Why? Both of us spent 100-hours each reading about truck campers. This is why we build them! Above: Jim and Janet’s first Northern Lite 8-11. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” This is a great proverb, especially when it comes to owning a truck camper. For something that prioritizes the … When you buy a diesel the weight of that engine is subtracted from the payload capacity of your truck. We use the refrigerator, cook, wash dishes, use, the bathroom, and the shower. With camping gear and a small trailer, it should be great. With the same footprint, more living space and no slides, we thought it made perfect sense. If you need to do so, get a checklist so that this vital step isn’t overlooked. I started before I was ten-years old. At one point the 12-volt heating pads on the holding tanks were torn off on a dirt road. Failure to Swing-Out “Dually” Front Jacks. Knock off 250 or more for the LEER and the tailgate and I can carry a decent truck camper which I think I will eventually go to (and probably be a little overweight doing so). The weighted average price reduces all the prices down to one single price. See how your truck handles with your truck camper first before spending money on any mods. All of the holding tanks were slung underneath the frame and exposed. Travel Lite RV Reviews and Complaints @ Pissed Consumer Page 2 We Discovered A Huge Problem in our Truck Camper! I think it will do well with my pop-up. You should lower the camper as low to the ground as the jacks will allow, keeping the front higher than the rear. Going from the driver’s seat to the back of the Class C was very tight. I love being outdoors, but at night I like to be warm, dry, and horizontal. When we first got our truck camper, we used to extend our jacks all of the time, but with time we found the process too time consuming, especially for stays involving a single night. These errors can be caused by a lack of knowledge, a careless moment, inattention, or a simple case of driver’s fatigue. A truck camper mistake we see probably the most. Thank you Robert Lamoureux for sharing your adventure! I also never felt comfortable driving the motorhome in the snow. Forgetting to do this can rip the jacks away from your camper’s frame when you drive away, creating thousands of dollars of damage to your camper. We did get teased a bit for, “Going to the dark side”. Even though the camper is about a half a foot shorter in floor length compared to the 9-6 it actually feels much bigger on the inside. People were saying, “Who is that?”  And, “What are you doing? I bought it to tow a travel trailer (which I am repairing undiscovered rot in and plan to sell eventually). The Northern Lite truck camper is truly a 4 season camper. The company builds four lines of campers, all backed by an impressive six-year structural warranty. It was solid, well sealed, and a very capable truck camper. Northern Lite has the best quality truck camper in the industry. It’s different being the odd vehicle. This group is for owners of Northern Lite Truck Campers to share stories and ideas about Northern Lite! Once again, we want to thank Jim and Janet for sharing their story with us. A single guy in a red Ford F-250 and a small truck camper parked next to us. Yes, we know all of the tricks to “raise” the GVWR/Payload of a truck, like buying larger wheels and tires with higher load ratings and installing helper springs to support the rear suspension, but none of these things will technically increase your truck’s GVWR/payload. I’ve lived in New Jersey most of my life, except for college in Wisconsin. Cirrus 920. The acrylic Windows do not allow cold air in and have been great. Northern Lite only builds hard side campers. We’ve seen stranger things happen. If you need to get unstuck, the only place to get at it is the frame and the trailer hitch in the back. ... We love seeing our 4-season truck campers being used in extreme cond... itions # inthewild. By the end of a day of traveling, we were hoarse from talking over the noise. It had a gigantic dry bath and shower – exactly what we were looking for. This might be another item to place on both your departure and arrival checklists. I’m not a tall person, but it was always a squeeze to get from the driving position to the main living area. It’s for this reason that we usually limit our travels to six hours a day. The next morning he put his camper on and was gone in fifteen minutes. Hey, we get it. Because of this, there are several mistakes and pitfalls that truck camper owners make on a regular basis. Northern Lite Truck Campers. The length and width of the motorhome was not any bigger than our dually and Arctic Fox, and it was a non-slide. And worse, we would get boxed into gas stations and had to wait for the entire gas station to leave. Four season light weight slide in truck camper. away Sure a heavy-duty rear sway bar like the Hellwig Big Wig can help alleviate this issue, but it can’t correct it entirely. Above: Click the video above to watch Back to the Truck Camper. 800-887-5342 | www.northern-lite.com. We sold the A-frame and bought an 18-foot box travel trailer. Failure to do so can result in a very bad day. You bought a Northern Lite 8-11 wet bath, ordered a Northern Lite 10-2 dry bath (which you never received due to the fire), and then bought yet a third Northern Lite 8-11 EX Dry Bath. Ouch! On our worst day, we got six miles per gallon with head winds. - YouTube I didn’t really want a slide, but I liked the construction of the Arctic Fox and it had a nice dry bath mid-ship. Without a doubt one of the top 10 truck camper mistakes and pitfalls. That’s when we hit the internet and Janet discovered Northern Lite. Nobody chased us away when we got the Class C and we generally felt welcome. At first blush it sounds like a challenging thing to unravel, not to mention expensive. I have had 4 different truck campers prior to my current travel trailer. What happened to make you give up your truck camper and go to a motorhome? I am thinking of getting a camper shell installed onto the back of my truck so that my wife and I can take weekend camping trips together when we want to get away from our home. Above: The dually GMC they had bought for their upcoming Northern Lite 10-2. But, we like to go into National Parks and National Forests, so the roads and campsites aren’t always perfect. Inside the Class C we could hear every dish rattle. Without its own chassis and running gear, the truck camper is a real oddity in the RV marketplace and must be hauled by a truck like regular cargo. The Travel Lite 770R truck camper has a shower and shower pan in the bathroom. When driving, Class Cs are incredibly noisy inside. 14,000 GVWR gives me a lot of cargo capacity to work with, which was very helpful once bumpers, winches, fuel tanks, super single wheels and tires, etc. The diesel advantage is no struggling at all, especially at altitude, due to the turbo charging. When Janet and I were first married we bought a tent and had it for two decades. That’s what the GVWR/payload sticker located on the door jamb is for. Think that’s outer limits? In addition, I had a GMC Canyon that I traded for the new truck suitable for the Northern Lite 8-11. As a side note, our good friends, Ed and Donna Amato, later bought the Northern Lite 10-2 we originally ordered. New 2020 Northern Lite Limited Edition 10-2EX Dry Bath New Truck Camper in Shakopee, Minnesota 55379. What would he say to himself? other than Torklift, not seeing anything else out there. It’s up to you if you think doing this is worth the time, effort, and risk. This second-owner, 4-season Canadian-made fiberglass camper has spent most of its life in a heated shop. Check your inbox or spam folder now to confirm your subscription. The back was covered with stickers from everywhere he had traveled. Above: Their new GMC and Northern Lite 8-11EX. The camper is hauled on a Ram 2500 Heavy Duty truck equipped with airbags. All rights reserved. All of that extra weight will make stopping your 12,000 pound rig harder and take valuable seconds of response time. As far as weight, it currently has a LEER topper and a rubber bed mat and with myself and a full tank it scales 4060lb on the front with a Front axle max of 4630lb and the rear axle is 2860lb with a max of 6000lb. If you need to, and you have the means, buy a larger truck with a higher GVWR/payload. The common refrain we hear is that most truck camper owners are overweight, meaning they’re over their truck’s payload rating and GVWR. Above: Click the video above to watch Back to the Truck Camper. With record numbers of RVs on the road due to the pandemic, it was [read more], For consumers looking to buy a new RV, most never consider a slide-in truck camper and we think that’s a serious mistake. All that time I was sleeping under canvas or nylon. Just remember to retract them before you leave the next morning. Lifted or not, sharp turns must be taken slower when hauling a hard-side truck camper. I can take it to places where a dually would be a problem. I’ve had multiple problems with my 811 and thus far my experiences with Northwood customer service have been less than stellar. The Jeep only had 13,000 miles on it so, with all those vehicles being sold, we got enough for a brand new Northern Lite 8-11 EX Dry Bath.