Hawk on a Ford Crew Cab with 5 1/2 ' bed

[terrisjoy]

Help! Has anyone put their Hawk on a Ford F150 4x4 Crew Cab 5 1/2' bed? How much will it hang over and how do you get into the camper without access to the bumper? Should I leave my tailgate on? Since buying my camper in 2005 I'v always had an extended cab with a 6' bed which worked well. I'm excited about the new truck but confused with this sizing issue..... Thanks so much, Terri

 

[pods8]

The hawk is 80" long, measure from the front of your truck bed (plus any clearance between the front bed and front wall of the camper you want) and you'll have your overhang answer.

You'll probably need to use a stool for getting in/out I'd guess.

 

[terrisjoy]

Thanks so much for your reply. I have the numbers I'm wondering if anyone else has had this same situation and what their feedback was. I realize because of the crew cab the extended bed will look a bit strange, I know it will work ok but looking for feedback..Thanks, Terri

 

[BSS]

Just make sure you can still get to your spare tire. I'd go to the junkyard and find one of those spare tire let down thingys that fit together (just like yours) and use it to extend your current one.

Seeing how the camper isn't gonna stick out that much, you could probably get away with one of those little steps that slides into the hitch receiver. I'd leave the tailgate off though. It's just gonna get beat up if you keep it on, plus those little cables aren't going to support any kind of real weight (for long) anyways.

 

[David_h]

I have a Hawk camper on a 2005 F150 4x4 Supercrew with the 5-1/2 foot bed. It hangs off the back a bit, but I could not pass up a deal on the used truck, which is a nice Lariat model too. I use a two step folding plastic stool from the usual RV supply stores, and I leave the tailgate off. Center of gravity is more toward the rear. I have installed air bags for leveling the truck and a rear sway bar. And 'E' Rated tires help to firm up the ride.
Dave
Mill Valley, CA

 

[terrisjoy]

Just make sure you can still get to your spare tire. I'd go to the junkyard and find one of those spare tire let down thingys that fit together (just like yours) and use it to extend your current one.

Seeing how the camper isn't gonna stick out that much, you could probably get away with one of those little steps that slides into the hitch receiver. I'd leave the tailgate off though. It's just gonna get beat up if you keep it on, plus those little cables aren't going to support any kind of real weight (for long) anyways.

 

[terrisjoy]

Thanks so much, that makes sense about the tailgate. Thanks for your reply. Terri

 

[terrisjoy]

Just make sure you can still get to your spare tire. I'd go to the junkyard and find one of those spare tire let down thingys that fit together (just like yours) and use it to extend your current one.

Seeing how the camper isn't gonna stick out that much, you could probably get away with one of those little steps that slides into the hitch receiver. I'd leave the tailgate off though. It's just gonna get beat up if you keep it on, plus those little cables aren't going to support any kind of real weight (for long) anyways.

 

[terrisjoy]

I have a Hawk camper on a 2005 F150 4x4 Supercrew with the 5-1/2 foot bed. It hangs off the back a bit, but I could not pass up a deal on the used truck, which is a nice Lariat model too. I use a two step folding plastic stool from the usual RV supply stores, and I leave the tailgate off. Center of gravity is more toward the rear. I have installed air bags for leveling the truck and a rear sway bar. And 'E' Rated tires help to firm up the ride.
Dave Dave, thanks so much for your reply. Do you have pics of your truck and camper? Thanks for your help... Terri
Mill Valley, CA

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Terri

Did you buy your camper used ?

And if so, did you have to put a small platform or spacer under the camper so it fit your Ford SuperDuty properly ?

The reason I ask is that the new (2004 - 2011) Ford F-150 trucks have a deeper truck bed than most other trucks on the market.

When putting your camper on the new Ford F-150 you will probably need to add a spacer to it as well.

For example ... if you added a 1" spacer already, you will probably need to add another 1" spacer to the original one added, for proper camper fit on the Ford SuperCrew. It shouldn't be that big of a deal though.

Attached are a couple pictures of the Hawk on a newer Ford F-150 SuperCrew with the really short truck bed.

Alsoi attached are 2 more pictures of the Hawk on a Nissan and a Chevy with the really short 5.5' bed to give you a visual picture on how it will / might look.

Just let me know if you have any other questions down the road. I would be glad to help in any way I can.

Happy Camping !


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Help! Has anyone put their Hawk on a Ford F150 4x4 Crew Cab 5 1/2' bed? How much will it hang over and how do you get into the camper without access to the bumper? Should I leave my tailgate on? Since buying my camper in 2005 I'v always had an extended cab with a 6' bed which worked well. I'm excited about the new truck but confused with this sizing issue..... Thanks so much, Terri



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[David_h]

Hi Terri,
Regarding the spacer, yes it was required for my Hawk too. I added strips of 7/8 marine plywood to the existing grey painted wood strips on the camper bottom. Your Hawk might require different spacing to keep it from resting on the side rails of the bed. You can measure this yourself and maybe confirm the Hawk build data from FWC; although there is no substitute for measuring yourself. If it is the same build as mine, 1" thick ply would be a better choice, mine just barely touches the bed rails. Sorry, I don't have any pics right now, but I did post some with my very firt posting about 2-years ago. Stan's pics look the same as mine as to the rear over hang. As you know the max payload for our trucks is about 1580 lbs or so; and with the camper, people and gear we are pushing the limit. My kids are light as is their gear; but if I was running around with four adults and all the associated adult gear, a 3/4 ton truck would give me more peace of mind.
Dave
Mill Valley, CA

 

[terrisjoy]

Hey Terri

Did you buy your camper used ?

And if so, did you have to put a small platform or spacer under the camper so it fit your Ford SuperDuty properly ?

The reason I ask is that the new (2004 - 2011) Ford F-150 trucks have a deeper truck bed than most other trucks on the market.

When putting your camper on the new Ford F-150 you will probably need to add a spacer to it as well.

For example ... if you added a 1" spacer already, you will probably need to add another 1" spacer to the original one added, for proper camper fit on the Ford SuperCrew. It shouldn't be that big of a deal though.

Attached are a couple pictures of the Hawk on a newer Ford F-150 SuperCrew with the really short truck bed.

Alsoi attached are 2 more pictures of the Hawk on a Nissan and a Chevy with the really short 5.5' bed to give you a visual picture on how it will / might look.

Just let me know if you have any other questions down the road. I would be glad to help in any way I can.

Happy Camping !


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Thanks Stan, I bought the camper from you in 2005, at the time I had a F150 extended cab a few years later the folks at FWC in Riverside remounted it to a F250. Last week I bought a new truck 2010 F150 crew cab 4x4. Will the weight be a problem on the truck because of the overhang? It looks kinda strange and not balanced to me. Thanks, Terri


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