East of the Mississippi FWC owners chime in

[buckland]

Hey Dan T ...whenever you need info on the north Maine woods let me know. It is a VERY rough travel area... crazy rough roads, flooded out areas massive logging trucks doing 60 mph with loads twice what's legal on a real road. It is your responsibility to get out of the way as they DO NOT even slow down... that means going off the road!! Gotta have the right radio (CB's are fair but not safe) ... to know whats coming round the bend and to announce where you are. Again I can't express how 'rough' the roads are.... no gas no buildings for a 100 miles... did I mention the bugs? The mosquito is the State bird of Maine. then there are black flies and the real menace... the no-seeum. It can fly through regular screen... and it does by the thousands if allowed. The bite is mean. So I know it all sounds negative but having been going there for 40 years it is a place that requires a lot of prep and if you have been to Labrador or Alaska during the bug season then you know. Once one knows the ins and outs ... it allows you to know when to not be where, and you can enjoy the wild. All that said I like the Blue Ridge Parkway for a rally... cushy camping and beauty all around. Maybe someday the Adirondacks in NY.

 

[jmodge]

Hi
My name is Jim, and I reside below the ring finger nuckle in Michigan"s lower peninsular. I page this site occasionally for some ideas here and there.
Many thanks by the way to all who generously donate their time, experience, and knowledge to help those that come looking. It is much appreciated.
Maine sounds beautiful to me, by the way. If it is similar to our U.P. as far as bugs, I would guess August, September, and October are good times to be there.
I own a FWC mounted on a 1990 K5 Blazer. It is a walk through, like a mini motor home. Very mini, but my girlfriend Donna, My dog Kink with the crooked tail, and myself enjoy it very much. Often taking weekend jaunts as well as vacations with it. It is also my hunting rig. I can't think of anything I would trade it for either.
I hope everyone out there enjoys theirs as much as I do mine,

 

[highz]

Hi
My name is Jim, and I reside below the ring finger nuckle in Michigan"s lower peninsular. I page this site occasionally for some ideas here and there.
Many thanks by the way to all who generously donate their time, experience, and knowledge to help those that come looking. It is much appreciated.
Maine sounds beautiful to me, by the way. If it is similar to our U.P. as far as bugs, I would guess August, September, and October are good times to be there.
I own a FWC mounted on a 1990 K5 Blazer. It is a walk through, like a mini motor home. Very mini, but my girlfriend Donna, My dog Kink with the crooked tail, and myself enjoy it very much. Often taking weekend jaunts as well as vacations with it. It is also my hunting rig. I can't think of anything I would trade it for either.
I hope everyone out there enjoys theirs as much as I do mine,

I like those Blazer/FWC combos. I'd love to see some pics. Maybe in the "Post a pic of your FWC" thread, so as not to hijack this one.

 

[buckland]

dido that... love photos. Been to the upper... love that too. Someone who knows the woods. Great trout fishing and quiet. Like to know more of the places your way as we will be going to Ont. in August via MI.and MN. Being in a FWC is like being in a Ritz after sleeping under the canoe.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Well, I'm putting together a list of possible places to meet. Let's give the people signing in a chance to throw in their input about where they're from and possible Rally places. I too have always wanted to adventure towards the New England states and I think the Shenandoah Valley is beautiful country too. The Blue Ridge parkway and any national forests in the Appalachain mountains that can provide substantial parking for a fairly large group needs to be taken into consideration, besides power and water availability. Working it!

 

[BobD]

Bob here in Harpers Ferry, WV. We have a 2012 Eagle on a 2010 DCLB Tacoma. We've made a couple cross country runs already. Hoping to relocate to the Reno area later this year.

 

[TravelAmateurs]

Hi all. Josh and Jenna here from Arlington, VA. We have a 05 Hawk on an 06 Tundra. This site has been invaluable to us as we prepare for our trip. In June we plan to wander west across The U.S. and then head down to the southern tip of Argentina. We have "borrowed" a ton of ideas so a huge thank you to everyone who has shared their mods, experience, etc. on this forum.

+1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway / Shenandoah for a rally.

*we're also thankful to have wanderers like 'The Next Adventures' paving the way south for us.

 

[jmodge]

Buckland,

Are you in the midst of the storm?

 

[DanT]

Cheeez!!!! Buckland way to sugar coat the rigors of the North Woods. You make it sound like Russian roulette is a safer option. Just joking, when I go I'll definitely seek your advise, thanks for the offer. I am familiar with the state bird, once I camped in Maine with my wife and daughter and when we were setting up the tent they descended on us and my daughter ran into the truck. Then my wife left the other door open and I heard my daughter start to scream and from 30 feet away I could see the "birds" filling the inside of the truck feasting on my little one. It was like a cheap horror movie, I had to leave the tent and set them up in a B & B and go back to retrieve the tent after I got them settled down. On my way back I told the ranger about the story and he made the same state bird joke. There must be a good time to go with less bugs and without subfreezing weather, maybe April or October?
On the subject of the rally, the Adirondack's are beautiful and so is the finger lake region of NY. Watkins Glen State Park is a real jewel. I think the Blueridge Parkway / Skyline Drive area would be a good idea because it's the midway point on the east coast and its a special area. One things for sure we should make this happen. I'll try to come up with specific locations and post them and see what people think. Anybody interested please do the same. Once we nail down the where then will work on the when.

 

[buckland]

Indeed I was in a storm but luckily the big city folks in Boston got more then us...uncommon. Just in off the tractor, a couple hours to clear our dirt road. Not a bad storm for us though we have had many that were around 3 ft. Adds up over the winter... no kidding... my dog once walked up the the second story window and looked in. It is cold and windy...below zero this week. We heat with wood .. the stove is great in weather with no electricity. We cook on it and have a gas light so we are always fine.
On the subject of Maine North Woods... sorry to make it sound so rough but it is not for most folk. There are definitely not good times ... April... well ice out hasn't happened yet unless it is a real mild winter... Black flies are wicked bad in May unless you are a fly fishing nut (like me) . September is the big Moose hunt and as there are only one or two sites per lake it is nearly impossible to get to a quiet place that is not taken.... then Bear season... So best time is June and July. There are always bugs ... just drink the coffee through the head net! The North Maine Woods is a private area. Gates and a fee for using the log roads by the day. Wish there were more Parks on the coast as it is fantastic. If you ever get to Nova Scotia camp on the bluffs at Meat Cove...wow.

 

[TZtraveler]

Ted here in the Allentown, PA area as of this past summer. Great to hear from so many of you, and I love the idea of hooking up with others in this half of the country. We lived overseas for decades before moving here, so have only minimal experience camping. We arranged to purchase a 2014 F150 Extended Cab with an 8' bed and the payload package and a 2014 FWC Grandby with the side dinette upon our return to the States in July. We've camped 42 nights in her since then, traveling through much of the eastern half of the country. We have enjoyed every minute of our travels and are hoping for a trip to San Diego to see our daughter in April, plus many more trips in the future to all the places that have already been mentioned. What a country this is!

We purchased our outfit from Sean Dempsey in Eagle, Wisconsin and truly appreciate how he and Diana work. We've also met the guys at Main Line Overland in West Chester, PA, and are glad to see an FWC presence even further east.

I'd certainly vote for an East Coast gathering. It would seem to make sense to time it in relation to the East Coast Overland gathering, and the places already mentioned sound great. FWC is a superb product, and it's great to see more people learning about them and joining this group of crazies of which I'm proud to be a small part!

 

[iowahiker]

TZtraveler, Which engine did you get, 5.0 V-8 or turbo V-6? What are your eastern MPG's by the tank? Our computer reads high which is common across many makes and models. We get 15-15.5 mpg in the east driving 60-69 mph and below 15 mpg above 70 mph. I have always wondered if the extended cab reduced camper drag enough to compensate for the higher weight. We get 15.5-16 mpg in the west at speeds below 70 mph. Our trucks are otherwise identical.

 

[TZtraveler]

Iowahiker, I have the 5.0 V-8 like yours, but have not checked gas mileage by the tank. The dash computer gives readings about like your numbers, but it varies wildly depending on speeds, terrain, and wind speed and direction, sometimes showing 13 mpg and sometimes up to 16 mpg. I don't know about the relative difference in drag between the cab configurations, but I do know that the front of our camper is a big bug graveyard! I'm looking into some kind of wind deflector to put up there, as much to deflect bugs as to try improve gas mileage.
The F150 is a great truck, though. We do like the extra space provided by the extended cab configuration. Our other vehicle is a VW Jetta diesel that gets almost 50 mpg on the highway, so that helps compensate for the truck's mileage figures.

 

[iowahiker]

TZ, I went to school in Bethlehem, PA, (Lehigh) and still pass through routinely when traveling from the Southeast to visit family on Long Island, NY, (I-81, I-78, I-287, I-80, I-95, I-295, I-495). They built the Schaefer Brewery at the west end of Allentown while I was at school which was the most modern brewery in the world at the time (since sold several times). The Schaefer Brewery remains the best brewery tour via an interstate highway in the nation (floor to ceiling windows facing I-78). Bethlehem Steel was operating completely (smelled like it too). I worked one summer in Reading, PA, at a plastics factory.

We consider the F-150 extended cab long bed a "land yacht" so far as turning around and parking at some of our trailheads but a great transcontinental cruiser (longer wheel base).

 

[TZtraveler]

Ha, yes, you are right about the long turning circle of the extended cab. It takes some getting used to, but so far I haven't found a place I can't turn around in with a multi-point maneuver. Trailheads might get interesting, though.
We have lived in Tennessee, Minnesota, and Chicago besides Asia, but we're finding this Eastern part of the country to be full of great places to go and things to do. Although I do look forward to being able to "Wander the West" in the near future, it is amazing how good it is to "Wander the East" as well, and I hope we can meet sometime down the road. Give us a shout next time you travel through on I-78 or on any other route. It would be great to compare rigs and get some travel tips.

 

[Old Crow]

OC here. I'm a new member of WTW though a long-time lurker here. I live in south-central Pennsylvania, about two hours west of Philadelphia.

In early December I bought a 2001 Hawk shell on a 2001 F150 extended cab. After looking at campers like this for years, I was very happy to find an older FWC camper in great condition nearby (about three hours away). The truck was also available and I thought a good deal, so I bought the whole rig.

I also have a Ford E-150 travel van with a fiberglass sport-top. My wife loves the van and says she has no interest in the truck camper. That's okay, though. I often travel on my own and will get plenty of use out of the Hawk. In fact, I'm headed to Florida in it in about two weeks.

Before I go, I'll be dropping in at the Great American Outdoors show in Harrisburg next week to look over the new Hawks and ask lots of questions. This is great to have an FWC dealer open up nearby.

 

[llavaseur]

Just north of Detroit

2014 Silverado 3500 and 2013 Grandby Shell

 

[Dusty Roads]

Bill (AKA Dusty Roads). I am about 15 miles West of the Mississippi, in the west suburbs of Mpls. I have a mid 70's Grandby (found on CL for.......$100!) on a 2011 Dodge 2500 Crew Cab. My camper looks a lot like JaSAn's. I didn't know there was another like it in the frozen Tundra. A get together for the Eastern crowd sound like fun!

 

[DanT]

TZ I remember reading your story when you ordered from Sean, glad to hear all is working out for you.
Iowa way to use your rig, 250 nights you must be loving your FWC or your homeless. I'd love to see a picture of your rig.
Dusty no size modifications were needed to get your 70's Grandby on a late model truck?

 

[Dusty Roads]

DanT. Yes, there were mods to get it to fit. I built a new floor pack and eliminated the step over the wheel wells. I knew when I bought it that the floor was soft under the door. Since I had to remove the door to get at that part, I figured I might as well start all new. When I got the door out, I found there was more rot, some of it going to the wings.

I bought the camper on 8/21/14, and built the new floor pack, gutted the interior, rewired it, painted the exterior, replaced the rear sheet aluminum, put in a battery and 12v lights, 110 v outlets, insulated with hard board 1" insulation and was in Wyoming antelope hunting on 10/5. Whew!

Looking at new side liner today.

Still thinking about what I want to do in the interior.