NorthstarTC650-n-Tundra

[zidaro]

Solar is installed and working! whew, scary drilling holes in your roof

Charge controller, aux. fuse block, breakers for each are under the cabinet next to sink. this is the closest dry area to the battery for mounting

4G cable to each from the battery, incl. ground to neg. bar on aux. block.
8G to panel hardmounted on roof.

Anderson 50A Connects at panel

scanstrut multi was the ticket for roof penetration. Very easy install and SEALS tight.

I'll get some better inside and outside shots of roof so you can see where i routed and mounted.
heres the truck as it sits

 

[Rbertalotto]

Nice work!

I'm still looking for ANY pop-up camper for my short bed 2500 Dodge. Not many truck campers in New England..............

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

Killer deal, and your right, you do live in an area that deserves a lot more exploring. I love that part of California.

My father has the same truck as you do and I wouldn't worry at all about having that camper back there at all. The truck is a seriously under rated beast. The only aspect he misses from owning diesel is the range.

We'll have to hook up the next trip down to Laurel Canyon.

 

[zidaro]

Killer deal, and your right, you do live in an area that deserves a lot more exploring. I love that part of California.

We'll have to hook up the next trip down to Laurel Canyon.

absolutely hit me up when you are traveling to this part of the Sierras

aaron

 

[zidaro]

Cable routing behind fridge and up thru existing port/sleeve to poptop

up thru the roof

remote meter and gas detector at front floor panel

panel location on roof

also installed a Fiamma F35 awning, fabbed up some basic brackets to mount the feet on the exterior wall

 

[zidaro]

Took the camper for a nice trip out to Saline Valley in middle of Nov. Fantastic weather and a great place to be in Nov.
Camper handled the washboard roads excellently and no cabinets fell off the wall No issues.
solar worked amazing. what a great peace of mind knowing that I will not drain my battery- ever. I actually forgot to plug my cord into the vehicle then ran my fridge on DC for 4 hours of driving. when we got to the Springs and set up camp, our battery was dead. Flashlights for that night. Full charge by noon the next day. No problems rest of trip. 4 night trip. Had my lobster in the ARB fridge, frozen as long as was needed.

Also, alot of snow going on here in the Sierras. Winter is here.
Camper was easy to winterize- drain water out of tank, empty water heater, blow out lines with compressor.
Shovel snow off at more than 1' cuz it makes me nervous.

 

[eugene]

I guess you never mounted the rack you mentioned a couple pages back? I was thinking of mounting directly to the lift arm brackets, take out one screw at a time and drill all the way through the roof, then put in a bolt and a sleeve the thickness of the roof then the rack foot on top. That way the weight of the rack would transfer straight to the lift so as to not put any stress on the frame of the roof.
How long is the cabover, based on the dimensions of a queen bed it must be nearly 6'. I wonder if its just wood like my old camper which is only 4' and sagging.

 

[450 DUDE]

Great pics! Too bad I could not get out earlier and met you guys up there.

ken

 

[zidaro]

Great pics! Too bad I could not get out earlier and met you guys up there.

ken

thanks. It was a great trip with the BEST weather we have had out there.
Wish we coulda got together and run Steel Pass with ya. - Next time.



Winter came quick here and i have not gotten the roofrack installed. I do have 8' of Macs Tiedown Track and the studs to mount crossbars on. Coming soon :victory:
It will complement the Macs kit on my truck and car/moto trailer. Trying to keep modular uniformity.

 

[zidaro]

Had some great weather here in the Sierras this January and first half of Feb forecasted for the same. Tough to work on the toys instead of play with them. Great climbing in Alabama Hills, perfect ice in Lee Vining Canyon, Spring skiing on Mammoth.

Changed out the house battery for an Optima Blue Top i had lying around. Huge improvement in power reserve. Thought the battery i had in it was ok, but it barely would last a night in my little camper, Blue Top is barely phased by a night with lights, heater, boombox, ARB fridge.

Added some exterior LED's to the porch lights and some running lights. More light, less power

Some steps to access the roof

Mascot on rear that doubles as a bottle opener

Camper has held up great through one heck of a winter up here. No leaks or other issues.
some other interior amenities were added as well. Updates soon.

 

[denlab]

Love that tc650

Hey, nice job on the camper, and you got a really nice setup. I just recently purchased an '11 F150, and am starting to shop around for a similar model; I'm looking for the t650 with the fan + outdoor shower. I live in Alberta, Canada, and figured I would pick one up in the states this April/May, somewhere in the pacific Northwest or down as far as Utah (and everything in between).

Any idea where I can get a deal on a camper. I been checking those commercial sites (rvtrader, and so on), but their prices seem astronomical, above MSRP in some cases.

Anyway, nice setup, I can't wait to get my hands on one.

 

[mbryson12]

Nice TC 650

Just bought my TC 650 2 days ago. Definitely love the set up. I am installing Ride Rites next week to give the tail end a little extra lift. How has your solar set up been working? Trying to decide if I want to add it to the camper.
Love the area you are in. I used to work in Independence on a helicopter and did a ton of exploring in that area. Coyote flats is one of my favorite places to go to.

 

[zidaro]

Solar is the way to go if you dont want to ever have that worry feeling about using your battery power. Every night we would be cautious about lighting, h2o pump, and accessory use so our heater blower would be able to work thru the night for a couple days, and i plugged my ARB into my truck battery.
Solar makes that no more. ARB is plugged into the camper, running all day. And the battery is always fully charged by noon so far. I was even running an old battery when i first installed the setup and it would not hold a charge, but each day it would charge and run the ARB, then at night it would drain, charge the next day. Now that i thru in an old but good Blue Top that ive had a couple years, im worry free.

I would say do it and you wont regret it. Initial cost hurts alittle, but then you are not worrying from then on. All the gear i used is here on this Thread and if you have any questions- fire away.
As of right now i am very satisfied with all the goods i used.
-Panel and mounts seem durable and soak up lots of sun
-MPPT charge control seems efficient (no other opinions to reference off of)
-Cabin penetration does not leak- has had feet of snow, water ice covered multiple freezes. Very satisfied.

 

[J Rod]

After seeing your 650 on your truck, I ordered one. I was sold on the Nortstars and I looked all over for a used 650 but you cant find them used. Thanks for the pics. I feel a little better now about putting it on the 1/2 ton. I am hoping the air bags take care of the ride. My truck is going to be maxed out but it sounds like yours handles it no problem.

 

[J Rod]

By the Way, you got a killer deal on yours!!