Our "new" 2002 Northern Lite 10-2 CD and Dodge dually diesel
In the early years of our marriage, my wife and I tent camped out of the back of our VW Squareback. But that's another story.
In 2003, we bought a Tundra and drove to Alaska and back on the Alcan highway. (It's not called that today, but that's the name I grew up with.) All but one night of the month-long trip we slept in a topper on the Tundra.
Returning from Alaska with claustrophobia, we recalled the Phoenix popup on a Tundra we saw in Anchorage. The owner seemed delighted with the combination. Putting a Phoenix on our Tundra looked like a good idea. But before making that decision, we visited all the popup manufacturers in the Denver area where we live and checked out Four Wheel as well.
Concluding that all but Phoenix and Four Wheel were too heavy for our Tundra, we eventually decided on a Phoenix. It was custom built to my design. In June 2004, our first night in the new Phoenix, my wife wrote in the log: "We decided that this camper is just the finest thing."
In 2009, at a Mt Vernon WA dealer, we spent hours talking with a salesman and checking out a new Northern Lite 10-2 RD (rear dinette). That's what we would like, we decided. But we still had our Phoenix and Tundra, which were bought and paid for. Maybe some day . . . .
Fast forward to May 2014: At CanaDream, Calgary, we rented a 2013 Northern Lite on a new F-350. (The Sportsman, the only NL model offered, had a center dinette.) It was soon apparent that the center dinette suited us much better than the rear dinette we thought we wanted.
Back in Denver, armed with this knowledge, I checked out craigslist every day. Other than finding a suitable camper, there was one other consideration: The 10-2 CD we wanted far exceeded the allowable payload of our Tundra. Moreover, for stability with such a high profile camper, we wanted a dually.
In little more than two weeks, I found a 2002 10-2 CD on a 2002 Dodge dually diesel with only 18k miles. It was at an RV repair shop in northern Idaho and was more than we wanted to pay. But in all my years of looking, this was the first combination that came even close to what we wanted. So we took advantage of our senior discount, got some cheapy seats on Southwest Airlines, and flew to Spokane, the big-city airport closest to the RV shop. The seller picked us up.
In two days we had negotiated a price, bought supplies for the trip, and were on our way back to Denver. The seller let us camp in his parking lot and provided power until we were ready to depart.
The return trip to Denver was a dream come true. The photo was taken along the interstate in Wyoming.
In 2003, we bought a Tundra and drove to Alaska and back on the Alcan highway. (It's not called that today, but that's the name I grew up with.) All but one night of the month-long trip we slept in a topper on the Tundra.
Returning from Alaska with claustrophobia, we recalled the Phoenix popup on a Tundra we saw in Anchorage. The owner seemed delighted with the combination. Putting a Phoenix on our Tundra looked like a good idea. But before making that decision, we visited all the popup manufacturers in the Denver area where we live and checked out Four Wheel as well.
Concluding that all but Phoenix and Four Wheel were too heavy for our Tundra, we eventually decided on a Phoenix. It was custom built to my design. In June 2004, our first night in the new Phoenix, my wife wrote in the log: "We decided that this camper is just the finest thing."
In 2009, at a Mt Vernon WA dealer, we spent hours talking with a salesman and checking out a new Northern Lite 10-2 RD (rear dinette). That's what we would like, we decided. But we still had our Phoenix and Tundra, which were bought and paid for. Maybe some day . . . .
Fast forward to May 2014: At CanaDream, Calgary, we rented a 2013 Northern Lite on a new F-350. (The Sportsman, the only NL model offered, had a center dinette.) It was soon apparent that the center dinette suited us much better than the rear dinette we thought we wanted.
Back in Denver, armed with this knowledge, I checked out craigslist every day. Other than finding a suitable camper, there was one other consideration: The 10-2 CD we wanted far exceeded the allowable payload of our Tundra. Moreover, for stability with such a high profile camper, we wanted a dually.
In little more than two weeks, I found a 2002 10-2 CD on a 2002 Dodge dually diesel with only 18k miles. It was at an RV repair shop in northern Idaho and was more than we wanted to pay. But in all my years of looking, this was the first combination that came even close to what we wanted. So we took advantage of our senior discount, got some cheapy seats on Southwest Airlines, and flew to Spokane, the big-city airport closest to the RV shop. The seller picked us up.
In two days we had negotiated a price, bought supplies for the trip, and were on our way back to Denver. The seller let us camp in his parking lot and provided power until we were ready to depart.
The return trip to Denver was a dream come true. The photo was taken along the interstate in Wyoming.
