Northstar reimagines its best-selling Liberty, maximizing every aspect to create the Offroada—a long-term, far-flung truck camper traveling machine. Leave your short bed assumptions behind. Meet the Northstar Offroada!
Northstar launched the Liberty in 2012 as a hard side, non-slide, fully self-contained, wet bath, short bed only truck camper that could payload match more stout half-tons and all three-quarter tons, leaving nothing hanging past the rear truck bumper.
The Liberty’s trick was to dial in the exact length, width, height, and features needed—and nothing more. The resulting camper was 7 feet wide with a 7 foot floor length and offered a 20 gallon fresh tank, 13 gallon gray tank, 4.5 gallon cassette. This spelled perfection for weekend warriors, short-term trip takers, and mission-focused campers who value simplicity.
The Liberty formula hit the proverbial bullseye of what many consumers were looking for and quickly became a strong seller for the Cedar Falls, Iowa, company. Thirteen years later, the Northstar Liberty has enjoyed many updates while leaving the core the same.
So what happens when Northstar starts with the Liberty foundation and floor plan and expands the fresh tank 80 percent, the refrigerator 170 percent, adds up to 400 watts of solar and up to 300Ah of lithium batteries? You get the Offroada, a new, no-holds-barred, let’s go to Alaska, Baja, Labrador truck camper.
Only that’s not the only story behind this new Northstar, nor are the aforementioned spec bumps the only differences between the Liberty and the Offroada. You see, the Offroada started as an export camper for Australia and the rest of the world. And there are quite a few additional details to distinguish this new Offroada.
To learn more about the new Northstar Offroada, we talked to Rex Willett, President of Northstar Campers.
The Northstar Offroada is a hard-side, non-slide, wet bath truck camper made for short bed or long bed trucks. The interior floor length of the Northstar Offroada is 7’0″, the width is 7’0”, and the interior height is 6’5.5″.
The Northstar Offroada has a 36-gallon fresh tank, a 13-gallon grey tank, and a 5-gallon cassette toilet with its own 4-gallon fresh tank.
The camper comes standard with 200-watts of solar and one 20-pound propane tank. The Offroada can accommodate up to 800-watts of solar, 900Ah of lithium, and up to four 20-pound propane tanks.
Northstar is reporting the dry weight of the Northstar Offroada at 1,885 pounds with standard features. The MSRP for the Northstar Offroada is $38,900.
Request a Northstar Offroada brochure
Before we talk about the Offroada, tell us the history of the Liberty and why that camper has been in steady production since 2012.
The Liberty really took off because it checks so many boxes that a lot of campers in this size just don’t. A lot of our competition puts the refrigerator up in the cabover and compromises the layout. The Liberty gives you a true closed bathroom with a cassette toilet, it’s fully self-contained, and it’s a true 7-foot camper. That’s always driven its success. It’s also got real off-road capability because it’s only 7 feet wide. That’s the same width as a lot of pop-ups in the industry. Even though it’s a hard side, it’s only about 17 inches taller than our 650SC pop-up in travel mode, so the profile stays very manageable.
The Liberty also hits a great price point—under $40,000. At right around 2,000 pounds, it fits beautifully on three-quarter ton trucks. With dual LP tanks, 20 gallons of fresh water, and more than ample storage, it’s genuinely capable off-grid. Add in the rising cost and limited availability of campgrounds, and more people are looking harder at true self-contained campers. That’s where the Liberty really shines, and it’s why it’s been so hard to compete with.
When did the Offroada officially become a truck camper at Northstar?
We used to sell an Offroada in Australia, but that was a different floor plan. That model is now discontinued, but I liked the Offroada name. I mean, ‘Offroada’—what more do you have to say? That’s why I brought the name back.
So what’s the story behind the new 2026 Northstar Offroada?
We started with the Liberty—a proven and highly evolved platform and floor plan. We then went with a flat walkable roof to create more headroom in the cabover and a better feeling of interior space. There’s a full five inches of additional height at the front of the cabover in the Offroada. We also raised the roof of the Liberty from 6’4” to 6’5.5” last year, which carries over to the Offroada.
Next, we added overhead cabinets over the windows in the cabover. The result is a cabover with more storage, sit-up headroom, and the ability to sit up with a pillow behind you and read a book, or use a laptop.
Once the cabinets were in, I thought, “We could add a 6.25 inch basement and put a fresh tank in the floor like the 10X and the Night Hawk.” That allowed the Offroada to go from 20 gallons of fresh to 36 gallons of fresh. It also provided the space to go from one Group 31 battery to up to 900Ah of lithium and an inverter in the cabover step area. It’s dramatic.
The Offroada is only $2,200 more than a Liberty with all of these huge upgrades. It’s a good deal for someone who wants a truly off-road and off-grid capable truck camper at a good price, without compromise.
To the right of the Renogy ‘Adventurer’ solar charge controller is a Topargee branded display. What is that?
The Topargee is a water monitoring system from Australia. It uses an impeller to precisely count down your water usage in real time without the need for tank sensors. You can check the display before and after you shower and know exactly how much water you’ve consumed. You can then use that data to know how much water you need for a given amount of time.
That’s a new product and concept for the marketplace. Is the Offroada replacing the Liberty?
You can buy a Liberty at $36,700 and an Offroada at $38,800. If you look at the three cubic foot refrigerator in the Liberty versus the ten cubic foot refrigerator in the Offroada, it’s no contest. Of course, we’ll let the consumer tell us what they want. If it were me, I would want the capability to carry more food.
Are there any differences between the Offroada and Liberty’s wet baths?
The Offroada gets a solid wood door instead of a fabric door on the Liberty. The Offroada’s wet bath is also available with an insulated bathroom window.
Beyond that, the wet baths are identical. The wet bath features an exhaust fan off the back wall, two interior lights, and an overhead cabinet. The Thetford cassette toilet has a 4.5 gallon black capacity and four gallons of fresh.
We already covered the interior height in the cabover. Any other differences between the Liberty and Offroada?
The cabover height and upper cabinetry over the windows are the major differences. We also used flat panel, darker-tinted windows with black interior frames, shades, and screens. The window shades and screens can be easily tightened with a hand tool. There are no strings to worry about. I have the windows made specifically for us with that feature.
On the upper cabinets, we have USB and USB-C outlets, and lighting. The Offroada also has an optional sky view vent with lights on a dimmer switch.
Any differences between the Offroada and Liberty’s kitchen areas?
No. The flush-mount glass-top sink with a cutting board, and glass top stove are standard. We also added an LED light strip under the cabinet for nighttime ambient lighting.
The upper cabinets are taller due to the increased height of the camper and deeper to accommodate the air fryer/microwave option. We recently had a customer make a blueberry pie in their air fryer/microwave, and it looked perfect—just like it came out of an oven. They cooked the pie off-grid with their inverter and lithium battery bank. If you don’t get the air fryer, you get a cabinet and door with taller and deeper storage.
All of the outlets in the Offroada will run off the optional inverter, except for two that run off the converter while plugged into shore power. To tell the outlets apart, the shore power outlets are white, and the inverted outlets are black.
If you get the inverter option, then everything 110 volt, except for the roof air conditioner, is inverted in the camper, and we add the two landline converted outlets. In the kitchen photo above, you can see the white outlet and the black outlet.
That is a very simple and clever idea. Are there any differences between the Offroada and Liberty’s dinettes?
The Offroada dinette is leatherette standard. The important benefit of leatherette is that if you have pets or spill coffee, it doesn’t stain anything or absorb odors. Leatherette is one of Northstar’s biggest across-the-board changes for 2026.
The Offroada comes standard with a Lagun table system and an overhead cabinet. In the photos, you see the forward upper bunk option. The optional upper bunk uniquely runs into the cabover area for a 72-inch sleeping area with a 300 pound weight capacity. Northstar Campers is the only one to offer an upper bunk with truly adult-size and weight capacity. The lower dinette can also be made into a larger bed area with the included support leg.
Turning to the entryway, the entrance door went from 22 inches wide to 24 inches wide, and now offers an optional window and pull-down privacy screen. The 24-inch door is actually a new heavy duty door with an aluminum frame and skin. There are no vinyl inserts to discolor from sun exposure on the exterior, and the screws are hidden when the door is closed. It’s a big upgrade.
Did the center of gravity move much from the Liberty to the Offroada with these changes?
The center of gravity moved back about 1.25 inches. The Offroada’s fresh water tank is below the floor and disperses the weight better than the above-the-floor tank in the Liberty, helping to keep the center of gravity forward. Of course, once you fill the 10 cubic foot refrigerator with food, the center of gravity will move back a little.
Where is the center of gravity on the Offroada?
It’s at 25 1/4” from the front wall.
Another important factor for the center of gravity is the air conditioner options. If someone opts for the floor air instead of the roof air, that’s 80 pounds off the roof, and onto the floor, lowering the center of gravity. It’s important to think of the center of gravity not just front to back, but height as well. The more forward and lower, the better.
What trucks is the Offroada built for?
The Offroada is ideal for a three-quarter or one-ton truck. With a 1,885 pound base weight, we have no intention for the Offroada with a half-ton.
What step system is included?
My truck is shown in the pictures with the GM’s Multi-Flex tailgate step folded down. You can also use a Torklift Stow N’ Go and Tailgate Adapter Bracket. If you prefer to remove your tailgate, the Torklift Stow N’ Go system can be attached to the rear of the camper. Another option is a steel Brophy two-step that slides into your hitch.
What furnace and water heater did you choose for the Offroada?
The Offroada appliances mirror the rest of the Northstar hard walls, including a flush-mount, glass-top, two-burner cooktop, Suburban auto ignition furnace, and a Suburban 20,000 BTU water heater. These are proven appliances that perform.
We have upgraded from WFCO converters to Progressive Dynamics rated at 45 amps. All of our converters, including those in our pop-up models, are now 45 amps. The Progressive Dynamics converters read and charge lithium batteries better.
How were you able to put a 10 cubic foot 12 volt Furrion refrigerator in the Offroada in the same area where the Liberty has a 3.5 cubic foot propane refrigerator?
In the Liberty, the propane compartment is located under the refrigerator. For the Offroada, we moved the tank to the rear exterior, creating the space we needed for the 10 cubic foot 12 volt refrigerator. The exterior propane tank cradle is extremely secure. When the tank is strapped into the cradle, you can’t move it.
The cost of food inspired this change. I stopped at an Arby’s the other day and it was $12 for one person. Having a larger capacity for food means you have the option to eat out less. The freezer size is what’s really great about this new refrigerator. That goes in conjunction with the air fryer/microwave. Between the two, you can bring more sealed meals and ready-to-grill meats from home and cook them up in an air fryer/microwave or outside grill.
The 12-volt refrigerator also has no upper or side wall vents, so you have fewer holes in the camper and roof for leaks or bug infiltration issues. The compressor is on the backside of the unit and pulls air from one side of the unit and puts it out on the other. Eliminating the need for outside vents is a big improvement.
Is the Offroada capable of more than one propane tank?
Yes. We can install storage boxes on the back of the camper that can hold two propane tanks each. With four 20 pound tanks, you’d have more propane capacity than any other truck camper on the market.
We noticed that the Offroada has a floor air conditioner similar to your GMAX series. Tell us about the air conditioner options for the Offroada.
With the Northstar 10X model, we have found that the floor air is good for sleeping, but not for maintaining 70 degrees in the daytime. With the Offroada, you can get roof air and/or the floor air, same as the 10X.
The roof air is a Dometic Penguin unit. For off-grid running, that unit can run for a few hours off a lithium battery system, but it is best used with a portable generator.
Some people don’t want the height of a roof-top air conditioner, or live far enough north that they don’t need it. For those folks, skipping an air conditioner or going with the floor air will work well. If you need a more powerful air conditioner, go with the roof air.
How much solar is standard, and what’s the maximum optional capacity?
One 200-watt solar panel is standard on the Offroada. For those who want more, we can fit up to four 200-watt panels on the roof for 800-watts. That requires two separate 30-amp controllers.
Does the Northstar Offroada ship with batteries?
No. Batteries are optional, as many customers have personal preferences around battery makes and models. For customers who want batteries from the factory, we offer 300Ah lithium batteries for $750 each. The Offroada can accommodate up to three 300Ah batteries for 900 Ah total.
If you want a 3000-watt inverter, I suggest you also order that from the factory. We wire our inverters with heavy duty 2/0 gauge wiring.
How is this the Offroada tied down?
The Offroada has outside tie-down points for traditional Torklift turnbuckles standard, and the interior tie-down hooks for ratchet straps or interior tie-down systems are optional. If you get the interior tie-down hooks, the camper will have access doors to reach the interior ratchet straps.
Is the Offroada more four-season ready than the Liberty?
That’s an interesting question. By eliminating the refrigerator vents, you improve the insulation of the camper. Having the water tank in the insulated basement with heating elements is a positive. Overall, the difference is minimal, but the Offroada is better for winter camping.
What are the fresh, grey, and black tank capacities on the Offroada?
The Offroada has 36 gallons of fresh, 13 gallons of gray, and 4.5 gallons of black.
What’s the dry base weight of the Offroada?
The Offroada is 1,885 pounds.
What’s the Offroada’s weight when fully loaded with common options?
Fully loaded, the Offroada would be between 2,300 and 2,400 pounds.
What’s the Offroada MSRP for base and fully-loaded versions?
The base MSRP is $38,900. It would be about $42,000 loaded with the 900 Ah of batteries and 800-watts of solar.
When will the Offroada be available at dealerships?
The Offroada will be shipped to dealers and available in mid-January.
The Offroada will make its RV show debut at the St. Paul RV SuperShow in Minnesota from January 15th to 18th. Niemeyer Camper and RV will be displaying Northstar. I’ll be working that show on Friday and Saturday.
We’ll be offering a special where if you place an order for an Offroada, you will get a free Craftsman 2,200 watt inverter generator with your camper. It’s a model similar to a Honda EU2200i. That deal will be available nationwide for anyone ordering an Offroada during that show and for one week after the show. Offroadas will also be available at Princess Craft in Texas, Scatt Recreation in California, and Trailer World of Colorado in January.
That’s quite the offer. What’s the Northstar Offroada warranty?
There’s a two-year structural warranty on the Offroada. Individual components and appliances have their own warranties.
The Offroada is truly a transformed Liberty, and then some. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Yes. I personally have over a million miles driving a truck camper. With that understanding, we took great care of the Offroada’s fitment to a truck. Looking at the profile, you’ll notice how the cabover and side walls fit to the truck cab and bed rails. It not only looks fantastic, but it also helps to avoid the noise, drag, and decreased fuel economy gaps in these areas create.
“Looking at the profile, you’ll notice how the cabover and side walls fit to the truck cab and bed rails. It not only looks fantastic, but it also helps to avoid the noise, drag, and decreased fuel economy gaps in these areas create.”
Too often, we see truck campers on trucks like a saddle on a cow. They just don’t fit right. If you’re driving down the road with 5 or 6 inches of space between the top of your truck cab and the bottom of your camper, that pushes air up on the cabover and pushes down on the rear axle. That creates audible turbulence inside the truck, crushes your fuel mileage, wears out your truck faster, and looks bad.
There’s no possible way you’ll have these issues with a Northstar. We’ve designed our campers so that there is 1.5 to 2.5 inches of a gap on all the different truck brands. We want a minimal gap.
A couple of years ago, I got rid of the riser kits and raised the height from the bed to the up and out wall to 22 1/8 inches. That raised it, so we don’t need a riser kit. Northstar Campers fit like a glove and look good on all trucks.
I think the Offroada is on target for long-distance travel and camping. It’s both compact and spacious. And you can tailor it to what your needs are. If you want a custom order, you might need to wait a couple of months, but you’ll get exactly what you want.
For more information about the 2026 Northstar Offroada, check out their PDF or visit northstarcampers.com. Click here to request a free Northstar brochure.
