2013 Silver Spur Hawk on 2016 Ingot Silver F150 XLT

[K7MDL]

While shopping for a camper for my 2016 ingot silver F150 XLT, I was not able to find many pictures of Hawks on 2015/16 F150s, few of those with Silver F150s, and no silver F150s with Silver Spur Hawk exteriors. So for the record, here are a few pictures I took today of my 2013 Silver Spur Hawk on my 2016 Ingot Silver F150 XLT.

I will soon be removing the jacks saving some weight after I finish installing the eyebolt tie downs with backing plates. Stock suspension sagging a bit (currently 7" front, 5" back tire to fenders on uneven gravel) so some leveling needed.

When the camper is off I run a soft tonnaeu cover with a Bedrug, but for the camper, I am using a hard rubber mat, maybe keep things dryer underneath. Might pop for Line-X in the future.

Camper shipped weight is 1316lbs. Figure ~1200lbs with the jacks off. Save 50lbs tailgate off giving me a load budget of ~800lbs to play with. I usually carry minimal water in the tank and tow a light aluminum boat at times, also silver with white paint , about 160lbs tongue weight. So maybe 600lbs for me and my stuff and propane.

1.5 month road trip Seattle-Phoenix-Florida-Moab-Seattle coming up April 1, hope to weigh it all loaded up. Can throw a lot of gear in the boat which helps offload the truck if needed, also good for carrying bulky camp chairs and such. Won't be carrying a motorcycle in a hitch carrier like my previous 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi (Payload 2600lbs) but I have a motorcycle trailer for that now. Had a 2006 Granby on that truck, it too needed air bags for sag, I later swapped air bags for Timbrens to ensure I had full axle articulation when off road and less fuss and worry.

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Here are the build details on the truck for inquiring minds:


2016 F-150 FX4 XLT SCab | Ingot Silver | 6.5' | 3.5EB | 3.55 | Tow | IBC | 7050# GVWR | 1945# Payload | 40/20/40 Seat | 36Gal | Stock Chrome-like PVD wheels | BFG A/T KO2 LT275/70R18E | Chrome Pkg | TonnoPro 42-315 Folding Cover | Weatherguard Mud Guards | AVS Chrome Hood Shield| BedRug | Garmin DriveSmart 70 LMT with wireless Backup Camera for Camper and/or boat trailer | Icom IC-706MkIIg ham radio

2013 Four Wheel Camper Hawk Silver Spur exterior, | cooktop | DSI hot water | Outside shower | CR110 fridge | 120W folding portable Zamp solar panel | Zamp solar charger/controller | Dual 79AH AGM batteries | gas struts | roll over couch | LED lighting inside | one piece roof | Fantastic fan | extra Vent over bed | Furnace | 2 Propane bottles | Fiama side awning | Solar wired top and side with SAE plugs | Mechanical Jacks

 

[iowahiker]

Nice rig and thanks for all the info. Please post some fuel mpg's (by the tank fills since the computers read high) with the camper after some trips since you have the new Ford and the big turbo six. We are always looking ahead to our next truck and comparing the 5.0 to the turbo.

 

[CamperCamper]

Nice looking rig! Is that boat a Hewescraft Sportsman?

 

[K7MDL]

2001 18ft Alumaweld Intruder. Honda 90 and 8 kicker, electric Scotty downriggers because I am tired of cranking, now just cranky .

 

[CamperCamper]

2001 18ft Alumaweld Intruder. Honda 90 and 8 kicker, electric Scotty downriggers because I am tired of cranking, now just cranky .

Equally nice rig! Similar debate as the ATC or FWC. It's all in the personal preferences.

 

[K7MDL]

Here is the tag-a-long. Towing it 8,000 miles in a week. All new rubber and bearings greased in honor of the occasion. Should be interesting.
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Bring your own kidney belt and spine support - this 14 degree deadrise bottom pounds heavily at speed in any kind of chop, amplified given the forward helm so is no smooth cruiser but fishes well enough.

Long ago I had a 1990 Hewescraft 16ft SeaRunner with a Merc 70 for 8 years. It served very well. Then went up to a 21 walkaround for some near offshore fishing at Neah Bay and Vancouver Island.

My old fishing buddy bought this new in 2001 but he moved away in 2008 , I sold my 21ft boat and went motorcycle riding and got a truck camper. This returned to Seattle, was serviced and then sat in storage for 5 years growing weeds and moss. Tired of paying storage and not having the energy to clean it up and sell it, he gave it to me June 2015 and I have fixed it back up to it's former glory. I survived very well. Someone did steal the Honda 8hp kicker while it was in storage, so I found a barely used 2012 Honda 8hp to put on.

The picture is the day we brought it home from storage, I just finished 8 hours of power washing and scrubbing. Engine started right up, fuel survived fine (has external filter also). The engine was serviced and then never run again. Engine oil and lower gear oil look new. Did have to clean some clogged jets twice. Added a few things including the kicker, fixed a few things, removed 5 Wasp nests, replaced the 16 year old tires, ready to go.
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Details for inquiring minds:
2001 18ft Alumaweld Intruder
Honda 90
Honda 8 extra long shaft with electric start
Rogue galvanized trailer with folding tongue
Scotty electric downriggers
Lowrance Elite 7 CHIRP GPS/ChartPlotter
Dual battery with Blue Sea Systems ACR and power distribution panel, Battery switch
29 Gallon fuel
Cruise speed 30 knots
Seats 6 - forward helm
Range - unknown, never run it down that far

 

[CamperCamper]

Bring your own kidney belt and spine support - this 14 degree deadrise bottom pounds heavily at speed in any kind of chop, amplified given the forward helm so is no smooth cruiser but fishes well enough.

Here's a photo of the suspension seats I had on my Hewescraft 240 Alaskan. They are worth the price of admission! There was always an argument over who was going to ride shotgun.

 

[K7MDL]

I have found 6 suspension seat mechanisms so far, $120 - $1500. I have been looking to preserve my under seat storage boxes and most of the suspension systems won't fit on them, else they woudl be too high. Like your dash, mine is very low and a real knee banger. I may bite the bullet and remove the box. Thanks for the pic!

 

[Timothy McGowen]

After I get my truck (any day) and Hawk (June) I will post and we will have some good comparisons. I ordered the F-150 SuperCab with the 2.7 liter engine.

Mike what do you use for an HF antenna?

Timothy
AF6GL

 

[K7MDL]

For HF I just use a ATAS-100 but more often just run VHF multi-band antennas. My truck is new and I just installed the radio (IC-706mkIIg) behind my back seat, no antenna or coax run yet. Probably drill a hole in the back of the cab for a pair of coax. The radio control head is mounted on a rigid flexible kayak floor mount in front of my bench seat console.

I switch out antennas based on where I am going and if I have to park in a parking garage, which was the norm for me until a few weeks ago. Due to height limits of the garage, I just run a 1/4 wave dual band.

When I am not height limited, I switch to various antennas. For HF I use a Yaesu ATAS-100. I have a pair of these and sometimes they need repair. I have a small box that plugs in line to supply the up/down voltage.

I am more of a VHF+ weak signal person so more often I use a 3 band vertical (Comet SBB-5) or a shorter dual band 1/4 wave on a NMO mount. For VHF contests and quick stop weak signal work I run KB6KQ loops or Elk Antennas portable LP beams mounted on removable PVC pipe mounts on 50/144/222/432 bands and for the bigger efforts I mount up the 50MHz KB6KQ loop and 8ft long ruggedized homebrew yagis for 144/222/432 and loop yagis for 903 and 1296. I run boxes on tripods for 5.7G and 10G. I use 1.2" solid fiberglass rods on the roof for forward end support and a custom 2" sq tube hitch support in the back. This also means I drop in a prebuilt transverter stack. This is a prewired box with transverters, band switching, and some ampifiers mounted in it driven by an Elecraft K3 external to the box.

With the camper on, I will probably just stick to the PVC pipe mounts bolted to the camper jack brackets. I can quickly put up loops for portable LP beans on any height pvc tube mast sections to get up above the roof top. Note the PVC masts mounted on my previous truck and Grandby camper a few years ago.

This setup the antennas are hard mounted to the roof bars. Today I just ubolt a short section of PVC pipe to the roof and when stopped I reach up and "plug-in" the assembled PVC mast and antenna/cable, then remove when I depart.

Another previous truck set up for the June 2006 VHF contest


For a quick and dirty setup for my road trip tomorrow, I used part of an adjustable trunk lip mount bolted to the rear camper jack bracket. It has the ATAS-100 on it now. While on the road I am thinking of mounting an L bracket to the roof edge strip (which can pop-up about 2ft) with an NMO mount. I have run out of time this week to run the cable into the cab so bringing tools to do that part on the road. Still have to fabricate a bracket for the PVC tube base mounts and run the coax into the cab somehow.

 

[K7MDL]

Today I got the Garmin BC-30 wireless backup camera installed. Mounted the camera the underside of the camper floor and the 2.4GHz transmitter in the back of the fridge compartment. Makes it a lot easier for tow hookup when you can see the hitch ball.

I recently discovered a plug'n'play backup camera for removed tailgates

https://camera-source.com/automotive-cams/camper-5th-wheel-cams/ford-truck-salt-spreader-camper-camera-kit.html
Runs about $229 for the 2016 F150 version. It is a license place clip mount with factory connector. Restores the factory backup camera features which for me would be the longer guidance lines with turn radius projection and the Trailer Backup Pro Assist. Might do that some day and move the camera to the back of the boat as originally intended.



Finished the camper tie down eyebolt installation in the truck bed. Use nylon washers and bushings to isolate the steel from the aluminum. Turnbuckles connect the camper to the eyebolts. The guidance lines extend to 4 feet with markers at 1, 2, and 3 feet.


Also today installed Timbren rubber springs with the optional spacer and the back now sits 3" higher then before with the camper loaded. It is 1" higher in the back than the front now so running level. Also reduced my left side tilt from 1.25" to 0.5" as the 36 gallon tank and all the cabinets and appliances are on the drivers side. So that is looking good. A short test drive felt good. The boat will weight it down a touch more, I am guessing an inch max. Will know shortly.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Thanks for such a detailed reply. Nice set-up. I run a little tarheel II on my Kia now and am planning on mounting it to the jack bracket. Hoping to put it on a mini push-up pole so I can adjust it to be higher than the roof once popped up.

Also plan on taller push up poles attached to jack mount for better wire antennas.

Have a safe trip.

 

[K7MDL]

Ride Report

1600 miles this week from Seattle to Phoenix via LA, I-5 to I-10. Best 15.5mpg in the flats @ 55mph from Redding to LA, worst 11.1mpg @ 60-70mph in the mountains from Seattle to Redding, and 13.5mpg from LA to Phoenix @ 55-65mph. 2600miles on the truck total. Hawk on the back towing the 18ft boat.
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Do not even notice the boat back there, The Timbren rubber springs are working very well. They leveled the truck, reduced the drivers side tilt to 1/2" and adding the light boat only dropped the back 1/2" or so. Easily handled all mountain passes with power to spare. Was very comfortable driving and sitting for hours on end, no significant wind or passing truck sway, and using cruise control stayed out of the turbos better then I did manually. I could really zip up the steep mountain passes. Was impressive.

I had a 2005 RAM 2500 Hemi long bed with a Grandby and towed a motorcycle trailer and it was 10.5 to 11.5 from Seattle to Moab and back with an occasional 13.5 on windless flat sections at night, and 13.5 is what I normally got driving it empty. I get around 17avg driving the F150 empty, better on long freeway sections of course. My Jeep got 16.5 empty, 12 towing a 5x8 Uhaul trailer to Florida. The RAM 2500 was 2600 payload vs 1950 on the new truck. So very comparable loads and mileage results, the nod goes to the new technology truck. And I can park it in a parking garage too (short box this time).