Congratulations Steve, it has been a long hunt. Now the real fun begins.

 

i was born and raised in wa state, fished in Montana and idaho growing up, we used a pickup truck with a camper, yes we called them campers... maybe we live close enough to Canada eh?

 

As my mom used to say, "All good things come to those that wait".

and,

To paraphrase the lyric of an England Dan & John Ford Coley song, "It's so sad to have quickly bought something else, when the right one comes along".



Pop

 

Hey, im with you bro, most people i know cant go out and buy a $30k camper, then turn around and buy a $40k truck because they dont like the way the new camper feels with thier 3 year old truck... keep em running and have fun with it minus the debt and thats living... good to see you having fun.

 

Finally got everything set up and here is our new Northern Lite 8.11 SE just before we headed out camping this past weekend.

 

Looking good!

We have been hard at work on ours and still no pics, I know, I know.

Haven't had time to give it or our truck a bath. First had to fix the furnace (Hallmark is no better at this than RV manufacturers, the position made it a nightmare to access, but the fix was simple). Side note here, if you have a furnace use it at least briefly. Otherwise you will be taking it apart just to clean connections.

Then relocated the batteries so we had room in install the new oven. Only had a cooktop and we actually use the ovens in our RVs. Dripping water valve on the commode, that was simple to replace and I upgraded the power board in the converter since I had one still in stock from my business. Now trying to figure out how to haul our 2000 watt Yamaha genset. The AC unit is a 9,000 BTU Coleman so 2000 watts handles it easily, without been obnoxiously loud.

Been working on it every day as we leave in less than two weeks. Had tires on truck balanced today. Changing oil tomorrow, than washing truck and camper before loading camper and adjusting turnbuckles.

Hopefully pictures soon, did I mention it has been raining everyday and some days all day long? Planning on stopping at Hallmark for a tour on our way to Yellowstone (oh, oh, that could be trouble).

Steve

 

I got the truck knowing I was going to get slide in camper. ended up with an S&S 9.5 and it was heavy. I then got a jetboat that was a bit piggy at 9000lbs and the truck was now going to be overloaded. At the time there wasn't a hitch extension that would haul that much boat so I could take both anywhere so I sold S&S. I also found that a hardside didn't let me go where I wanted too so I started looking at popups.

I've got a Four Wheel Camper, the Grandby, which is the 8' model. It's nothing fancy but well built and made for off road use.

Looking forward to the new truck and "slimming" down a little.

 

A go-anywhere rig if ever there was one!

Steve

 

Steve, by the time you get out here the campgrounds in the mountains will all be open. We were going to camp up Towgotee Pass out of Dubois this weekend and none of the campgrounds except Horse Creek just northe Dubois were open due to the snow. Then I called the ranger station over in Lander to see how it was up at Luis Lake up near Atlantic City and they said the loop road was still closed due to snow and it would be two weeks before they got it open. We got a lot of snow in the mountains this year so there is still a lot of snow up in the mountains.
You will be fine by the time you get out here and because of all the snow, the scenery will be spectacular. You will have a great trip, enjoy it.

 

Great looking rig River Wild! That is darn sure a boondocking rig!

 

At long last, just about ready to go. Heading out tomorrow morning with multiple stops before Yellowstone.

What I learned about the hunt for a slide-in is if you are searching for a North Star, Hallmark, or Outfitter, act fast. They don't stay on the market long. We drove 680 miles to pick up the one we have.

I also discovered the most folks seem to know very little about their camper. Asking for "wet weights" either brought no response or else the manufacturer's dry weight. The dry weight for this one is 1,865 pounds so I figure add a 1,000 and I should still be well under my payload of just under 3,400 pounds. I will get weights tomorrow on the rig loaded to travel.

On this Hallmark, I fixed the furnace and put a new valve on the commode. Then I relocated the batteries to install a new oven and fabricated a box on the back for our Yamaha 2000 IS generator. This Hallmark was stored indoors and seems to be in good shape. The owner bought it from Hallmark and was the second owner.

Without further ado:




Almost done. <br/><br/>Steve

 

Now, there you go! Sweet looking rig Steve! You will have a great trip out here to Yellowstone and surrounding areas. Have a great trip and travel safe.

 

Steve, the white box on the rear passenger side, is that your generator box?

 

Yes, my Yamaha 2000 IS in it. It is just aluminum, but the generator has a heavy cable through the handle. I know it can be stolen, but it will take a little work. I have a 2 gallon gas jug bungied on the ladder on the other side. I found with the Coleman 9,000 AC unit, the generator handles it easily. Hardly even has to speed up.

 

Cool, I wasn't sure if that was were you relocated the batteries or not.