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Having a recently acquired 2019 NorthStar Laredo SC we set off for the recent air show in Oshkosh, WI. The camper rides in our 2012 Ford F350 LB SRW gasser. It came with the optional “riser” from Northstar that is supposed to make up of the high cab height of the Ford trucks (I know this is not an issue for Dodges and GMs). Here in the South where our roads are seldom concrete there is seldom a problem.
What we quickly discovered running north is once we approached the road construction areas beginning about Indianapolis is the camper cabover would hit the cab lights on our truck. No apparent damage was done to truck or camper, but we drove a good deal more slowly than we normally would and tried to slow further for dips in the road.
Don’t know if those with similar combos will encounter the same, but my thought would be to add additional height either in the truck bed or to the riser to ensure cabover clearance. The optional Northstar riser was not enough for our camper/truck. Yes, we already have a bed mat in our truck. Still not enough! 🙁
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 for this thread. I just bought a 2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer with the detachable wrap-around rear end, which we like for the storage. It goes on my 2018 Ram 3500 6’4″ bed and I am able to leave the tailgate on, but in able to do so, the dealer rigged me up with some 2×4’s in the bed and he added another 2×4 bumper in the front to move the camper back 1.5 inches. So now the tailgate cables just barely touch the bottom corners of the wrap-around storage boxes, and the cabover bunk is just 3″ from my truck roof. With so many NorthStar owners on this forum, I was wondering if anyone else came across this issue and if so, how did they resolve it? Camper and rig seem to ride OK.
2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer
2018 Ram 3500 Crew SB SRW 6.7 Cummins Diesel
2018 Jayco Eagle RSTS 5th WheelI did about what you have now in terms of height, but I fastened the boards to my riser. 3″ should be plenty. I do not think you will have a problem. I can’t tell you whether others had an issue. Ford cabs are much taller than Dodges and since NorthStar offered the riser (basically a 2×2 soaked in creosote) I thought it would be enough added height. I was wrong! 🙁
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 for your reply, Steve. So this riser 2×2, does it go around the entire perimeter of the bottom of the unit? Or just on 2 sides from front to back?
Thanks again. Leaving tomorrow for our first longer TC trip….taking the circle tour around Lake Superior.2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer
2018 Ram 3500 Crew SB SRW 6.7 Cummins Diesel
2018 Jayco Eagle RSTS 5th Wheel
If you haven’t had a chance check everything over, might want to do that. I thought we did until we took it out the first time. Couldn’t latch door front the inside with the deadbolt as alignment was off so far I actually had to pull receiver and set it lower. Was off too far to adjust. Our screen door also would barely catch.
With those new fancy windows watch the shades. If they get out of the side tracks they bunch up. My wife checks them with her fingers before trying to lower them. I’m just careful. Discovered that the first time I tried to use one of them.
Also had water leak at the pump where coupling was only had tight.
Nothing big and I still like the camper, just the usual RV quality control stuff. Now I am trying to nail down the handling. It all just takes time.
We also have a fifth wheel as I see you do.
Have fun! 🙂
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 SCWe did do a short weekend trip and like you say, found a couple of minor issues.
How about the 2×2 riser kit from NorthStar, did that go all around the perimeter of the bottom of the unit, or just on the sides from front to back?
Yeah, we primarily use our 5th wheel when we winter in Florida for 4 months. But it is too large to get into most of the campground we like to go to up here in the Northwoods in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan UP and Ontario. So the truck camper works great for that.
Thanks again for the reply!
2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer
2018 Ram 3500 Crew SB SRW 6.7 Cummins Diesel
2018 Jayco Eagle RSTS 5th Wheel
Cheesehead,
Why do you have the tailgate still on your truck? Remove it before mounting your camper. Having it on does nothing for you but create issues, including potential damage to the paint from kicked up rocks, and unneeded extra weight to your rig.I thought it was out of preference, but agree the tailgate will take a beating if left on like that long term.
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 SCLeaving the tailgate on is fine for smaller pop-ups, especially those that fit within the confines of the truck bed, but for regular hard-side campers that hang over the rear of the truck bed it creates nothing but issues and makes things too confining. In fact, it’s so uncommon, I’ve never seen the tailgate on for larger hard-sides like Steve’s Northstar Arrow 8.5. The Arrow 8.5 is made to hang over the rear of the truck bed, the tailgate does nothing to support the camper and will only get damaged over time from kicked up rocks.
Cheesehead,
Check your weather. The forecast for your trip is bad news. New truck camper and almost new truck don’t play well with hail and strong winds even if the World’s Best Donuts are in Grand Marais. 🙂
Steve
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 SCNo disagreement here about the tailgate, just wondering. It is a new camper which means to me it was purchased at a dealer. What was the rationale? The detachable wraps mean it can go on either short or long beds so with a short bed, it should have been just pull the tailgate and load. It is a puzzler.
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 SCBeen wanting to reply, but have been pretty much off the grid her in Ontario. Appreciate your comments Mike and Steve. Understand the concern about paint chips with the tailgate down. I can mitigate that by covering/protecting the tailgate. My biggest reason for leaving it on is with 6’4″ bed and a 8’9″ long TC, that leaves a lot of unsupported weight hanging off the back. So leaving it on supports some of that weight. No issues so far. Beautiful country up here!
2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer
2018 Ram 3500 Crew SB SRW 6.7 Cummins Diesel
2018 Jayco Eagle RSTS 5th WheelBeen wanting to reply, but have been pretty much off the grid her in Ontario. Appreciate your comments Mike and Steve. Understand the concern about paint chips with the tailgate down. I can mitigate that by covering/protecting the tailgate. My biggest reason for leaving it on is with 6’4″ bed and a 8’9″ long TC, that leaves a lot of unsupported weight hanging off the back. So leaving it on supports some of that weight. No issues so far. Beautiful country up here!
Yes, but did you get to Grand Marias for donuts? 🙂
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 SCAfter a few more TC trips, I agree. I am now taking the tailgate off every trip. I also spoke with Rex at NorthStar, and he assures me the tailgate is not needed to help support the TC weight.
Thanks!2019 NorthStar 8.5 Adventurer
2018 Ram 3500 Crew SB SRW 6.7 Cummins Diesel
2018 Jayco Eagle RSTS 5th WheelMy issue was from the truck bed sides being too tall. Built my own riser. I started out with insulation only, but there was too much flex with the weight of the camper. I added the wood frame shown in the picture starting with the 2″ even all the way around, but the camper sat closer to the bed side top at the rear than the front. I then tapered the wood and the insulation from front to back and now everything sits even and clear.
Tom
Sacramento CA
2003 Eagle Cap 850 Camper
2019 Ram 3500 SRW 6.4 L Gasser
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