FWC Mounting Suggestions

[Ramblinman]

Fellas,

I will be driving for about 3 days straight (one way) to pick up my Hawk. I hope to make the journey at the End of April. Can anyone offer any suggestions as to the best way to mount the camper? I am not a particular handy guy. For those who have some experience in this regard I am interested in knowing the following:

1. Should I pre-mount the bolts to the bed of the truck judging the dimensions and hope it will hook up lickity split?
2. Do the bolts typically mount to the frame of the truck or just through the bed?
3. Is it overly complicated to wire the camper to the truck or should I have one of the local RV Shops do it?
4. Because i will be so far away from home can you suggest any items that I may require to assist with the instal?

The reason I purchased the camper so far away was due to a fantastic price and the fact that I had friends in the vicinity who could broker the deal and view the camper on my behalf. I am looking forward to taking about a week to get home and camp a long the way. It should be quite an adventure. Me the g/f and two German Shepherds!

It sounds as though a number of members here have been through this process, albeit maybe a little shorter distance to travel.

Any suggestions, advice, or pointers from anyone willing to comment would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SunMan]

Ramblinman,
Call FWC and ask for measurements, they can tell you exactly where to drill in your bed...be sure to use forged eye bolts and get some square backing plates. Should be lots of info if you do a search. Pretty simple even if you are not handy. Congrats on the camper and Enjoy your trip!

 

[ski3pin]

Ramblinman,
<snip> Congrats on the camper and Enjoy your trip!


Yes congrats and have a great trip. We will need some photos also!

 

[Ted]

As stated above, you should be able to preinstall the eye bolts for a quick install for the ride home. The electrical hook up you may prefer to leave to an rv place. Not sure what you drive or bought, but we had a 2003 Hawk on a 2000 Tundra. FWC installed a plug into the side of the bed for the camper. When we replaced the truck last year, the installed the plug in the new truck also. But in the years between they had changed the style of the plug being used. So they had to upgrade the opposing end from the camper.

If you can find out exactly what plug is needed in advance, have it installed before the trip. When you talk to the service guys at FWC, ask them about the plug as well as the boilts. Tell them the year and model you bought and they should be able to tell you what you need and where to mount it.

And enjoy.

 

[Alley-Kat]

I think almost everyone also has some sort of rubber mat on the truck bed. I have a pretty thin, yet "sticky" one, about 1/8" thick that is just a rubber floor mat, runner material I purchased by the foot at the hardware store ($3-$4 a foot). I believe that it's just another way for the camper to NOT move around much on the truck bed, it's "sticky". From what I was told by the ATC crew, you don't want it too thick AND spongy or compressible. Thick is OK if it is a solid material. There are other guys that can give you some more expensive, made for this job, type of mats (these may give some temperature insulation).

 

[griz]

If you are in the neighbourhood of hardware/ auto store you have it made. the electrical can be done when you get home, not a issue.
If your buddy has a drill and stuff you can handle it there. take most of a day for a first time round install.
Will need turn buckles, eyebolts and washers, as already mentioned.
FWC can supply diagram of eyebolt location, I had this with me but wanted to see what i was buying before drilling. was not a issue.
Easy to say now after going thru it my self, but it is not that tricky, take your time and it will be fine.
Good luck..............

 

[EdoHart]

I suggest you see how the camper sits on your truck before you drill any holes. I’ve mounted my Hawk on 2 different trucks and I didn’t drill a single hole in either truck until I saw how things would line up. I’m not particularly handy either, but I can use a tape measure once, twice, thrice …



I bought my Hawk used and transported it back to my house using 2 ratcheting tie-down straps (1 inch width) attached to the bed pockets of my truck. I should have used a 3’rd ratcheting tie-down strap to help keep the camper from creeping 1-2 inches backwards while travelling at 60-65 MPH. The 3rd strap would have gone from the rear truck bed pocket on the right, around the back of the camper, to the rear truck bed pocket on the left.

 

[Ramblinman]

Thanks for the info! The camper is sitting at a friends acreage sounds as though he has a shop and he has all of the requisite tools. Man its been a long Winter.

 

[White Dog]

Is there any particular reason not to plug the camper into the 7-pin plug on the back of the truck? I would think you should only need the running lights pin and the battery charge pin. Turn signal, stop, and brakes have no meaning to the FWC.

 

[esimmers]

Great idea; That's what I do. My 2011 F-250 has the gooseneck/5th wheel prep package which includes a 7-pin socket on the inside left wall of the bed.

I extended the cable coming out of my Hawk and added a 7-way plug on the end, connecting the running lights, battery charge and ground. The best thing about this setup is that I don't need the typical battery separator in the camper. There's a built-in relay in the truck that turns off the battery charge voltage when the truck ignition is off. Works great!


Is there any particular reason not to plug the camper into the 7-pin plug on the back of the truck? I would think you should only need the running lights pin and the battery charge pin. Turn signal, stop, and brakes have no meaning to the FWC.

 

[Gormley Green]

Bringing this one back from the dead but does anyone have any handy tips for measuring/marking the drill locations for the in bed eye bolts? I have some measurements from FWC but any tips would be welcome. I will likely put the camper on the truck and see where the turnbuckles want to go, but beyond that...?

If there's another thread with this info already, I couldn't find it! I tried.

Thanks!

 

[ski3pin]

Mr. Green, I used any measurements - drawings as a guideline. I took a look under the bed in that area and looked if that was a good solid place for backup plates or washers and made small adjustments to what looked like the strongest/best spot.