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We travelled to Armidale recently. We
left the unit loaded on the Nissan from the previous week when we
collected it from Camden Caravans, then after a few hours at Freedom
Offroad (the distributors for Northstar) having a second battery
fitted to the unit, truck plug and fittings on the Nissan (Trayon
was an Anderson plug), connection to the car battery system (with
our dual battery = total of four batteries, reason being the camper
batteries were not directly compatible with the car ones, but with
the new wiring they are, a little more weight to carry, but just
think of the hours of use we will have to free camp). The guys at
Freedom were great, removing wood from under which had raised the
unit for use on trays with lips, extended the rubber bumpers
(located on the front which buffer the unit and the headboard).
The first
night we left Sydney after work, headed for a rest area from “Camps
3” west of Singleton. Daylight got the better of us and we stopped
at a truck stop on the corner of the Golden Highway & the New
England Highway – great area with a toilet block and overhead
lighting all night, but OH the truck noises on the roads all night,
I have added earplugs to my list for our next trip, along with an
illuminated clock that I can place within view of the bed (the
fitted radio/CD/clock under the bed was out of sight). We left
before dawn, so didn’t get any pictures. We arrived in Armidale
around 10:30am and set up at the race track where the weekend’s
events were being held. The other campers had bike trailers or
tents, the facilities were great with a new ladies shower block and
a womens toilet block.
The Northstar
has a built in inverter so the radio, lights, fridge, hot water all
work regardless of using the batteries or 240v power. The lighting
is fantastic with two double fluros, one over stove/sink, the other
over the dining table and a light over the bed, pity it was on the
foot end, we will have to get used to sleeping on opposite sides to
have it over our heads. The fridge is a 2way compressor Dometic –
no on/off switch only the thermostat which has an off setting – the
thermostat is not very well located it is at the rear of the
interior & the part of the knob that has the indicator on it is the
same colour as the knob & VERY HARD TO SEE, I will probably paint it
white. Because of the two batteries in the camper, we have it
connected to 240v at home to keep the batteries charged and can run
the fridge the day prior to leaving. I would like solar panels
fitted on the roof, John is still thinking about it! We are also
considering purchasing a good cover for the unit, preferably with
hail protection. We will need to have the solar panel fitted prior
to this or keep on 240.
The cupboard
space is less than the Trayon – different configuration mainly and
with the two batteries & hot water – cupboard space was used, so the
repacking took a bit of thought – John had the suggestion that I may
have over packed in the first place, I thought not. Because the
unit takes up the entire tray, we have no room for the generator,
jerry can, ground matting, recliner chairs etc. I had purchased a
fantastic aluminium step ladder which is rated to 100kgs, this is
now stored on the floor area along with the removable scissor steps.
The two full length side lockers are good – only 18cm wide (bad),
but hold the fold up chairs, table and a lot of other things. Bonus
is some items can be accessed through cupboard doors inside (one on
either side). I lined all the cupboards with non-slip matting which
I did in the Trayon & previously owned camper trailers, this
definitely keeps everything from moving around.
We sold the
under mattress matting and the portable toilet with the Trayon, so
will repurchase both for the Northstar. The bed is close to queen
size – where the Trayon’s was king (with the extra wide unit) – not
a problem. It is also innerspring rather than foam – makes for a
better night’s sleep, but it weights a lot. The under mattress
matting arrived the other day – it took both of us a while to remove
the mattress & lay the underlay, then get the mattress back in place
(glad I only have to do that once).
There is
under-bed storage! Struts help with the raising of the bed (without
the struts I don’t think I could lift it at all). There are four
compartments, the full width of the bed but only 12cm deep. I
managed to find some storage boxes low enough to bit which I slid to
the end (front of the peak) – a good place for our clothing, the
spare mattress off the single bed (when the table folds down), a
blanket & a few other things.
The cupboard
latches are great – push in to lock on most doors, pull out to
release the drawers, these are available on most modern campers
these days, removable dining table which folds down to a single bed,
glass windows with curtains on the hardwall sides & rear door, six
large mesh/dark plastic/canvas covered windows on the popup section
– we only needed to open the glass windows for ventilation along
with the roof hatch while away.
We are yet to
set up the new shower tent we bought before the trip to Victoria, (it
was the 3rd shower tent – this is like a 3 bears &
porridge story: 1st one was too heavy, 2nd one
was too hard to erect, 3rd we hope will be just right). I
think we have 3 or 4 outside lights, along with the outside hot/cold
shower (yet to try out the hot water system).
We were given
a bag of info sheets with the Northstar – mainly the installation
sheets for the appliances from the USA that were supplied with the
slide-on – the only thing missing (which would be the main thing)
was an actual instruction manual!
There is an
on/off switch near the sink which we can only assume to be the water
pump switch, there is also another switch above (on the side of the
fridge cupboard frame) for a fan booster for the fridge, a cupboard
full of electrical stuff (next to the cupboard with the two
batteries/cases). The radio instructions came in handy – John
programmed the first day at home, I did the clock (on the radio) the
last day at home – haven’t had the speakers booming yet – they would
want to be good when the cost of the CD/radio unit is listed at
$495. We also discovered that the carbon monoxide & smoke alarms
did not have batteries inserted – thus have never been used. We
tested out both last weekend – working fine, well working too fine …
John thought there were flees in the camper & asked me to spray
(surface spray) around – this set off the carbon monoxide alarm – so
we have taken the batteries back out! I think the flees were
sandflies from my lawn – they are terrible at dawn & dusk & now
after a lot of rain!!
We have not
missed a television while away, but I have had my eye on ads for an
LCD TV/DVD – I found one on sale at Dick Smith and purchased it last
week. We tested it out on the weekend (inside my home) hooked up to
a basic aerial that I already had, reception was just OK. I am now
investigating various types of antennas for the camper – I can’t
mentally justify satellite at nearly double the cost of the TV unit.
It will probably only be used for catching up on the news & a few of
my favourite soaps on rainy days or nights.
We also
purchased a tow bar extension (a while ago). Our tray is eight foot in
length, so the Hayman Reese tow ball was about one foot under the tray,
OK for towing, but not for a bike rack. For the Northstar we needed
to purchase a swing arm for the tow bar extension to carry out push
bikes as the Northstar has rear entry. After Rob’s recommendations,
we found the perfect one AXSARM. This unit bolts onto the tow bar
with a different type of bolt (it is not rated to tow, but hold
80kgs). It is used with our current bike rack, so with the click of
the latch, the bikes can swing away, the swing arm is hinged in the
centre (which is on the right outside of the camper) the unit opens
and swings to the right of the camper, just clearing the electric
jacks. Fantastic! We had to purchase a socket the correct size for
the bolt from an engineering store to tighten the bolt, but that was
easy to do.
I am awaiting
John’s approval for a GSP & a reversing camera which I want – then
we will be off again in a fortnight. Probably only to the Central
Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle or Port Stephens. I figure that we
don’t need to drive a long way to see some new places, meet some
people & explore the areas close to home.
The best
features are the electric jacks which can be used individually or in
a combination or all together, due to inconsistent weights on each
leg, they go up or down at slightly different rates, no major
problem. Fantastic for lifting & lowering to mow the lawn
underneath. We haven’t tried locating the unit where the camper
trailers had been stored as we would not be able to access the rear
of the unit, so the lawn it is for now.
The hot and
cold shower is external, there were two alternate floor plans one
having an internal shower, the other a toilet. Unfortunately the
one we acquired had a longer lounge/table area with a toilet
cupboard under one seat – I can comment more on the shower when we
actually put up the shower tent and use it – Peak Hill maybe the
christening.
The finish on
both units was excellent. We checked out quite a few slide-ons,
camper trailers and vans prior to purchasing and the detail to
finish was better than a lot on the market.
The hard roof
instead of canvas – various reasons for loving this feature. The
Fiamma rear and side awnings, being built-in – take a little time to
roll out & back again, but have the poles enclosed and attached.
The tie
downs are reasonably easy to use, there was an option to upgrade to quick
release tie downs, but at an additional $1000 or so, I think what we
have will suffice.
Drawbacks are
that the weight of the unit is more than double the Trayon. John had
air bags fitted to the suspension for the Trayon, they will be
definitely useful for the Northstar. We are within our GVM, but are
yet to put the unit over a weigh bridge. The Nissan has a good pay
load capacity, more than other 4x4s. We are considering having the
suspension upgraded more and perhaps the GVM re-rated.
The unit is
higher and longer plus has the Luton peak, we used approximately 14
litres to 100km on the Armidale trip, the Nissan normally uses 8 or
9 litres per 100km. With the Trayon the consumption was around 11
litres, but with a headwind up to 14 litres.
The Trayon’s
stove was removable, enabling use inside or out (a fold up frame was
supplied for outside use). The Northstar has a 3 burner gas stove,
but as I am not a cooker, it will not be used much. We purchased a
Dream Pot last year and I am still experimenting with it before we
actually include with the camper inventory.
Both units
had a minor problem of head height entry on the doors, but neither
could be overcome.
The slide-on
is great & we can’t want to get away again.
February 2008 |
