The Official Unofficial Super Pacific X1 Camper Thread

After driving through the rain a few weeks ago, I noticed some water drips on the inside floor of the camper. Upon investigation, it looked like there was water seeping in between my tent frame and the canopy. Has anyone experienced this?

Video clip here:
https://flic.kr/p/2kZz6ac

 

Yes, I contacted them and Spencer happened to be in my area. He came by, disassembled the corners, and slapped some sealant on several faces where aluminum was meeting aluminum. Haven’t had a problem since

 

That’s interesting. Was it the extrusion gaskets that he replaced? I had mine done in early April, but this happened after that fix. Can you post a photo of where he sealed?

 

I decided not to use the factory inverter for a few reasons, mainly it doesn't seem that useful and is hard to access with that cabinet in the way. It seems to be powered only when the ignition is on, and is just a single plug. In my truck I also have to push a button to activate the AC power when I turn the truck on. Maybe I just need to read the manual and figure out how it actually works lol. I've tried using the factory plug with the cabinet there and I can't actually flip up the cover enough to plug something in without pushing the cabinet away, and then when it is open and I let go, the spring in the cover holds the cover against the fridge. My reading suggested the 1200W inverter should be placed close to the Renogy battery so that's why I put it right next to it. It's in a spot that is easy to access with the cutout. I hadn't considered putting it over where the factory one is. Even if I wanted to, my truck is a 2019 so it only has the small cubby on the passenger side. Not enough space there.

Yeah the window cover turned out well! I just went to a fabric store and picked up half a yard of material. Took it to my drycleaner who also does alterations and she sewed up the edges for me for a few $$. It's 14" tall by about 44". I tied some para cord between two brackets on the rear hatch, strung through metal grommets along the top of the covering, and then some stick on velcro on the bottom. You could easily just velcro a piece of reflectix or something over the window if you don't want to deal with fabric. That would probably be easier in fact.

 

Photos of where Spencer did the seal would be great. Expanded view and up close. Mahalo!

 

Gotcha. There are some write-ups on here for the Always On Mod for that plug/inverter and I think I've seen some posts regarding swapping out the factory one for a larger one.

We use that factory plug all the time and have built the slide around it so it was useful still. We aren't doing a full cabinet build out or anything either. Just keeping it all simple/modular/individual components.

 

Is your fridge AC only?
If not, you're wasting energy by converting the vehicle's DC voltage by the inverter to AC, which the fridge turns back into DC to run...

 

I think the inverter lives under the armrest between the front seats. I don't know if the wiring to the bed is setup to handle more load than what came from the factory. All that being said, it sounds like it might be a ton of effort to make it work out how you'd like.

The DC point is real. More efficient use to run it off a 12v DC plug.

 

Good point Guys. Thanks! It does run off both. We've just been using the AC/110 outlet because we didnt have another solution at the time. It seemed to be working fine for our trips and we just thought to keep rolling with it. BUT.. that is a very good point, AND we have been wanting to wire it up so its always hot anyways. I'll make the switch to a dedicated 12v then for it. Maybe just wire up a dedicated 12v right there next to the factory 110 outlet and leave the Fridge plugged in there. Then have the separate bank mounted in/on the camper like everyone else for USBs and maybe 1 more 12v.

 

There is a small USB/cigarette style 12V plug that comes with the camper. You have to wire it up yourself. But it will give you two USB plugs and the cig plug in the bed. Need to pull it out again as the cig plug isn't working now. I'll be wanting a couple more USB plugs I think. Will be nice to be able to charge stuff overnight from the house battery.

So far the fridge has been using so little power the battery has barely gone below 97-98%.

 

Perfect. Ok. So then I'll just piggy back and add a couple more USBs like you said. All my stuff will be ran off the secondary battery as well.

 

Yeah if you have a secondary battery it's easy to wire up more components.

 

Thats what I'm trying to sort out now. Dual Battery has been on the To-Do list for years.. and this is definitely the push I needed to finally get off my ass and do it all. Wanting to get it done and set up before X1 install.

Problem is.. When I first started looking into Dual Battery setups back then, Off Grid Engineering was the kit to go with. There are so many other options and strategies out there that I feel like I'm starting from scratch again. Its overwhelming.. and Electrical is definitely not my strong suit.

 

I would sit down with a piece of paper or whiteboard and list out your requirements...

I have found that with just a single, upgraded Northstar AGM 27F in my 2nd gen has been more than sufficient to power my fridge and some 12V LED lights inside my camper as well as plug a phone into the fridge USB port. I carry a

$100 Noco GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Jump Starter Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines

Noco GB40 jumper battery in case I draw it too low, but the fridge has a low voltage shut off to keep from draining the battery dead.

I will probably continue to skip a second battery, but I may add one solar panel to keep the main battery topped off. If I find that I need power while remote, I'll likely just get a Goal Zero or something to power my laptop and hotspot directly and the GoalZero can be recharged by the solar or when the truck is running.

 

I have a list.. and have been figuring out my setup I want for years. Been a long time coming and I already have a ton of accessories running. I definitely want a dual battery with all my accessories, minus my stereo and winch, hooked up to it. With Solar and a charge controller to feed the secondary.. then trickle/overflow into the main battery. The secondary battery will be wired to my outlets as a constant on for my accessories, including the fridge. This way I can utilize the low voltage feature on the fridge and just leave it plugged in. USB ports will be for camper lights and charging. All my other off-road and scene lights (stuff connected to the truck) will be wired through my SwitchPro I already have hooked up.. but it will be ran through my secondary battery as well instead of the primary like it is now. My supercharger coolant pump will also be wired to the secondary battery. Id also like to have a voltmeter in the cab and or the camper as well. Since I'll be doing this whole setup and would like it all integrated, this is where I'm stuck on the inverter and placement of said inverter. But.. after these convos.. I think I'll have a secondary, separate inverter system with outlets ran in the camper somewhere. But where to put the inverter, the newly added charge controller, etc.. is another question. We won't be building out cabinets.. so nothing there to store it all. Under the hood like the Off-grid kit? Or maybe behind my back driver side seat/storage area?

Sorry for the rants.. just thinking out loud while we're on the subject. Definitely needed this.. and very appreciative of all y'all's feedback and input.

 

I looked at Off-grid and a couple other options but ended up putting the second battery back in the bed rather than in the engine bay. I had also installed the ARB compressor in one of the two spots where a second battery could go. The only other option was side-by-side mounting where the OEM battery sits. My second battery is Lithium which I don't think would fare well in the engine bay. Plus all the components like solar charge controller should be located close to the battery, so it made sense to put it all in the bed.

I hear you on it being overwhelming. I knew pretty much nothing when I started researching. But wanted something that could charge with solar and from alternator, and enough to power fridge and some other things. Good news is we can get away with a pretty simple system. I found this one, did a bunch more research then ended up coming back to something very similar to this, but just 1 battery and 200W of solar: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/simplified-400-watt-fewer-wires-and-alternator-charging.html

You could go with just battery, solar and MPPT charge controller which would simplify things.

FWIW, the SOK battery that Will recommends and is often sold out, is currently not sold out. https://www.sokbattery.com/products/100ah-12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek

 

That was another reason why I liked the OGE dual battery kit. I have the open spot for the secondary.. and the fact they have the controller right there and everything.. it's just what I was wanting. Wasnt sure if there were better kits these days though.

 

You don't need it to be in a box like I built. I've seen people put a battery and components behind the rear seats. Only issue is then you have to run wires out of the cab back to the bed. It's doable but a pain each time you want to make changes. In the bed you can mount stuff on a flat panel rather than in a box. Secondary battery might do best in a small compartment. Or you can put the battery or the entire system in something like a frontrunner box.

The system I built was entirely DIY and custom. If doing it again I'd probably do it different knowing what I know now. If the OGE kit seems like it would work, go for it. Sounds like you'll have more stuff connected than I do.

 

Got ya. Yeah.. you're not wrong.. running wires I guess is gonna be a decent factor as well.. lol

For simplicity sake.. the OGE kit might be best for that then. All under the hood, close to each other.. the only thing I'd really need to run from there is the Solar wiring (which is gonna have to be ran somewhere, not very cleanly, regardless imo) and then my Hot to the bed/camper for my outlets.

 

We've been pretty good over the years with just the factory bed outlet and our little 1200w power pack/jump starter. It's lasted us 9 days off grid through Utah and Colorado a couple times. Just use it sparingly. I'm wanting to step up a lot of our gear and features though.. so more power! 12v water pump for sure.