Lance 825 vs Northstar Laredo SC

I have a 2007 Lance 825. Love it but for offroad use wouldn't it be better to have a popup for a lower center of gravity? Some times when we go down dirt roads it feels a little tippy but that could just be my imagination. This is on a GMC 2500HD so we are well under our load capacity. I have never come near filling up the 14 gal. black tank however we always fill up the gray tank especially using the shower.
I think the Northstar is 5 gallons because its tank is removeable to dump anywhere. I would rather have a 25 gallon gray tank and a removeable 5 gallon black that I could flush anywhere or dump in an outhouse.

If you are off-road a lot then emptying a 5 gallon cassette is a lot easier to do than a 15 gallon holding tank. Any outhouse will do. The cassette will handle about 20 flushes before it needs to be emptied. Hopefully that's more than a day or two but that would depend on how many people are using the camper.

Two or three times raising or lowering a unit by hand will soon convince you that electric jacks would make your life a lot easier.

Both manufacturers have a long reputable history. I can't speak for the Lances but I spent a day at the Northstar factory recently and I learned first-hand how well their units are built to last. Everything in the shell and the interior is fastened multiple times at every contact point. They are rock solid.

And perhaps foremost, Northstar is absolutely number 1 when it comes to customer service.

Whichever way you decide to go, enjoy your camper.

My current camper is a Palamino Bronco pop-up so, but I'm trading it in for a non-basement low COG hard side because of the convenience factor of a hard side.

Good info about the black water cassette vs. normal tanks. I don't even have grey water tanks on my pop-up so not sure what is involved in emptying those or the black water tanks.

The Lance does have a rear awning however and the Northstar is supposed to have a rubber roof and low COG. Correction, they both come with electric jacks. But the Lance is 2014 and the Northstar is 2010, though they are both new.

Here are the links to both:

http://www.arbutusrv.ca/unit/uvxxxx/12062/i/camper/lance/825-sb/a14n2408.html

http://www.trianglerv.com/RV-Details.php?stype=Truck+Camper&vehicle_no=321006

I'll confess I'm a bit biased, but I prefer the cassette toilet on the Northstar vs a black tank which requires a dump station to empty. You can easily empty the cassette multiple times in any outhouse without having to search out a dump station. It also appears the Laredo has the thermal windows. If you plan on doing any cold weather camping you'll appreciate those. Though they are more fragile than the sliders on the Lance. The Laredo also appears to have the removable short bed wraparound. Meaning the storage compartments on the rear overhang can be removed if you ever decide to go to a long bed truck, or ever sell it to someone with a long bed for that matter.

I too toured the Northstar factory when I picked up my Adventurer and can also vouch for their solid construction. And the support from Northstar is absolutely fantastic.

I'm not sure there is any significant difference in COG. A lot of that depends on how you pack.

I doubt you'll be disappointed with either choice and whatever you decide, happy camping!
Dan

Thanks guys for your input. I've seen the Laredo and really like the compactness, features and quality of construction. It seems like a perfect size for someone who wants something small with a low COG. I haven't seen the Lance up close yet, but I've heard good things about these campers in general.

My primary concern with the Northstar is that it's 4 years old. Even though it's new, it's been on the lot for that length of time and I'm wondering how the elements (rain, UV) may have affected it.

It does have a rubber roof, but I'm not sure if that's a plus or minus vs. the fiberglass roofs.

Thanks again for any advice.

Cheers

Add us to the list of happy Northstar owners. Our Laredo is ten years old and we have had no problems. Northstar makes a high quality camper and outstanding customer service.

First post. We are off to Iowa to pick up our brand new Northstar Arrow U followed by two weeks camping along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. We did a lot of research and selected Northstar on the basis of their reputation for customer service and quality of build.

Bill

We like the functionality of the cassette toilet on our Northstar Arrow.

Regarding dumping the gray, I never bother with the hose for dumping the gray water, we have a 2 gallon bucket that hangs on the gray tank dump valve, when I think it needs some drained off, just fill the bucket and dump in a privy, toilet etc. We rarely have more than 1 or 2 buckets per day... Countless day parks etc for dumping...

This set up keeps us out of those dirty dump stations, waste freedom...

The cassette can be filled from any water source, brook, stream etc using the same bucket...

We also have a large filling hole in the top of the fresh water tank so we do not have to fill from a hose source, just use gallon jugs or our clean water bucket..

I would carefully check all the caulking on the camper for cracking etc, especially the roof mounted equipment..

Perhaps some written guarantee from that dealer that they will fix any leaking problems for a period of time, they must be super anxious to move that unit..with winter fast approaching...

Is the roof TPO or EPDM, our Northstar is TPO....

I think the Lance is about the same length isn't it?

They're both good--we looked at them both seriously and almost ordered a Laredo. I preferred the less froufrou interior of the Northstar and wanted the cassette potty. I think I was turned off by some of the features on all the Lances I saw at the dealer--microwave? Stereo? But if you camp with hookups or a generator those things might be nice.

In your situation it may come down to little things like do they both have electric jacks? All LED lighting? How comfy is the dinette?

In the end I decided I wanted windows and just got a popup. (Have you checked out the Northstar popups? They have a popup Laredo--the 850SC. Up and down easy! :))

MKish wrote:
I think the Lance is about the same length isn't it?
...
In your situation it may come down to little things like do they both have electric jacks? All LED lighting? How comfy is the dinette?

In the end I decided I wanted windows and just got a popup. (Have you checked out the Northstar popups? They have a popup Laredo--the 850SC. Up and down easy! :))

The Lance is 2 feet longer and just a tad wider.
Both have electric jacks.

I don't have the ability to check out a Northstar pop up. How quickly will the pop up and down for example when pulling into a rest area and just wanting grab a quick sandwich?

Thx