Hello,I went and looked at a new Northstar popup TC today and was disappointed by the quality of the cabinets and such. They seemed to be made of particle board with wood grain stickers on them. I was really hoping to see better quality, as I am thinking about an Arrow 8.5. Does anyone know if the Arrow would be the same as the new popup I saw? How do you feel about the quality of the cabinets in real use, do they seem to be OK or fail quickly?Thanks!Jason

roguegaston wrote:Hello,I went and looked at a new Northwood popup TC today and was disapointed by the quality of the cabinets and such. They seemed to be made of particle board with wood grain stickers on them. I was really hoping to see better quality, as I am thinking about an Arrow 8.5. Does anyone know if the Arrow would be the same as the new popup I saw? How do you feel about the quality of the cabinets in real use, do they seem to be ok or fail quickly?Thanks!JasonNorthwood popup? Don't you mean Northstar?

they are the best pop tops on the market. you can't except full wood cabinets on a light pop top. Never had any problems with my cabinets rotting i wouldn't even consider them particle board.as long as you mean northstar*

Sorry, yes I mean Northstar. It's good to hear that you have not had any problem with the cabinets. Thanks for the feedback!Jason

I have a northwood and don't ever remember them making a popup truck camper...

While the cabinets are faced with paneling and the cabinet doors may be veneer covered particle board, the cabinet framing is marine grade plywood, as is the rest of the camper.

Northstar quality? | Good Sam Community

hedgehopper
Explorer
May 06, 2013
12V Cummins wrote:
There is no particle board in northstars AT ALL. The cabinetry is not particle board. Having solid real wood cabinetry is not practical for light campers like northstars.
If it's not particle board and it's not real wood, what is it?
woodhog
Explorer
May 06, 2013
Here is a video you can watch them being made and make up your mind.Northstar Construction

No problems with our cabinets, really nice workmanship and materials.

Any Northstar questions just call them and talk with the boss directly.

I have never had any question not answered within a day.

They would probably custom build your cabinets out of any material you wanted.
billtex
Explorer II
May 06, 2013
hedgehopper wrote:
12V Cummins wrote:
There is no particle board in northstars AT ALL. The cabinetry is not particle board. Having solid real wood cabinetry is not practical for light campers like northstars.
If it's not particle board and it's not real wood, what is it?

Unkownstium...
BradW
Explorer II
May 06, 2013
billtex wrote:
hedgehopper wrote:
12V Cummins wrote:
There is no particle board in northstars AT ALL. The cabinetry is not particle board. Having solid real wood cabinetry is not practical for light campers like northstars.
If it's not particle board and it's not real wood, what is it?

Unkownstium...

Exactly, you get the weight savings of unobtanium at a much lower cost. ;)

Brad
mkirsch
Nomad II
May 06, 2013
I would not consider the mere presence of MDF aka "particle board" as a sign of lack of quality.
roguegaston
Explorer
May 07, 2013
I've just had cheap bookshelves and desks made out of MDF that did not last past a couple of moves before falling apart or warping badly. That and it just looks cheap to me.

Thank you very much for all the feedback. I am not going to let the MDF looking cabinet doors stop me from considering the Northstar Arrow 8.5. It seems to have the features that would work for us.

-tip out tent bed in the cabover
-sturdy looking bunk bed
-option for aluminum siding instead of the filon/luan lamination
-cassette toilet
-fits on a short bed truck

Jason

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