We just ordered a 2020 Northstar SC short bed camper with no air conditioning; no microwave; no TV, just the basic lightweight package with a LOT of storage and the 41 gallon H2O tank. Even it its basic form it has a lot of extras not found on other campers. For us, it was THE most well thought out camper. Jeanie and I have spent a lot of time the last 2 months looking in depth at all the models you list below, in person, so I'll make a few comments. We laid on the bed; sat on the pot; took a mime shower; got imaginary food out of storage to make a meal; checked out all the capacities of tanks, cupboards, drawers, and the fridge. We opened windows, got down on the floor to see where the heavy goods would be stored, checked out the ease, or not, of filling the propane tank, replacing batteries, using the outside shower. It was almost a Zen thing, with time being the most important way to absorb the vibes from the big white box.
1. No two people looking at campers see the same thing. Our 1998 Lance Lite 165-s was the least tall, lightest, and narrowest camper of its time and we have loved it for almost two decades. It had a lot of storage and was basically the stripped model to keep the weight down. Storage was gained by not having all those useless-on-the-road appliances. Since we don't do summer in the TC, we don't need ac. It was the tried and true example upon which all others were to be compared. With our experience, we knew exactly what we wanted; knew what was worth what; and knew what to expect out of certain fluid and electrical systems.
This is our current rig. The new one has exactly the same, not wide, not tall, not heavy footprint:
In viewing your selections of campers, It's a good thing you have a SRW 3500. Even with that some of these are a stretch.
Lance 825: jefe says: going into the hunt it was our first choice as it was the closest to our old Lance in size (exactly the same footprint) but with upgraded components. What drove Jeanie away from this one was the complete and utter lack of storage.
Nucamp cirrus 800-820 love the style: jefe says: get on the NuCamp facebook page and enjoy the show. Boy, do they have a lot of woes. It was not an option for us because it was too heavy for our camper packaged, 3/4 ton truck even with our 8 leaf suspension upgrade. I've carried 5K pounds of crushed rock back there where it finally compresses down on all 3 upper overloads and Stable Loads.
Lance 865: jefe says: This was our second choice until we climbed into a new one. It has a sinuous walkway/flooring like walking through an obstacle course and felt very oppressive inside. Nice features, but again, very little storage and too compact.
Lance 650: jefe says: This one has a longer nook/lower bed for tall people but will only fit on a 5 to 5-1/2 foot bed. I contacted the Lance hot line and they gave me the bad news. A 6-1/2 foot bed like our short bed RAM has is a no go. The drain for the black tank hangs down at the end and is in the way.
Wolf Creek 850: nice with great features but too wide; too heavy, way too heavy. With a basement, too tall. Suitable with an up suspensioned one ton.
Northstar Laredo SC: This one checked the most boxes for us. We drive to the factory in Iowa this September to pick it up.
jefe
