggles the mind that 37" tires look so well proportioned on modern day Superduty Tremor pickups. 30 years ago, our "huge oversized tires" were 31x10.5. Now midsize and compact pickups some with those (and have more payload). And 35" can fit on a stock trucks and 37" on factory lift packages. Love it!

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

Great looking rig! And congrats!
Boggles the mind that 37" tires look so well proportioned on modern day Superduty Tremor pickups. 30 years ago, our "huge oversized tires" were 31x10.5. Now midsize and compact pickups some with those (and have more payload). And 35" can fit on a stock trucks and 37" on factory lift packages. Love it!

Thanks!!!! Actually Keith, and really all the folks at ST were saying that same thing today. They couldn’t believe how appropriate 37’s look on the truck. It’s a great time to be alive for sure! 37’s at stock height! Who could have imagined!

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

Who’s this???? Bumped into them in Golden on our way to lunch. Cali plates on a new GMC HD. They were as excited to see us as we were to see them. Had an awning, molle panels, and AC on it. Looked sharp!

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

@Chadx I know you asked somewhere, what percentage of ST’s are coming with Air conditioning, Kelsey told me yesterday that number is over 50% now. I thought that was pretty interesting. She actually said a few orders came in from people who had been interested previously but without AC as an option they wouldn’t commit.

 

[Chadx]

@Chadx I know you asked somewhere, what percentage of ST’s are coming with Air conditioning, Kelsey told me yesterday that number is over 50% now. I thought that was pretty interesting. She actually said a few orders came in from people who had been interested previously but without AC as an option they wouldn’t commit.

That is interesting info. I don't recall if it was here or in the Tremor forum that I'd mentioned the early A/C take rate was relatively low but climbing fast. I had wondered what it had grown to. 25, 40, 50%? Thanks for the info. There aren't that many fairly lightweight slide-in, pop-up campers that have a descent A/C options, and so I'm sure that is driving some buyers to the Flagship. Not everyone wants the huge slide-ins that require a 350/3500 dually and hangs 5 feet off the end of the bed, but they still want the features that were once reserved for those rigs; A/C, inside shower, reasonable toilet area (though it's not enclosed in the Flagship, which for some is a deal breaker). I'm just happy to see so many different options out there which gives everyone more choices and better odds of finding something that works for their use case without a lot of custom work.

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

That is interesting info. I don't recall if it was here or in the Tremor forum that I'd mentioned the early A/C take rate was relatively low but climbing fast. I had wondered what it had grown to. 25, 40, 50%? Thanks for the info. There aren't that many fairly lightweight slide-in, pop-up campers that have a descent A/C options, and so I'm sure that is driving some buyers to the Flagship. Not everyone wants the huge slide-ins that require a 350/3500 dually and hangs 5 feet off the end of the bed, but they still want the features that were once reserved for those rigs; A/C, inside shower, reasonable toilet area (though it's not enclosed in the Flagship, which for some is a deal breaker). I'm just happy to see so many different options out there which gives everyone more choices and better odds of finding something that works for their use case without a lot of custom work.

Agreed!!! And I feel like I could count on one hand the number of campers that has DC A/C!!!!!! Seems like such a thing has only existed for the past couple years so it cool they have adopted it early and making it available.

I really agree I think the ST fills a niche in between something Spartan like a GFC, AT, AluCab, Project M, Super Pacific, ect. ect. ect. The list goes on. As you of course know there is basically the 4wh campers, the new OEV, and the Supertramp. The ST at least in my opinion is the closest to a more luxury camper without being heavy. OEV seemed the most robust to me, but the ST is no slouch there either. 4WH campers just have never been my jam, though I appreciate them being the pioneer in this field, I just wish they would have pushed the modern envelope, they always seem like they are 20 years old when I’m in one no matter what. Dated materials and fabrics. I digress….

Van life has proven to be the biggest driver of a lot of this stuff. DC air conditioning started popping up there in masse first (ignoring semi trucks of course). A lot of what we do now was i think able 10-20 years ago. Again, great time to be alive!

 

[givemethewillys]

Pic dump! Picked up the ST today in Golden, I’ve been talking about it all day in the Tremor forum but I feel like I owe this thread a few pics.
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Looks good even in a hotel parking lot!
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After rolling out of ST HQ.
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A pic showing the stairs we chose. According to ST they LOVE these stairs for their campers. They were excited to see them.
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My ST plaque. She’s THICC 1617 lbs!
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And the interior of the Starlink install. This is wired internally to the inverter so when the inverter is turned on the Starlink turns on but it doesn’t use one of the plugs inside the camper.

Gorgeous!

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

Couple interior shots. This things feels MASSIVE to us.

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

And what I think is my favorite part of the camper so far! But I’m a nerd and work in power generation so…. The attention to detail is amazing.

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

Also @Chadx I hoped inside the Megatron and took a pic in both directions if you’d like to see it? I don’t want to post it publicly (tbh there’s not much to see in there just yet) but I am sure I can send them to you if you’d like to see.

 

[Chadx]

And what I think is my favorite part of the camper so far! But I’m a nerd and work in power generation so…. The attention to detail is amazing.

Their electric cabling is a masterpiece. When you toured their facility, did you check out the work area where they wire up everything on the jig? Really neat.

As others and I have noted, Victron MPPT 75/15 model (75v max and 15amp max output), is overpaneled. The charger can only output about 219watts (14.6v x 15amps). The 330watt panels, under ideal conditions, will generate more power than the solar controller can handle. These chargers are up to 98% efficient. Even if operating at only 95% efficiency, a solar array larger than about 230watts is overpaneled. Overpaneling a solar controller is common practice since there are often times the panels are not making max power (cloudy, sun low in horizon in winter months, sun low in horizon in morning/evening, partial shade, when panels heat up, etc.). During those times, being overpaneled is good because one will be able to collect more solar than you would with a solar array sizes exactly to the solar controller.

Nothing wrong with overpaneling. It's simply something to take into consideration when calculating how much solar input your batteries will receive. One needs to calculate inbound power based on the max the Solar Controller output (about 219watts; or 15amps at 14.6v) rather than calculate based on max potential solar panel output (330watts; about 22.6amps at 14.6v). This is a spread of about 111watts (or 7.6amps) PER HOUR the panels could make in full sun that will not get generated due to limits of the current solar controller.

Victron does make one size larger capacity solar controller, within this same family of solar controllers, that would handle 20amps. The mppt 100v/20amp looks like it is about $20 - $40 more expensive retail than the provided 75v/15amp charger. That 100/20 is about 20mm taller, but the same footprint and the next Victron solar controller family jumps up in size and price to the 100v/30amp and 100v/50amp which are overkill for the stock solar array.

100v/20amp seems a more appropriate solar controller for the 330watt array.

 

[SimplyAnAdventure]

I did see the electrical jigs in site 1, that was the only building they had in April when we visited. All the installs are handled out of site 2 now so it was interesting to see. Guess they’re doing all the finishing in site 2 and the heavier, and dirtier parts back in site 1. Your take on the solar controller is spot on. I live in the very cloudy northeast so I’m not sure it’s as over paneled for me in NY as it would be for someone in Sunny California or Utah. I want to see how it all works before I begin to tinker. As mentioned before I just wish it had double the DC/DC charging so I might look at doing something there first.

 

[rruff]

Agreed!!! And I feel like I could count on one hand the number of campers that has DC A/C!!!!!! Seems like such a thing has only existed for the past couple years so it cool they have adopted it early and making it available.

Is that AC with only a 15A controller? Size of the battery bank? Is there a charger hooked up to the alternator too?

If it's actually hot and you are parked for awhile, AC will need a massive solar/battery system to keep you cool. There have been no great breakthroughs in compressor efficiency lately, and the laws of physics have not been repealed. That's why most people who like to camp in the boonies in summer, opt for high altitude... or at least camp in the shade... and don't bother with AC. It's just too much expense, weight, and space to be viable.

 

[Chadx]

Is that AC with only a 15A controller? Size of the battery bank? Is there a charger hooked up to the alternator too?

If it's actually hot and you are parked for awhile, AC will need a massive solar/battery system to keep you cool. There have been no great breakthroughs in compressor efficiency lately, and the laws of physics have not been repealed. That's why most people who like to camp in the boonies in summer, opt for high altitude... or at least camp in the shade... and don't bother with AC. It's just too much expense, weight, and space to be viable.

Solar controller is 15amp max and DC/DC charger is 30amp. Max factory battery bank is 400Ah. Yes, you'll need to supplement charging if you intend to use A/C more than sparingly and a few days in a row.

 

[rruff]

I did some heating tests on my rig, and it's about 18 W/F in the first 24hrs. So 20 deg F temperature delta (inside vs out) is 360W. It's pretty well insulated though with 1.5" foam and no bridging, and sealed. AC would take ~150W to produce the same 20F delta. The big 5,000Wh battery would last 33 hrs. I just wonder what the use case is that makes carrying all this around in a small rig sensible. Won't you be outside during the day? Won't it cool off at night anyway? If not, then why didn't you go somewhere else?