Hawk Flatbed towing a trailer

[craiglathem]

Hi, new member here, first time posting.

I have my current rig up for sale and hope to be moving into something different in a couple of months. Currently at the top of my list is a flatbed Hawk on a Ford Powerstroke F350.

My question is about towing. I will be towing a 23 foot Airstream, hitch weight is 900 and GVWR is 6000. Hawk is probably around 1550 wet so a total weight of about 2200 if you include hitch weight.

I will probably go stage 3 Icon on the suspension with a small 3 inch lift and 35 inch tires.

So far so good. My concern is that the back part of the Hawk extends over the flatbeds hitch receiver.

I have done a few searches but have not come across anyone with a similar setup.

I saw the flatbed Alaskan at the Overland Expo and really love that camper but the weight and additional cost could be an issue for me. But the back of the Alaskan is flat and there would not be any issues accessing the hitch receiver.

Any thoughts or advice welcome!!

Craig

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi Craig
Welcome to WtW. Can't imagine ther truck would find the two a problem. How short is your flatbed? Which Alaskan are you looking at?

Russ

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Craig, we pulled our 25’ Airstrean FBFC with a 2000 F250/Grandby combination. No problems. Make sure you have enough drop in the hitch to pull your 23’ level. BTW, a F350 is a stiff ride for an Airstream. Our current truck is a ‘14 F350 CCLB, and I use an AirSafe hitch to give my trailer a softer ride. I hate popped rivets.

 

[craiglathem]

Thanks !! My concern is the overhang of the 4WC flat bed Hawk. It looks like this would restrict the turning radius of the trailer.

Good point on the AirSafe hitch. I will see how the Icon suspension rides before deciding on a hitch. I currently have dual rate Icon springs on my other truck I used to tow with that but those springs may not work as well on the F350. I have no experience with Ford trucks.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

You might have to build a custom receiver to get the ball far enough back. The AirSafe adds at least 10 inches, so that’s a plus. It also weighs about 90 pounds, and that’s not a plus. Getting it and the reducer (2.5” to 2”) to line up with the hole for the pin can be a bear.

 

[Conifer]

I have a flatbed grandby on my Ram 3500 and do have some overhang from the camper. I use an original torklift superhitch combined with a 21” supertruss extension, which has a 14,000 pound towing rating and 1400 pound tongue weight rating, if a weight distribution hitch is used. It’s pricey, but has worked really well and has also given me enough room to run a hitch mounted bike rack.

 

[So Cal Adventurer]

All I can comment on here is to STAY AWAY FROM ICONS!!!

Every single person I know (5 off the top of my head personally) that paid the big $ for Icons has had them leaking within a year! 2 guys within 10k miles. They QC is horrendous!

Google "leaking icon shocks" if you think im kidding

I'd suggest looking at other options personally.

 

[Durango1]

Would this photo be of value, Craig? I've since sold the FB Hawk and moved into a 3500 Ram Chassis Cab with a FB Grandby but the back overhang isn't that great. (Still have the 2012 Rubicon... sadly with only 12,000 miles on the clock!)