Forum Discussion

devildog1971's avatar
devildog1971
Explorer
Aug 13, 2019

2019 Northern lite

can any one please tell me the size of the furnace in a 10-2 ex cd dry bath , and will please let me know where the vents are located, and in cold weather do they seem to be in the right place and does the furnace do a good job on real cold nights. Thanks I still have a chance to get a big foot 10.4 until Monday the only worry about the bigfoot it had water in places that were worrisome to me. another question does the air conditioner in the northern lite do a good job of keeping you cool enough in the type of weather we are having now. I appreciate your patience I am just trying to get information for the best camper at the best deal. both units I have looked at are about the same price, but the northern lite does come with a couple more options standard I know you can always add a solar panel and the bigfoot is pre wired but the Northern lite 100 watt solar panel is standard and I know a 12 volt television is inexpensive, but again it is standard. so for the same price you get a couple small standard extras at no extra charge I know some Bigfoot owners will not ever have issues but some might the same for the Northern lite some get by without any problems for years and a very few might wish for a little extra the factory forgot. I think atwood is a better jack but bigfoot and northern lite both use Happijac I know I rambled a lot but typed as things came to mind. So thanks and let me know your wish list for either camper you own. the furnace is one of my concerns as we get to go places in the winter more than summer thanks for understanding a procrastinator
  • Wow, that’s really hard to read with no line spacing.

    Anyway, I think I’m following your question. I don’t know the size of the furnace, but Northern Lites are built in BC, Canada. They don’t build truck campers that won’t heat up or stay cool. They are known for having very good insulation. Assuming you get a basement model, the furnace should keep the tanks from freezing with vents that heat that space.

    Personally, I’d buy a Northern Lite if their floorplans work for you. Bigfoot isn’t the same Bigfoot company of years ago. They were out of business for a while. Northern Lite has been in continuous production except for the short period when they had to rebuild due to a fire.

    Atwood doesn’t exist anymore since they were bought out. People have good luck with every kind of jack. I don’t think it’s a major consideration for a lighter model camper such as the Northern Lite.
  • devildog1971 wrote:
    can any one please tell me the size of the furnace in a 10-2 ex cd dry bath , and will please let me know where the vents are located, and in cold weather do they seem to be in the right place and does the furnace do a good job on real cold nights. Thanks I still have a chance to get a big foot 10.4 until Monday the only worry about the bigfoot it had water in places that were worrisome to me. another question does the air conditioner in the northern lite do a good job of keeping you cool enough in the type of weather we are having now. I appreciate your patience I am just trying to get information for the best camper at the best deal. both units I have looked at are about the same price, but the northern lite does come with a couple more options standard I know you can always add a solar panel and the bigfoot is pre wired but the Northern lite 100 watt solar panel is standard and I know a 12 volt television is inexpensive, but again it is standard. so for the same price you get a couple small standard extras at no extra charge I know some Bigfoot owners will not ever have issues but some might the same for the Northern lite some get by without any problems for years and a very few might wish for a little extra the factory forgot. I think atwood is a better jack but bigfoot and northern lite both use Happijac I know I rambled a lot but typed as things came to mind. So thanks and let me know your wish list for either camper you own. the furnace is one of my concerns as we get to go places in the winter more than summer thanks for understanding a procrastinator


    Call Northern Lite and ask, they are very helpful even if it is a used unit.
  • I own a Northern Lite 811 and the furnace works great. I sold my Lance because we were always cold in the winter. You will be very happy with the NL. Best non slide TC built.
  • If the Northern Lite 10-2 EX dry bath is like our 8-11 EX dry bath, the primary heater vent in the rear, hallway area is where nearly all the heat from the furnace exits into the camper. To my knowledge, there are no other heater vents other than a small 2" piece of ductwork (connected just inside the primary vent) which routes a small portion of heat into the basement area. FWIW, we turned on our 8-11 furnace with 20 deg ambient temps back in Feb. Took less than 30 minutes to get the interior temps up to 65-70 deg.

    As for the Dometic Penguin II 10k a/c unit in our NL 8-11, with ambient temps of 107-108 degrees, it cools the interior down to 78 degrees in about 60-75 minutes. With ambient temps of 95-100 degrees, it takes about 30-40 minutes.

    I believe the Big Foot truck campers use a larger furnace and thicker insulation on the outside walls than the Northern Lite. If maximum heating efficiency is a big priority, the Big Foot may be the better choice.
  • jaycocreek wrote:
    I believe it's an 18K furnace..
    You're referencing the NL, right? I believe Big Foot uses a 30k in their campers.
  • Bigfoot puts a ridiculous overkill furnace in their campers.
    Some people report not liking it because it cranks out massive heat then shuts down, and reportedly doesn’t do as well at maintaining an even temperature setting as a “normal” sized furnace that runs a bit longer.
    I’ve taken my Northern Lite 10-2 out in winter and it was plenty toasty inside.
  • devildog1971 wrote:
    can any one please tell me the size of the furnace in a 10-2 ex cd dry bath , and will please let me know where the vents are located, and in cold weather do they seem to be in the right place and does the furnace do a good job on real cold nights.

    Thanks I still have a chance to get a big foot 10.4 until Monday the only worry about the bigfoot it had water in places that were worrisome to me.

    Another question does the air conditioner in the northern lite do a good job of keeping you cool enough in the type of weather we are having now.

    I appreciate your patience I am just trying to get information for the best camper at the best deal. both units I have looked at are about the same price, but the northern lite does come with a couple more options standard I know you can always add a solar panel and the bigfoot is pre wired but the Northern lite 100 watt solar panel is standard and I know a 12 volt television is inexpensive, but again it is standard.

    So, for the same price you get a couple small standard extras at no extra charge I know some Bigfoot owners will not ever have issues but some might the same for the Northern lite some get by without any problems for years and a very few might wish for a little extra the factory forgot.

    I think atwood is a better jack but bigfoot and northern lite both use Happijac I know I rambled a lot but typed as things came to mind. So thanks and let me know your wish list for either camper you own. the furnace is one of my concerns as we get to go places in the winter more than summer thanks for understanding a procrastinator


    I fixed it and yes, you rambled a bit.....;)
  • otrfun wrote:
    jaycocreek wrote:
    I believe it's an 18K furnace..
    You're referencing the NL, right? I believe Big Foot uses a 30k in their campers.


    Yes,Northern Lite..It was one of the big things that stood out when I was comparing the two along with the wall width for warmth, in the hunting and snowmobile months.