2009 Hawk on 2001 Tundra observations

[dorocks]

Greetings All

If you have followed some of my threads you probably noticed I struggled between getting a Kestrel or a Hawk for my 2001 Tundra. But when a very clean, barely used Hawk showed up on Craigslist I couldn't resist the purchase. My wife had said she prefers nicer newer stuff nowadays, and since she makes more money than me, she said go for it.

One of the first things I noticed was when you get a Hawk, you don't have to get extension mirrors. Because the camper sits 5 inches above the bed rails you can see just fine "under" the camper sides with the standard mirrors.

Two, I did not have to drill a hole in the bed to run the wiring. Since the camper is above the side rails I just slipped my wiring harness down a stake hole and and the conjoined plugs stay in there just fine.

Third, amenities are nice. i never considered getting a furnace but this Hawk had one. It got rainy and cold when I was working on the camper early am. I jumped in the camper to wait out the showers and turned on the furnace. I was toasty in no time. I can see us doing more cold weather camping than I expected.

Fourth, the height in the Hawk surprised me. Even with the top down, I can sit comfortably inside even though I am 6'1". When I made the trip up to Lompoc, leaving at 4:00am, and drove back I got pooped. I jumped in back of the camper, and napped on the couch, with the top still down.

Fifth, the solar is heavy. It takes two to get the front roof up. May consider getting the lift assists from FWC.

Sixth, I ordered my custom springs from Deaver to handle the load. I want my truck at normal height. I don't plan to have the camper off the truck.

Seven and finally. My wife was pleasantly surprised at the room. With all the appliances we expected less space. Looks like FWC has tried to squeeze as much storage as they can in a slide in camper.

Wish I had had this unit when I went to Canyonlands. http://keithbarnes.smugmug.com/Landscapes/White-Rim-Trail-Day-Two/10029977_C7Ldd#694498039_DghLK. I could have escaped the mosquitoes that scarred me for life Tee Hee.

Keith and Jeanne Barnes

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Yay!

Post pictures!

 

[billharr]

You will love the Hawk. I have a 2002 Hawk on my 2005 Tundra. You are correct I look under the sides with my mirrors works great. If just you and your wife you may want to look at the dinette conversion. Search my posts for pictures of mine it is working out great. Agree on the heater did not think I would use but one morning on the coast make me a believer.

Bill in Stockton.

 

[SunMan]

Congrats on your new set up. Also enjoyed your WRT pics.

 

[pods8]

Fifth, the solar is heavy. It takes two to get the front roof up. May consider getting the lift assists from FWC.


Might want to scroll through this thread: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/2974/

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Keith

Since the Hawk Model you have is sitting tall on your truck bed, you might consider adding a wind faring to the cabover of the camper, or on the top of your truck cab.

This might reduce some wind noise and you might get a little better gas mileage.

I don't think it would hurt anything. Just a thought.

Here are some sample of other customers I have seen.

Happy Camping !






.

 

[5 Speed]

Love my Hawk on my 2000 Tundra. One thing you really need to do is close the gap above the cab. Once I did the mod
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1197/page__p__12318__fromsearch__1&#entry12318
I have no wind noise, it doesn't buck when passing a semi and I can carry all my fly rods, umbrellas and my tripod up top. I have seen a real improvement in mpg. Because I have a boot in-between the cab and the camper the change in wind noise is greatly reduced and the amount of turbulence actually makes the camper feel like it tracks better. I have firestone air bags along with the newer Hellwig rear bar and it is easy to forget the camper is on the back. My next mod is to somehow make a end cap that covers both tubes in a simple design.

 

[dorocks]

Since I read this post and the following ones I got wondering. The conventional deflectors that deflect up and over are only as wide as the cab.

The underneath style like 5 Speed's look like they deflect as widely as the camper.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1197/page__p__12318__fromsearch__1&#entry12318)

I wonder which style works best aerodynamically.

I either case is the underneath of the cabover plywood? Are there aluminum pieces in that area? Both styles have to be screwed into something. I do not want to mess that area up.

Of the examples of deflectors that Stan posted, what is the deflector made of, on the one that is all white (tubing and deflector)?


I saw another underneath style one on another page.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/17575645/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1






Hey Keith

Since the Hawk Model you have is sitting tall on your truck bed, you might consider adding a wind faring to the cabover of the camper, or on the top of your truck cab.

This might reduce some wind noise and you might get a little better gas mileage.

I don't think it would hurt anything. Just a thought.

Here are some sample of other customers I have seen.

Happy Camping !






.

 

[5 Speed]

I either case is the underneath of the cabover plywood? Are there aluminum pieces in that area? Both styles have to be screwed into something. I do not want to mess that area up.

The underside of my Hawk is just coated plywood. I only drilled a few holes and put T-nuts on the other side (bottom of the bed from the inside) and they would seal up easily if I ever needed to remove the tubes. It would be an interesting test to put them in a wind tunnel, what might be interesting to see if what happens when they pass a semi. Before I put the dam on I would get almost a bucking motion because of the air hitting the flat surface of the camper and I don't feel this anymore, pushing the air to the sides would be different than moving up and over but how? I typically travel with a minimum of two fly rods and two umbrellas plus in the winter snowshoe polls and the all now have wonderful places to go. I also store one or two of my tripods up top. I have gone off road quite a bit since the install and they never hit, it is almost like the Tundra was designed for this. I did some research and there was a person who actually made a airdam out of a material that had holes in it and it still performed the same because the way the air traveled along the dam. I tend to believe this because I believe most of the air moves along the edge and doesn't go below the dam and the top of the truck because the almost lack of wind noise. My boot is only made out of a thin layer of nylon and at highway speed only road noise is present and before the dam it flapped all the time, only time it flaps now is during cross winds. I keep telling myself to soundproof the thing and it never gets finished.