Need outfitting advise for new Hawk

[crookedtail]

Next month my husband will pick up our new Hawk (standard with 3-way fridge, furnace, screen door, jacks, aux battery & extended cab). From the factory in Woodland he'll continue onto Montana to spend 10 days in field training. By then the truck should have Firestone Ride Rites.

So here's the thing - we're total newbies to this luxurious form of travel (the futon in the back of the pickup used to seem like luxury). Since he won't be able to do a shake-down run before this big trip, does the gang have any advise for must-haves? He will not have a lot of free time - so it'll be hard to run to town to pick anything up.

He'll be fed at the field camp so kitchen needs are minimal. So we've planned for a stainless steel insulated coffee press, kitchen towel, paper towels, gray water bucket, folding stair step, hand broom, folding chair, possibly a roll up table. Other than bedding, what will he miss on this bare bones trip?

 

[DirtyDog]

Sorry to run a bit off topic - but what kind of field camp?

 

[Ted]

Hello Crookedtail and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on the new Hawk.

Actually, DD, that probably is important. His needs will depend on the type of camp and what it supplies. Some things that come to mind: toilet paper, bug repellant and sun screen, water purification filter or pills, a plastic bucket to do laundry (beats washing five day old underwear in the sink), etc.

 

[EdoHart]

How long will his first trip be away from whatever facilities his field training will include?

Since you mentioned the coffee press, I would add coffee, what ever he likes in it and a coffee cup (I'm not being a smart alec, but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked).

FWC can provide a full tank of propane, but you might want to arrange that ahead of time to ensure they have a full tank ready for him. They can also probably fill the water tank, but if not you might want to include some bottled water. Maybe a second cup to use for rinsing his tooth brush.

 

[ScottBailey]

Get your TP from an RV supply store if it's going in a port-a-potty.

I'd skip the roll up table. We have one but rarely bring it, because we don't use it.

Some basic (e.g. crescent wrench, screwdriver, pliers, etc.) tools to fix any minor fit and finish stuff that isn't quite the way you want it.

I recommend an LED headlamp and a swap of the incandescent bulbs for LEDs:

• LED tagged links
• v-leds an LED source.

SB

 

[4llamas]

Things you might need.

You will probably want a hose to fill the water tank and another hose and bladder to drain the waste water. FWC offers two options for the accessories you will eventually need. A simple folding step (2 steps actually) will come in very handy for getting in and out of the camper. We bought an inexpensive rubber backed rug and cut it to fit our floor. It has kept our vinyl floor in new condition. You will also need a wrench to remove the nut holding the propane tank in place. I find the bed to be too firm so I bought a foam mattress pad and I use a queen size comforter over that and sleep under my down bag. Very comfortable. Might as well get some spare fuses and hope you never need them(, but you will). Don't forget the battery, it has 2 fuses @ 15 amps each.
Enjoy,
Llamas

 

[HERR42]

dont forget to install a fifth of....well you choose.
i keep a bottle of scotch most times.

i found a 42 year old bottle of Beam over at the in-laws. I used that for a while. Rocket fuel.

dont forget to check out the cat litter toilet thread!

 

[crookedtail]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful and quick responses!

DD: he'll be studying hydrological systems in an experimental forest. He'll be looking at riparian restoration and modification or something like that. its a science thing.

The field camp has a lot of facilities, so he should be set on laundry and those other important facilities. We also decided to skip the porta-pottie.

Edo - gotcha' on the obvious! I've never suffered for having it pointed out to me.

We're pretty experienced backpackers and car campers, so some stuff is the same. But then the basic tool set Scott suggests is not something I would've come up with. And, Ted, no matter where you are going TP is always a good thing to have an extra roll of!

We're definitely adding the 1.5 inch memory foam to the the overhead bed - with tho hope that it'll sandwich-down with the rest of the bedding.

2LLamas: do you know what diameter hose we'll need for the in/out flows? I guess I'm assuming a standard garden hose would do the trick? & thanks for the fuse suggestion!

and finally HERR42, my husband's speed is more tequila and cheap Mexican beer, but I will be designing a foam insulated wine rack for myself!

Well I'll update the list and if anyone has any additional thought for inaugural trip (like any weird thing about conditioning batteries or running a tank of water through the system before you use it???) please let us know.

 

[DirtyDog]

DD: he'll be studying hydrological systems in an experimental forest. He'll be looking at riparian restoration and modification or something like that. its a science thing.


If it was a geology field camp I was going to tag along

Misc items I don't like to be without:

• Comfortable outside folding chair
• Headlight
• Extra batteries
• Extra butane lighter thingy (the first one always seems to crap out right when you need it)
• Pillow (surprisingly easy thing to forget)
• Several gallons spring or purified water (I prefer bottle water to drinking water from the camper tank)
• Outside table (ditch the stock table)
• Propane stove to use outside (much less messy and keeps odors out of camper - cook outside when possible)
• Percolator - beats teabag coffee

 

[chnlisle]

We used the futon shell meod too. The FWC is a slight improvement.

Its pretty unikely the foam will sandwich down. I just roll it up and stuff it between the settee back and the window.

He's a man among men with tequila and mexican beer. If I do say so myself and I do.

Garden hose works. I have a 45 degree angle fixture on mine.

Enjoy.

Those here generally do not use the H2O tank for drinking water unless in dire straits. But a couple of tablespoons of bleach and a couple of complete rinsings should do the trick

 

[DirtyDog]

Tell him not to forget his camera as we will be expecting him to post photos when he gets back.

 

[crookedtail]

DD: He used to be a geologist, but jumped ship to hydrology a few years ago.

In the long, long far ago we met on a geology field trip in Death Valley. And this pic is from the racetrack (after taking the Lippencot Mine road from Saline Valley) (fun to look at your post re: your big DV trip).

chnlisle: good info on the water tank.

More list changing!

 

[DirtyDog]

DD: He used to be a geologist, but jumped ship to hydrology a few years ago.

Membership revoked.

What college is Hydrology in? Forestry?

 

[crookedtail]

Forestry is not in his background. Actually his course work in hydro was through the geo dept.

Should've know that there were some rock hounds in this group - they always go to the best places.

 

[brett13]

Go get a good volt meter. You never know what sort of electrical thing might pop up and the only way to figure it out is with a good, not cheapo, voltmeter. Comes in handy for checking the battery charge if you aren't moving for days at a time too.

Also a trash bag or two (or grocery bags). There is always some trash- a wrapper or something.

Someone suggested basic tools- add a "stubbie" screwdriver. That's what you use to tighten the turnbuckles when they come loose.

 

[ScottBailey]

Those here generally do not use the H2O tank for drinking water unless in dire straits.

I do. But I do the bleach and drain, rinse, rinse, fill cycle before every trip. It gets OLD.

 

[DLN]

Welcome aboard. Be sure to sanitize the water system, not just flush. Use 1/4 cup of household bleach dissolved in 1 gallon of water for every 15 gallons of water tank capacity. Don't forget to fill and include the hot water heater tank volume in your final water capacity total. Let the solution sit for 12 hours or so, drain and refill the system with fresh water to flush out the bleach, drain that and refill, smell and taste the new water just to be sure. Any remaining bleach won't hurt you but doesn't taste good. In our experience it only requires one flushing to remove all the residual bleach. We do this at the beginning of every season (as camping is a seasonal activity for us) just to be sure of the health of the water system. Best of Luck.

 

[craig333]

Don't forget some reading materials. May want to reconsider the porta potty too. At Usal beach I woke up intending to use the one outhouse I'd seen, if I could find it in the dark. I was really glad to have the porta potty handy. Never know. At least two flashlights.

 

[Alaskan Snowbirds]

Starter Kits etc.

Crookedtail,

FWC has a couple "starter kits" they offer. One is the "basic kit" ( http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/basicaccessorykit.htm ) and the other is the "go anywhere" kit ( http://www.fourwheelcampers.com/goanywherepackage.htm ). Wouldn't hurt to ask Stan if he won't throw the full deal kit in as a thank you for the business.

The grey water bag included with the go anywhere package cracked and started leaking after just a week or two of folding/unfolding on a daily basis and if you try to carry it by the lid/handle when more than half full you'll get a messy foot when the lid pops off. We're going to try modifying a sun shower that lays flat but doesn't fold and has a REAL handle for grey water...might even carry a couple.

Even if you don't get either of the FWC kits it would be good to check what's in them for an example of what you might want.

It's best to get a "potable" water hose...no lead in it and such. We like 2-10' ones so we can adjust to how far away water is without having a bunch of extra hose. Wal-Mart has them cheap and good. Chinlisle's angle connection would be good...we don't have one but will. He's also right about drinking water...we carry bottled in the fridg for drinking and a 3 gal container of filtered water for coffee (if you set that 3 gal container on the top of the cabinet and take off in the truck with it sitting there you'll be amazed at how much water there is on the floor when you open the door and at how much stuff you have to take out to get the camper dry )

Wal-Mart also has an in-line charcoal water filter for $17 that we use. It saved us from a tank full of mud when a campground water system went gunnybags without us knowing it. The filter plugged and didn't let the crud through. We use it in combination with a filler nozzle that has a shutoff and clear tube when we fill the tank. Helps keep crud out of the tank, improves taste when using it for cooking and the shutoff keeps us from getting unwanted baths. (Think we got the shutoff/spout at Camping World)

I'd find someplace to fill up other than the FWC factory...we didn't like their water (sorry Stan/Chicale ) They have a filter on their sink at the FWC office but not on the hose bib they fill you from. You can always drain and refill if you do pick up water there but draining a full tank takes some time.

A Wal-Mart $8 stainless steel tea pot has done a great job for heating coffee water for us and Susan loves the whistle it makes when it boils.

I worked on a project with Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab in Fairbanks when I was in college. It developed time of concentration for runoff through tundra (pretty much just moss on permafrost). Some Russian (Soviet at the time) hydrologists came over and checked it out and were pretty excited. Fun stuff! Hope your pard's project is as fun/productive, wish him well for us!

Happy Trails!
'birds

P.S. Welcome!

 

[crookedtail]

Wow!

I am said husband heading to Montana this summer with our new Hawk, and I must say that I'm very impressed by the great response we've had to our Noob questions...Thanks! The two weeks in Montana will be a great "practice" run for the real adventure that I'm sure is to follow

To answer DD's question, I worked as a geologist for about 15 years and switched to hydrology (really fluvial geomorphology) because it allowed me to live and work in rural, mountainous areas and still make an OK salary. I still love rocks, I just have to view them in river bottoms.

Cheers!