Northstar 850SC

[Rust]

We took a weekend trip to the Ouachita National Forest in western Arkansas. I thought you all would enjoy some of the pictures. Our build is pretty basic. The truck is a retired oilfield vehicle. Poor industry conditions forced a number of them onto the market last year. The Ranch Hand front bumper was installed by the oil company. The only upgrades I've added are Ride Rite airbags and Rancho 9000XL shocks. The Kuat NV2 bike rack is attached to the large RakAttach swing arm, which works perfectly. The Northstar is a 2012 model. I bought it used. The only unusual feature it has is a custom generator locker on the back (factory mod). The Yamaha ef2000isv2 fits perfectly inside the locker.

Temperatures were in the 50s during the day and dropped to the mid 20s overnight. The furnace kept inside temps around 70 without issue. We hiked/biked a segment of the Womble Trail, which is one of IMBA's "epic rides". It was our first time on the trail and were very impressed. We also hiked to one of the many abandoned fire lookouts in the Ouachitas. The Gaston lookout was built in 1938. All that is left now is the concrete foundation. A few flowers were in bloom already. I believe the flowers in the photo below are apple blossoms, the Arkansas state flower. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ski3pin]

Nice country in western Arkansas and spring is coming. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

 

[Happyjax]

Nice report Now I gotta add the Womble trail to my extensive list of places to go 'cause who doesn't want to Womble???
BTW how do you like the 850SC?

 

[Rust]

Nice report Now I gotta add the Womble trail to my extensive list of places to go 'cause who doesn't want to Womble???
BTW how do you like the 850SC?

We've only spent 14 nights in the camper, but we absolutely love it so far. The toilet, shower, and AC make it much more usable in the area we currently live. Storage capacity under the bed is a huge plus. It's one of the reasons we bought this camper. All of our gear fits in there, eliminating the need for duffels. The kitchen/dinette is big enough to hang out comfortably and read/make breakfast during cold or bad weather. The Yamaha generator is powerful enough to run the AC, so we will be able to use the camper off-grid when summer comes. There's nowhere to escape heat and humidity when you live in the flatlands.

It is definitely much larger than a FWC setup, but that isn't a huge issue for us since we no longer live in the intermountain west. There aren't too many narrow mountain roads out here. I haven't weighed the rig yet, but we should be just under GVWR when loaded.

 

[Squatch]

Very nice! That front bumper looks like it came off of a semi in Australia.

Pretty country.

 

[longhorn1]

Nice set-up.

 

[Rust]

Very nice! That front bumper looks like it came off of a semi in Australia.

Pretty country.

Haha. That bumper is one of my favorite things about the truck. I don't think I would have chosen that one, but I really like having it on there now. A lot of the oil companies install them on trucks stationed in areas with high deer/elk populations. The thing is pretty stout.

https://www.ranchhand.com/front-bumper-fbf111blr.html

Here's how the truck was setup before early retirement. In this pic, the truck was all prepped for auction. Front bumper, headache rack, and toolboxes in the back. Honestly, I had a hard time removing the headache rack and tool boxes. Thought they looked awesome. I guess I have a thing for work trucks.

 

[Bad Habit]

Yep, nothing like big iron

Sent from my SCH-I925 using Wander The West mobile app

 

[allanb]

Looks great Rust. That is what we like about ours. Lots of storage under the queen size, north south [no crawl over] bed.

 

[Beach]

Nice set up, i would like to get a guard similar for our truck(close call with a big buck last year). I like Arkansas, it's not far from us, 5+ hrs and we are there. Lots of public land, off grid camping spots, nice lakes and clear running creeks. Back roads are the best, with many small towns, fresh peaches and lots of junk (excuse me, antique) shops. what size is your generator?

 

[CougarCouple]

Nice looking setup Rust. Glad to hear y'all are enjoying your camper. I like those ranch hand bumpers also. Those are some neat pictures you posted, thanks.
Russ

 

[Vic]

Great pic's - and love the 850. That was on our short list when we bought. Looks like a great set up

 

[Rust]

@Beach - I agree, Arkansas is a great place to explore. Can't wait to go back. The generator is the 2000 watt Yamaha EF2000iSv2, which is capable of running the 9200 BTU Coleman Mach Polar Cub if necessary. They seem to work pretty well together. The generator goes to max rpm when the AC kicks on, then quickly drops to a much quieter running speed. I believe the AC requires 11.7 amps on high. The generator is quiet, but not quiet enough to run if you're camped within a few hundred feet of other people. You'd get some dirty looks.