Full-timing again
Last November I accepted a job in Oregon so I could live closer to my children as I was 500 miles away from them in Idaho Falls. I was missing out on a large part of their childhood so I am happy to be closer to them. Long story short I needed a place to live in Oregon starting January 2nd so my Northern Lite was chosen to be temporary home at least through the winter and early spring until I can save up enough money to buy a house in Oregon.
When I sold my Arctic Fox 1150 last summer I never thought I’d have a need to live full time in a TC again. I purchased my Northern Lite 9.6 Q Classic SE last summer to replace the Arctic Fox that I owned for 3 years and lived in for 2.5 years. The Northern Lite was supposed to be the perfect camper for me to enjoy camping in. All the amenities needed for camping and nothing else. Lightweight and short so I could tow my motorcycles and still be able to get into the remote Idaho backcountry.
It has actually been the perfect camper for my camping style and I have been very happy with it so far. It was not intended to be a live in camper though as it doesn’t have near the space the AF had. It doesn’t have some of the niceties the AF had either, AC, microwave, dry bath, and most importantly all the upgrades I did to be able to live in it through an Idaho winter.
When I got the job offer I decided not to winterize my NL for winter; I kept it warm so I could test how it would perform before I had to live in it. I did a few modifications to the plumbing and the basement heat distribution in order to keep things from freezing up. Early December in Idaho was its first test. It got down to -19F and barely got above 0 for several days. It performed flawlessly with nothing freezing. I knew I would be ok after that long cold spell and nothing freezing up. I can now say NL makes a great 4-season insulated camper and I would't be afraid to use it anytime, anywhere.
Here are the minor mods I did to get it ready for winter use:
The first project was to remove any water(lines) from the outside walls. I believe any water lines that are pressurized for use near any outside wall are asking for trouble. Especially the outside shower and the city water connection. I disconnected these from the main trunk line and capped them off. NL did a good job of running the main trunk line away from the outside walls so the plumbing project only took a couple hours and a few dollars for caps.
I had to gain access to the plumbing under the bathroom by removing the rear dinette seat cover. It is screwed into place but I just left the screws out permanently for easier access in the future.
Removing the black box that holds the 30 amp electrical cord makes access much easier. There are a lot of screws to get out but it is well worth the effort.
Here is the back of the outside shower and city water connections.
This shows after the lines were disconnected and trunk line was capped. I recommend placing a towel for future but it dried quickly with a small space heater in the compartment.
These are the caps used for the trunk line. A couple $'s each at an RV supply store. I used 3. and don't forget to pick up some new rubber washers.
I also capped the backside of the city connection in case someone tried to hook up to it and fill the basement full of water. I covered the backside of the outside shower and city connection with a large square of reflectix to keep the heat in and drafts out. Sorry I forgot to snap a picture before I reinstalled the black electrical cord box.
In the outside shower compartment I completely removed the showerhead and knobs to make room for some more insulation, as this is a large hole in the side of the camper with only a thin wall of plastic as insulation if left alone.
The next project was to make sure enough heat got into the basement to keep things from freezing. NL runs a heater duct over to the rear compartment where the dump valves are located. All the bulbs in my NL are LED except for one bulb in the dump valve compartment. They purposely place an incandescent bulb in here to act as a heat source. Between these two heat sources the rear of the basement and dump valve compartment stay nice and warm & well above freezing.
I wasn’t sure about the front of the basement so I watched it with a remote thermometer for a couple days. It wasn't bad but it didn’t stay as warm as the rear of the basement did so I decided to add a fan to the front like I did in my Artic Fox to blow some heat from the living space down to the basement. Under the front dinette seat there is a vent cover from the factory.
I placed a 12 VDC 0.95 amp fan behind this vent to blow air down into the front of the basement where the water pump and fresh water tank are located.
A couple views of the mounting from the back
My electrical control panel had a perfect place inside next to the circuit breakers to mount the on/off switch for the fan so it’s easy to access but completely out of the way.
The last upgrade I did was in anticipation of propane usage. My water heater is propane only and doesn’t have an electric element like my AF did. I also planed to use the furnace more and not rely on the electric space heater as much so the basement would get enough heat.
I added on an extended propane hose so I could use an external tank to reduce trips to refill. I purchased an electrical service door for an RV wall and installed it into the upper corner of the propane door. The hose is long enough to nearly touch the ground when the TC is mounted on the truck and I can bring it back inside the compartment and use the two onboard tanks when traveling. The picture shows my 10 gal tank but I could add a larger one if the usage is too fast.
Other than being a little more cramped than I was in the Arctic Fox I think the NL performs just as good if not better in the cold weather. The smaller volume to heat and lack of slide helps it stay feeling warmer longer between heater cycles. The AF didn't have dual pane windows and the NL does. I can tell the difference sitting by the window and the condensation isn't there either. I'm sure it won't take as much energy to stay warm but the trade off is space.
Taking showers is not as spacious but it is perfectly manageable. I have to fill the fresh water tank every 4-5 days instead of making it 2 weeks like I did in the AF. I attribute that more to being connected to the sewer so I don't have to be as conservative with the waste tanks as I did living in the hospital parking lot with the AF. Now I don't have to go anywhere to dump and its always hooked up. I'll take longer showers now because of this than I did in the AF so I empty the fresh tank quicker.
I miss the microwave for quick meals but I am doing fine without one. I don’t even have a toaster as I have learned to make toast on a griddle and I think it tastes better that way anyhow.
It’s been a strange winter here in Oregon. There is no snow, not even in the mountains around town. Last month when we hit -19 F in Idaho it was -24 F here in Oregon. Yesterday we tied the record high of 48 F and the long term forecast shows mostly 40’s for highs over the next 10 days with lows in the teens here in eastern Oregon.
Looks like this winter won’t be so bad in a TC after all. I may even have to break out my motorcycle for a January weekend ride if it stays this warm!
Home Sweet Home backed up to the river.
I am using my truck as a daily driver until I can get back to Idaho to tow my car over here. I found out that U-haul doesn't put trailer brakes on their front wheel drive car dollies. With my TC loaded on the truck I am at 12,300 lbs (100 lbs over GVW) so I didn't think towing a 4,000 lb trailer without trailer brakes was a good idea.
I couldn't use their car trailer either as it would have been too much tongue weight for my hitch extension, even though it would have got me the needed trailer brakes. Better safe than sorry although I miss my Accord as diesel is $4 gal here. I just towed my motorcycles over instead which saves me a trip this spring to get them and if the weather stays nice I'll just start riding it to work if buying diesel puts me in the poor house.
When I sold my Arctic Fox 1150 last summer I never thought I’d have a need to live full time in a TC again. I purchased my Northern Lite 9.6 Q Classic SE last summer to replace the Arctic Fox that I owned for 3 years and lived in for 2.5 years. The Northern Lite was supposed to be the perfect camper for me to enjoy camping in. All the amenities needed for camping and nothing else. Lightweight and short so I could tow my motorcycles and still be able to get into the remote Idaho backcountry.
It has actually been the perfect camper for my camping style and I have been very happy with it so far. It was not intended to be a live in camper though as it doesn’t have near the space the AF had. It doesn’t have some of the niceties the AF had either, AC, microwave, dry bath, and most importantly all the upgrades I did to be able to live in it through an Idaho winter.
When I got the job offer I decided not to winterize my NL for winter; I kept it warm so I could test how it would perform before I had to live in it. I did a few modifications to the plumbing and the basement heat distribution in order to keep things from freezing up. Early December in Idaho was its first test. It got down to -19F and barely got above 0 for several days. It performed flawlessly with nothing freezing. I knew I would be ok after that long cold spell and nothing freezing up. I can now say NL makes a great 4-season insulated camper and I would't be afraid to use it anytime, anywhere.
Here are the minor mods I did to get it ready for winter use:
The first project was to remove any water(lines) from the outside walls. I believe any water lines that are pressurized for use near any outside wall are asking for trouble. Especially the outside shower and the city water connection. I disconnected these from the main trunk line and capped them off. NL did a good job of running the main trunk line away from the outside walls so the plumbing project only took a couple hours and a few dollars for caps.
I had to gain access to the plumbing under the bathroom by removing the rear dinette seat cover. It is screwed into place but I just left the screws out permanently for easier access in the future.
Removing the black box that holds the 30 amp electrical cord makes access much easier. There are a lot of screws to get out but it is well worth the effort.
Here is the back of the outside shower and city water connections.
This shows after the lines were disconnected and trunk line was capped. I recommend placing a towel for future but it dried quickly with a small space heater in the compartment.
These are the caps used for the trunk line. A couple $'s each at an RV supply store. I used 3. and don't forget to pick up some new rubber washers.
I also capped the backside of the city connection in case someone tried to hook up to it and fill the basement full of water. I covered the backside of the outside shower and city connection with a large square of reflectix to keep the heat in and drafts out. Sorry I forgot to snap a picture before I reinstalled the black electrical cord box.
In the outside shower compartment I completely removed the showerhead and knobs to make room for some more insulation, as this is a large hole in the side of the camper with only a thin wall of plastic as insulation if left alone.
The next project was to make sure enough heat got into the basement to keep things from freezing. NL runs a heater duct over to the rear compartment where the dump valves are located. All the bulbs in my NL are LED except for one bulb in the dump valve compartment. They purposely place an incandescent bulb in here to act as a heat source. Between these two heat sources the rear of the basement and dump valve compartment stay nice and warm & well above freezing.
I wasn’t sure about the front of the basement so I watched it with a remote thermometer for a couple days. It wasn't bad but it didn’t stay as warm as the rear of the basement did so I decided to add a fan to the front like I did in my Artic Fox to blow some heat from the living space down to the basement. Under the front dinette seat there is a vent cover from the factory.
I placed a 12 VDC 0.95 amp fan behind this vent to blow air down into the front of the basement where the water pump and fresh water tank are located.
A couple views of the mounting from the back
My electrical control panel had a perfect place inside next to the circuit breakers to mount the on/off switch for the fan so it’s easy to access but completely out of the way.
The last upgrade I did was in anticipation of propane usage. My water heater is propane only and doesn’t have an electric element like my AF did. I also planed to use the furnace more and not rely on the electric space heater as much so the basement would get enough heat.
I added on an extended propane hose so I could use an external tank to reduce trips to refill. I purchased an electrical service door for an RV wall and installed it into the upper corner of the propane door. The hose is long enough to nearly touch the ground when the TC is mounted on the truck and I can bring it back inside the compartment and use the two onboard tanks when traveling. The picture shows my 10 gal tank but I could add a larger one if the usage is too fast.
Other than being a little more cramped than I was in the Arctic Fox I think the NL performs just as good if not better in the cold weather. The smaller volume to heat and lack of slide helps it stay feeling warmer longer between heater cycles. The AF didn't have dual pane windows and the NL does. I can tell the difference sitting by the window and the condensation isn't there either. I'm sure it won't take as much energy to stay warm but the trade off is space.
Taking showers is not as spacious but it is perfectly manageable. I have to fill the fresh water tank every 4-5 days instead of making it 2 weeks like I did in the AF. I attribute that more to being connected to the sewer so I don't have to be as conservative with the waste tanks as I did living in the hospital parking lot with the AF. Now I don't have to go anywhere to dump and its always hooked up. I'll take longer showers now because of this than I did in the AF so I empty the fresh tank quicker.
I miss the microwave for quick meals but I am doing fine without one. I don’t even have a toaster as I have learned to make toast on a griddle and I think it tastes better that way anyhow.
It’s been a strange winter here in Oregon. There is no snow, not even in the mountains around town. Last month when we hit -19 F in Idaho it was -24 F here in Oregon. Yesterday we tied the record high of 48 F and the long term forecast shows mostly 40’s for highs over the next 10 days with lows in the teens here in eastern Oregon.
Looks like this winter won’t be so bad in a TC after all. I may even have to break out my motorcycle for a January weekend ride if it stays this warm!
Home Sweet Home backed up to the river.
I am using my truck as a daily driver until I can get back to Idaho to tow my car over here. I found out that U-haul doesn't put trailer brakes on their front wheel drive car dollies. With my TC loaded on the truck I am at 12,300 lbs (100 lbs over GVW) so I didn't think towing a 4,000 lb trailer without trailer brakes was a good idea.
I couldn't use their car trailer either as it would have been too much tongue weight for my hitch extension, even though it would have got me the needed trailer brakes. Better safe than sorry although I miss my Accord as diesel is $4 gal here. I just towed my motorcycles over instead which saves me a trip this spring to get them and if the weather stays nice I'll just start riding it to work if buying diesel puts me in the poor house.
