I'm lovin' all these slide-in pics ! Good looking rigs!

 

That looks like a good set up! Do you use it much?

 

I'll play. Picked the camper up two weeks ago. Within front and rear GAWR and only over my GVWR by 600 pounds. Added upper Stableloads and Sumo Springs to beef up the rear suspension just a bit. Only have a few hundred miles on her so far but headed south for a few weeks after New Years so that will be the real shakedown cruise.










Truck sits level with the suspension upgrades. Was a bit worried about the SRW vs DRW but it hasn't been an issue so far.

 

Sweet! What model did you get, the Laredo?

 

Nope, that is the Igloo 9.5. Gives us a bit more headroom and storage.

 

Very nice! Yes, the Igloo is one of their bigger hard sides. Enjoy it!

 

That looks very good!
We are testing ours on the cold weather right now as the family wants to go on a ski trip. All was well until we got down to -10c now the basement is frozen and the sink doesn't turn on. Have you tested the Igloo in cold weather?

 

Camping in really cold weather open the cabinet doors to allow warm air circulate where ever possible around water lines. Despite manufacturers claims, even the best insulate struggle below freezing and need help below zero. Water lines seldom break, but faucets all the time. Most folks leave them open enough for a somewhat steady drip to keep water in lines from freezing.

Steve

 

With temperatures well below freezing we are not using water in the camper. We don't have a basement in the Northstar but the drain for the gray tank is out in the weather and would freeze up in these temps. We haven't done our first camping trip yet but plan on a January trip and will probably go light on water use because of the external drain on the gray tank. The cassette toilet won't be an issue because we use antifreeze to flush it. The fresh water tank is inside the camper and I wouldn't worry about it freezing as long as we were running the furnace. So from my perspective the limiting factor in cold (below freezing) weather is the gray tank drain that sits out in the cold. Your situation may be different.

 

You can also run some antifreeze down the drain to protect the grey water tank and valve. Until you get into brutal cold weather freeze damage is less than often feared.

 

We have put antifreeze into the gray water tank to protect and lubricate the waste valve - but at 30 below tonight I don't think we'll be camping!

 

Just started back through all the slide-in posts and looking at pictures. Still have been researching. We have our fifth wheel, but are tired of having to make reservations months in advance and plan on just wandering the West for a while come summer. Its much harder to be spontaneous with a fiver in tow.

I have been all over the map about what to buy. I probably would go with a Hallmark pop-up if not for the fact I would have to drive all the way to Colorado to find one. I like the low profile/low CG of the pop-ups, but also like the convenience and security of hard sides. It looks like no matter what we decide on, we are going to have to drive somewhere to get it. There are almost no used units around us in Northeast Tennessee we are interested in and the choices are really limited. Truck campers are such a small part of the RV market the small manufacturers like Hallmark's numbers are not even included in production numbers for the industry.

I would love to build one myself, but the time involved makes that option impractical.

Steve

 

Having spent some time with our rig going over the construction, plumbing, wiring, etc. I think it would be difficult to build anything with the capabilities of the better designed TC's out there. You could certainly build a basic shell and place some appliances in it but as I have explored the details of our new rig and how it is put together it is clear that the 40-50 years of experience Northstar has building these units has resulted in the best possible use of every inch of space. As a 5th wheel owner I am familiar with the quality issues the industry has but I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of this TC. Certainly they are a small part of the camping industry and there is some really good competition so quality needs to be better than the 5th wheel volume mfgs and their cost/sqft is extraordinary but the flexibility to go anywhere within reason at the drop of a hat is a real plus. I expect we'll be using the TC a lot more than the 5th wheel for a few years. Good hunting!

 

I just like working with my hands.

Steve

 

I started out wanting a pop up and would have bought one in a heartbeat had it only been my decision.
I had it down to Northstar and Hallmark with Hallmark being the high end of the Pop ups. Showed them to my wife and then she walked into a Northern Lite. Game over for me.
Our Northern Lite was just delivered to the dealer a week ago and we will pick it up sometime in February when the weather starts getting a little nicer.
If it were just me, I would have been completely happy with an insulated pop up but the conveniences of a hard side and the quality of the Northern Lite made it a very easy choice.
If you are leaning hard side Steve, do yourself a favor and look at the Northern Lite. I also liked the Northstar Laredo as did my wife but the NL was just the compete package for us. I also love the clam shell design of the NL campers and how they are built like boat hulls.