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Old 10-28-2022, 12:25 PM   #1
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Isata 3 Freedom Edition (maiden voyage)

So it begins. 1:23 on Friday. Batteries at 100%. Inverter enabled. DC fridge on and operating. Furnace on (though not needed currently)

The plan is no hookups through the weekend. See how well this does. No A/C needed, but I might try to run the heat pump just to see what kind of draw we get. Click image for larger version

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Old 10-30-2022, 10:03 PM   #2
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Looking forward to your report and more pictures / video of this new version.
Happy Halloween!
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Old 10-31-2022, 04:23 PM   #3
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Well, I am not sure how many pictures I will have, but I felt like the unit exceeded my expectations.

Friday: About 1:30 PM, I turned everything on. Inverter, water heater, DC Fridge, Furnace set to 70 degrees. Arrived about 6:30pm. Batteries were at 100% the entire travel time, as expected, so did not get to see what the alternator could do. Zero hook ups needed on arrival.

I was interstate the whole way, averaged around 74mph...and on arrival realized I never put a MFG plate on. (whoops).

Saturday 7:30: tried to take shower, water was cold. Figured the water heater was still bypassed. Pulled bottom drawer, sure enough. Went back to shower, water still cold...(must be anti scald device), pull the faucet. Now that I am 50, I could not see the +- on the red dial, so I just pulled the whole thing. Hopped in....still no hot water, too late. Took cold shower and then remembered that this is not an ON-Demand water heater and since it was bypassed, was never heating the water. (that's what I get for not checking the night before)

Saturday 9:21AM: SOC on the batteries was at 79%. Everything was still on and I had played around with the TV's for a while on Friday. At this point, it showed that I had about 16h 49m remaining

Saturday 11:42: It had dropped down to about 74% SOC, but the sun was coming up now and I was getting some solar.

Saturday 3:50PM: with the solar gains, it only dropped to 73% SOC and I had played around with the A/C a bit to see what it would drop down too. On high, it was down to about 5 hours remaining.

Sunday 9:04 AM: 52% SOC. I wanted to test the shower again and this time we had success. Plenty of water, had to turn it down about half as it was too warm. The Truma Combi, had no issues keeping everything toasty (including water) when temps were into the 30's.

I left Sunday around 10:30. By time I hit the interstate, the alternator peaked at 237 amps, then settled down to about 230 amps and stayed there.

Sunday12:02 PM: The batteries were already back to 94% SOC (It said 20 minutes to full charge)....but I really wanted to see how the A/C would fair on the road, so I pulled over for fuel.

It was only about 67 degrees, so I turned the A/C down to 60 degrees, fan on auto and headed back out. Initially, the SOC dropped to 93% and then stayed there for another hour or so with the A/C fan on high. As the A/C got to temp, it started to cycle as needed and the SOC started climbing again. Another hour in, the SOC was back at 100% (I change it from high to low fan speed and it seemed to save about 2 amps on low)

General thoughts-

Windows: those windows are awesome. The one over the bed did not feel cold at all at night. The black out shades are EXTREMEMLY functional. You can put them almost all the way up, or leave down a little for natural light. In the morning, I never knew what time it was as it was so dark inside.

Mattress: The Tochta mattress was great. I forgot it was a hinged mattress and at one point felt down, thinking engineering had moved the seam down...nope, I could feel it with my hand around my hip/thigh, but I could not feel it sleeping. I would say it was the closest I have ever been to my home mattress.

Truma Combi: It was too quiet. I needed white noise on my phone as I am used to a fan at home. The only way I could tell the Combi was ON was feeling the heat. What was really a testament to its efficiency was that the heat blowing out of the inside ducts was hotter than the heat blowing out of the exhaust. Try holding your hand on the exhaust of an LP furnace. It is tiny, light, quiet, super efficient (and of course expensive). Worth the money I think.

Water heater: The one thing that caught me off guard was getting used to a small tank again. The Aquago is ON-demand, the combi is not. There is a mode for Eco, HOT and BOOST (which I think uses the electric element as well, but as I said, I didn't read up on it, just set out to use it). Once I figured that out, I took a perfectly hot shower with plenty to spare I felt.

Sprinter: I love this chassis. 3 point turn getting out of my driveway and easily maneuvered out the next morning. Accelerates like an SUV and drives like one.

12V DC Fridge: We had done testing and found the Norcold to be the most power efficient by a long way. It cooled down SUPER quickly and I had it on the coldest setting. The beer was darn near ice...just perfect.

Freedom: it lived up to its name. It was a good reminder to see all the power cords the next morning that we had to unplug so I did not drive over them and yet I did not need any of them. This rig is definitely ready for prime time, today. I am excited for what it can do as we start to do more research and we dial in settings and more efficient devices are found or developed. I have a few ideas to change a couple of things around, but simply to take them "Ooh, that's nice" to "Damn, that's nice"

Unfortunately our 12V A/C testing did not go as well as we would have liked, so it has the GE 120V with soft start. They are coming out with a high efficiency version and the goal is to go 8 hours on battery.

In transit there will be no problem running the A/C, with what should be some left over charging.
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Old 10-31-2022, 04:59 PM   #4
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Nice information, thanks. What is a MFG plate?
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Old 10-31-2022, 05:06 PM   #5
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Nice information, thanks. What is a MFG plate?


License plate for Manufacturers.
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Old 10-31-2022, 06:45 PM   #6
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Brian,
Some questions about the new system components:
Is the electrical system still 30 amp or now 50 amp?
Whose lithium batteries are used and do they play nice with Firefly and cell phone app?
Whose 3,000 watt inverter/charger is used?
Is there an 'Auto Gen Start' like feature for boondocking (we have pets)?
How big is the Combi water heater tank?
Does the induction cooktop free up some galley counter space?
Is the microwave updated or relocated?
How does the outside storage improve without the gen and propane?
Any changes to insulation for 4-season camping?
Does new 50-gal underbed fresh tank eliminate the storage space under the foot of the bed?
Will the new more efficient 120v GE AC unit be quieter than the current one?
Can you tell that I'm very interested in the Freedom Edition and working on how to justify vs our 2022?
Cheers!
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Old 10-31-2022, 07:29 PM   #7
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License plate for Manufacturers.
Thanks, for some reason I thought the plate was somehow involved in the cold shower water not heating up. Two different paragraphs.
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Old 11-01-2022, 05:23 AM   #8
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What battery monitor is that?
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Old 11-01-2022, 08:12 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by maifimd View Post
Brian,
Some questions about the new system components:
Is the electrical system still 30 amp or now 50 amp?
Whose lithium batteries are used and do they play nice with Firefly and cell phone app?
Whose 3,000 watt inverter/charger is used?
Is there an 'Auto Gen Start' like feature for boondocking (we have pets)?
How big is the Combi water heater tank?
Does the induction cooktop free up some galley counter space?
Is the microwave updated or relocated?
How does the outside storage improve without the gen and propane?
Any changes to insulation for 4-season camping?
Does new 50-gal underbed fresh tank eliminate the storage space under the foot of the bed?
Will the new more efficient 120v GE AC unit be quieter than the current one?
Can you tell that I'm very interested in the Freedom Edition and working on how to justify vs our 2022?
Cheers!
-30 Amp

-They are Xantrex batteries as it is their system. It played well with Firefly as I did not need to use their app (I "think" they have one). I had one minor complaint and I think it had to do with how new the software was for this coach. On the touch screen and Xontrex battery monitor it shows SOC%. On the smart phone app, it had lots of nice data, but the house battery showed voltage. That is not helpful with lithium, so it should read SOC%. I assume the new app will update that (or I have at least requested it). BUT with that BIG ole display...It was very obvious.

- Xantrex Inverter

- No Auto Gen Start at this time. In fact, MB just came out with a statement about that and there are lost of things being used that can't be used.

- It is only a few liters I think...but it is equivalent to a 6 gallon tank based on its efficiency. Truma is one that under promises and over delivers.

- Induction would free up some space, I'll see if I have a picture.

- Micro is in same spot.

- You pick up a storage spot where the propane was. You pick up a storage spot under the step where the batteries were. The 620AH batteries and inverter are located where the gen was.

- 4 seasons...I think it would still be 3.5 seasons. Winter camping, I don't think would be its specialty. It does have tank heaters, dual panes, water lines are run along heat ducts....but the main dump from the gate valves to passenger side is still unheated. I had a winter curtain up....but I would still be concerned in extreme cold (20 degrees and lower)

- The new 50 gallon does take up the storage at the foot, but also takes the water into conditioned space

- I have not heard the high efficiency GE yet. I feel like the GE today on low is perfectly fine. High is a bit loud, but I never use it. We are also looking at Truma as it is very efficient. They do not have ducted systems yet, but we have also talked about "not" ducting so that we can get more insulation in the roof.

PS: Battery monitor is Xantrex
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Old 11-01-2022, 10:05 AM   #10
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Sunday 9:04 AM: 52% SOC.
I left Sunday around 10:30. By time I hit the interstate, the alternator peaked at 237 amps, then settled down to about 230 amps and stayed there.

Sunday12:02 PM: The batteries were already back to 94% SOC (It said 20 minutes to full charge)....
Am I reading this correctly...You went from 52% on the batteries to 94% in three hours of driving the interstate? That's pretty impressive.
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Old 11-01-2022, 10:34 AM   #11
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Am I reading this correctly...You went from 52% on the batteries to 94% in three hours of driving the interstate? That's pretty impressive.
No...The batteries were at 52% at 9am, but I did not leave until 10:30.

So they went from 52% SOC to 94% SOC in about 90 minutes of highway driving
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Old 11-02-2022, 12:42 PM   #12
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What is the CCC?
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Old 11-02-2022, 12:46 PM   #13
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I think the proto was at 1063lbs of CCC. With all options and cab-over bunk. We think we can get it a little higher.
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Old 12-06-2022, 08:01 PM   #14
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Just watched the You Tube video, looks nice. Will this Freedom edition be available on the 24RW?
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Old 12-07-2022, 08:58 AM   #15
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I don't think we build enough of the 24RW to justify the engineering time...but who knows what the future brings. We will have a 2nd floor plan for the Freedom Edition, should see it in the spring.
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Old 12-07-2022, 09:39 AM   #16
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Great information!

When I am ready to replace my 2006 Lexington it sounds like some major upgrades.
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Old 12-07-2022, 09:56 AM   #17
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Quick tour video is now live/
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Old 12-07-2022, 10:59 AM   #18
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I don't think we build enough of the 24RW to justify the engineering time...but who knows what the future brings. We will have a 2nd floor plan for the Freedom Edition, should see it in the spring.
Thanks, look forward to the new floor plan.
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Old 12-07-2022, 11:24 AM   #19
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[url]
Quick tour video is now live/
not anymore.
Found this one.
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Old 12-07-2022, 02:40 PM   #20
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Thanks for that....could have been bad typing on my part near the link.
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