The 2021 model year marks Pleasure-Way’s 35th anniversary manufacturing high-quality Class B motorhomes. To celebrate 35 years in the industry we are introducing groundbreaking new features for our mid-year (2021.5) model line-up. The first feature we are highlighting is our innovative 10-inch touchscreen control panel. The new 10-inch control panel builds off the advances made from the previous 7-inch version and further reimagines what’s possible in a motorhome electrical system.
The 10-inch touchscreen now contains more in-depth monitoring for personalised control and real-time diagnostics of many vital coach functions, such as: battery state-of-charge, Go Power! solar integration, Truma furnace and water heater integration, automatic climate control, and AC/DC power source display. Now, let’s dive in and take a closer look at this upgraded feature. (Note: the 10-inch touchscreen features shown are only available on the Plateau, Ascent and Ontour models.)
A Sophisticated Experience
The new home screen layout simplifies and refines the process of checking the most vital features of the coach. Climate control is effortless with a responsive temperature dial that manages the Truma VarioHeat furnace, Dometic air conditioner, and Fan-Tastic vent, all in one place.
Also on the home screen is a quick reference to the current DC power consumption via the coach battery state-of-charge percentage indicator and the real-time 12-volt net loss/gain amperage meter.
On the AC side of power management, the coaches current AC power source is illustrated clearly here, whether it be shore, generator or inverter power. Our highly-functional auto-gen start (AGS) feature has been carried over and it’s status can be viewed on the home screen as well.
The water system has been centralized to the home screen as well. In addition to the Shurflo water pump, the Truma AquaGo comfort plus water heater has been integrated and is now controlled here. Lastly, you can easily monitor all holding tank levels with easy-to-read, color coated gauges.
Coach Battery Monitoring, Usage and Diagnostics
All Pleasure-Way models come standard with dual 100Ah Eco-Ion lithium coach batteries and with the 10-inch touchscreens we have incorporated dynamic new features for smart, convenient and painless energy management.
State-of-Charge Meter
You can now view your current battery state-of-charge in real-time and displayed as a percentage. This real-time monitoring is achieved from a constant electronic reading of coach battery usage.
Estimated Time Until Full Charge
While the coach batteries are charging the 10-inch touchscreen will display the estimated time remaining until a full charge is achieved. This immensely helpful feature allows you to accurately gauge how long the current method of charging will take until you are ready to operate again at full battery capacity.
Remaining Runtime for DC Power
A major enhancement to the battery monitoring features of the 10-inch touchscreen is the estimated time remaining (displayed down to the minute) at your current DC power usage before the batteries are fully depleted. You can view either your average or instant time remaining.
This feature allows you to monitor how many hours your coach batteries will run for with the current DC draw on them. This results in a greater understanding of how long you can operate your coach before needing to charge the batteries. The most significant implication here is with boondocking, as you now have an easy to understand read-out that will determine and even extend how long you can remain off-the-grid!
Battery Health and Diagnostics
On the diagnostics screen of the control panel you will find a new section solely dedicated to monitoring the health of the coach batteries. Here, you can view: number of discharge cycles, max and min measured voltage, max and average discharge depth, battery health (state-of-charge), and remaining capacity measured in amperage.
Battery Temperature Gauge
A battery temperature gauge located on the battery state-of-charge meter removes all guesswork required to ensure the batteries are above freezing temperatures for safe charging.
AC Power Usage and Energy Management System
The power screen of the new control panel features all AC power usage including generator start/stop and AGS. At a glance you can view what AC power source you are currently drawing from to power your coach with clear-cut, uncomplicated visuals. The Xantrex 2000-Watt inverter controls have also been integrated into the new touchscreen which simplifies the electrical system even further.
Also relating to the AC power of the coach is the energy management system (EMS). The EMS is designed to prevent the coach from drawing enough AC power to trip the shore or generator breakers. The EMS controls the microwave and induction cooktop and will display each appliance with a green or red marker to indicate if there is enough AC power to run the load.
Go Power! Solar Integration
One of the most impressive features added to the 10-inch touchscreen is the Go Power! solar charger integration. Monitoring your solar panel charge volts and amps is now neatly included on the touchscreen. Additionally, inside the settings section of the solar charger module you can view the overall history of your solar panel amperage draw. This will give you an accurate picture of the average amount of amps the solar panels add to the coach batteries.
The Go Power! solar integration also comes with a major upgrade to the solar charger itself. We have moved away from the traditional PWM charger and upgraded to the super-efficient MPPT charger. The MPPT charger provides 15-30% more efficiency when transferring solar energy from the panels to the battery bank. This can result in stretching the capacity of each 100-Watt solar panel all the way up to 130 Watts!
The new 10-inch touchscreen is just one of the exceptional new features added to our 2021.5 model line-up. Next up on the blog, we will cover the remaining new features including, cabinetry style, color options, kitchen galley design and further interior layout changes.
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