Originally Posted by WyoBull (Post 16889075)

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.

Originally Posted by RV_Tech (Post 16889104)

How about the weight of that puppy?

Steve

Originally Posted by WyoBull (Post 16889142)

Steve,
Because of the boat hull type of design of the NL's, they are actually lighter than competitors in the same class. We got the 8.11 Q Special Edition and it's actual dry weight is 2500 pounds. They weigh each one at the factory before it leaves rather than guestimating the weight.

Originally Posted by sbryan (Post 16889116)

I like to work with my hands too but I know my limits!:D

Congrats on the Northern Lite. That was our second choice and they are gorgeous. I'm fortunate, my wife has a practical side and when we looked at the price tags of the Northstar and The Northern Lite she came down on the side of the Northstar. We were able to get the Igloo for 6,000 less than the Northern Lite similarly equipped. We also leaned toward the cassette toilet. I called Northern Light to see if they would mount a cassette but they said no so that was another factor for us. But I love the interior of the Northern Lite. They are gorgeous.:-X22

Weight was also a factor. The Northstar and Northern Lites both met our weight targets.

Originally Posted by RV_Tech (Post 16889147)

That's not a bad weight. I thought they ran heavier. My mistake. :)

Originally Posted by WyoBull (Post 16889151)

Agree with you on your comments. I do know you can order a cassette toilet in a Northern Lite but it had to be built that way at the factory. They cannot retrofit it after the fact. It is an $800 dollar upcharge. I thought about doing it as I like the cassette toilets in the Northstar campers but then decided to just go with the standard black tank.

Originally Posted by sbryan (Post 16889160)

I thought they could put one in too because I had read that somewhere but when I called and asked the factory they said no, they would not put one in, at least not in the 9.6 that we were looking to purchase. Something about the layout that prevented them from doing it.

Originally Posted by RV_Tech (Post 16889004)

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

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip (Post 16889297)

I'm very happy with my Palomino SS1500. Absolutely no issues the first season, nothing. I have made some modifications (in the process of in as much as it's stored in the barn and shore powered right now).

I added a second house battery (built a custom battery box) 2 house another Group 24 deep cycle) to increase the available amp hours when I'm running my CPAP machine, built a foldable ladder to access the upper bunk (something all TC builders need to address), changed all the filament outside lights to LED and added a rear observation camera so I can see what is directly behind me and/or check to makes sure my quads haven't fallen off the trailer. Also added SeeLevel tank gages.

I considered adding solar but didn't. I camp in the woods 95% of the time so a small (2000 watt) Champion Inverter is a better option for me.



A soft side popup for me represents no security issues at all. In fact, only the upper 18 inches is canvas. The sides are hard sided as is the back and it has a one piece door (that locks from the inside to keep the 'big bad wolf' out if need be.

...and it's light too. wet weight (with a full FW tank' stocked fridge, full propane tanks (2) and my 'stuff' inside, it weighs 2300. Well within the capabilities of my F350 4x4.

Myself, I don't care for a 'casette' crapper. Very little capacity. I want to be able to use the toilet more than once or twice without worrying about emptying it.

My wife likes the full wet bath shower too. me' I can use the outside shower and take a roll of TP to the woods. She prefers the wet bath (only reason I got it in the first place). The 1251 SS Palomino is the same floorplan without a wet bath.

Don't even know it's on the truck (unless I look in the mirrors and off road manners are excellent because it has a low Cg.

For me, sure beats a hardside. The one drawback to a hardside (and I have / had one) is the high Cg and how it impacts handling on the road, especially in a cross wind and even more so, off road where seasonal roads and paths aren't level and flat.

The interior headroom with the top raised (and the top is electric raise and lower with a switch) is almost 7 feet so no feeling of being cramped at all.

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip (Post 16889687)

Not sure but I believe the 1251 is a N/S bed layout, one of them is, just not sure which one. E/W works better for me. Reason being is I took the ac outlet next to the sink and wired it to my Xantrex 2000 watt psw inverter and I plug in there at night. There is no outlets at the head end of the N/S layout... and the wife has no issue being in back. Sleeps like a rock anyway.

I'm impressed with the overall fit and finish, a big, big improvement from the original hand crank Bronco (before FR bought the company). Palomino isn't far from where I live so I can'drop in to the plant if I want to and I do. Everyone is super friendly. If I need something. I drive over and get it. Bryan Hayward is the parts manager and HR person too. Real nice to deal with, I needed a replacement decal and got one, no charge.

I also know a hardside owner and he is happy with his as well

For the asking price (usually heavily discounted), I think it's a good deal.

Originally Posted by RV_Tech (Post 16889832)

Question,

If you took your truck camper to Fort Wilderness could you stay in the pop-up/van camper section?

Steve