imcolej
Advanced Member
Hello Small Army of Pop-up Truck Campers,
First off, thanks to everyone that contributes to this site. Your trip reports, DIY guides, and general information on pop-up truck campers has been really helpful and inspiring for my wife and I. I have been visiting this site for years now and it's looking like it is time for my young family to get in on some of this truck camping dream living!
The stats:
-Me and my wife, 8 month old son, and pit/lab mix.
-2006 Toyota Tundra Double Cab, 4x4. I have e-rated BFG All-Terrains and need to get air bags or timbrens. I plan on leaving the camper on the truck for the most part.
-Bend, Oregon
Style of camping:
We are shifting from backpacking to family camping. We are comfortable with minimal gear but wanted the warmth and reduced set up time that a FWC provides. We live in Bend, OR and it can get chilly here at night year round. My wife and I want to camp often without worrying about the cold with our little guy. If she needs to nurse in the middle of the night, I want it to be comfortable for them etc. We got into a bunch of different FWC's at the last Portland Sportsmans Shows and we both felt that the hawk was spacious enough for us and our needs. We loved the utilitarian feel of the camper as we aren't looking for a full on RV.
After reading hundreds of threads I weighed the pros and cons of our particular situation and felt that the shell was our best option. Frankly, we can't afford a full on FWC anyway so that made it easy!
Below is our current option list. Any additional options will have to be critical as our budget is stretched as is. If you think we can save money somewhere, that will be very appreciated! I am not that handy myself but I have some friends that are. I'm sure they would help us out on a project. The two big options we have below are the furnace and front dinette. I really wanted a safe, vented heating set up from the factory so I'm pretty set on that. The front dinette is also one of the main features my wife liked at the show and I like that we get another bed in the camper as well for the dog or if it's just me and a buddy. I also like the open floor space that this setup provides with the swivel table being mounted to the wall. The interior layout I'm going for is like Frosty_01's recent hawk shell build (those tracks on the floor/bench are great!).
I would like to add an Engel mt45 fridge at some point so keep that in mind too. I was thinking of figuring out a way to set it up directly across from the furnace cabinet on the passenger side. I figured this could both balance the weight and my wife and I like this layout in general too. I was told that FWC won't wire for the fridge on that side in a shell so I will have to figure out how to do that down the road I guess.(Update: FWC ended up offering to wire to the passenger side of the camper so I'm all set)
Our current build:
FWC Hawk Shell
12 Volt Accessory Outlets
Screen Door
Furnace
Jack Brackets (aluminum)
Fantastic Fan
2 Burner Stove
Front Dinette w/ Swivel Table
10' Yakima tracks only
Solar Plug (Roof )
Auxiliary Battery System
Gas Struts
Thanks in advance for looking this build over. After all the time I have spent on this forum, I didn't feel it was right to order one of these bad boys without consulting all of you first. Hopefully I can start contributing some trip reports in about 6 weeks!
First off, thanks to everyone that contributes to this site. Your trip reports, DIY guides, and general information on pop-up truck campers has been really helpful and inspiring for my wife and I. I have been visiting this site for years now and it's looking like it is time for my young family to get in on some of this truck camping dream living!
The stats:
-Me and my wife, 8 month old son, and pit/lab mix.
-2006 Toyota Tundra Double Cab, 4x4. I have e-rated BFG All-Terrains and need to get air bags or timbrens. I plan on leaving the camper on the truck for the most part.
-Bend, Oregon
Style of camping:
We are shifting from backpacking to family camping. We are comfortable with minimal gear but wanted the warmth and reduced set up time that a FWC provides. We live in Bend, OR and it can get chilly here at night year round. My wife and I want to camp often without worrying about the cold with our little guy. If she needs to nurse in the middle of the night, I want it to be comfortable for them etc. We got into a bunch of different FWC's at the last Portland Sportsmans Shows and we both felt that the hawk was spacious enough for us and our needs. We loved the utilitarian feel of the camper as we aren't looking for a full on RV.
After reading hundreds of threads I weighed the pros and cons of our particular situation and felt that the shell was our best option. Frankly, we can't afford a full on FWC anyway so that made it easy!
Below is our current option list. Any additional options will have to be critical as our budget is stretched as is. If you think we can save money somewhere, that will be very appreciated! I am not that handy myself but I have some friends that are. I'm sure they would help us out on a project. The two big options we have below are the furnace and front dinette. I really wanted a safe, vented heating set up from the factory so I'm pretty set on that. The front dinette is also one of the main features my wife liked at the show and I like that we get another bed in the camper as well for the dog or if it's just me and a buddy. I also like the open floor space that this setup provides with the swivel table being mounted to the wall. The interior layout I'm going for is like Frosty_01's recent hawk shell build (those tracks on the floor/bench are great!).
I would like to add an Engel mt45 fridge at some point so keep that in mind too. I was thinking of figuring out a way to set it up directly across from the furnace cabinet on the passenger side. I figured this could both balance the weight and my wife and I like this layout in general too. I was told that FWC won't wire for the fridge on that side in a shell so I will have to figure out how to do that down the road I guess.(Update: FWC ended up offering to wire to the passenger side of the camper so I'm all set)
Our current build:
FWC Hawk Shell
12 Volt Accessory Outlets
Screen Door
Furnace
Jack Brackets (aluminum)
Fantastic Fan
2 Burner Stove
Front Dinette w/ Swivel Table
10' Yakima tracks only
Solar Plug (Roof )
Auxiliary Battery System
Gas Struts
Thanks in advance for looking this build over. After all the time I have spent on this forum, I didn't feel it was right to order one of these bad boys without consulting all of you first. Hopefully I can start contributing some trip reports in about 6 weeks!