Spruce_Dually
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Re: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
Burningman It seems that I read something about this. Didn't know what to make of it. Wow, I can imagine what it would be like to (all of a sudden) have your jacks start extending or retracting. It sounds like a jack disconnect is definitely needed. Sounds like to manufacturer should install one. Photomike. Which kill switch are you referring to. Please excuse me I don't have a camper yet. I think that you would want to be able to kill the power to the jacks and not everything else. Jim953Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
Thanks Bill The hot soapy water sounds like a good idea. I've heard others say Water, Water, Water. The Eagle Cap is a nice camper. We spent quite a bit of time looking at them. I drove from California to Oregon (approx 1k miles round trip) to look at the EC campers. Sutton RV and Apache. We looked at the 960, 1160 and the Adventurer 910db. I don't believe that they had an 850. I Liked all of them. Still do. EC seems like a class act. Really nice inside and Out. I noticed that all of the EC campers have the black tank flush system. So did the Adventurer. I was really surprised that the NL did not. What I am hearing from everyone is that the Black Tank Flush is not necessary (not a deal breaker anyway) but nice to have. Do you have the 850 on a long bed or short and do you have the Generator? Jim928Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
Burning Man I'm with you on the sick campers. I'm going either NL or Bigfoot. I believe that Bigfoot is using the same jack ? I have been doing a little research online and it seems that at least some of the issues come from bottoming out the jacks at either end of travel, Damaging the drive. I also see some controller issues. Perhaps Happijac should run end of travel cushions or limit switches. I'm just going on what I have read. I might be all wet. Once I get the camper ,if I ever do, I plan to carefully (using the manual drive) find the end of travel, back off a bit and paint a stripe around the jack extension. I will also paint a yellow warning stripe to let me know when I'm getting close. If this jack problem continues, eventually NL will have to address it. HappiJac better get on it also. If they don't no-one will want to have anything to do with them. Do you know if the Rieco Titan's are any better? Jim919Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
WyoBull, Burningman and Siletzspey Thank you for the replies. Yeah, Keith from NL told me that there was no reason to carry a wand if you use the proper chemicals and wait until the tank was at least 75% full to dump. Apparently he was correct. I have asked people with other RVs about the black tank flush system and most(repeat most)of them say that either the don't have it or don't need it. I have also heard of the bag of Ice trick. It sounds like it could work. I have always liked the look of the Bigfoot camper, That was what I wanted until I looked at the NL. I was able to look at the Bigfoot and the NL at an RV show. Wifey and I went back and forth between the two and both of us prefer the NL. I actually spent about 4 hours talking to the NL rep. We also looked at the Artic Fox 865 and really like it. In fact it was the first TC that we saw at a dealership. The panoramic view out the rear of the camper is fantastic. After doing some research, I found that it was too much weight for a single rear wheel truck (at least in my opinion). It was certainly more camper than I would want on single rears. I thought that I might buy a Mega Cab Dually (short bed) and go with the 865 short bed model with a Generator but decided against it. I started thinking about the Dinette in the 865 as the only place in the camper to sit and decided to keep looking. One of the features that we really like about the NL 10-2 is the long u-shaped dinette. I believe that it s 75" long. wifey and I would be more comfortable with this if we were stuck inside for an extended amount of time. We also looked at the single, double and triple slide units but decided to steer clear. We just keep coming back to the NL. I like the way it and the Bigfootses are built. So Now I am seeing some issues with the HappiJac jacks and I am wondering how big of an issue it really is. I see that Artic Fox is using the Rieco Titan jacks. How hard would it be to switch to a different jacks?916Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
mbloof wrote: Spruce Dually wrote: "As far as the system being a holding tank,that is correct but the chemicals that you add are for odor not for the decomposition of the effluent in the tank". I use Thetford "AquaKem" in my holding tanks. Thetford 10801 Aqua-KEM Original-Holding Tank Treatment-Deodorizer-Waste Digester-Detergent. It helps break down waste AND make it smell better. - Mark0. Thank you Mark Thetford , I'll have to look that up. So, Break it down AND make it smell better. Works on even the toughest of jobs. That's some powerful stuff. Might try it in the washing machine with a load of underwear. LOL The ever growing list of stuff to take with you. I think that I am going to need a cargo trailer.699Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
"As far as the system being a holding tank,that is correct but the chemicals that you add are for odor not for the decomposition of the effluent in the tank". Good to know. I haven't spent any time researching the chemicals. I had made the assumption (apparently the wrong assumption) that they were for decomp. This all started after I read a post about someone using a wand to clean the black tank on a NL. Until that time I had totally missed the fact that the NL did not have the black tank flush. So, I cornered the owner of NL (keith Donkin) at an RV show and questioned him about it. His reply was that because of the design of the camper a black tank flush was not needed. The toilet is mounted directly over the tank at the rear of the camper and the clean-out is very close to the tank . He does actually use these campers. So, I asked, if that is true, then why are NL owners packing toilet wands around with them. These campers do not have an exorbitant amount of storage space. The lack of the flush system forces the owner to pack something that they would not need if the flush system were built into the camper. He insisted that the wand was not necessary if the correct chemicals were used. That is where i got it in my head that the chemicals were for decomp. Jim614Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
NRALIFR wrote: With this, you can back flush any black or grey tank as good as a tank that stores poo needs to be back flushed. :):) Yeah, I have seen these and other similar items. Looks like a good idea. I can't really see any negatives other than it is something else to store. Along with a dedicated hose which I would need anyway.613Views0likes0CommentsRe: Northern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
Thank you everyone for the input. I do appreciate it. I got some good laughs out of it also. Always in for a good laugh. Apparently it is not that big of a deal so I will quit worrying about that. So now I will have to find another excuse for not being able to make up my mind. :D We are about to retire and this will be our first RV. So at this point I really don't know Jack. I try to be informed and to apply some logic but my logic may be illogical.:) Does that even make sense? We have a new dually on order, should be in around mid August. I'll have at least until then to make the decision. So far we are leaning toward the NL. I like to longer U-shaped dinette (actually long enough for an adult to lay down on), longer bed and from what we have seen at the RV shows, the cabinetry seems to be finished a bit better. I like the idea of the tilt out windows but not to keen on them being plastic. The Bigfootses gets the nod for better insulation, Black Tank Flush (LOL), more counter space, sliding window for Pass-through truck access and Glass windows( Although I believe that the sliding windows could be a pain in the rain and snow). I have also heard that Bigfoot is more likely to do things that are out of the norm. I'm considering side awnings for both sides Jim613Views0likes0CommentsNorthern Lite campers No Black Tank Clean out
Newbie here. I am very close to purchasing a new truck camper. Wifey and I have narrowed it down to the Northern Lite 10-2 or the Bigfoot 25c10.6. Mostly leaning toward the NL. However i have noticed that the NL does not have a black tank clean out system where the Bigfoot does. Keith at NL tells me that it is not necessary if you use the proper chemicals. Any thoughts or experiences? Thank You9KViews0likes41Comments
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