As mentioned before, I ordered a new Hawk a couple of months ago and I just got back yesterday from a trip down to Woodland to get it installed. I thought I'd go back over some things since this was basically a two year effort to buy this camper. I originally was going to get an Eagle installed on a new Tacoma or Frontier since my old Frontier was getting old and I wanted to get a new truck. After a whole bunch of reading and going back and forth on the issue several times I decided to get a Hawk installed on a 3/4 ton pickup. Chevy had just upgraded their heavy duty trucks in 2011 and decided to start looking for one thinking I'd get one in the spring of 2012.
Within a short time during the late fall of 2011 I found a leftover 2011. I got a great deal so I went for it. Here's a picture of it when new:
That set me back some serious money so the camper was going to have to wait a little while. Meanwhile FWC announced a self contained option initially for the Fleet model but also was going to be available on other models including the Hawk. This was something both my wife and I were really interested in and a short while later we found out FWC was going to be at the Portland show in the spring of 2012 and they were going to be bringing the Fleet self contained model. We went down and checked it out and we really liked it. The problem was we needed to save up some more money. We basically had to wait another whole year. Meanwhile I read this and other forums until I basically knew these campers better than any thing I've ever purchased. Finally in late February this year we went ahead and ordered it.
Here's what we got:
Hawk self contained with the following options:
Hawk Self Contained Camper - Base
Self Contained
Silver Spur Edition (Silver Exterior/Grey Interior)
Mechanical Camper Jacks w/ Brackets (4 corner)
WAECO Compressor 110 Liter Refrigerator/Freezer 2-Way (AC/DC)
Forced Air Furnace w/ Thermostat
Flush Mount Glass Top Appliances
Fan-Tastic Power Roof Vent Fan
Extra Roof Vent
Screen Door
Front Opening Window
8' Side Awning
Auxiliary Side Awning Light
Rear Awning
Rear Wall Steps (better access to roof)
90 Watt Solar Panel w/ Controller
LED Interior Light Upgrade
Interior LED Gooseneck Light (passenger side wall)
Rear Flood Lights (LED)
LED Exterior Lighting Package
Auxiliary Battery System (wiring, battery, separator)
2nd Deep Cycle Battery (dual batteries)
Plastic Rubbermaid Portable Entry Step
Ready To Go Anywhere Package
Extended 10' Yakima "TRACKS ONLY" on Roof
Pretty much a loaded Hawk.
We needed to wait until early May for delivery and we decided to drive down to Woodland and pick up the camper and then take a short vacation on the way back. We decided to not use the camper on the way back as we didn't want to bring all the extra stuff we would need with us. Here's a picture of me the night before the installation in front of the FWC factory in Woodland:
We arrived at the factory at 8:30 for installation and Steve took me out to look at the camper before it was installed. It took about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for installation and then the installer went over everything with me. I did have one problem as the deadbolt for the door was not aligned properly and would not engage properly. FWC's door expert came out and after about a half hour and a little bit of filing the lock was fixed. I had the installer put some water in the tank so I could check out the water systems. We then went to In and Out Burger for lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon making sure everything worked which it did. I didn't want to drive home not having checked everything out. We went to dinner in Old Sacramento and while we were inside a torrential downpour started which was a good leak check for the roof as there weren't any leaks.
We started home the next day and headed for the northern coast and the Redwoods and then we did the whole Oregon coast and then home to Washington. Great trip. The truck handled the camper very well and as the coastal roads are a combination of curves, hills and straightaways I felt the truck got a good workout. I never felt uncomfortable and truck had plenty of engine and braking power and actually handled pretty well considering the weight. I'm very happy with this truck/camper combination. Going down to Woodland which was all freeway, empty and no tailgate I averaged 15.47 MPG. Coming back with the camper loaded on a combination of roads I averaged 12.45 MPG.
I used the refrigerator every day and I kept it going at night and it worked great and it didn't seem to take a lot of battery power either. I'll be taking it out next week to give it a shakedown overnight trip. So far so good. Here's a bunch of pictures I took today of the camper for those who are interested:
Thanks for all the help the last couple of years. I finally get to use one of these camper instead of just reading about them! See you guys out there.
Don
Within a short time during the late fall of 2011 I found a leftover 2011. I got a great deal so I went for it. Here's a picture of it when new:
That set me back some serious money so the camper was going to have to wait a little while. Meanwhile FWC announced a self contained option initially for the Fleet model but also was going to be available on other models including the Hawk. This was something both my wife and I were really interested in and a short while later we found out FWC was going to be at the Portland show in the spring of 2012 and they were going to be bringing the Fleet self contained model. We went down and checked it out and we really liked it. The problem was we needed to save up some more money. We basically had to wait another whole year. Meanwhile I read this and other forums until I basically knew these campers better than any thing I've ever purchased. Finally in late February this year we went ahead and ordered it.
Here's what we got:
Hawk self contained with the following options:
Hawk Self Contained Camper - Base
Self Contained
Silver Spur Edition (Silver Exterior/Grey Interior)
Mechanical Camper Jacks w/ Brackets (4 corner)
WAECO Compressor 110 Liter Refrigerator/Freezer 2-Way (AC/DC)
Forced Air Furnace w/ Thermostat
Flush Mount Glass Top Appliances
Fan-Tastic Power Roof Vent Fan
Extra Roof Vent
Screen Door
Front Opening Window
8' Side Awning
Auxiliary Side Awning Light
Rear Awning
Rear Wall Steps (better access to roof)
90 Watt Solar Panel w/ Controller
LED Interior Light Upgrade
Interior LED Gooseneck Light (passenger side wall)
Rear Flood Lights (LED)
LED Exterior Lighting Package
Auxiliary Battery System (wiring, battery, separator)
2nd Deep Cycle Battery (dual batteries)
Plastic Rubbermaid Portable Entry Step
Ready To Go Anywhere Package
Extended 10' Yakima "TRACKS ONLY" on Roof
Pretty much a loaded Hawk.
We needed to wait until early May for delivery and we decided to drive down to Woodland and pick up the camper and then take a short vacation on the way back. We decided to not use the camper on the way back as we didn't want to bring all the extra stuff we would need with us. Here's a picture of me the night before the installation in front of the FWC factory in Woodland:
We arrived at the factory at 8:30 for installation and Steve took me out to look at the camper before it was installed. It took about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for installation and then the installer went over everything with me. I did have one problem as the deadbolt for the door was not aligned properly and would not engage properly. FWC's door expert came out and after about a half hour and a little bit of filing the lock was fixed. I had the installer put some water in the tank so I could check out the water systems. We then went to In and Out Burger for lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon making sure everything worked which it did. I didn't want to drive home not having checked everything out. We went to dinner in Old Sacramento and while we were inside a torrential downpour started which was a good leak check for the roof as there weren't any leaks.
We started home the next day and headed for the northern coast and the Redwoods and then we did the whole Oregon coast and then home to Washington. Great trip. The truck handled the camper very well and as the coastal roads are a combination of curves, hills and straightaways I felt the truck got a good workout. I never felt uncomfortable and truck had plenty of engine and braking power and actually handled pretty well considering the weight. I'm very happy with this truck/camper combination. Going down to Woodland which was all freeway, empty and no tailgate I averaged 15.47 MPG. Coming back with the camper loaded on a combination of roads I averaged 12.45 MPG.
I used the refrigerator every day and I kept it going at night and it worked great and it didn't seem to take a lot of battery power either. I'll be taking it out next week to give it a shakedown overnight trip. So far so good. Here's a bunch of pictures I took today of the camper for those who are interested:
Thanks for all the help the last couple of years. I finally get to use one of these camper instead of just reading about them! See you guys out there.
Don
