Rex Willet, the owner of Northstar Campers, and his highly-skilled crew are making excellent progress on the build of my 2016 Northstar Laredo SC truck camper. How long does it take to build a truck camper? Weeks? Months? Actually, not very long. About 11 days including a full day of testing and a final walk-through inspection. They began building it August 26 and will wrap things up around September 8, the day before I’m scheduled to pick it up. In the meantime, Rex Willet, will be sending me photos periodically to document the progress of the build. Stay tuned here and on my Instagram account to see this progress.
August 26
Day 1 assembly of the main components of the camper. Day 1 closeup showing the workmanship of the camper frame. Day 1 view of the step framing and the new, larger 39 gallon fresh water tank, a 20% increase over the old 30 gallon tank size! Day 1 view of the kitchen. Day 1 view of the camper’s rear including the cassette toilet compartment.
August 29
Day 4 view showing the roof frame and block foam insulation and one side of the sheet foil insulation in place. Another Day 4 view showing the flip side of the insulation before being installed on the roof. Day 4 view showing the block foam installed in the frame and walls. Day 4: applying the glue before the fiberglass walls are hung. Day 4 view showing temporary bracing in place while the glue in the front wall sets.
September 2
Day 7 view of the Kitchen with the open space for the refrigerator to the right. Day 7 view of the driver’s side. Note the larger size of the propane compartment that now holds two 5 gallon propane tanks vice one. View showing one of four anchor plates. Day 7 view of the roof with EPDM membrane affixed. Day 7 view of the cabover. Note the large opening for the Heki skylight.
September 4
Day 9 exterior view. Almost finished. Only minor work remains including the PDI and the solar panel install. Day 9 view of the rear showing the Torklift step bumper, ladder, and main door with optional top and bottom windows. Day 9 view of the dinette. Note the Lagun swing away table and the large size of the Dometic “Euro” window. An impressive day 9 view of the kitchen with the stainless steel look and household faucet! Another day 9 view looking toward the rear. Closeup of the Zamp 30 ampere PMW solar charge controller Interior view of the Dometic CR1110 12 volt compressor refrigerator Day 9 view of the cabover area. Overhead storage compartment above the Northstar Laredo SC dinette. Overhead view of the AGM battery compartment underneath the rear dinette seat. These are Deka Group 31 batteries. Factory view showing the rugged and durable slide-out drawer mechanisms. Completed view of the wetbath and cassette toilet. Closeup of the attractive Northstar Camper emblem. Day 9 view showing the front portion of the completed roof including the Heki Skylight Vent. How our 2016 Northstar Laredo SC looked when we first saw it at the factory on September 10. Loading up my Laredo at the Northstar factory. Final view before leaving the Northstar Camper factory.
First impressions of the my Northstar Laredo SC truck camper can be found by clicking here.
Mello Mike is an Arizona native, author, and the founder of Truck Camper Adventure. He's been RV'ing since 2002, is a Jeep and truck camper enthusiast, and has restored several Airstream travel trailers. He currently drives a 2013 Ram 3500 4x4 pickup truck with a 2016 Northstar Laredo solar powered truck camper mounted on top. He enjoys football, music, hiking, travel, photography, and fishing. He retired from the U.S. Navy in 2004 as a CWO3 after 24 years, worked in project management until 2017, and now runs this website full-time. He also does some consulting and RV inspections on the side.
Truck Camper Adventure is proud to present this update to one of our most popular articles, the Top 8 Pop-Up Truck Campers for Half-Ton Trucks. Those who remember the original July 2017 article will recall [read more]
In a recent article, we wrote about a few weaknesses we found in the insulation of our Northstar Laredo SC truck camper. Shortly after that article was published, we received an email from long-time reader, [read more]
First, you might be wondering why we’d go back to the Northstar factory after just visiting there last September. Well, we began our two month-long summer adventure with no intention of traveling to Iowa, but [read more]
Mike, I like your Northstar Camper review. I wanted a camper like that. I found a 2011 unit the 50 year model in San Antonio, TX. and purchased it. I had bought a Big Foot but it was just to heavy for my 2003 Ram 3500 SRW truck. I would like to install some solar.I have used much solar working in the Oil Patch on SCADA commucation systems before I retired last June. How do I mount them? Could you send pictures of how your are mounted? I am new to the RV world I do have 18 wheeler driving experance back when I was a lot younger.
Mike, I like your Northstar Camper review. I wanted a camper like that. I found a 2011 unit the 50 year model in San Antonio, TX. and purchased it. I had bought a Big Foot but it was just to heavy for my 2003 Ram 3500 SRW truck. I would like to install some solar.I have used much solar working in the Oil Patch on SCADA commucation systems before I retired last June. How do I mount them? Could you send pictures of how your are mounted? I am new to the RV world I do have 18 wheeler driving experance back when I was a lot younger.
Hi Leland,
Check out my solar power phase 1 and phase 2 articles. Different camper, but these explain how the panels are mounted in both rigs.