Offroading with a truck camper | Northern Lite 9-6 QLE | full time truck camping
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Decided to go and explore a road that i probbaly should not have gone down with a 13,000 lb rig. The road starts out easy, but then there is a creek crossing that everyone with campers decided to stop at. It gets progressively harder after that, with several spots that I had to go painfully slow on and spend several minutes spotting and planning how to navigate each obstacle.
Nicely done!!! This is why we build campers, so people like you can get out further!
Thanks folks over there at northern lite. This camper is damn tough. Its held up extremely well to everything I've thrown at it over the last 1.5 years.
I have a 21 8'11 so this is good to see.
if the camper can handle that type of movement without falling apart you know it has to be built well.
how did you manage to train your dog as a spotter? He just needs a radio headset to let you which way to go...brilliant! 😜
Now that was a true truck camper adventure,should be in truck camper magazine,you rock,would love to take my rig there but wife wouldn't go for it,you are living the dream !!!!!!!!
It was a pretty risky adventure. I was lucky to get out of this one without any damage.
Truck camper magazine (camperbeast) is what brought me here. Congrats on making the letter!
@@orvsr4me2 making the letter? I am confused...truck camper magazine featured my video?
@@downbytheriver501 You sure did! It was the one of the three features in my July 2 email newsletter.
@@orvsr4me2 is there a link you could send me to, or do I need to subscribe?
I have a similar setup, and my wife would never let me do that without a whole lot of screaming.
Amazing country. Beautiful setup. I have a f350 with a wolf creek. You have nerves of steel. Great driving. Thanks for taking us along. I smashed your red sub button
Thanks very much!
I loved the video...that beast did am awesome job in the back country...and such a beautiful puppy
Thanks
Looks like a blast! Glad to see a diesel truck and camper going through some rougher stuff. Making me confident that a truck camper is the way to go with my F-350 some day.
PS. I have a German Shepard as well and can't wait to take her on some adventures like this.
Sure was! Although I don’t know if I’d want to do this trail again. It was a bit beyond what I am comfortable doing anymore. Now if I had a 5500 with some super singles on the other hand….
Yep, love the GSDs. Best breed ever.
WOW! good advertisement for Dodge trucks, don" take this personally, but your nuts. shows where you can go with patience, but i couldn"t have handled that the way you did. poor doggie was tired from all the stress from that OFF ROAD! great what not to do video. until next time.
Crazy awesome! I have a 10-2, a bit too heavy but this is very cool.
Thanks! This video was the first one I ever shot thinking about starting a channel. Then 8 months later I finally edited it and put it on my channel!
Nothing like the sound of a diesel just chugging it's way through anything. Well besides being single & waking up to snoring then look over & see it's only the furball.
Ok
Think I done binge watched all your vids & gonna have to go through & watch em again. Your videography, audio, narration & editing are top notch. Gotta say it's up there with the people that get paid to do this. Just without the jumping around BS. I wouldn't change a thing.
Plus my furball perks up when he hears Ellwood.
Looking forward to seeing where & what you get into next. Persied meteor showers just happened. Hope you got to see em.
Thank you very much TP! I hope one day you find your TP, by the way. I really appreciate the compliments about my cinematography and character. People like you inspire me to continue on with my channel. Yeah, love my cummins! I've been driving them for about 15 years now and have yet to have one let me down. The dodge platform, on the other hand...is something to be desired sometimes. Although my newish 4th gen has been a great truck. Tons of power, and very comfortable as long as you have a couple tons in the back! Cheers, V
Shhhhh go knock on some wood @@downbytheriver501. It's really nice kickin back & watching a vid something where we feel like we were right in the passenger seat. Keep on livin the Dream man.
I have a 2017 Northern Lite 9-6-Q SE on a 2017 Ram 3500 4x4 dully and that bad boy will go just about anywhere gnarly off road because I like to boondock for weeks where no RV's dare to adventure too and ride the KTM that's mounted on the front, the best of both off road Worlds...~Take chances go where no wheels have ever rolled~
Are you able to air down the rears when offroading? That is my main reason for not getting a dually. Everything else has me leaning towards one for my next truck. Or a ram 5500 with 41" MPTs. That's looking more realistic for me right now.
I have a little yamaha tw200 that I have been trying to figure out how to carry with me without a trailer. Unfortunately, I purchased my new front bumper without realizing I couldn't just add on a front receiver hitch, so I would have to carry it on the back which presents a whole new level of complexity...since I dont have a torklift superhitch and dont plan on getting one.
I also have a new can am defender 6x6 coming in as well. I cant wait to ride with that thing, its going to take my pup and I further back into the backcountry since we're both getting old and broken down.
@@downbytheriver501 I've not had to air down the tires yet going off road but I do have an air compressor if needed. As for carrying a tw200 there is a swing away motorcycle rack made for your rear receiver though you will need to remove the rear carry rack...love the dully it's very stable no need for any stabilizing add on's.
“I thought this was a paved road!” 😂 Too funny! 👍✌️
😁
We do this sorta stuff with a beat up 1980 Dodge regular cab 3/4 ton and an old '92 Somerset fiberglass camper. Old as crap so we don't care to much if we wreck her. But honey, to do that with that with that pretty rig of yours is braver and crazier than I can fathom! Even the dog got out to walk where it was safer! Not sure if I should applaud your chutzpah or arrange some sort of intervention. Trust me when I tell you that changing a tire in those kinda conditions is an epic adventure all its own. More hissing, spitting and cursing than you can air on CZcams.
Yeah, I probably won't be driving down that road anytime soon again. it was really fun but I realize that there are only so many trips like that I can do with a stock truck before something breaks!
Take care and L'chayim!
So cool awesome setup!
Thanks!
I always wondered what the outer limits were for a truck camper, mine eyes have seen the glory.
Gaze upon thine glory, and rejoice! For thoust has giveth thee a gander!
Question, have you got a air compressor so that you can lower your tire pressure out on the trails? You have a very nice rig, love the Northern Light. Also we like seeing your German Shepherd running behind, getting a little exercise. Lol
Yep. I have a viair compressor. Hope to install a engine mounted twin ARB soon and have a reservoir tank installed as well because airing up these 35s takes about 15-20 min. Air down rears to 35-40 and fronts to 30-35. Could possibly go lower but it has some nice flex at that level and dont want to risk popping a bead.
Yes, he loves running around! Makes sense to let him have a little bit of fun when I'm only going 3 mph, haha. Thanks for the comment!
@@downbytheriver501 I found the only way to reasonably air up my 70PSI BFGs is with a CO2 tank.
@@renov8r yeah I have to air back up to 80 in my rears, and they're 35s so it is painfully slow. I am going to have my mechanic friend install airbags, a reservoir tank, and an ARB twin air compressor pretty soon so I dont have to spend a half hour waiting for the little viair compressor to pump up my tires.
I'm trying to figure out where in the Beartooths that is. It looks like it's in the area of the Top of the World Store(?). There's another road up there that I've been saying for decades I'm going to explore "next time". You can see it from the nice overlook (the one that has a parking lot and porta-potties) and it almost looks like you can get even closer to the Bear's Tooth. I think the access is from the campground at the bottom of the switchbacks on your way down to Red Lodge. Oh, well, one of these years...BTW, you've got more 'nads than I do. The wife would NOT be happy if I tried what you did! Now, UNLADEN, that's a different story.
That's a different road. This one is by the top of the world close to the Morrison jeep trail(which I found out the hard way to never take a truck camper into)
Now we know what an F1 or Indy Car diesel would sound like.
Beautiful rig and country. I have a short bed F250 and a Lance Lite that weighs 1700# dry that intended on boon docking with. The only issue is the wife and daughter don’t like roads with bumps. If you don’t remove your camper while camping you may consider removing your jacks. You can save 200-300 lbs of weight and not worry about getting snagged on a rock. Also, it looks cooler.
I've seriously considered that many times. But at the moment, if I get a flat, I need to have my jacks on in order to use the factory bottle jack. Should probably invest in a nice jack sooner than later!
Don't like bumps..... never go to Michigan or Illinois, the Highways are like this road he drove on. their dirt roads are smoother.... LOL
@down by the river. I saw something recently I thought I would share. Some people with pop up campers flip their jacks upside down for off roading. If you install bracket extensions I think you can do the same to get them out of the way and still have them with you.
@@sean7627 sorry for the late reply, as CZcams doesn’t always let me know when people reply to me. I’ve never heard or seen anyone do that. Sounds like a good solution though!
My hat is off to you sir. I’ll be out there in a camper myself in a couple of years and taking that big rig over those rocks takes real resolve. If you keep up with this you might consider installing rock cameras since you don’t have a spotter.
Only way I’m doing this again is if I have a sponsor hahaha. It was super risky! Thanks for watching buddy!
I don’t know if Dually 3500 can handle it. Good job!
Definitely need to air down on roads like this, so duallys would have a really hard time! But the added stability would be handy
Wow, awesome video mate! Made me fall in love with the ram 3500. Too bad they don't sell them here in Europe...
Thanks ! Yeah it’s a pretty good truck. Doesn’t ride the best but it’s a tough truck for sure
The 15,000 rpm diesel was tied with sleeping doggy for best moments.😀
Amazing how your rig drives while you're filming it.
Those low gears are great for something!
@@downbytheriver501 Oh gee, I really thought you had your camera propped on some rocks or something. : D
Wow, that's amazing!!
Wow!
Major endorsement for whatever brand of tire you're running. I thought you'd pop one at least.
Yeah, toyo tires are amazing. When I did this trail, they were down to about 20% of their life left!
I thought they looked thin on tread. Speaks highly of the tire carcass to hold up so well. Wow.
😂You’re a nut
Your GS is awesome
My Bear is a ass
Great job
Nice video! My wife and I do the same thing in our F250 and a small Capri camper. Our only problem is the camper sway. I noticed yours really held tight to the truck. What type of stabilizer bars are those? They look like they work great!
They're torklift tiedowns. Definitely the best ones on the market. Quick detach so you dont have twist and recalibrate like the old styles.
No Step On Snek... I like it!
🤫
Haha thanks man. Gotta be at least a little bit self deprecating at one’s own beliefs!
This is great! I have a Lance Lite 915 on a Chev 2500HD. The camper is 2600 lbs. Truck is 2wd though. Looking to swap with a 4WD setup and a truck with higher payload capacity. I have had it off road, and want to do more! We should start a facebook group for non-popup offroad truck campers!
Thanks! I actually deleted my facebook account. I spent too much time on it and decided it's best for my sanity to not be part of it anymore.
I’ve been saying for someone to post does of hard wall truck camper off road and what it is safe to do. Thanks! What suspension mods do you have?
Thanks. Bone stock except torklift stable loads on the rear leaf pack.
Nice rig...IMHO..I can't watch 15 minutes of a truck driving through rocky roads at 1 mph. Sorry...you sure got a loyal friend.
I agree. It was the very first video I'd ever made and have gotten better about cutting out the unnecessary carbs as much as possible. Thanks for watching(any of it hahaha)
Cool .getting a old northlight from my dad ,free .l
🐶♥️
Can I ask the brand and what kind of hitch storage shelf you have? Thanks
I’m a bit confused what a hitch storage shelf is? My drop hitch is an Anderson if you’re curious about that
@@downbytheriver501 sorry not sure the correct term but just referring to the rear external storage
@@groundladderquicktips9957 oh the hitch hauler. That thing was just some cheap uhaul thing I think I got for free. Can’t remember where I even got it or exactly what it’s called but I think it’s made by uhaul.
A little ballsy with only one vehicle.
Agree!
It was like the littte engine that could.
😂
I’m looking at the 9-6 for my 06 F350 4x4. Did you do any suspension upgrades to your truck?
Only thing I did was torklift stableloads. It does really well with just those!
Cool...
which size method wheels (and offset) do you have, along with the tire size? thanks
18”. 285/75/18. Not sure of the offset but I think it’s +18?
@@downbytheriver501 thank you for the response!
@@mcool4587 you’re welcome buddy
@@downbytheriver501 Did they fit with a stock suspension set up without any rubbing, or did you use levelling kit.
Great video & I'll be checking out more of your channel over the next few days
@@thewarpig111 all stock except the torklift stable loads in the rear. Tiny bit of rubbing in the front at full lock but otherwise they are perfect!
Hi great video. You got balls man!, i have ram 2500 and has 1800lbs camper , im so scared of offroading thinking its going to tip over.. anyways do you have 68rfe transmission? Do you lock to 4th gear and up when offroading? Any tranny upgrades? Let me know if you have some tips and tricks to increase longevity with my 68rfe. Tnx
Thanks. I have the G56. One thing I did do that may help you is I got a 2LO lockout so I can utilize the low gears while still in 2WD. That reduces the load on your drivetrain
Your video is inspiring to watch. I have a f 350 short bed with a lance 825 and I hope to take to similar places. Is your suspension stock or did you beef anything up?
It is basically stock. Only additions were timbren stable loads. Although I am finding myself traveling roads almost as bad as this somewhat often, which leads me to conclude that I may be upgrading to a ram 5500 with some super singles so it can handle the terrain and the load better.
@@downbytheriver501 we are spec’ing the 10.2 and Ram 5500 cab chassis. Any advice?
@@michelebullock9867 hoards of it, but I guess that depends on what kind of advice you’re looking for! What would you like to know?
Nice rig, did Northern sponsor your video?
You're not off-roading, you're off-highway on unpaved roads. We do that just to get to the lake.
I'd expect a fisherman to have a better trolling game than that. Guess not.
Looks like I-95. 👍
Looking at a similar setup but with a short bed. How often do you feel like you want a locker.
Definitely could've used it several times on this trip! But realistically with how big this setup is, I typically dont get into terrain bad enough to require a locker.
I've looked for the specs on your truck and did not see, could I ask if that is a 6'4" box or 8' box?? Thanks
8’. Go big or go home! 🤣
I've always wondered what it would be like to overland with a large truck-bed camper like that.
Any regrets overlanding with such a large rig? I worry about the challenges or such a rig, and it has me leaning towards popup truck bed campers and off-road trailers.
Generally speaking I would advise against this level of off-roading with a truck camper on this style of truck. Had it been a 5500 with some 41s or even a 3500 with at least some 37s, I would be much less hesitant to try this trail again. Not so much because of the terrain, but rather because of how much less affected the rig would be due to the diameter of the tire.
If you’re looking to regularly ride trails like this and don’t want to get a larger truck capable of handling the larger tires (sway is a huge issue which limits ability to traverse terrain efficiently), regularly stay in cold climates, or you don’t full time in your camper, I’d say the pop up is the way to go.
What year is your truck? Have you done any suspension mods to control the roll etc.?
Only thing done is torklift stableloads. Handles really well for most applications!
I’ve got an 8-11, planning to put it on the exact same truck. We currently do some pretty serious off-roading to get to some of our camp spots without a camper on top. My biggest concern is the high CG in off-camber situations, do you feel like it gets pretty sketchy or can you handle some decent side angles?
Honestly, anything more than about a 10 degree camber is 100% pucker factor. Heck...any camber angle feels sketchy. I wish I could safely test the tipping points so I know my limitations. After this trip, I went to the infamous jeep trail up there, and found myself squeezing through trees on a very terrifying camber angle. How I got through there without damaging anything or flipping is beyond me. I also didnt film any of it because it was that scary
Now that was cool. Tired of seeing these campers in rv parks and Walmart.
Thank you!
Would you attempt that trail in a gas engine??
Oh yeah, either method of ICE would be perfectly fine. The gas may even be a bit better because it doesn’t have an inter cooler that it can get caught on.
Because I have a V-10 in my 1 ton truck, F-350 super duty
Did you go back out via the same route?
Yep. It was a dead end that ended at a beautiful lake. I really wished I would've gone down there to visit it, but I wasn't feeling bold enough to conquer the last mile or so with that nasty breakover section. I should've just got out and walked but laziness got the better of me that day!
Do you follow topo maps??
Yep. I have delorme atlas maps of every state I visit and explore, and if I go really off the beaten path, I look for much more detail oriented maps so I can see what I'm getting into
@@downbytheriver501 I just started offroading with a 4Runner, no truckcamper rig yet but someday, and am using a Bad Elf GPS pro with Bluetooth for current Lat/Long connected to my iPad Air and iPhone 11 Pro and the GAIA GPS app with an annual subscription. Somewhat of a learning curve learning how to use GAIAGPS and the different map layers but it has worked well on 3 trips to different National Forests. I do trip planning with waypoints, preplanned routes and record all my tracks. Getting experience for future overlanding. BTW, what road were you on?
@@byronhay4543 I also started off-roading with a 2000 Toyota 4Runner. best vehicle I've ever owned. that thing would go places I dare not ever with this rig, even without the camper.
You sound quite technologically advanced for your routes! I usually just have a couple of maps and sometimes will turn on GPS with my phone if I have reception before I head out, using mountains, rivers, lakes, etc as bearing points.
The road I was on slips my mind at the moment. it was up on the bear tooth pass and It takes you down to a beautiful lake. probably could look it up fairly easily, as there aren't a whole lot of off-roading trails up there. there is one up there that is infamous for its treacherousness...it's not that one, but rather the one that is due south of it. you can access it just west of the only store that is up in that area; the turn is about a mile uphill(east-is) on the right.
Wanted to see more of camper, not your dog or rough roads. Sorry
you should be sorry ... easily the dumbest comment of the year