bcbouy
100 mile house
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Joined: 03/15/2014
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s1214 wrote:bcbuoy:
Tell me about the rear awning, please. both are made by fiamma.made in italy i think. it's a 6 foot f35,and the side is an 8 foot f 45.both are roll out hard covers and have the track for add a rooms or privacy panels.they are a little spendy,but i can assure you they are very sturdy.
* This post was
edited 02/25/17 11:21am by bcbouy *
2012 ram 2500 hemi crew cab sb 4x4 2015 northstar 850 sc 14.5 g3 guide custom fly fishing boat
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RickW
Sacramento CA
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Joined: 09/19/2004
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bcbouy wrote:stevenal wrote:Jack Hart wrote:Preparing to lower and lowering takes longer because items need to be stowed and the sidewalls properly folded in.
I've heard it said that all you need to do is turn on the vent fan to get those walls to fold right. Can anyone confirm? i can confirm,it is incredibly simple and quick.close the door and windows,open the fan cover and turn it on full power,lower away,just make sure your mattress. topper is pulled away from the front of the bed.mattress topper you ask? you'll see.
X3 Only time it was hard was trying to lower the top in 30-40 mph wind.
Rick
04 GMC 1500 4X4X4
04 Sunlite SB
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SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
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Joined: 10/09/2016
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Reading all this stuff is interesting. For years I had a Lance 915 that was pretty loaded up and I went everywhere with it, everywhere on pavement or in campgrounds that is.
Then, the wife and I bought property in Northern Michigan accessable via seasonal road and I took one look at our new camping and hunting property and I knew the Lance had to go. For one, it was too high to negotiate a seasonal road with trees and too heavy to drive off road, even though I have a long bed diesel 4x4, I knew I'd get in trouble real fast so I put it up for sale (still have it) and bought a Palomino SS1500.
The older Palomino's got a bad rap and deserved it. You had to manually crank up the roof, you could not open the rear door without raising the roof and the rear door leaked in the rain, like a sieve. The fit and finish was poor and over quality was lacking but, it was cheap.
That is all gone now. The roof is electric push button. Unlatch 4 latches, push a button and the roof extends. Open the one piece solid door (with glass tinted window) and get in. Fit and finish is first class and you can even get air conditioning if you want it (I cannot see it as the sides all around open up to screens with all kinds of ventilation plus it comes with a powered roof fan). 4 cubic foot Dometic fridge with freezer, 3 way, hot water heater, outside shower furnace, comfortable queen sized bunk with a convertible dinette. I got mine with a full wet bath for my wife. I would have preferred a cassette toilet but it wasn't available at the time. Oops, forgot to add, 2 burner cook top and single bowl sink....
You can access everything in the unit (but the upper bunk) without raising the roof and that includes the toilet, fridge and dinette (for those quick rest area sandwich stops) All the interior lights as well as the exterior lights are LED and the grey and black dumps are easily accessable on the drivers side.
Very comfortable, plenty of room for 2 or 3, up and down in literally seconds and roadability is excellent compared to a hardside plus the weight is manageable. 1900 dry, 2350 wet. Don't even know it's back there unless I look in the mirror or glance at the dash (it comes with a wireless rear view camera setup for watching your backside.)
I'm really happy for $13,000.00. and it fits in my garage as well, a huge plus. Campers last almost forever when stored inside when not in use. It's the keeping them outside in the elements that causes issues and deterioration.
Is a perfect fit for my wife and I.
2015 Backpack SS1500
1997 Ford 7.3 OBS 4x4 CC LB
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burningman
Seattle, WA USA
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Joined: 04/26/2003
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Holy cow... you're the first person who's ever made me kinda want a pop-up!
2017 Northern Lite 10-2 EX CD SE
99 Ram 4x4 Dually Cummins
A whole lot more fuel, a whole lot more boost.
4.10 gears, Gear Vendors overdrive, exhaust brake
Built auto, triple disc, billet shafts.
Kelderman Air Ride, Helwig sway bar.
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SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
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I don't regret buying the SS1500 at all. It's not and never will be a 4 season camper and I would never expect a pop up to be that but it's a solid 3 season camper The thing I notice the most besides almost no drop in fuel mileage (2mpg) empty versus the camper on is how it handles in the wind. With the slab sided Lance, I always knew it was in the bed, especially in cross winds, the Palomino, I don't feel it at all. Even my wife can drive the truck on the Interstate without feeling intimidated. I do get tired of driving. I posted a picture of it in the camper picture thread ....
Page 131 about half way down....
* This post was
edited 02/26/17 07:25am by SidecarFlip *
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bcbouy
100 mile house
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Joined: 03/15/2014
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we almost went with the 1250.i really like that electric roof and wish my northstar had it.the east west bed was a deal breaker though.plus the northstar was able to be ordered exactly how we wanted it.
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cewillis
Tucson, az, usa
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Joined: 01/24/2005
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Jack Hart wrote:both Hallmark and Outfitter have basements which should be a consideration for extreme cold weather camping.
Are you sure of that? Hallmark certainly did NOT have a basement when I was looking (but that was 10 years ago). From a quick look at their website, the Cuchara and Ute models don't seem to have a basement.
I agree that both are high quality -- but I wanted the Outfitter basement, with bigger tanks.
* This post was
edited 02/26/17 09:19am by cewillis *
Cal
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SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
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bcbouy wrote:we almost went with the 1250.i really like that electric roof and wish my northstar had it.the east west bed was a deal breaker though.plus the northstar was able to be ordered exactly how we wanted it.
The 1500 has an east west bunk and I prefer it over the north south arrangement because I sleep on a CPAP machine at night and I use the outlet on the front wall below the bunk to power my machine with the machine sitting on the kitchen counter. I converted that outlet to a 110 volt non shore powered outlet running from a Xantrex 1000 watt PSW inverter. Of course that also predicated going from one battery to a pair and building a custom battery box to contain both.
I bet your Northstar was appreciably more money than my Palomino was. I looked at value received versus cost besides build and convenience. I'm retired and on a fixed income.
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bcbouy
100 mile house
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Joined: 03/15/2014
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close to double the price,and all i've done is add 2 better deep cycles.on the upside,they hold their resale value up here.i sold my old 1989 sunlite pop up for what i paid for it the day i put it on craigslist,after owning it for 3 years,but i did change out the old vinyl.
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SidecarFlip
SE Michigan
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bcbouy wrote:close to double the price,and all i've done is add 2 better deep cycles.on the upside,they hold their resale value up here.i sold my old 1989 sunlite pop up for what i paid for it the day i put it on craigslist,after owning it for 3 years,but i did change out the old vinyl.
Double the price puts you in hard side territory. If I was going to use my camper many. many days every year and span 4 seasons, I'd be investing that much. I'm not.
I am going to Alaska next summer with my Palomino. Should be a fun trip
I was always happy with the Lance 915 but it really limits you as to where you can go. Just too high and the Cg was too high as well.
I have a friend in Minnesota that has a Sunlite. He's like me. uses his a few times a year for fishing trips.
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