An idea for sleeping 4 in a flatbed hawk - feedback wanted!

[CarlG]

Hi all,

I'm trying to put together a plan for an overland camping rig that will fit my family. There are lots of great builds on this forum that are giving me inspiration, and my current plan is a Ram 3500 with a flatbed FWC Hawk.

The only issue is that I really want this thing to sleep 4. My kids are 7 and 9, well past the "little human" phase and into the "medium" phase, and not getting any shorter. I realize it's going to be tight, but one of the big appeals to me is to stretch our camping into the wetter & colder seasons, so I don't want to view sleeping all of us in the camper as a "only under dire circumstances" kind of thing. I want it to be the norm.

We went over to Woodland a few weekends ago, and I really was impressed with the floorplan of the flatbed hawk. In particular, it struck me that a fairly simple mod would give it an extra "twin" bed. Above the rear dinette / sleeping area, one could suspend a cot, right at the top of the hard side part of the camper.

The idea is to stretch some canvas or nylon material between two aluminum tubes that go the width of the camper. These then fit into some sort of socket / flange that I'd mount to the walls. Very much like a closet rod. I could mount an extra set by the rear pole so that you could roll it up and get it out of the way during the day. Should be about as comfortable as a cot, which is what we sleep on now when tent camping.

I mocked up the basic idea in case it isn't clear. The guys at FWC didn't seem to think it was too crazy of an idea. What do you all think?

 

[super doody]

check out mali mish blog. They have three kids, two adults and 1 cat.

http://malimish.com/blog/

They recently did a walk throug on their camper:

http://malimish.com/blog/vlog/

The cot seems like a solid idea. Not surprise by FWC response as they don't do any mods.

 

[CarlG]

Thanks, hadn't seen their blog before. That grandby sure is spacious but I can't stomach the long wheel base.

 

[Durango1]

I have a 2015 Flatbed Hawk, Carl, and really like it... for the two of us. But I would encourage you to at least consider the Grandby for a family of four. Not only would your sleeping area be solved with the double dinette but the whole family could eat at a real table.

In fact, IF and when I upgrade off of my current setup we'll probably move to a Grandby Flatbed mounted on a LWB Extended Cab Ford F-350. Basically the same length and wheelbase as a crew cab. Just less room for the kids in back. Could your kids deal with that? If so there is your answer.

BTW, it bugs me no end that Ram won't add an extended cab model to their lineup.

Steve

 

[Happyjax]

I love your ingenuity and use of space but I wonder if the aluminum framing could support the weight of someone over time.

I have seen some instances here where the aluminum was reinforced just to hang a rotopax so I would think this mod might need extra structure built into the camper to be successful. I am not an engineer so I might be way off the mark but those are the thoughts that would come to me if I were attempting this mod

Would be cool if it was safe to do

The Mali Mish videos are cool

 

[Durango1]

Another advantage of the LWB flatbed is you can have much bigger storage boxes under the bed.

 

[longhorn1]

CarlG,
About a month ago I e-mailed Stan and suggested they come up with a bunk for the flatbed. One idea was to install the wood bed rails above the windows, rail similar to the regular bed extension rails. A folding plywood bed would be cumbersome, but could be stored on the cab over bed until bed or on the floor for travel. Some type of aluminum frame with webbing that folds in half length wise. Having FWC install the rails would allow the owner to design their own bunk, unless FWC offers a bunk. jd

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[CarlG]

Durango1 - I definitely did consider the grandby, but I really want the crew cab, and I can't handle the LWB for the kind of off-road travel I like to do. I realize everything is a tradeoff, and that it will be a tight fit in there with the 4 of us. I think most eating and hanging out will be outside.

Happyjax - This was my concern too. The guys at FWC seemed to think it should be ok. They offered to let me come inspect the camper as it was being built so I could get measurements and a feel for what was inside the wall so I didn't drill into some wiring. They also suggested to go all the way through the wall and brace with some blocking on the outside. Not super thrilled about piercing the wall of the camper, but I don't see any other way. As far as strength goes, I think because the weight is always static it helps dramatically, as opposed to a rotopax which needs to handle the momentary strains of being attached while driving over bumpy terrain

longhorn1 - Yeah! Did Stan respond?

 

[longhorn1]

I will have to check but I thought he replied and said they would discuss some ideas.

Jd

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[elmo_4_vt]

I think it's a great idea. I only have one kid, but we'll be doing the same thing on my build. Give me a week and I'll put up pictures of what I'm talking about. Hopefully, within a few months, we'll know if it's doable. Basically, If you look at how they attach the awning to the side wall, they through bolt and have alum. backing plates on the inside to distribute the load. I plan on doing the exact same thing to the opposite (driver's) side. I will then attach a bracket to each side that will allow me to hang a canvas bunk/cot between them. Should still be able to sit 2 at the dinette with the cot set up, and it won't require the full pull down of the table, thus giving more storage while his bed is set up, or another bed in your case.

While I agree the Grandby adds 13 inches, and that room is always going to be able to be used, for us, it was more important to have the storage. Below is a picture of our truck that will be getting the flatbed Hawk camper installed this week.




Don

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[DrJ]

I love your idea for a bunk bed and highly considered it in my hawk with a rollover couch.
But I switched campers to better accommodate all of us - to the Grandby.

We have a family of 6 - 4 adults and 2 kids.

We can sleep all 6 of us in our setup. Grandby front dinette with a king slide.

4 kids easily sleep on the king bed up top and adults sleep on the full size bed below.

This works great and something to consider for your camper.

You could even keep the short bed truck with the tail gate down if you wanted to make it work.

 

[Durango1]

One more comment on what truck to buy, CarlG. If you are buying new to put a flatbed on it (of whatever length) I would strongly suggest you order the "Chassis Cab" configuration. The frame rails in back are flat and will make fitting your flatbed MUCH easier.

 

[CarlG]

elmo_4_vt - Yep - bolt through to a backing plate is exactly what the guys at FWC recommended to me when I brought this idea up. That's a nice looking flatbed! You'll have a ton of storage up there. You putting the spare in those boxes, or under the bed?

Durango1 - I haven't decided whether to buy new or used. If I was doing new, I was going to go for chassis cab just so I didn't have buy a bed I wasn't going to use, but didn't realize the frame rails were different. Thanks for the tip!

I've been thinking about the bunk more, and I'm a bit worried about the fabric at the head & foot of the thing sagging. I'd probably want to sew some webbing into it that looped around the two tubes. Either that or fabricate a solid square frame for the cot, and hang it on rails. I imagine a rigid-framed cot would be awkward to manipulate in the interior when you were trying to get it out the way, though.