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Hi,
My Wife and I will be travelling to the US in a couple of weeks time to buy a Popup Camper for a planned trip that will take us from Alaska to Southern Chile probably over a couple of years. From our research Outfitter and Hallmark look great but expensive. Northstar seems good and Palomino has a few question marks against it. A 2009/10 Hallmark Guanella is selling at around 16K and a new Northstar 850SC is around 21K not a huge gap considering the age difference. So is an 8 year old camper really so close in price to a brand new Northstar ?
Really no right or wrong answer here. I drove nearly 800 miles to pick up a used 2004 Hallmark Ute XL. It is a question more of what it is worth to you. To make an actual comparison you would have to match up depreciation against two equally aged campers. As you know the Hallmark usually starts life with a much higher price point than the 850SC. The Hallmark we have seems indestructible with everything still working and the roof solid after 14 years.
I think they are both very good brands and spent a lot of time looking at Northstars, but to answer your question directly, yes, used Hallmarks do do not come cheaply and I think you will find some on the Internet that are older than the one you are researching, but priced as highly.
And an asking price is seldom a selling price (just a thought).
My two cents
Steve and Andra
2012 F350 6.2 gasser SRW LB
Fab Fours front and rear in case we run into a rhino
2019 Northstar Laredo SCThanks Ardvark,
very helpful , the fact you got so much adventuring out of a second hand Hallmark speaks for itself. Based on this we will certainly look at both new and used and in the end it will come down to a judgement call. Coly’s posting also made me re-look at truck payload capacity again so thanks to the two of you for your help. Having both packed in our jobs got our US visas its now a month till we arrive in Colorado to start our adventure so very exciting times.
Hi Panamericanos,
i would recommend a 1ton SRW ExtCab for your purposes. By far enough for these campers. A 3/4 ton is very close to it´s (paperwork) limitson a longer trip.
A DRW would provide more payload but on bad and narrow roads a DRW can catch bigger stones between the tires and dmage them. Also it is much easier to handle a SRW on narro south american mountain passes…only my few cents…2000 F-250 SuperDuty SC Lariat Longbed 7.3 ltr. 4x4
1992 Jayco-Sportster 8ft Popup - rebuilt 2014/2015Only official TravelLite and Palomino-Truck Camper Dealer in Europe
Our Hallamrk Ute XL fully loaded including 30 gallons of water along with my wife and our cat riding shotgun scales at 10,820 pounds or 180 pounds under our F350 SRW extended cab’s GVWR rating. That includes a big cooler of ice, a whole lot of clothes, groceries, etc.
Steve and Andra
2012 F350 6.2 gasser SRW LB
Fab Fours front and rear in case we run into a rhino
2019 Northstar Laredo SCSo my current thinking is a F350 4×4 crew cab. I’m understanding F350 is equal 1 ton. As I’m buying a second hand vehicle specifically for the camper I don’t see any harm in going for the 350 v/s the 250. 4×4 is I’m sure not needed for 95% of what we will do but having the option on some remote road in Yukon or Chile is surely a benefit. We did an off-road training course the other day and it’s striking the capability of having 3 differentials and low gear options. The extended or crew cab will hopefully allow us to take out seats and put in storage boxes for all the kit we need for our adventure. My next line of thought is how to add security to the vehicle.
Panamericanos, You are on the right track. Subscribe to some of the major truck camper forums, like the truck camper forum on RV.net (which has a big and heavy bias) and https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/ (which has an Anglo/European bias)
to see what others in your shoes have and are currently doing. A few observations:
1. Unless you are getting way off the main roads in North and South America, you don’t need 4WD. Just having a locking rear diff, or limited slip should be enough. A Detroit/Eaton Tru Trac is my current fave. No clutches; all gear driven; torque biasing; transparent. I’ve had 13, 4WD’s over the 50 years I’ve been boondocking and Jeeping, and actually go looking for out of the way places to wheel, but on this long a trip, you don’t need it. You probably won’t be doing this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bfj5y93wsd7vfkw/jefe%20does%20sand%20hill%20at%20dry%20wash%20of%20the%20devil%20Anza.m4v?dl=0
which was last week in the Anza Borrego Desert in CA.
2. A diesel engine is a plus, but be aware that most diesel pickups in the U.S. built after 2007 for ultra low sulfur fuel have Urea canisters and D.E.F.tanks that are not friendly to Mexican and other only low sulfur diesel fuels in Mexico and So. America. Search D.E.F. and Mexican fuel. A gas engine is not so much fun either because of the high fuel consumption compared to diesel.
3. If you are going to live at length in a truck camper, the rule of thumb is to have more living space and amenities the longer you are out.
4. Research the wheels off your project and take an RV guru with you when you purchase your camper. They can detect flaws and maybe negotiate a better price for you. Same with the truck to carry it. Be prepared to cast your net far and wide for each, up to 1500 miles from your location.
5. Once you get all your ducks in order, camp out in your driveway for a few nights without going into the house for anything to see what you need to make it work once you cut the umbilical. Are you going to need a generator?
6. I’m thinking air conditioning in So. American is going to be prohibitively expensive to operate, so you might consider a 4-season, hardside camper that will give you more hours per day of livable air temperature. At a minimum you’ll want one of those ‘fantastic fans’ in the ceiling. Ours works amazingly well.
7. Another thing is Propane is not as readily available in Mexico or So. Am. as it is in the U.S. so that’s another thing to think about.
8. To really stretch you power allotment, 200-300 watts of solar, all LED lighting, and a minimum of electrical appliances will be a lifesaver.
Oh, there is a lot to consider, and Mike has covered many of the essentials, but you will develop your own stamp; your own style of operation and needs vs. wants over time and this takes time to develop. One school of thought is to just jump in with both feet,make your own mistakes and enjoy the adventure wherever and whatever comes your way.
jefe2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
Thanks for the detailed reply very interesting indeed. We now have our truck and camper, and given our six month limit (visa) in the US are going to have to learn on the road.
People Colorado truck and RV dealerships have been very helpful and easy to work with. Its taken us two weeks to get on the road, which I think is pretty good. Your advice on casting net wide would have surely got us a better deal but hopefully we have not sacrificed too much to speed things up a bit … only time will tell !
Very few used slide in pop-ups for sale that we liked but very happy with the Northstar we got. We have started with 1600 W solar and expect we may be buying an additional portable. Very happy to be on a short wheel base and to have portapoti & north south bed. Seems to be enough space in the extended cab for a number of boxes of climbing and outdoors kit.
By far the hardest part of the experience has been insuring a vehicle as a foreigner. Even though we previously lived in the USA , have SSN etc the only way we were able to insure was thru a great company called https://www.adventure-agent.com.
Anyway thanks everyone for your advice …. Alaska here we come !
Hallmark has a good reputation for outlanders. It’s good to leave on a trip without all the answers. Unpreparedness has a certain immediacy to it as you don’t quite know what is around the corner. Have a fine adventure and turn Mike’s magazine into your own blog, describing in installments how the trip is going. His readers will thank you for that. One of you will be the better writer for this. Many of us have had the dream of an epic Arctic ocean to Terra del Fuego trip but life and work have gotten in the way. For me, the window closed about a decade ago.
Bon Voyage
jefe2020 Ford F-350 XLT FX4 4WD SRW SB SC 7.3L Godzilla Gas TorqShift 10R140 397 amps dual Alt dual batts Frnt Dana 60; Rr Dana M275 E-locker 4.30's 4580/4320/4066# payload 7243# curb wt. 11,300# GVWR 5-er prepped. 2020 Northstar Laredo SC, 12v compressor fridge, cassette, 320w Solar sub zero insulation.
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