Which to comprimise on? Toilet or Heat?
I have narrowed down my search to two campers that fall in budget: Cirrus 820 and Northstar Laredo. You might remember my previous thread where I agonised over this. I had eliminated the 820- but have now found one at an blowout price that is only 3 hours away. The Cirrus 720 has everything we want but is out of budget.
We need a camper for winter camping, must have good insulation and thermal windows.The price is almost identical. We do not camp at RV parks, so we will be exclusively without hook ups. I want a cassette toilet for the ease of winter use while the rest of the water is winterized.
The 820 has the Alde heat, better styling and more storage and is local-ish to us. It is heavier and has a traditional black tank. The advantage is the efficiency of the heating system, uses far less battery than traditional furnace. Floors are also heated, much more comfortable than forced air.
The Northstar has traditional furnace, cassette toilet. I really want cassette. It also has a better dinette layout. It is a 7 hour drive so we are seeing sight unseen.
I am waiting to hear back from several RV repair places on pulling out the traditional toilet and putting in a cassette in the 820. It would require cutting an access door in the side of the camper. I've called Alde, the system would be over 3k to buy to retrofit the northstar. I've also looked at Propex, Wave and Truma as options. Propex and Truma are about 1k.
Which do you think is better to compromise on (or more difficult to retrofit)? The Heating system or toilet? We are in Canada, solar is very ineffective in winter and temps are very cold. I want to be as independent as possible and try not to have a generator, so battery usage is key.
We need a camper for winter camping, must have good insulation and thermal windows.The price is almost identical. We do not camp at RV parks, so we will be exclusively without hook ups. I want a cassette toilet for the ease of winter use while the rest of the water is winterized.
The 820 has the Alde heat, better styling and more storage and is local-ish to us. It is heavier and has a traditional black tank. The advantage is the efficiency of the heating system, uses far less battery than traditional furnace. Floors are also heated, much more comfortable than forced air.
The Northstar has traditional furnace, cassette toilet. I really want cassette. It also has a better dinette layout. It is a 7 hour drive so we are seeing sight unseen.
I am waiting to hear back from several RV repair places on pulling out the traditional toilet and putting in a cassette in the 820. It would require cutting an access door in the side of the camper. I've called Alde, the system would be over 3k to buy to retrofit the northstar. I've also looked at Propex, Wave and Truma as options. Propex and Truma are about 1k.
Which do you think is better to compromise on (or more difficult to retrofit)? The Heating system or toilet? We are in Canada, solar is very ineffective in winter and temps are very cold. I want to be as independent as possible and try not to have a generator, so battery usage is key.
