A detachable tortoise shell

With a camper shell you easily convert your bakkie into a motorhome. Now the newly introduced Northstar 600ATV will ensure you do it in style, reports

You get two types of camper shells: those where the load bin is replaced by a sleeping unit that’s bolted on the bakkie’s chassis (see page 90), and the type that simply slides on and of the load bin and you don’t have to permanently lose your bakkie’s cargo space. Examples of the former are Echo’s Chobe RV, Infanta’s Inkunzi and Bush Lapa’s standard Bosluis.

The Northstar 600ATV hard wall-camper shell falls into the second category. This shell, like a number of other models on the market, has a further advantage: it has legs, which means you can lift it off the bakkie in the campsite. If you’re only overnighting somewhere with the unit still fitted, simply lower the two legs at the back and you’re ready for bed.

The story behind the story

Gregory Renault from St Francis Bay has been importing Palomino and Northstar models from America since November 2014. The Northstar 600ATV model is the very latest.

As the units are imported, some minor changes are made to adapt it to South Africa – the electric outlets for instance.

You don’t need a special driver’s license, because the unit simply fits on the back of your bakkie. The vehicle also doesn’t have to be re-registered to adjust the weight, and your

standard papers will still be valid.

The unit fits on any bakkie, whether it’s a single cab or a double cab. On a single cab, you can close the tailgate, but the double cab’s tail gate stays open. This unit also gets its own taillights as it blocks those of the bakkie.

Stretch those legs

The 600ATV is attached to the anchor points of the bakkie with four straps. Off-loading it is as easy as pie: simply loosen the straps and slide it off the load bin.

At each corner is a leg that can be extended to the ground. It works mechanically with a crank-handle, but you also get a special fitting if you want to use a drill. There is even a third choice: electrically operated legs. They work with a remote control and you can lower all four legs at the same time or each individually. Once the legs are in place, simply drive the bakkie out from under the unit and then lower the shell so it’s easier to get into it.

Hoponin

The panels are made of marine ply and finished with fibreglass skins, and the door sits at the back with a wide step underneath.

As you get in, a cassette toilet is on your left in its own cubicle, which doubles as a shower cubicle. This is undoubtedly the 600ATV’s biggest selling point.

Next to it is the twin gas burner and basin with a tap that extends much like a shower head does.

Against the opposite panel is a bench that stretches from the door down the wall. Here you can set up a small table top for meal times or turn it into a bed so one more person can sleep here.

You climb onto the main bed using a step that sits between the basin and the end of the bench. The water tank is mounted under the step and the bar fridge is to the right.

The bed section extends over the roof of the bakkie. The bed itself is 1,85 x 1,42 m in size – slightly wider than a double bed. The area above your head is high enough for you to sit upright on the bed, and there’s a window on each side that can open. Each window has mosquito mesh and blinds.

To the right of the bed is an open shelf with flat lid in the middle. You can use this as a bedside table, but also lift the lid to store some of your valuables inside a sunken cupboard where they’re out of sight.

A gas cylinder is mounted outside in its own cupboard at the bakkie’s left rear door. Just to its right is an extendable shower head, just in case you want to set up an outdoor shower tent here.

The 600ATV comes with a 100 Ah deepcycle battery, so when it’s not connected to 220 V power, equipment including the lights, water pump and fridge work with 12 V shore power. The geyser uses gas.

What comes standard?

Standard items include the fridge, cassette toilet, gas stove and inverter.

Items including air-con, a 22” TV (12 V), the electrically operated legs, a 160 W solar panel with its control system, and the rearview camera and screen are just some of the many optional extras.