New Northern Lite Camper

[Dieselnerd]

I took delivery of my new Northern Lite camper last week and took it on a 3 day shakedown. It took 7 weeks from the time of order until it arrived at my local dealer. Everything worked perfectly. It's the 9 1/2 foot Lite model which is their lightest version. It has a base dry weight of 1725 pounds. When they are built, before leaving the factory, they are weighed with all the ordered options and that weight is posted on a sticker inside. Mine weighed 2248 pounds with all my options. Partial list of options includes air conditioner (11,000 BTU), oven, stove cover, thermopane windows, power jacks, microwave, folding steps, slide out propane tanks, roof rack and ladder and several other items that don't weigh much. I'm very pleased with the quality. The interior is all solid oak and oak veneer where normal RV's might have the printed wood veneer. The fiberglass exterior is well made and the workmanship is above average in every detail. As you can see, these are very similar in appearance to the Bigfoot. My truck carries it easily. It weighs 600 pounds less than the Lance Camper I had mounted on the truck before which I used for many years with no problems.

 

[L_Rutigliano]

Weigh your truck at a scale empty. Then weigh it again with the camper. I bet your weight label is off by at least 500lbs, possibly more. Real oak and veneer are heavy, the AC unit is heavy, the electric jacks are heavy, etc.



Congrats on the new camper!

 

[Dieselnerd]

lrutigliano, check out the Northern Lite site. They are one of the few RV manufacturers that weigh the camper with all the ordered options and write that weight on a certified sticker that is glued into a cabinet. The sticker lists all the options installed when weighed. You are correct about the normal sticker on the back of the camper, it says dry weight 1725 pounds. The sticker from the certified weight scale says 2248 pounds or 523 pounds more than the advertised weight. So, your 500 pound guess was pretty close.



http://www.northern-lite.com/ (On the website, click on "Construction" to see how they are weighed)

 

[smartineau]

Dieselnerd,



Nice camper! We are lookiing at the 10-2000. I narrowed my search down to NL, Bigfoot, and Snowriver. I then showed all three to the boss and she said NL.



Hopefully I'll have one soon.



steve

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Light weight camper

I hope that you have better luck with your Northern Lite camper than I did with mine. Had lots of fiberglass cracking. And the door would not stay closed if you went into a parking lot that had a dip in the pavement. The last straw was when the air conditioner started to come through the roof. When that happened I tried to get it fixed at the manufacturer and they told me it was my baby. I had only owned it for about 18 months!!!!!!!!!!:{ I do not want to start a war here I was just treated very poorly by the company.

 

[smartineau]

Gonzo,



when did you have the bad luck and poor service with NL?



steve

 

[Gonzo 1066]

NL

The trouble started when the camper was new. I bought it in late 1993. We took it to the factory to have the AC installed when it was just a few months old. Now you have to understand we use our compers about 110 nights a year and 20 to 25,000 miles so the unit had some miles on it. But our present camper has over 200,000 miles and well over 700 nights on it and has no sigh on structure problems.

 

[Dieselnerd]

Gonzo, sounds like you got a bad one. I've read all of your previous posts bashing the NL and I guess I'd feel the same if it happened to me. The 2003 NL I got came with a 3 year structural warranty which I assume they didn't have in 1993. I also noticed that the air conditioner is installed on top of a large ribbed fiberglass reinforcement that is fastened to the roof. It says in the instructions to never install air without that piece. I wonder if that isn't something that's been added to prevent the kind of problem you had. In any event, I'm pleased with my camper and not worried about it falling apart. Northern Lite company was started not too long before you purchased yours and they may not have worked out all the bugs yet. If I recall correctly, NL was formed by a group of people that left Bigfoot about 12 or 13 years ago. They have been 5 star rated by an independent organization for the last 4 or 5 years and are the only truck camper to receive 5 stars. Bigfoot is given 4 stars by the same organization. I've owned quite a few truck campers and I am very impressed with the quality of this one. If I have any problems I will post them here. I know of several others that have a NL and they are all very happy with them.

 

[pcarlson]

Bigfoot does the same thing. They give you the bare weight and the all accessory weight. The label on the outside is actually the certified weight with all standard and options items, at least for the Bigfoot. They also gave me a print out of this when I bought it.

 

[wcoomes]

Gonzo,



What model slide-in do you own that it has held up so well with that kind of use?

 

[Gonzo 1066]

NL not

I wound up with a Alpen Lite Odessa (9. 5') camper. We are shopping for another one and Western Wilderness-AlpenLite is on the top of a very short list. They are built here in the Northwest and having the plant close can be a big advantage. I have been very happy with the welded aluminum frame. The next one will also have a aluminum frame. We are looking at Eagle Cap,Artic fox, Bigfoot and Citation. I realize we are exceptional users. The average camper never gets 10% of the use ours gets. But the use we give ours is a acid test that others may benifit from.





Dieselnerd: Hope I have not offended any one by sharing my poor choice in campers. If it was just the camper problems it would have been palatable if the manufacturer would have just taken care of the problem. To be blown off by the company after buying in good faith is unacceptable. I did find dealing with a foreign company has its disadvantages. Make sure your dealer has the integrity to take care of your problems in house.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Ron, I really like the way your NL is built. They didn't use the hundreds of little wood screws and a drum of plumbers putty like most RV manufactures do. Not to mention the pallet scraps and kindling they use to frame most of them. Excellent choice.

 

[GSchlegel]

I just took a brief look at the Northern Lite site and have a question. Did I read it correctly that walls, roof, and floor are only R-5? If so, seems a little skimpy on insulation.



Just curious.



Gene

 

[smartineau]

Gshlegel,



At the RV show I talked tot the owner of the company, Mac Donkin, I asked this same question. He said that the insulation is R-5 but that the fiberglass wall, insulation, interior wall, combination was just shy of an R-9. So that technically as a unit this assembly can only be called an R-8.



steve

 

[Freddbull]

I saw a few NL's the other day and was rather unimpressed with the bathroom. I can't see me sitting on that throne comfortably, reading Investors Business Daily without the door open,as I have wide sholders.