Nord Box slide-on camper - made in Canada

Hello.

Filthy American here, but posting up in the Canada forum because it's relevant.

I rode shotgun with a friend to go pick up a brand new slide-in from Nord Box. I'd never heard of them, and in fact this is the only one of this model in the US right now and 1 of 2 in North America. The other one is the proto, built by Louis at Nord Box in Quebec for himself.



It's all composite, except for the aluminum channels, aluminum skinned doors, and the powder coated stainless corners. This one is built to 7 feet (doesn't quite reach the end of the tailgate in a 6' bed) and my friend had it made unfurnished so she can do the interior herself.

Weight as delivered is slightly under 600 lbs, which is super awesome for something this size. We're talking about fiberglass cabinets and so forth for the interior to try to keep the weight as low as possible, given the GVWR of the Tacoma and also fuel efficiency for the kinds of trips she wants to make with it.



The body is made of fiberglass and closed cell foam, and they can run interior channels for wiring or plumbing anywhere you want. Here's a cross section of a demo piece:



Louis was kind enough to give us great explanations of all of the materials, the construction methods, and recommendations for things like sealants/caulks/glues, so that my friend would be good to go for whatever modifications she wanted to make in the future.

The thing just reeks of quality. For example, I was pleased to see that every bolt on the thing was corrosion resistant and grade 8/10.9, and that the urethane seam sealer on the roof seams was not only extremely clean and consistent, but also obviously applied in one go.

There are 5000 lb load binders at each corner, which attach to the frame and the bed rings. I actually like these way better than the style that go around the bed from the sides.



And it freestands nicely on legs that can be removed in transit if desired. The legs are attached via brackets that have integrated load rings, so you can e.g. stake it down when it's freestanding. Louis mentioned a customer of his with similar brackets who used them to attach saddlebags to the camper for seriously remote/rugged travel. Neat idea.



All the door and window hardware was of excellent quality (Arctic Tern, if you're familiar, the door is even bear rated)



These aren't really my thing, and I'm not getting anything to show this off. I was simply very impressed by the concept, the quality, and the proprietor. He does very, very nice van and truck conversions, and has said that this all-composite method is something he will be switching over to for all future products. I saw a Mercedes van conversion partially completed (structurally 100%, still in process of furnishing and wiring) and was impressed by that as well as some of the ready to deliver vehicles he had sitting.

The guy is super focused and also pays extreme attention to detail with regards to weight - think aviation levels of strength/weight/feature consideration. I really would have liked to pick the guy's brain for a couple more hours, but we had to get on the road.

I'll be helping my friend with with interior furnishing and wiring, so I'll try to keep the thread updated.

If you folks have questions or whatever, I can try to forward them to Louis. He and his wife are the only hands on deck, and they are plumb busy with fulfilling orders, but he still took the time to walk my friend (and me) through the details and glad hand us for the afternoon. I mentioned I would show Truck Internet the box and he was most pleased.

 

Nice! How much?

 

I'm not sure, I wasn't paying! My friend said it was less than a bunch of the other options she looked at and the least expensive by far for a custom size from anyone else.