Hawk on GM 5.5 bed - need tailgate?

[cdbrow1]

Hi all,

I have a 2011 Silverado 1500 quad cab with the 5.5 bed. I have a FWC Hawk on order. I got a call today to setup the installation (1/22). I was a bit surprised that FWC told me that I should LEAVE the tailgate on. I was expecting to remove it. The HAWK is 6.5 feet, which leads to about a foot of overhang. Leaving the tail gate on makes the truck that much longer, adds weight and makes it harder to get in and out of the camper.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[photohc]

I've had my Hawk on my Ford F150 Crew Cab with 5.5' bed for over 18 mos. now with no issues. FWC advised during my plan to pickup the camper that it was my choice if I wanted to keep the tailgate on. Note that if you keep the tailgate on, rocks flying up from the rear wheel will likely damage the finish of the tailgate at some point.
I have not any problems after traveling over 8k miles in the last 18 months with the Hawk. Congratulations on the new camper!

 

[cdbrow1]

I do plan to switch over to a 3/4 or 1 ton (with the 6.5' bed) sometime in the next 18 months or so. I just did not want to get rid of a perfectly good truck before I needed too. My truck is the Chevy Hybrid which gets 23 MPG empty (city and hwy), they don't make them anymore so whatever I get will be a big drop in the MPG department, probably down to 14 or so for an diesel HD.

Photohc - from your profile pic it looks like you opted to go without the tailgate.

I am planning to keep the weight down when I am using the 1500 by only having one propane tank, one battery and keeping the water at under 50% full.

 

[GroovyDad]

I had my ATC Bobcat installed on my Tacoma while I was at work and when I got home, I noticed that they left the tailgate on. Initially, I planned to take the tailgate off, but after having in on for a couple of months, I LOVE IT. It's like having a little "porch" on the back. I actually makes getting in and out of the camper easier and gives me a small shelf to set things on. I don't know if you're tailgate will extend beyond the end of the camper, but if it does, give it a try before removing it.

 

[Fyreman]

Another thing to consider is if you can access your spare tire with the tailgate down. On my tundra I can not.

 

[cdbrow1]

Another thing to consider is if you can access your spare tire with the tailgate down. On my tundra I can not.

On the Silverado I can access the winch, but I need a longer extension to the crank.

 

[GroovyDad]

Another thing to consider is if you can access your spare tire with the tailgate down. On my tundra I can not.

That's very good to know! It never crossed my mind that it may limit access to the spare; I'll have to check my accessibility ASAP. Thanks for posting.

 

[BobM]

Why Didn't you order the Raven?

 

[cdbrow1]

Why Didn't you order the Raven?

I wanted the Self Contained option (not available on Raven) and knew I was going to upgrade to 3/4 ton in near future.

 

[cdbrow1]

Well this issue sort of solved itself. I noticed Friday that I was coming up on 100,000 miles on my old rig (99,500) and decided to run over to Woodland motors (down the road from FWC) to see what kind of deal they could make me. Long story short I drove out last night with a 2015 GMC Slt z71 double cab - exactly the ride I wanted.

Get the FWC on Thursday so now I have no excuses - right truck/right camper.

 

[billharr]

Well this issue sort of solved itself. I noticed Friday that I was coming up on 100,000 miles on my old rig (99,500) and decided to run over to Woodland motors (down the road from FWC) to see what kind of deal they could make me. Long story short I drove out last night with a 2015 GMC Slt z71 double cab - exactly the ride I wanted.

Get the FWC on Thursday so now I have no excuses - right truck/right camper.

Pictures we need pictures. Congrats on a great set up, at some point I will be going to a 2500HD.

 

[JJ1]

Definitely need pictures.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

I love stories with happy endings

 

[bike4mee]

there is no good place to attach scissor stairs. With that kind of overhang you need a free standing step ladder. Scary in the middle of the night, tipsy. edge of a cliff campsite.
my old camper had the overhang and I did find uses for the extra platform tailgate

 

[RicoV]

Another opinion, fwiw. Zoom in to see details of my Brophy 3-stepper in pic below. Length of angle iron supports camper overhang to rear sides of truck bed; oversized hinges are attached to said angle iron; then Brophy's step hardware is attached to the hinges. Two Velcro straps secure the portable steps firmly, and it's about as bulletproof a setup as I can imagine. Easy on and off of the steps for travel. My wife and I really love this setup to address our ample-overhang situation, after previously trying out several other [less viable] options.

 

[B Swift]

Love this idea. Ive got a hawk sitting on a 5.5 box. Was told I should support the rear overhanging part with the tailgate on. But id also like to run some stuff off of my hitch and the extra tailgate length makes that harder.


Another opinion, fwiw. Zoom in to see details of my Brophy 3-stepper in pic below. Length of angle iron supports camper overhang to rear sides of truck bed; oversized hinges are attached to said angle iron; then Brophy's step hardware is attached to the hinges. Two Velcro straps secure the portable steps firmly, and it's about as bulletproof a setup as I can imagine. Easy on and off of the steps for travel. My wife and I really love this setup to address our ample-overhang situation, after previously trying out several other [less viable] options.


Can you tell me more about how the angle iron attaches to the truck? looks like some chains? any more pics I can see?