Installing Hawk on First Gen Tundra

[wodpof]

I have made a couple of posts already and would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to help me out. I am new to the FWC world and excited to get out on the road and explore with my small family. I picked up the Hawk and downloaded to place Firestone ride-rite bags on my truck to help support the weight of the loaded camper.

Now that I have the airbags installed its time to install the wiring and eye bolts. I have looked around and may have missed a write up. If there is one could someone post the link and if not any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Hi Wod, welcome to the family.

Contact Brenda at Four Wheel Campers. Brenda@ fourwh.com to get the installation instructions and they are also available on their website under Support section. Info is free. The whole team is very helpful.

Another suggestion is attend a rally where many of you questions will be answered. A good idea for a new owner - whether new or used.
The next one is in SoCal near San Diego the last full weekend in October 2015.

Keep asking the WTWest owners. Through experience we collectively know a lot.

Happy Camping.

 

[billharr]

What year Hawk? Makes a difference, I had a 2002 Hawk on my 2005 Tundra. When I got the 2013 Hawk I had to move the front eye bolts about 4" toward the tail gate.

 

[wodpof]

Hi Wod, welcome to the family.

Contact Brenda at Four Wheel Campers. Brenda@ fourwh.com to get the installation instructions and they are also available on their website under Support section. Info is free. The whole team is very helpful.

Another suggestion is attend a rally where many of you questions will be answered. A good idea for a new owner - whether new or used.
The next one is in SoCal near San Diego the last full weekend in October 2015.

Keep asking the WTWest owners. Through experience we collectively know a lot.

Happy Camping.

I will be giving Brenda a call tomorrow and make sure I get the correct measurements before I start drilling away. I will mark my calendar for the SoCal rally and bring the family along.

Looking forward to Memorial day weekend for our first camping experience in the Hawk.

What year Hawk? Makes a difference, I had a 2002 Hawk on my 2005 Tundra. When I got the 2013 Hawk I had to move the front eye bolts about 4" toward the tail gate.

The Hawk is a 2012 model and my truck is a 2006 double cab TRD.

 

[0976claxton]

I'm in the same boat as wodpof. I'm looking for instructions on the install on a used hawk. the website has links to the service manuals, but they give no information about the installation. I'll be contacting Brenda tomorrow. I'll attach the instructions to this link so that it may be helpful for others in the future.

 

[wodpof]

Clayton, I shot you a pm. I will do my best to help you with any other questions you may have. The install went well and I am loving the Hawk/Tundra setup. I will post some pics later also.

 

[Ethergore]

I can help with any specific questions. It's really a straight forward install. Put the caper on the truck and find a good spot to put the eye bolts. Make sure they are a good distance from the camper's eye bolt and at an angle. Think of it like pulling from the corners to hold it steady.

Also remember to check the turnbuckles after a few miles and again after about 100 miles or any rough road. Many add extra nuts to secure them.

For the wiring you want to make sure to use a 30 amp fuse within 12" of the battery and run it under the truck and to the camper. Negative goes to the ground block on the camper and then to the separator. Positive goes to the separator. While your there make sure any wire coming from a positive terminal is fused within 12".

If you don't have the wiring from 4wc do yourself a favor and just buy the largest gauge wire you feel comfortable working with to limit voltage drop.

 

[0976claxton]

thanks fellas. i'll be installing the hardware this friday if i can get it shipped to me in time. i'll hit you guys up if i have any specific questions.

 

[Ethergore]

You should be able to buy everything you need from home depot or ace.

 

[0976claxton]

Dropbox - Error - Simplify your life

He fellas - here is a link to my Dropbox on where you can find the instructions for installation 2004-and newer on all models. I apologize if this is buried somewhere else in this forum, but I couldn't find it. Figured it couldn't hurt to post again. If this link ever goes bad because I move it for some reason, just PM me.

I spoke with Brenda this morning and she is shooting me out the installation pack. Sure, I may be able to go pick it all up myself, but if you don't know all the correct sizes of everything it's much easier to just purchase from FWC and support them rather than Home Depot. I'm also hoping that there are backing plates in the package. If not, I'll be fabricating my own for extra support.

 

[Lighthawk]

Thanks Claxton

I saved a copy of the instructions you provided even though my Hawk was installed five years ago on my 1st gen Tundra.
I may move it someday and those instructions could be handy.

 

[Ethergore]

How much is the installation package from them? I remember it being very pricey. I'm all about supporting the "little guy" but I'm all about saving money too.

 

[0976claxton]

Parts are arriving tomorrow with an invoice. I'll get you that information along with the list of parts included. If I had a list of parts I may have made the same decision so I could get everything done in short order. If the backing plate is included that is one thing that would be nice to get from them and not as easy to roundup/fabricate. More to come.....

 

[0976claxton]

http://www.flickr.com/gp/133219607@N04/6hs2Wv

Okay, the parts arrived today. Upon review of the parts and comparing to the invoice, I'm now convinced that I would agree with Ethergore and I would have rather purchased these from a local hardware store. Above is a link to the parts that were received for the wiring kit and for the eye bolt kit. Why there wasn't a set of turnbuckles in this kit, is totally beyond me. I don't intend for this post to undermine FWC business, but I do want to disclose what I received and for how much. You can make your own decisions on what you would do, if given the same situation. I will say that I am very grateful for FWC in getting these out to me in time. I am about to be a new used FWC owner and had no idea what I needed to get this ready for an install before driving 5 hours to pick it up.

The parts included:

(4) 3/8" eyebolts
(4) nylon lock nuts
(8) large washers
(4) aluminum backing plates (for which i am the most grateful for)
(x-feet) of two strand insulated wire
(x-feet) 14 awg ground wire
(1) 30 thermal fuse
(2) Attwood trolling motor connectors
a bunch of terminal and butt connectors

You can do the math yourself, but it doesn't quite add up in my opinion. The wiring kit is 75 bucks and the eyebolt kit is 65 bucks. Oh well, I'm just glad to have the parts in hand in short notice. Can't knock the customer service. Very happy about that.

 

[Ethergore]

Let us know if you have any questions once you start the install. I've done 2 now all by my lonesome and can help.

 

[wodpof]

I look forward to see your pics of the install. I should have done a write up for installing my airbags and the Hawk but was too caught up in just getting it knocked out.

 

[RedTurtle03]

I have an 03 tundra and had a Hawk installed earlier this year. Let me know if you have more questions. I'll try to help out the best I can.

 

[RedTurtle03]

Also did a hellwig rear sway bar, rite rite bags, replaced my bump stops, new tires, new brake kit up front, and bilstein 5100s