One of the biggest fallacies in the industry is that the camper built by so-and-so is leak-proof. We heard this when we bought and restored Airstream travel trailers, and we hear it now with the two-piece fiberglass monocoque campers built by Northern Lite and Bigfoot. This, of course, isn’t true. No camper is leak-proof. All RVs should be stored under cover and should be regularly maintained. The biggest risk to any camper is water intrusion. This can occur anywhere where the hull of the camper is penetrated whether its a roof vent, a running light, a screw, or a window.
A highlight of our annual Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally is the top rig contest. The criteria used to determine the top rig is fairly simple. First, it must be off-road capable. Second, it must be off-grid capable. And third, the rig must have the “it” factor. This usually relates to how the rig looks, yet sometimes the it factor can be a special modification or an entire restoration setting it apart from others. The 2025 top rig winner, consisting of Terry McNeilly and April Smith’s 2013 Northern Lite 9-6, with an EOG Ford F-550 outfitted with 41-inch tires and a Bowen Customs truck bed, checked all three of these boxes and more.
With numerous things to consider, buying a truck camper can sometimes be difficult. Things like brand, type of construction, and the floor plan all must be considered. The size of the camper and whether to buy new or used must be carefully looked at as well. After it was all said and done, the couple ended up buying a used Northern Lite 9-6, a quality model with a terrific floorplan. The Seattle-area couple had their sights set on a new Northern Lite truck camper, but found this used one for sale nearby.
“I really wanted a bathroom and we both wanted a four-season camper,” April said. “We liked Northern Lite’s two-piece, molded fiberglass monocoque construction, but we didn’t want all the bells and whistles like an oven, microwave, etc., because we wanted to stay light and nimble, and we want to “live” outside as much as possible. We also wanted to stay small and be able to use the truck without the camper! We were ready to purchase a new Northern Lite when Terry found a used one for sale nearby. The ad spoke to Terry because of the detailed information about camper’s weight, the truck’s GVWR, weight and balance, etc. He’d found someone like-minded and so he had lengthy conversations with the seller. Terry is an engineer from the aviation world where weight and balance matters and he’s all about safety.”
As most people know, the Pacific Northwest gets rain, lots of it. The couple didn’t think water damage would be much of a risk when they found this used Northern Lite because of the manufacturer’s reputation for quality and water tight construction. The couple spent the 2019 Thankgiving holiday in Anchorage, Alaska and returned to Seattle on Friday, December 13— an ominous foreshadowing. They bought the camper with plans to load-up and head out on their first adventure the following week, but two days later, April found a pea-sized water stain in one of the cabover cabinet corners. Terry dug into it and ended up tearing out half of the area down to the fiberglass, discovering lots of water-saturated wood, insulation, and mold. The trip was on hold.
What was the cause of the leak?
“We discovered one of the front clearance lights had cracked and copious amounts of water had been leaking in,” Terry explained. “We don’t have an indoor shop and the winter rain continued so most of the repair work was done in our three-sided boatless boat shed. We were fortunate to have that, but it made the work slow and we had to run a dehumidifier and a heater inside the camper 24-7. By the time the cabover bed area was repaired it was February of 2020, and things were shutting down due to COVID. We opted to stay home and customize the camper the way we wanted in addition to making the needed repairs.”
The process of cabover demolition is no easy task. First, a support system for the cabover to permit removal of the damaged wood and foam in the bedroom needed to be built. The demo also necessitated removal of the built-in hampers on either side of the mattress, and removal of the hanging locker on the driver side. All wet and moldy materials were replaced with new. Terry replaced the offending clearance light with a new one, and resealed all exterior skin penetrations. The fiberglass structure of the camper, of course, was totally intact, a testament to Northern Lite’s build quality.
Soon, all of the cabover bed repairs were complete. Rather than reconstruct the OEM hampers, the couple opted to go with collapsible crates from Costco, which turned out to be a perfect-size replacement for the torn-out hampers. “We’ll try the crates for a while and we can always rebuild the cabinets later if we don’t like them, however, they’ve proven to be much more usable for us,” April said.
While they were at it, major upgrades and modifications were made to the Northern Lite’s kitchen. A stainless steel kitchen countertop was installed with matching stainless steel stick-on tiles on the kitchen walls. The couple also installed a stainless steel recessed, two-burner propane stove outfitted with a glass lid which doubles as usable counter space. A kitchen faucet was replaced with a residential-style faucet with a sprayer along with a water filtration system installed under the kitchen counter. All of the kitchen cabinets were painted an attractive grey and all lower-kitchen cabinets were converted to full-slide drawers for easier access. Finally, the range hood with the integrated tank monitors was removed from the kitchen and replaced with a SeeLevel II tank monitor system which was moved to the dinette wall.
Minor upgrades were made in the wet-bath, while the dinette received major upgrades too. The couple installed new, marine-grade dinette cushions using foam and fabric from Sailrite, while the OEM table was swapped out with a custom lightweight table with a US map using an under bar-top poly resin. They also installed a custom storage box for pens, paper, salt and pepper, and other small things. Lastly, Terry added multiple USB-A and USB-C outlets as well as 110 volt outlets in the dinette area, the cabover and in the kitchen area.
Other upgrades were made to the Northern Lite camper as well. New marine grade flooring that is impervious to moisture and soft to the foot was installed. This flooring, Terry explains, contains Microban, which inhibits the growth of stain- and odor-causing bacteria and mold and mildew. They also removed all valances, curtains, and headboards and all of the interior walls were painted. A Froli Modular Sleep System was also installed that provides under mattress airflow and comfort. The 12 volt fan in the main living area was upgraded to a Fan-Tastic Vent and all light fixtures throughout the camper were upgraded to lower profile LED light fixtures with on-off switches and dimmer controls. A motion-activated night light system along the floor was also installed.
The camper’s electrical system received a significant upgrade over OEM with the 12 volt lead acid battery and the full-length slide-out tray being removed. Terry replaced this tray with a more space-efficient, plywood storage tray on full-extension drawer slides, which reduced the length of the tray from 8-feet to approximately 4-feet. He recaptured this space by adding a cellar door in the kitchen which provides access to a 4-foot long void where he stored the heart of his electrical system consisting of a 460 amp hour LiTime LiFePo4 battery, a Victron MultiPlus 3,000 inverter, a Victron Linx Distributor, and a Victron Linx Shunt. Three 200-watt Rich solar panels, each with its own MPPT 75|15 Victron Energy solar charge controller, keeps the battery charged off-grid while two Victron 30 amp DC-DC chargers keeps the battery charged while driving. The entire electrical system is monitored with Victron Cerbo GX battery monitor that is installed on the dinette wall.
Outside, Terry installed a digital rear view mirror camera on the rear of the camper which is tied to the truck’s DRVM camera system. He also installed a backup camera above the camper door which is also tied into the OEM backup camera. Finally, all of the factory badging and decals were removed to provide the camper with a clean and modern look like a boat.
So with the camper done, what is their favorite feature? With so much done, Aprils says that’s a difficult question to answer, “but Terry gets the satisfaction every time the theater lighting along the floor turns on at night when moving around the camper. I also love it, but my favorite thing might be the storage box in the dinette table.”
Any camper, of course, needs a truck to haul it and the couple chose well, but as Terry explains there were a few bumps along the way.
“We started with a Ram 3500 long-bed SRW diesel,” Terry said. “The truck worked great, but I felt we were too heavy running 12,360 pounds on a 12,300 GVWR truck. I wanted a bit more of a safety margin, so we ordered a Ram 5500 gasser. We special-ordered this because we were tired of dealing with DEF and thought having a gas truck was the way to go. It was fun to drive empty, but after having several diesel trucks in my life, I found the performance lacking. We also got to suffer through the infamous “Aisin Snap Ring Failure,” the transmission failed three times resulting in a lemon law buyback from Ram.”
“After this we finally got it right by ordering a Ram 5500 Limited 60 CA Chassis Cab. We opted to go with an Elevation Off-Grid Black Series upfit with a Bowen Customs truck bed for extra storage. The EOG upfit with the LiquidSpring suspension handles the loaded truck beautifully. It gives the ride of a half-ton or 3/4-ton running empty and a 3/4-ton running loaded. We are anxiously waiting for the Tru-Earth Leveling system from LiquidSpring,” he said.
With their EOG Ram 5500, payload is no longer a concern. The truck has a GVWR of 19,500 pounds, providing a nearly 10,000 payload. This is more than enough for their Northern Lite camper.
Terry and April’s rig rides on Goodyear G275 335/80R20 41-inch tires mounted on Wehring forged one-piece aluminum wheels. The couple runs 75 PSI in the rear and 55 PSI in the front on-road. They haven’t need to air down off-road yet. Most of their off-roading, thus far, has been on BLM/Forest Service roads which haven’t needed it.
A key cog in the entire build, of course, is the Bowen Customs truck bed. The couple looked at multiple manufacturers and ultimately decided on a Bowen Custom truck bed that includes a 17-inch wide garage. Even with this configuration their center-of-gravity (COG) remains forward of the rear axle.
“The Bowen bed provides more exterior storage than you could ever imagine with a pickup truck. They build an amazing product. The color matched bed and truck, the departure angle of the rear boxes, and the hidden rear tie-downs seamlessly integrate with our camper giving our rig a sleek custom look.”
There’s no doubt that Terry and April’s rig was worthy of taking first place. The amount of work and the number of improvements that they have made to the camper, and to the rig as a whole, is impressive. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t look like they’re done. Future upgrades and modifications that they’re looking into include replacing the three-way fridge with a DC compressor fridge, adding an air conditioner for the dog, replacing the propane furnace with a diesel heater, adding an onboard air compressor, replacing the toilet with a composting toilet, and more. The next mod they will be installing, of course, will be the new Wolfbox 900 PRO dash cam that they received for winning the top rig award.
“We’ve been very happy with our choice of a truck camper over any other type of RV. We wouldn’t change that decision! We also don’t want to take credit for all the mod ideas. We read a lot of online publications, forums, and watched a lot of YouTube videos. We’ve gotten ideas from many people. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their ideas,” they said.
To learn more about Elevation Off Grid trucks or to get a quote, email the company directly at sales@elevationoffgrid.com.
To learn more about Bowen Customs truck beds or to get a quote, email the company directly at info@BowenCustoms.com.
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