2020 Northstar Liberty - Expedition Truck Camper Build!

wyse

New member
...

So... No more generator. Plus, you charger your camper while driving! Awesome!

Parts we used:

Renogy 50AMP DC Charger w/ MPPT Solar Controller - DCC50S
1AWG Wiring (truck battery to camper)
Blue Sea 5191 Fuse Block Terminal
Battery Terminal Fuse 100AMP
Anderson SB175 Red Connectors (1AWG + 4AWG)
Eaton Bussman Circuit Breaker 80AMP

Lots of tie wraps, cable shielding, cable lugs, heat shrink and misc install parts.

Any questions?

Question on how you went about getting the charging wires into the Liberty and to the DCC50S (I used this same unit on my previous Northernlite camper but found a way to use existing holes so I didn't have to make any new holes ... planning to reuse it along with my previous LiFePO4 300+ Ah battery).

Did you just drill an appropriate sized hole and route the wires through and then caulk/seal the hole? Or did you use some kind of structure for support for the wall penetration? The wires seem to make a 90 deg angle and go straight through the wall which makes me think you might have a tube/cylinder structure of some kind and not just wire going through there.

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montypower

Adventure Time!
Drilled two holes matching the wire diameter through the non-reinforced section (no framing). Wire used is SAE welding wire (extremely flexible); easy to make tight bends. Clean and simple. We listed all the parts used for these projects in the video descriptions.
 

montypower

Adventure Time!

We’ve had our Torklift Smartstep GlowStep with Landing Gear for over 1 Year! We wanted to give you an update on our feedback after using the stairs: things we like and don’t like. Plus…how we transport the stairs. This has been an ongoing question people have asked.

Torklift International offers top notch products for the RV, truck and camper industries. They design quality products specifically to resolve common issues and problems.

Steps may seem boring but they provide ease and safety vs climbing into your truck camper. Not having stairs has proven challenging at times especially when Faith injured her arm. We used rock boulders and tree stumps to make the climb into the camper easier. However, the Torklift SmartSteps are a much better solution!

Parts Links:

SmartStep (like what we have)
https://www.torklift.com/rv/glowstep

Extra Parts:
https://www.torklift.com/rv/glowstep#accessories

How we mounted the steps: GlowStep Universal Mounting Bracket # A75001

Thanks for watching!
 

wyse

New member
Got it. It was a few weeks later than I was hoping and I was getting twitchy because I arranged a leave of absence from work coming up shortly and wanted to depart for Utah in a couple weeks...

Been busy this weekend working in the CATL 302 LiFePO4 battery and the Renogy DCC50S DC to DC charger and added vents for heat dissipation/circulation and a dual Anderson Powerpole for some larger wattage things I run.

And I'm going to run this with the tailgate, at least for this first trip. I like my initial tailgate step ladder setup and the "porch". I also have a simple drill/socket solution to access the spare tire lift/lowering mechanism which works way faster than doing it by hand. And with some initial testing I don't see any evidence of rocks/gravel impacting the tailgate in the down position. Getting rain/moisture into the tailgate, however, could be a potential issue that I haven't fully explored...
 

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wyse

New member
Some additional things I didn't have time to comment on.

Sometime after you got your Liberty they transitioned to a 4 step ladder instead of a 5 step ladder and also transitioned to putting the ladder on the passenger side. I asked if they could build mine with the 5 step ladder on the driver side like you had because that seems like a much more usable placement. I was told they can't get the 5 step version anymore and I also got no commitment on if they could put the 4 step ladder on the driver side. I was glad to see they put it on the driver side.

Also, my fridge did not come with the lower release lever. Just has it on the top. And my door also had enough slop to move up/down like you showed in your video. To combat that I fashioned a little washer from some old HDPE plastic sheet material and slipped it into the gap as shown below. With that washer in place there is essentially no vertical slop.

If my fridge door still comes open when driving on rough terrain I'll probably implement the spatula approach your wife came up with :)
 

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wyse

New member
Had a great 5 week trip. Including some pics of a few campsites the Liberty experienced. Did lots of biking and hiking, traversed climates from overnight lows in the teens to daytime temps in the upper 80's, and ice/sleet/snow and torrential rains and lots of rough washboard roads and some pretty good 4x4 off-road conditions. Also, on the 2 long days of driving to get back home I went thru blizzard conditions going over the Rockies and torrential rains all thru the rest of Colorado and thru Nebraska. Hours of down pouring rain with high winds and driving 75-80mph... Each night I inspected the internals of the rig for water leaks and didn't find any. Thankfully. It performed well thru all those conditions.

Except for the furnace. At the Capitol Reef area at ~7000 ft the sail switch was not able to "switch" which kept the furnace from working. I was able to access and pull the switch and modify the flap/sail portion to more of a curved profile somewhat like an airplane propeller to “grab” more air. That fixed the sail switch problem and it also continued to work at the Bryce Canyon area at elevations of ~8000 ft.

Some other observations/comments:

-Did not have any issues with the fridge door bouncing open. Thankfully.

-Did have 2 drawers and 1 cabinet that would open on rough roads due to insufficient overlap of the latch/catch mechanisms. This was easily fixed by removing the catch and adding washers between the catch and wood frame where the screws secure the catch. This added a little more overlap and fixed the issue.

-The cabinet above the table/seating area has a very sharp edge that I kept bumping my head into … I installed a silicone edge protector strip there. It no longer causes obscene words to come out of my mouth when I bump my head on that edge.

-The mirror in the bathroom isn't very usable. I may try to add a mirror on the fridge door. In the meantime I bought a handheld mirror I can position on the kitchen sink cover for shaving.

-The shower isn't large. I ended up having a routine where I sit down to do the top half and then end up standing with 1 leg at a time on the toilet seat for the bottom half. It turns out that works pretty well and I barely touch the walls or shower curtain. However I think I am going to try to rig up something to push the shower curtain into the walk way a bit and give a little more shoulder/elbow room when showering.

-With the DC to DC fast charging and solar panels and >300 Ahr battery I have lots of excess energy. I bought a little cheap 150 watt 12V heater from a truck stop and used this as supplemental heat. I can position it on the floor/feet area and it helped keep my feet warm on those many below freezing temp mornings. However, this unit is loud... I will probably look for something else that sounds less like a hair dryer.

-Like the dual burner stove top with the spark ignition. Its a good compromise on function and space and works well.

-Like the door strut … its simple and functional and effective.

-Like the mattress.

-Like the DC fridge. Good compromise on size for the Liberty and is working well.

-Like the windows.

-Like the ceiling fan and the temperature control feature and its ability to be used in rain and gusting wind conditions. I was also able to adjust it so the set temp is down into the upper 30's (I like sleeping in cold temps) and would run it all night. Several mornings it was in the mid 30's in the camper and cold enough that the fan finally shut itself off when I got out of bed.

-I keep at least one window in the bed area cracked when sleeping even in temps where it gets into the teens. I didn't experience any condensation issues except for a little on the metal door frame. I then also made sure to have the fan opening cracked a little and that seemed to “almost” eliminate the frame condensation on mornings in the teens. And then in the morning I'd run the furnace to warm things up if needed. I actually thought the furnace was sized about right for the unit. I'm glad its not any bigger. I'd rather have it run longer at lower btu's so the structure can warm up as opposed to just the air in the structure.

-The first ~2.5 weeks was in some pretty continuous cold environments where I ran the furnace every morning and some evenings. And I'd cook on the stovetop multiple times a day. Did a refill of one of the propane tanks in Hurricane UT and it showed I went thru ~3 gallons of propane in that timeframe, which I find to be very reasonable considering the conditions.

-Like the storage space vs size of the camper.

-Really like the being able to keep the tailgate on, and also like the tailgate ladder and porch. However when it rains water will find its way into the tailgate. But it drains out. I do end up moving the license plate depending on if the camper is on or off the truck which adds a little fussing around... Oh, and I used something called the “Tailgate Mirror” which allows you to still use the oem reverse camera with the tailgate down. It works ok but needs to be cleaned frequently in dusty environments.

-No observable evidence of rock damage on the tailgate despite hundreds of miles of gravel driving in the down position.

-Using the local CAT scales I was able to get a weight of the camper by measuring the truck/rig and all gear and then unloading the camper at home and going back and re-weighing with the only difference being the camper. With full water/food/2 propane tanks/battery&charger/food/clothes/supplies/etc. It comes in at 2540 lbs.

-The combination of the camper plus all the other stuff I was hauling in the cab (my big heavy fat ebike, 10 gallons of water, paddle board, tools and lots of misc crap), front cargo carrier (with 14 gallons of water and 2x40 lb kettelbells and some other gear), tie down brackets and fast guns and myself, came in at 10,620 lbs with 4800 lbs on the front axle and 5820 lbs on the rear axle. My trucks GVWR is 10,550 and payload rating is 3550 lbs. So I'm just slightly over the GVWR but well under the axle ratings. Oh, and I have some Timbren SES on the rear axle. That weight adds up quickly...
 

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rruff

Explorer
-With the DC to DC fast charging and solar panels and >300 Ahr battery I have lots of excess energy. I bought a little cheap 150 watt 12V heater from a truck stop and used this as supplemental heat. I can position it on the floor/feet area and it helped keep my feet warm on those many below freezing temp mornings. However, this unit is loud... I will probably look for something else that sounds less like a hair dryer.

You might consider an IR lamp. I use one in the winters at home. It's the best way to focus energy on your body and they are silent.

Heating elements that you put inside your clothes are even better, and are by far the better solution in a camper I think.
 

wyse

New member
You might consider an IR lamp. I use one in the winters at home. It's the best way to focus energy on your body and they are silent.

Heating elements that you put inside your clothes are even better, and are by far the better solution in a camper I think.
Thanks. I'd be wanting something 12V I could plug into the camper battery. And physically small... If you know of a 12V infrared heater I'd be interested in checking it out.
 

rruff

Explorer
Thanks. I'd be wanting something 12V I could plug into the camper battery. And physically small... If you know of a 12V infrared heater I'd be interested in checking it out.
No, I haven't used one in a camper.

Assuming that it's cold and you have winter clothing on, it's much more efficient to heat your body under your clothes. You can buy 12v heating pads and elements. I'll probably rig up something DIY, but I'm not there yet. It would be something with a long cord you would wear inside the clothes, then unplug to go outside.

I've also seen clothing that uses portable batteries and that might be a better way to go. I'd mod them to use a cord though, so I wouldn't need to charge the battery pack all the time and wear it out.

Electric blankets are good for warming the bed also.
 

Ninelitetrip

Well-known member
Aerostich in Duluth if you are looking for heated clothing and ride in cold temps. Nice dual use in a camper.





 

rruff

Explorer
Thanks. I'd be wanting something 12V I could plug into the camper battery. And physically small... If you know of a 12V infrared heater I'd be interested in checking it out.
Found this also, 12v jacket, $140.
Doesn't seem to link to Amazon, but "12v heated jacket" will get some hits.
 

montypower

Adventure Time!
We have a 12v heated blanket that makes the dinette enjoyable in the cold. Diesel or gas heater is the best solution as they run variable speed. The cold is a constant intruder so a constant heat source is the best to give comfort. RV heaters are blow torches and will help defrost but not comfortable and noisy.
 

wyse

New member
However I think I am going to try to rig up something to push the shower curtain into the walk way a bit and give a little more shoulder/elbow room when showering.

Got around to this today. Gives me several additional inches of shoulder room, which I will like. This was done with a couple command hooks and a strip of HDPE sheeting shaped/formed to the shower walls and desired curvature, with a couple drill holes (to hang from the command hooks) and some white gorilla tape to help slip lock the HDPE sheet to the wall/hooks so it doesn't slip when in place. It weighs next to nothing and can be installed/removed in seconds.

Another mod I did before the trip was to make some foam insulation for the rabbit holes. Simple white gorilla tape "hinge" allows the foam panel to be pushed open to still access the truck bed storage. The foam adds some decent insulation for an area where thermal isolation is weak.

Oh, and I had also added Reflectix to all the cabinets/storage areas that are on the outside facing walls. Not sure if that does much but I had it in my previous rig so I implemented it in this one too.

And an additional comment I forgot to add: I didn't have any issues with the propane detector going off. I did add some additional insulation in the back of the refridge and also taped off the lowest of the 3 vent strip on the external fridge venting. Not sure if that helped avoid propane getting in thru that area or not, but I'm glad I didn't have any issues with the alarm.
 

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montypower

Adventure Time!
We will be posting the Truck + Camper for sale in the next 2-3 weeks. Anyone interested is welcome to contact me. Looking for $95,000 for the combo.

New rig in transit. Will share the next build soon.
 
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