First Weekend in the New 610!
When I joined Northern Lite 5-years ago, one of the first bits of feedback I provided was that it would be great to see a half-ton truck camper in our lineup. Well, last weekend I finally had the chance to take our new prototype 4-season half-ton camper, the 610, out for a shakedown trip.
As the marketing manager for Northern Lite, and the 610 being a passion project for me, I might be a little biased when it comes to anything I write about this camper. With that being said, I want to share with you my first impressions of the 610 from a weekend camping trip near Cherryville, BC.
For this trip the 610 was hauled on my 2023 Ford F-150 with a 6’6” box. The payload for this truck is 2,100 lbs. It doesn’t have any after market modifications. It is stock. Most importantly, it is blue. In the bed of the truck there is a 3/8” soft rubber mat that you need to protect the bottom of the fiberglass shell and to keep the camper in place. It must be a soft rubber mat and not a thick, hard, horse stall mat as the camper will walk on a mat that is too hard and you will end up over tightening the tiedowns resulting in damage. No plywood was needed to provide clearance over the cab!
For tiedowns, the 610 has the option of either external Torklift tiedowns, such as we use with our full-size campers, or a ratchet style system that attaches to tiedown points in the bed of your camper. We used the new internal system on this setup. Not only is this option easy to use, it keeps things clean as there is nothing hanging out on the exterior of your truck box. With this shake down trip the team did decide to change the model of ratchet system that we are using to ensure easier removal if the camper happens to shift slightly. That’s why we do these trips!
Tailgate on or off? If you like, you can keep the tailgate on but it won’t be able to close with a short box truck. We maximized every inch of space in the bed for livability while minimizing rear overhang. I chose to take the tailgate off as I also intend to mount a swing out bike rack to take my toys with me. One of the perks of a truck camper! The downside is that you lose your backup camera, but on the plus side you save some weight.
Before hitting the road, I was given a quick run through on how to use the new Truma Combi hot water and furnace system, as well as the cassette toilet. Two items unique to this camper, not found in our other models. Never thought I would need instructions on how to use a toilet, but hey, always learning! Tutorial done, I hit the road.
Even though I have lots of experience driving one-ton trucks with our full-sized campers, I wasn’t sure what to expect with the 610 on a half-ton. I was pleasantly surprised! On the highway I had full stability, lots of power, and the truck never felt heavy. Yes, you know you have a truck camper in the bed, but it never felt like a burden. When I hit the dirt forest service road, I continued to be quite pleased with how the truck felt. The additional bumps along the road were a non-issue. Eventually, I had to turn on to a much rougher road with larger potholes and dips. At slow speed you noticed the camper a bit more. The ride was bouncier as the truck slowly rolled over the uneven road. When I increased the speed a bit, the suspension was allowed to do what it was built for and the bounciness became much less.
When I pulled into the campsite, I started the process of setting up camp. I unboxed the new 5-step stairs and easily attached it to the mounts on back of the camper. It took just a minute and simply required opening the stairs and attaching with two pins. No tools required. As well as the 5-step we also offer a 4-step option. If you have a truck with a built-in step system in the tailgate, you can use that as well. Stairs attached; I went inside to continue set up. With a push of a button both the furnace and hot water were turned on. Set up done.
In the 610 we are using the Truma Combi for heat and hot water. We debated a lot about putting in this system as it’s much more expensive than other heating and hot water options and we wanted to keep the price of the 610 down as much as possible. Despite its price, the Truma is a nice system and did a great job on this trip.
The 610 is also equipped with a 12-volt 3-cubic foot fridge. The fridge is the perfect size for this camper. I really can’t see needing anything bigger for two people boondocking for a week. As well, being a 12-volt means that you are not using propane which increases the amount of time that you can get out of a propane tank for running your furnace.
At Northern Lite we only build high end true 4-season campers, and the 610 is the perfect addition to our lineup.
With a half-ton camper, your expectation might be that the cabover sleeping space would be small. This is not the case at all. I am 6’3” and 225lbs and had lots of room up there. The mattress is 54” X 80” which is just slightly smaller than a full queen-sized bed. If there were two of us up there, there would have been ample room. Head room was not an issue either. The recessed skylight helped provide a feeling of openness in the space.
One of the questions that we receive all the time is, “Why are there no windows in the cab over?”. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is weight savings. The second is that window blinds would be quickly damaged from your feet and pillow. As well, even though windows are thermal, they can still act as a cold spot at your head and feet. I found that with the skylight and the proximity of the dinette window to the cabover, there was no shortage of natural light up there. As well, if you want a cross breeze, simply open the dinette window and the skylight and you will have a nice flow of air going through the cabover.
If you are familiar with our full-size campers such as the 10-2, 9-6, and 8-11 models, you will have noticed that we have gone with a different style of cabinetry. The wood facing is CNC cut with beautiful modern looking curves. You will also notice the lack of cabinet doors. This not only saves weight but also prevents concussions from whacking your head on an open door. We are using a durable netting across the front of each opening to keep everything in place. I tested this out by filling up the spaces with pots, pans, water bottles, and other assorted items. Even after driving along rough forest service roads everything stayed in place!
Let’s chat about the power system in the Northern Lite 610. On the roof there are two solar panels which can produce a combined 400 watts of power. When it comes to power, the big difference between the 610 and our other models is that the 610 is built to be lithium battery specific. The team has created a space inside the cabin that easily fits two 100 AH lithium batteries, or an individual battery with higher AH. The 610 does not have an external battery compartment which means that lead and AGM batteries are not an option as they require ventilation.
For this trip the camper was equipped with a single 100AH battery from Go Power. Using the Go Power phone app, I was able to monitor the battery levels throughout the trip. The night before I left on the trip, I left the fridge on to cool down. In the morning the battery was still 97%. Not too bad! I hit the road and the battery quickly charged back to 100%. After setting up camp, I did all of the usual things. Cooked food, used lights, recharged my phone, open and closed the fridge getting beverages, all of which used power. When I was getting ready to go to bed at 9:59PM, the battery was still at 90%. The day had been fairly overcast and the sun had set around 7:45PM, so taking that into consideration a 10% drawdown seems pretty good, especially since I wasn’t being stingy with power use.
The next morning, after lounging around in bed for a while listing to the river and birds through the open window, I checked the app to see how the batteries were doing. At 7:10AM they were at a healthy 71%. A 19% drawdown over 9 hours, or 2.1% per hour. Over that period the power consumption was primarily coming from the Truma Combi and the fridge with minimal recharge from solar. I spent the next couple of hours making breakfast and puttering around camp. I checked the levels again at 10:19AM and the batteries were at 69%, or a 2% drawdown over 3 hours. The sun was still low in the sky and it was partially cloudy but the solar panels were still helping keep the batteries up. If you camp mainly in the spring and summer, a 100AH battery should do just fine for you. If you like to camp in the winter, I would look at 2 X 100AH batteries to ensure you have enough power over a couple of days with minimal or no sunshine.
One of the great features of a Northern Lite truck camper is how soundproof the shell is. As soon as you close the door, the outside world goes quiet. The 610 is no exception. A couple hundred feet from where I was camping, there was another group having a great time with music turned way up to concert levels. The shell of the 610 completely shut them out!
I was curious to see how the 610 would impact fuel consumption on my 2023 Ford F-150. Normally around the city with a little bit of highway driving I typically get 14L/100KM. On this trip I drove 345KM along a mix of highway, city, and hilly forest service roads. Fuel consumption increased to 15.9L/100KM. A mere 1.9L per 100KM, or 13.5% increase. Not bad! I was expecting a much higher hit to my monthly gas bill.
As I mentioned, the 610 is a passion project for me at Northern Lite. As such in my mind there were several boxes I wanted to see ticked in order for me to be happy with what we are building. Yes, there are a couple of minor tweaks that I have suggested to the design team, but I can honestly say that the 610 ticks all the boxes that I needed ticked. This is truly a beautiful camper that is both extremely comfortable and highly functional. At Northern Lite we only build high end true 4-season campers, and the 610 is the perfect addition to our lineup.
Cheers,
Brad Trites
Northern Lite
Marketing Manager
