larkyblast
calgary
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Joined: 05/28/2019
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I have narrowed down my search to two campers that fall in budget: Cirrus 820 and Northstar Laredo. You might remember my previous thread where I agonised over this. I had eliminated the 820- but have now found one at an blowout price that is only 3 hours away. The Cirrus 720 has everything we want but is out of budget.
We need a camper for winter camping, must have good insulation and thermal windows.The price is almost identical. We do not camp at RV parks, so we will be exclusively without hook ups. I want a cassette toilet for the ease of winter use while the rest of the water is winterized.
The 820 has the Alde heat, better styling and more storage and is local-ish to us. It is heavier and has a traditional black tank. The advantage is the efficiency of the heating system, uses far less battery than traditional furnace. Floors are also heated, much more comfortable than forced air.
The Northstar has traditional furnace, cassette toilet. I really want cassette. It also has a better dinette layout. It is a 7 hour drive so we are seeing sight unseen.
I am waiting to hear back from several RV repair places on pulling out the traditional toilet and putting in a cassette in the 820. It would require cutting an access door in the side of the camper. I've called Alde, the system would be over 3k to buy to retrofit the northstar. I've also looked at Propex, Wave and Truma as options. Propex and Truma are about 1k.
Which do you think is better to compromise on (or more difficult to retrofit)? The Heating system or toilet? We are in Canada, solar is very ineffective in winter and temps are very cold. I want to be as independent as possible and try not to have a generator, so battery usage is key.
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RickW
Sacramento CA
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Joined: 09/19/2004
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A porta potty is a portable, smaller "cassette", easy to store, cheaper alternative for winter camping. Put it in the shower and drain the TC water supply. If you need more capacity, buy two and just carry the second cassette.
Rick
04 GMC 1500 4X4X4
04 Sunlite SB
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d3500ram
Colorado
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Joined: 07/31/2006
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You could always opt for the camper with the toilet of choice and add a Wave catalytic heater for the winter use.
Sold the TC, previous owner of 2 NorthStar pop-ups & 2 Northstar Arrows...still have the truck:
2005 Dodge 3500 SRW, Qcab long bed, NV-6500, diesel, 4WD, Helwig, 9000XL,
Nitto 285/70/17 Terra Grapplers, Honda eu3000Is, custom overload spring perch spacers.
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Bionic Man
USA
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Joined: 04/03/2009
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Get the one with traditional toilet and use washer fluid or RV antifreeze to flush it.
2012 RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn DRW CC 4x4 Max Tow, Cummins HO, 60 gallon RDS aux fuel tank, Reese 18k Elite hitch
2003 Dodge Ram 3500 QC SB 4x4 Cummins HO NV5600 with Smarty JR, Jacobs EB (sold)
2002 Gulf Stream Sea Hawk 29FRB with Honda EV6010
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Old Days
Colorado
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Being you live in Canada did you look at Northern Lite TCs. We sold our Lance 825 because it was to cold in the winter the 811 we have now is a lot easier to keep warm.
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larkyblast
calgary
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Thanks! We've decided to go with the one with the better heating system and make the toilet work.
We did look at northern lite but a bit too expensive for us.
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hedgehopper
Denver
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Joined: 11/16/2009
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RickW wrote:A porta potty is a portable, smaller "cassette", easy to store, cheaper alternative for winter camping. Put it in the shower and drain the TC water supply. If you need more capacity, buy two and just carry the second cassette. We have owned two porta potties. Both worked fine for liquid waste. But neither worked for solid waste.
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jaycocreek
Idaho
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hedgehopper wrote:RickW wrote:A porta potty is a portable, smaller "cassette", easy to store, cheaper alternative for winter camping. Put it in the shower and drain the TC water supply. If you need more capacity, buy two and just carry the second cassette. We have owned two porta potties. Both worked fine for liquid waste. But neither worked for solid waste.
I also have two Porta Portties and have never had an issue with solid waste..I use them especially in the winter..I blow out the line's and use bottled or jugs of water and ofcourse,the Porta Potties...Combined with the catalytic heater,it makes winter camping a breeze.
Lance 9.6
400 watts solar mounted/200 watts portable
500ah Lifep04
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Lwiddis
Southern California :(
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Just because a TC has a black tank doesn't mean you can't use a cassette. Handy to use the one you choose based on temperature.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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A wise choice!
Do read the full time forum on winter camping.
larkyblast wrote:Thanks! We've decided to go with the one with the better heating system and make the toilet work.
We did look at northern lite but a bit too expensive for us.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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