Aquired an Eagle, put it on a Tundra, went camping

[Doug K]

Well I bought an Eagle, drove from Phoenix, picked it up in Grand Junction, CO, and camped in it on the return trip.

I was looking for an Eagle or a Hawk for the Tundra and I am very happy with the Eagle. It has a little less room than the Hawk as the Eagle is 11 inchs narrower. It has a little less storage room as well and I will miss that space.
The previous owner was great to work with and he had done a very good job making it self contained. He found that the 3 way refriderator compressor wasn't very efficnient and replace it with a very efficient 2way (110 and 12 V). The 85 watt solar panel kept up with the lights, Refridgerator and furanace on the one night stand heading home.

We had a bit of a problem getting the Eagle onto the Tundra. The corner jacks were too narrow for the Tundra as they were made to fit a smaller truck. We removed the truck bed mat so that the Camper would slide. Then we got the Eagle onto the bed as far as it would go without hitting the truck. We then removed the front jacks and hopped the camper forward with the two of us working at it. Once the the center of gravity was a few inchs inside the bed we raised the removed the rear jacks and manhandled it the rest of the way. We then put the jacks back on for the trip home.

We had to remove the water tank drain as it would have been crushed between the camper and the edge of the truck Bed. I still have to figure out how to get this to work or I can't use the tank. Altho 12 Gallons is an awful lot of weight to add so it is not a critical need to start with.

I was afraid that the 6 inch turnbuckles would not reach the additional width with the Tundra vs the Tacoma but they fit well.

I from the East Coast and only recently moved to the West and am astounded at the available land for exploring. This is a whole new world for me.

The trip was really windy and I had to avoid any highly exposed camping spots. I had planned to stay at Gooseneck park put there was no protection so I stayed at Devils Canyon Campground in Utah. I slept like a log in the big soft queen bed.
Gooseneck park:

I actually like the fit of the Eagle in the Tundra better than the Hawk. The Eagle does not extend beyond the sides of the truck bed and the cab over portion is much closer to the cab itself. The Eagle looks great on the Tundra and looks like it was made for it. It has less wind resistance and better visibility than the Hawk so I am quite happy with my choice.
First night camping at Devils Canyon Utah

Parked at Gooseneck park - this is the San Juan river winding back and forth on itself. The gorge is about 1000 ft deep.
Finally at home


I hope you all enjoy your campers as much as I do. I spent the 3 day week end camping on the Mogollon Rim in Central AZ at 7600ft with a magnificent view. I will post something on the other forum.

Thanks for all of the support.

Doug

 

[Bat]

Mogollon rim is a great place, it is very cool by the old bridge. I like how the camper fits tight to the truck and for 2 people that would be great.

 

[SunMan]

Looking good. Congrats on the new camper.

 

[ski3pin]

Yes, congrats! Have fun.

 

[gsbfree]

Love the Tundra/FWC combo. Congrats on a great looking outfit...and a great setup to explore the West.

 

[rockcrawler]

Congrats on the new rig!

If you aren't already aware, you'll have to buy the hinge bracket thingy (technical term for the front jacks to make them swing a few inches wider so you can back the truck up. They work great.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Doug


You can buy a set of "swing-out brackets" for the front camper jacks and add a small steel or aluminum extension plate to it (see pictures below).

This will give you the extra clearance to make it easier to load and unload your camper.


The next time you have the camper off the truck, I would suggest adding some 5/8" thick wooden runners under the camper. If you look under the camper floor you will already see some wooden runners there. Just duplicate what is there with one more 5/8" thick layer off wood strips.

Then, leave your rubber bed mat in the truck bed.

This should give you the extra clearance, still have a clean fitting camper, and you can put the water tank drain back in there.

Hope this helps.

Enjoy the new camper.

It looks nice !




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We had a bit of a problem getting the Eagle onto the Tundra.
The corner jacks were too narrow for the Tundra as they were made to fit a smaller truck.

We had to remove the water tank drain as it would have been crushed between the camper and the edge of the truck Bed. I still have to figure out how to get this to work or I can't use the tank.





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