Transit720
Member
such a well thought out and capable rig. can't wait to see what's replacing it!
2020 Northstar Liberty - Expedition Truck Camper Build!
- Thread starter montypower
- Start date
montypower
Adventure Time!
@Seaweed - That's awesome! It's a great camper size. Adventure time.
What’s the next rig for you guys? Thanks for all the good modification ideas, definitely going to steal some of them.
montypower
Adventure Time!
Been busy on the camper this past couple weeks! Getting it fully dialed before photos/video and posting for sale.
New Rig:
a 2022 Bronco Raptor named "Dino"
a 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor named "Dino" Thanks to everyone who has followed along on our previous build projects. Incredible to see our 2020 Ford F250 posting with well over 100k views! Our plans with this build is to change things up a bit. We've had several real estate projects consuming...
forum.expeditionportal.com
montypower
Adventure Time!
Our NorthStar Liberty Truck Camper is just over 4 years old. It has held up well and been trouble free with proven durable build quality.
But then a Bear Attacked it during the summer... We had our Truck Camper parked in Lake Tahoe for 2 nights while on the Rubicon Trail with our Yamaha RMAX 2 side by side. We returned to find the camper door folded over with bear tooth marks. Thankfully the bear couldn’t open the door (deadbolt held). There were only minor roof claw marks. No camper damage. The camper door damage was resolved with a NorthStar replacement door assembly (included frame, screen and strut). Thankfully, we were able to straighten the door and continue travels while waiting for the replacement parts.
This event did initiate the idea replacing the TPO roof which escalated into a solar replacement upgrade project. Our original 5 flexible solar panels were 160w each. 4 of the panels were functioning well after four years. One of them had been faulty since it partially blew off the roof (original installation issue). The new replacement solar panels are slightly larger physical size with 175w power output. This increased the total solar output to 875 watts! This is incredible!!! Few expedition rigs have this much solar let alone a truck camper.
This roof replacement project took several weeks with 2 people. It’s not a simple project!!! However the results are excellent.
Parts List (partial):
Dicor DiFlex II DF1185W-21 TPO Roof Material (8’6”x21’)
Dicor 501LSW-1 Self Leveling Sealant (case 12)
Dicor 351CSW-1 Non-Sag Cap Sealant (2 tubes)
Dicor BT-1824-5 Butyl Tape (5 pack)
Dicor 901BA Bonding Adhesive
Dicor CS200B-1 Seal Tite Corner Tape (50ft roll)
RecPro 1” Vinyl Trim Insert Vinyl (100ft)
Dometic 3311236 Fridge Roof Vent
NorthStar Skylight Bathroom
Renogy Flexible Solar Panel 175 watt (5 panels)
Plastic Scrapers, Cleaners, Gloves, Screws…
Cost ~ $3,000 Materials + 200+hrs Labor
rruff
Explorer
Wow... what a PITA. Those campground "human-acclimatized" bears are a menace.
Where I live (Ruidoso NM) there are plenty of bears, elk, deer... and mountain lions (because all their "food" is in town) roaming about. It's impossible to train the tourists to "not feed the wildlife" if you don't actually fine them...
I'm strongly in favor of a "cave man" hunting season in the town limits. If you can get a wild animal with a club or pointy stick, then it's fair game.
Where I live (Ruidoso NM) there are plenty of bears, elk, deer... and mountain lions (because all their "food" is in town) roaming about. It's impossible to train the tourists to "not feed the wildlife" if you don't actually fine them...
I'm strongly in favor of a "cave man" hunting season in the town limits. If you can get a wild animal with a club or pointy stick, then it's fair game.
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montypower
Adventure Time!
Agreed. We've traveled all over the backcountry and never have wildlife issues... Except for populated areas. Bad management for sure. These animals need to be exterminated not relocated after becoming domesticated. Trash dumpster bears are the worst. Major problem in the Lake Tahoe area.
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
To be fair, there is no such thing as a menace "human-acclimatized" bear
Any bear that is a menace by any metric is one that had been created by filthy humans.
The campers that leave food and garbage out for bears to rummage thru.
Once they have a taste for it, its game on.
If people kept their camps clean of garbage and food waste, there would be no problem bears.
Just one more reason we actively avoid populated areas and stick to dispersed camping on public lands.
40+ year of backpacking, camping, and RV travel in the PNW and zero bear problems,
Any bear that is a menace by any metric is one that had been created by filthy humans.
The campers that leave food and garbage out for bears to rummage thru.
Once they have a taste for it, its game on.
If people kept their camps clean of garbage and food waste, there would be no problem bears.
Just one more reason we actively avoid populated areas and stick to dispersed camping on public lands.
40+ year of backpacking, camping, and RV travel in the PNW and zero bear problems,
montypower
Adventure Time!
Pacific Northwest yetti
Expedition Medic
I think the solution could be simple..... Tahoe just needs more bears than people....
montypower
Adventure Time!
For Sale Listing:
2020 Northstar Liberty Truck Camper - 875W Solar - Lithium - 40G H2o - Filtration - Off Grid Dialed - Kingman, AZ!
We custom ordered this truck camper in 2020 and modified it to function off grid for extended periods of time. This camper has no slides. It has many features found in Expedition Campers for a fraction of the weight and cost. 4 Season / Cold Weather Ready. Ideally suited for 2 people...
forum.expeditionportal.com
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montypower
Adventure Time!
montypower, thanks again for all the videos and posts on your rig. Crazy bear encounter stuff. Yikes.
I've been absent for quite awhile, but thought I'd share some updates on my Liberty.
-After my Spring trip to Utah this year I had a FlexArmor roof applied to the rig.
-Added a disconnect switch for the solar panels.
-Swapped out the pwm solar charge controller to an mppt unit and was able to get it to fit in the same location as the factor pwm unit.
-Beefed up the wiring from the charge controller to the battery.
-Added a 1200 watt inverter down by the driver side wall next to the water tank which allows me to use an induction cook top and also power a few other items.
-The biggest mod is redoing the electrical situation and fitting 2x300+ Ahr LiFePO4 batteries and installing a 12V mini split unit. This turned out to require an enormous amount of fussing around... I still need to finish the electrical system (new waterproof external mounted DC-DC charger + MPPT charge controller and fuses/bus bars) for this but its winter now and I'm gonna wait until warmer weather comes around again.
Getting itchy for the upcoming Spring 2025 trip out West.
I've been absent for quite awhile, but thought I'd share some updates on my Liberty.
-After my Spring trip to Utah this year I had a FlexArmor roof applied to the rig.
-Added a disconnect switch for the solar panels.
-Swapped out the pwm solar charge controller to an mppt unit and was able to get it to fit in the same location as the factor pwm unit.
-Beefed up the wiring from the charge controller to the battery.
-Added a 1200 watt inverter down by the driver side wall next to the water tank which allows me to use an induction cook top and also power a few other items.
-The biggest mod is redoing the electrical situation and fitting 2x300+ Ahr LiFePO4 batteries and installing a 12V mini split unit. This turned out to require an enormous amount of fussing around... I still need to finish the electrical system (new waterproof external mounted DC-DC charger + MPPT charge controller and fuses/bus bars) for this but its winter now and I'm gonna wait until warmer weather comes around again.
Getting itchy for the upcoming Spring 2025 trip out West.
