Hello Everyone,
Well, I just completed my first "shake down" cruise in the Northstar TC800.
I spent a week up in the Colorado mountains. Daytime temps were in the 60s with nighttime
lows in the high 20s.
This is what I learned:
My Toyota Tundra, 5.7L 4-wheel drive handled just great with the TC. I had removed the Happi-Jacks to save some weight and was running with the water tanks dry.
Running in Tow/Haul mode, the truck handled the curves and straightaways at max legal speeds. The trip was 190 miles one-way. The Tundra had no problem climbing even steep roads at 65MPH. I was careful to always obey the recommended speeds on curves (usually 45 MPH), and had absolutely no hint of sway.
Even with some gusty winds on open stretches of road (I saw a fifth-wheel that had overturned on one gusty stretch), the truck/camper handled great.
The camper was comfortable (I slept in both the cab-over bed and the table-top bed) at night. I slept in a sleeping bag and only turned the furnace on in the morning and it warmed up the space very quickly. Part of the trip I was hooked up to electrical power and was about to run my 450W coffee pot without any issues.
The only problem I had the entire trip was I couldn't use the cook stove at one spot because I couldn't get the camper level enough to for the burners to heat up the shut off sensor. I plan on adding another couple of boards (I use 2" thick boards sawn into 1 foot squares) for leveling.
I didn't use the frig, since I had a cooler that fit perfectly between the table legs, and it was cold enough at night that I never ran out of ice.
I really look forward to taking the rig out next spring with my wife.
Regards to All,
RickRV
Well, I just completed my first "shake down" cruise in the Northstar TC800.
I spent a week up in the Colorado mountains. Daytime temps were in the 60s with nighttime
lows in the high 20s.
This is what I learned:
My Toyota Tundra, 5.7L 4-wheel drive handled just great with the TC. I had removed the Happi-Jacks to save some weight and was running with the water tanks dry.
Running in Tow/Haul mode, the truck handled the curves and straightaways at max legal speeds. The trip was 190 miles one-way. The Tundra had no problem climbing even steep roads at 65MPH. I was careful to always obey the recommended speeds on curves (usually 45 MPH), and had absolutely no hint of sway.
Even with some gusty winds on open stretches of road (I saw a fifth-wheel that had overturned on one gusty stretch), the truck/camper handled great.
The camper was comfortable (I slept in both the cab-over bed and the table-top bed) at night. I slept in a sleeping bag and only turned the furnace on in the morning and it warmed up the space very quickly. Part of the trip I was hooked up to electrical power and was about to run my 450W coffee pot without any issues.
The only problem I had the entire trip was I couldn't use the cook stove at one spot because I couldn't get the camper level enough to for the burners to heat up the shut off sensor. I plan on adding another couple of boards (I use 2" thick boards sawn into 1 foot squares) for leveling.
I didn't use the frig, since I had a cooler that fit perfectly between the table legs, and it was cold enough at night that I never ran out of ice.
I really look forward to taking the rig out next spring with my wife.
Regards to All,
RickRV
