Convert FWC to Cab Over

[robbie]

We have a Fleet FWC on our toyota Tacoma. We love it. wondering about the possibility of converting it to a regular camper (non Pop Up) We are having issues with wet and snow on the roof.
Any thoughts? Or anyone ever converted one?

Thanks
robbie

 

[rich]

FWC makes a non-pop up version now: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/tcm-exclusive:-four-wheel-hard-top/

I couldn't find it on their website so I don't know if they are still making it, FWC's website is terrible, great product but terrible website. They have been trying out a lot of different ideas over the last few years and I'm not sure which ones have taken and which haven't but they do custom work as well so you may be able to bring your fleet in and have it coverted.

However, it would be a lot less money to just have a new roof and new vinyl put on your camper.

 

[DirtyDog]

I'm wondering if that FWC hard top camper wasn't thought out too well based on this discussion:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/67478-FourWheelCamper-Tie-down-Brackets-Pulling-apart-after-Less-than-1-year-use!

 

[pods8]

We have a Fleet FWC on our toyota Tacoma. We love it. wondering about the possibility of converting it to a regular camper (non Pop Up) We are having issues with wet and snow on the roof.
Any thoughts? Or anyone ever converted one?

Thanks
robbie


Do you just want more support for snow load? You could probably add some posts along the side of the wall between the roof and lower wall. Simple & non-elegant would be just some wood pieces you put into position as needed. Or you could dress them up a bit and hinge them so you can swing them into position as needed.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

I have seen this done once, before we started building our hard top cabover FWC campers.

Not sure I can find the pictures the customer sent us, but I will look.

The guy did a GREAT job on it !!!




______________________________________________________________


We have a Fleet FWC on our toyota Tacoma. We love it. wondering about the possibility of converting it to a regular camper (non Pop Up) We are having issues with wet and snow on the roof.
Any thoughts? Or anyone ever converted one?

Thanks
robbie





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[Stan@FourWheel]

I sold the customer that camper.

It was of the first few hard top cabover FWC we built.

And it is a BIG camper.

Full hard sides 9.0 foot long cabover camper.



The pictures are a bit deceiving.

We picked up the camper and brought it back to our shop a couple of weeks ago.

When the camper arrived and they had it off the truck, I looked the camper over and looked all 4 corners and the camper jacks.

I could not even tell what jacks were pulling away?

All 4 camper jacks looked really straight.

No frame damage, no bending in the corners that I could see.

But when I looked under each corner (like the pictures) I could see the small gap there.

It is not from the turn buckles.

The turn buckles (when attached) are pulling the jacks downwards and in towards the sides of the truck.

The small space at the bottom of the jacks is pulling outwards (away from the truck bed), so it could not be from the camper tie downs.

Tom has taken pictures and is working with the guys in our shop to try and determine what happened or what is happening.

I don't know where there are with it, but Tom is handling it right now.

The brackets might just need to beefed up a little, or it could have been customer error.

We are not sure.

They are just trying to figure out the details so we can get er' fixed and back on the road again.

Just thought I would give you the entire story up to this point.






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[DirtyDog]

My guess would be you guys just took a regular FWC frame and welded more stuff on top of it. Turns out a taller heavier camper needs to have a redesigned frame for a sturdier mounting system. Current mounting system is inadequate for any off roading at all.

Thats my guess and if I'm wrong I'd be happy to eat my words

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Robbie

I found the pictures !!

They were sent to us in Aug. 2009 from a customer that owned a used FWC.

I can't attach the pictures here (too many of them) and the files is saved in a weird format.

But if anyone is interested, just e-mail me at ... stan@fourwh.com

Tell me you want to to see the home made FWC pop-up to a hard sided cabover camper pictures slide show.

I can send you the file and the instructions on how to open the pictures in a normal web browser.

Thanks




______________________________________________________

We have a Fleet FWC on our toyota Tacoma. We love it. wondering about the possibility of converting it to a regular camper (non Pop Up) We are having issues with wet and snow on the roof.
Any thoughts? Or anyone ever converted one?

Thanks
robbie






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[JohnF]

From what I see in the picture and after reading this analysis of the Happijac system it looks to me that the tiedown install improperly translates forces through the rear tiedown that are meant to be carried through the front tiedown.

The front should angle back and the rear can be forward to near vertical.

The bumper is not meant to deal with this kind of fore-aft dynamic or load for that matter. The forward forces it might have to translate are shared with the front of the bed and Happijac reinforces the bumper (when needed) only to stiffen it to hold the load down.

Wind load on the larger camper could very well push the camper against the bumper which would act like springs. When it moves back the tiedown will squeeze together which could acount for some strange looking failures.

Then there are the inside tiedowns. If they are installed like I saw in other install pictures then they translate the fore/aft force at opposite ends. That's getting to be a mind bender and I'm too tired to contemplate how these interactions are working.

Would be cool to get to walk around and see it though. Needless to say, this is all conjecture, I do not know what is going on. But the Happijac install looks suspect to me.

I would want to bag the inside tiedowns, move those eyes to the overhang (with the beefy backing plate) and reangle the tiedowns so they work as described in the analysis.

 

[robbie]

thanks for the suggestions etc..
I did send Stan an e mail which I paste below..

Hello Stan,
thanks for this. As I mentioned we love the fleet on or tacoma. We spend a lot of time in alaska and the Yukon territory and use the camper up here usually until november.
Camped out in 40 below zero in it too.
We are thinking about a hard sided camper as a hunting trip wife and I were on a couple weeks ago we got dumped on with 6 inches of wet snow overnight. Not the first time we have been dumped on. Everything on the canvas was soaked and we were not scheduled to go home for another week so no way to dry the camper out.
In Alaska this summer it poured buckets for the 12 days we camped on the ocean so everything got wet again. the roof does not leak but water comes in around the upper and lower rims of the wall and roof. Also driving in the rain in Alaska is impossible it seems to keep the water out...
The fleet was made in 1981 so now 30 years old...Still in very good shape..

Thanks for the pictures

Robbie

 

[fourwheeltom]

From what I see in the picture and after reading this analysis of the Happijac system it looks to me that the tiedown install improperly translates forces through the rear tiedown that are meant to be carried through the front tiedown.

The front should angle back and the rear can be forward to near vertical.

The bumper is not meant to deal with this kind of fore-aft dynamic or load for that matter. The forward forces it might have to translate are shared with the front of the bed and Happijac reinforces the bumper (when needed) only to stiffen it to hold the load down.

Wind load on the larger camper could very well push the camper against the bumper which would act like springs. When it moves back the tiedown will squeeze together which could acount for some strange looking failures.

Then there are the inside tiedowns. If they are installed like I saw in other install pictures then they translate the fore/aft force at opposite ends. That's getting to be a mind bender and I'm too tired to contemplate how these interactions are working.

Would be cool to get to walk around and see it though. Needless to say, this is all conjecture, I do not know what is going on. But the Happijac install looks suspect to me.

I would want to bag the inside tiedowns, move those eyes to the overhang (with the beefy backing plate) and reangle the tiedowns so they work as described in the analysis.


We have stripped off the aluminum skin on the corners, and studied the situation. The camper isn't tied down just with a typical Torklift kit, it also has all four turnbuckle points installed. We have found some interesting situations not involved in the construction, but from effects after the camper was delivered. We'll be posting more after we finish up the project. You have some good observations!
tom

 

[robbie]

Thanks for the pictures Stan. We got the slide show stopped and can now print individual pictures. I am heading north on business on Sunday then over to alaksa for 5 days to fish, then have another week away on business so won't be able to start the rebuild until about the 20 of November.

Thanks again
robbie