Picked up a new pickup camper

[Northidahotrailblazer]

My old 2001 Fleetwood angler is really on its last leg. I stay in it for work. Feels like a piece of me is going to leave with it. I've lived in it 3 of 4 years that I've been at this job. I nomad around in the summer, and in the pass winters I've parked it at a friends but this winter I decided to leave it on the truck and stay closer to the mine. I'm a supervisor so at times I feel like I live at the mine. Well after the roof leaked on me 3 times on the old angler and the furnace quit on me again this winter. The fan failed after making noise for well 4 years. This thing is done. So I went out and got a 2020 northern lite 9.6 sportsman. Its pretty basic no tv, but I don't watch tv anyways. Has solar panels on it and I got them to upgrade the batteries to 6 volts. Its a heck of a upgrade, this is the second night I've stayed in it, Its way warmer and I don't feel the drafts like I did with the old one. I really wish I had it 2 weeks ago when it was -20. Olwell haha I built frame mounts, but after getting the camper on, I didn't build the front mounts forward enough, so right now I have it on my bed mounts which I already had. I can't believe what they want for torklift mounts. $900 bucks is just crazy. Ill rock the bed mounts, they look like there holding up fine. I've been trying to hold off buying anything, paid off my superduty and my 5th wheel last year and got rid of another payment I had. But I should of done this a while ago.... I will say that old Angler was the best $1000 bucks I ever spent. Saved me a lot of money and the wife is going to put it on facebook and see what we can get for it this spring. With the way things are priced, Idk she'll probably get $1000 bucks for it.... haha

 

[Uncle Gump]

That looks like a step up... -20 is still... burrrr.

I've always been a home body. I never even liked flying out on Monday back home by Friday for work. Thankfully I only had to do it 3 or 4 times a year.

But if you work long hours it sure beats a commute.

 

[ericbphoto]

Very nice!

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

That looks like a step up... -20 is still... burrrr.

I've always been a home body. I never even liked flying out on Monday back home by Friday for work. Thankfully I only had to do it 3 or 4 times a year.

But if you work long hours it sure beats a commute.

Yeah If i didn't have to go over a mountain pass and go through the big town of Coeur D'alene Idaho. The biggest town north. I could make the drive from home, but shit at times it takes me just a hour to get through CDA... I wish they would build a by pass but they should of did that 20 years ago, pretty much to late now. With the air port getting bigger and the lake on the other side. Spokane Wa has been trying to do there highway for over 30 years and its not done yet. Anyways Yup cant beat the commute! I camp out at a snowmobile parking lot a mile up the road. So its a few min commute. Only thing that sucks is my super duty is pretty useless. Just makes me drive my ranger when I'm home. haha

 

[scotts90ranger]

Jealous... that looks WAY better sealed than my old '95 camper... my favorite length is those 9'ish, good combo and not horrible to tow... I've towed with a 11.3' or whatever and that 4' hitch extension blows...

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

Jealous... that looks WAY better sealed than my old '95 camper... my favorite length is those 9'ish, good combo and not horrible to tow... I've towed with a 11.3' or whatever and that 4' hitch extension blows...

Its night and day vs my 2001. The heater only kicks in a couple times a night. My old one when it was -20 two weeks ago, I had to have my milk house heater up in pointing at me on high to keep somewhat warm, with my generator running in the back. It was a rough couple nights. haha I'm going to have to figure out a extension, I already have a 4' extension, so Idk If I can cut it down? well see anyways. I pull a 3 horse trailer in the summer so Ill need to do that at some point. But the wife isn't going to be doing a whole lot of horse stuff this year because she's pregnant and due end of march, so ive got until early summer to figure out the hitch extension.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I got THIS hitch extension for my current uses, it has a solid bar at the receiver end and had good ratings, most of the rest had pictures of them breaking... but I do have a DIY superhitch copy deal to deal with the tongue weight and sway better (the lower tube sticks forward about 18" and is pinned to take side loads). The below pictures were from when I had the 4' hitch insert, I shortened things and modified them to have the extension work with some side pads but rests on the lower bar... if you are interested I can get a pic since the camper is off the truck and the extension is in place... That little 100A welder was just used for tacking things together, the rest was done with the good ol buzz box... I no longer have turnbuckles going to the hitch for side load, tows great.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I extended the tongue on my trailer.

 

[sgtsandman]

That's a heck of a nice upgrade. From the sounds of it, well worth the cost.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

I got THIS hitch extension for my current uses, it has a solid bar at the receiver end and had good ratings, most of the rest had pictures of them breaking... but I do have a DIY superhitch copy deal to deal with the tongue weight and sway better (the lower tube sticks forward about 18" and is pinned to take side loads). The below pictures were from when I had the 4' hitch insert, I shortened things and modified them to have the extension work with some side pads but rests on the lower bar... if you are interested I can get a pic since the camper is off the truck and the extension is in place... That little 100A welder was just used for tacking things together, the rest was done with the good ol buzz box... I no longer have turnbuckles going to the hitch for side load, tows great.

View attachment 105177View attachment 105178

Thanks Ill have to check that out. I don't think I need the full 4 ft one I have, but well see, I have to get up to my trailer and see what I got.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

That's a heck of a nice upgrade. From the sounds of it, well worth the cost.

Yes It was! I'm pretty happy with it. Campers are crazy priced, I really tried looking for something used but the problem I saw was that everyone wanted 25K plus for something that was 10 years old or so. And you could see in the pictures most had water issues or delaminating sides. And I don't care what the owners said. Delaminating sides is a big deal and isn't an easy fix and if theres any water damage its worth a lot less. I don't feel like I got a bad deal on this one for what everyone is asking for there 10 year old used ones. So time will tell but everything about this northernLite seems better built. I looked a a couple brand new palomino campers and everything about them was cheap built. Well see what the future holds but I feel better about spending a little more after staying in it this week.

 

[Shran]

Nice, is that all fiberglass? Those seem to hold up really well. I scrapped a motorhome a while back and the only pieces somewhat intact were the fiberglass nose above the cab and the tail piece...which was also fiberglass... everything else was literally rotted to dust, some pieces of 1-1/4" angle iron were the only things holding the walls & ceiling up.

My slide in camper is a '73 Mitchell, very close in size to your old one. It was also pretty rotten in a few places but I got it patched up and the old bird just keeps on going... I know what you mean about drafty though... the furnace kicks ass, it's so hot that you have to turn it down but when you do you freeze on the upper bunk!

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

Nice, is that all fiberglass? Those seem to hold up really well. I scrapped a motorhome a while back and the only pieces somewhat intact were the fiberglass nose above the cab and the tail piece...which was also fiberglass... everything else was literally rotted to dust, some pieces of 1-1/4" angle iron were the only things holding the walls & ceiling up.

My slide in camper is a '73 Mitchell, very close in size to your old one. It was also pretty rotten in a few places but I got it patched up and the old bird just keeps on going... I know what you mean about drafty though... the furnace kicks ass, it's so hot that you have to turn it down but when you do you freeze on the upper bunk!

View attachment 105220

Yeah its two pieces of fiberglass, so you only have one seam, no roof seam other than the vents and ac. Time will tell but I don't feel the draft, near like I did. I mean its not as cold now, but the furnace only kicks on a couple times a night vs my old one which like you said, to push air up to the overhead it was either to hot or freezing. lol Then my battery wasn't enough to last through the night, so I had my generator pretty much to keep the battery charged enough and to run a fan to push air around. I'm glad yours is holding up! I've had to fix a couple areas on my old one, but I couldn't do it right, or really want to. lol Ill work with metal all day. Wood, and that kind of work, I just don't like to do. haha Not having a big enough shop to do that kind of project in doesn't help either. Olwell It will live on as someones fall hunting setup. I don't really care. It saved me a bunch of money not having to rent a place and worked great for me when it worked.

 

[Shran]

Check out Destination Adventure on Youtube, that guy has a camper that reminds me a lot of your new one. I would love to find a fiberglass one that's a little smaller, I can still close my tailgate with mine on the truck and I don't need a hitch extension so that's why I've held onto it so long.

My furnace is just a radiant deal, light it and enjoy...no fan.. it has a temperature adjustment but I don't think it works very well.