SOLD______NorthStar TC650 & Chevy 1500HD plus Mod's

[Regcabguy]

Just how heavy is your truck & camper ready to go??? I think LT315-70/R17 M&S with load rate D,(3150# @50PSI) is pretty good. I run loaded 45# in all 4 and 50# in the air-bags, mine rides very good like that. Have you every had a problem with D rating tires?? maybe we'll meet sometime and compare notes, all the best to you=brian

I had a catastrophic blowout which yielded $3300 damage to my old 2nd gen in seconds. Almost sent me over the cliff on I-15 here. Prior to that on the same set of Bridgestone D's I had cuts and flats galore.
I've used Toyo 285/70&75/17's since without an issue. I currently run 65# in my Toyo's. The rig weighs 9K with wet camper and two occupants.
The Cooper ST-Maxx's are looking good too. I'd like to get up to a 3900# rated tire and it looks like an 18 x 9 w/5.75 backspace for the Dodge will be necessary next time.
You're running a lot more tire than the truck probably came with. For whatever reason 1/2 tons of every brand come with P-rated passenger tires.
I met a guy in Yosemite with a new Tundra pulling a 25' trailer. Aside from 6-8 mpg pulling he loved the truck. He did mention that it swayed a lot. He had trailer swaybars,Bilsteins and a quality hitch but the tires once again were p-rated. Next stop was Schwab for some LT tires.

 

[brian90744]

Maybe it time for new wheels and tires to your liking? you know talking about tires and brands is like politics and which beer is best or which truck is best. I guess its run what you like. Even with D rated tires at 12000 lbs for a 4 you still have 3600lbs spare on your 9K truck. I changed wheels/tires on my truck to Hummer 2 which came with d rated tires, so far I'm happy.
brian

 

[Regcabguy]

Yep.
The AT2's are wearing well,so it'll be awhile.
Your truck and trailer's looking fine!

 

[freedomrider]

Yes 3 to 4 days running heater low @ nite and refrig & cooking=no problem. Keep your battery charged, as the heater is a big drain.(I don't use the water heater=waste of LP) You can boil water and remove camper tank and stand vert pour hot water down side and you will see freeze line= that's how much LP you have. try on your BBQ tank as a test. The water heater cycles on and off all day/nite= water in tank is kept heated when not being used.
Just FYI=brian

Cool, thanks. I'd heard about the boiling water approach so I may try it out. In the mean time, I bought an adapter that will allow the use of one pound disposable cylinders with the camper's LP connection (Amazon link below). The small cylinders can be easily stashed away and should get me through until I find an LP supplier if I run the main tank dry.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480BWA0/ref=pe_385040_127541850_TE_item

 

[brian90744]

Modified Heco roof wind-up handle

Found a sail boat winch handle for $5.00 @ the swap meet and ordered a new modified gear assy from "Canvas Replacements" drilled out old sail boat nose piece and installed with drive pin the new gears. The new gears have a longer gear teeth. with the longer teeth it stays connected and dos'nt pop out. In my camper there about 15" between the winder and the roof. It make winding the roof up/down very easy, (as they say) A kid can do it.
NOTE: this a repost

 

[doctorit]

Nothing wrong with leverage, but my kid can crank up our TC650, with the OEM handle. Maybe check/lube the rest of the mechanism?

 

[Regcabguy]

Nothing wrong with leverage, but my kid can crank up our TC650, with the OEM handle. Maybe check/lube the rest of the mechanism?

Yeah pretty easy. My wife's let the gear pop out and had the top come crashing down on her.

 

[brian90744]

Screen door handle

Added a inside screen door handle, I'm tired of grabbing the plastic slide on the screen door and ripping it out of the track. from Ebay/Walmart and easy to install.=brian

 

[Overland Hadley]

Add a screen door handle, I tired of grabbing the plastic slide on the screen door and ripping it out off the track. from Ebay and easy to install.=brian

Interesting. Link to eBay source?

 

[brian90744]

I got mine via Ebay=Walmart for $13.99 free shipping to local FedX. Item=Camco 42183 RV Screen Door Cross Bar Camper 5th Wheel Motorhome Grip Handle . Ck out Walmart.com for this item. FYI=brian

 

[93ZR-1]

I just purchased a 2015 Northstar TC800 and love this thread. I already have a couple of mods in mind.
Thanks you for all your great ideas!

Rob in Houston

 

[grogie]

Brian, I've enjoyed reading your thread. Looks like you're having a lot of fun!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[freedomrider]

have not used this for a while , come on spring I'm ready. bump.=brian

Been so busy that I haven't even seen my camper in several months. It's out in a storage yard in the CA Central Valley. I did nothing to winterize it and there were a few dips into sub-freezing temps. I'm hoping my future mods aren't going to include replacement of cracked pipes.

 

[brian90744]

I'm sure it will be OK. Last time out I had an overheating problem which I still have to fix. possible the water pump???

Been so busy that I haven't even seen my camper in several months. It's out in a storage yard in the CA Central Valley. I did nothing to winterize it and there were a few dips into sub-freezing temps. I'm hoping my future mods aren't going to include replacement of cracked pipes.

 

[travelman]

RO Drinking Water System

Greetings... 'Travelman' is new to site. I see some great ideas that have been posted and encourage everyone to keep them coming! Recently removed the hot water tank from our TC-650 and installed an RO Drinking Water system which is more important to us than hot water. I also have made lots of modifications to our 2009-Northstar since ownership November 2015. You may be interested in a few; 300 watts of roof solar and 1000 watt Xantrex Prosine Inverter, Stereo and Sirius XM to mention a few. If interested in how I performed these modifications and upgrade, let me know and I'll follow up with photo documentation. Also, interested in meeting up with fellow campers in the Southwest, Thousand Trails or dry camping somewhere. First attempt to attach photos...