An Introduction and a question

[KDog]

Hello All, Newby here.

Just purchased a FWC Hawk (haven't even picked it up yet), from a forum member. We are putting it on a 2006 Tundra double cab 4x4 and heading to Canada for the rest of the winter.

We are rabid skiers and this will be our ski resort hotel room (parking lot), and backcountry ski exploration vehicle.

It will also be the home of our 11 year old Shepherd while we are skiing. The furnace will be essential as we have been slowly freezing her to death in the fiberglass shell of our old truck.

I put new tires on the truck today and the Ride Rite's go on tomorrow. I hope to pick up the Hawk on thursday and then get to figure out how to wire the harness in.

The Hawk is in excellent shape and has almost all of the options. One that I feel we still need is the Yakima tracks up on the roof so I can put a cargo box for skis up there.

Has anyone installed these themselves and what are the problems I could get into as far as water leakage ect. ? I don't want to start drilling holes up there and being in Utah there isn't a FWC savvy RV shop that I have found yet to trust to do this.

This forum has been a big help in our decision making process leading to this investment. I post on Expedition Portal and folks over there pointed me towards this forum. Thanks in advance for all the help and I hope to be able to contribute myself.

Cheers,

Kevin

 

[Marc]

Wecome Kevin and congrats on the new rig.
Alot of folks here use the Yakima Racks. Use the existing holes where the top of the roof is bolted to the frame and allow for the thickness of the racks when you put new fasteners down. Also use a good sealent such as 3Ms 5200 or 4200 and you wont have any leaks. This stuff is much better than any silicone product. If you plan on removing the tracks at any time I would use the 4200 as the 5200 has an extremely strong bond. If you do a search, you will see that this topic has been coverd in detail and that should help.
Back in the 80's I was a ski bum and lived out of a 69 Westy covering the Rockies in my never ending search for Champagne Powder.

marc

 

[Sam]

Don't forget that you will have to lift the weight of that rack, box, & everything you put in it when you pop the top. Roof gets heavy fast, not to mention snow weight.

 

[dsrtrat]

Yakima tracks

I removed the factory rack and installed Yakima tracks on my ATC panther which has the basic same roof structure as your camper. I used the existing holes and drilled the Yakima tracks to fit the screw holes. I put a mastic strip used for rv vents under the track and silicone in and around the screw holes. I used stainless steel #10 screws to upsize slightly from the #8 used in the initial installation. No leaks so far.
I do think the roofs are not really made to carry a whole lot of weight using just the two tracks. The factory rack is designed to spread the load over the 4 supports and the tracks just use the two outer roof supports. I may modify my racks in the future by adding some supports in the middle that will use the two center roof supports. I wouldn't want to take a chance on bending the roof. I had a 60# kayak on top on a recent Baja trip and noticed quite a bit of flex in the roof. I also needed to use a roof lifter that I made to lift the roof with the kayak loaded.
Dsrtrat

 

[KDog]

Thanks for the info

I have not popped the top myself yet so I'm not sure just how heavy it is. I guess I didn't think the skis and box would be unmanageable. Might have to go to plan B, a small cargo trailer for extra gear with a heater to act as a drying room.

Kevin

 

[mtn-high]

Heya KDog. Congrats on the Hawk! We love ours.

Living in Central Colorado/the Vail area....I've done a bit of "cool" weather camping (10F low so far) in my rig. If I were going to be out and about for an extended period of cold weather camping I think I would look into some sort of insulation for the lower part of the camper...especially the kitchen side. (gear in the storage units below seems to nixx leaks/etc. from the bed side of things) That floor can get mighty chilly, even with a carpet laid down.

So far I've just stuffed a Ther-ma-rest pad down there (and over the window) and that helps...but it isn't a long-term solution...especially if you are going to live in the unit.

sounds like a fun journey!

mtn

 

[SunMan]

KDog,
Congrats, it'll be nice to see another white Tundy on the board, as I'm sure you know, pics will be mandatory!

 

[snow hunter]

K dog welcome to the forum great to see another powder hound hunting snow.
I have a yakima box on the roof that I use and it is not to bad to lift but there is a noticible difference. skis and poles would be fine up there as far as weight.I also have a solar panel as well to add some more weight and can still lift it.
If it gets to heavy you can remove somethings before you pop up like skis,snow ect or do a search on lifting devices a few here use them.
good luck

 

[KDog]

Marc & Dsrtrat thanks for the install tips. It doesn't sound hard unless we get another snow storm!

Mtn-High, I met my wife while living/ski bumming in Vail. My cousin still lives there and owns Pazzo's Pizzeria in the village. Thanks for the heads up on insulation. Did you find that your furnace was unable to keep up with the temps or was it just really cold surfaces inside the camper?

Snow Hunter, thanks for your input. Makes me feel better about putting the rack on top. Can't figure where else I could store the skis anyway!

SunMan pic's will have to wait till the camper is actually on the truck. Hopefully by tomorrow!

Cheers all

Kevin

 

[DLN]

Welcome to the forum and the family. The way our furnace puts out heat I'd think the only limitation on keeping the camper comfortable would be battery life and that can be solved by running the engine to recharge it. As Jay pointed out a while back we are all driving high output generators. Enjoy.