New to Forum with New/used hawk shell

[davinski]

Hello, everyone!

I am new to this forum but have been reading for the last few months. I am going to pick up my new used hawk shell tomorrow. I have talked with the folks at FWC and the ever so helpful Ben(thanks!) at AllTerrainCampers and they have been most informative.

I was wondering though if anyone has any other suggesting to look at when getting a new camper and any hints on mounting it. I've got the forged eye bolts and the camper comes with the tie downs/turnbuckles. Will be mounting in a 96 dodge ram extended bed shortbed with Rhino Liner in it.

Can't wait to spruce her up and take her out!

Thanks for your input in advance.

Dave in Seattle.....

 

[DirtyDog]

Hi Dave, welcome to the baord.

Whenever I put my camper on the truck, I usually drive the truck around the block a few times, off a few curbs etc and then retighten all the connections. That's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[jimjxsn]

Dave,
Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you are good to go. I bought a used FWC as well and did a bunch of research on sizes, fit etc. The Hawk should work just fine on your Dodge.

Just be sure to lower it slowly the first time and double check that the height over the bed rails and over the cab are as expected. No sense in scratching your new camper or denting your truck right away.

The previous owner of my camper had painted a red line down the center front under the window. That and some tape down the center of the truck bed really help in lining it up when you are backing under it.

Also, my truck has a large top lip on the front bed rail. My camper didn't have any bumpers on the front bottom edge so I just used a 2x4 on end as a spacer to keep the lip from denting the front of the camper.

Good luck and enjoy the new camper!
Jim

 

[davinski]

Thanks for the hints

Wow, good ideas. I will have to install some tape when I load it up.

I do have some more questions on where you put those eye bolts in the bed. It is a bit confusing and I guess I might just have to see it and get them in place before driving off.

I also plan to stop after some driving and keep those turnbuckles tight....I hear this can be a constant problem.

dave

 

[craig333]

I wouldn't say its a constant problem. But things do move, stretch especially when new. I tightened mine after I brought it home and then ignored them for a while. Checked them a few months later and one turnbuckle was missing. Since then though, they seem to be staying tight.

 

[marty]

eye bolts

I crawl under the trucks and place the washer in place and drill the 3/8 hole from the bottom. For instance on your truck from under the front of the bed I would place the washer just in front of the brace that is about 3 inches wide closest to the front and as outboard as I could put it. then I would look at the spot welds on the brace or cross member brace is a better term. then I would look at the inside of the bed for the spot welds so I know where I am drilling then back underneath to actually drill it this time using the washer for a guide. The rear goes almost the same only you must figure out where the camper will sit in your truck and put that hole out board from where the eye nut on the camper is. Make sure you do not drill into one of those cross member braces. on your truck the front turnbuckles will pull forward and out. the rear probably out and only slightly forward if forward at all. Well that is how I would do it. Have a nice day and congratulations on your camper.

Marty

 

[davinski]

I had no problems mounting the front eye bolts. But the rear ones where tougher as the campers rear eyebolts and construction only allow me to angle the turnbuckle toward the front of the truck.

Ben said on the phone that the turnbuckles on one side should face opposite directions for maximum gain.

Therefore, after I take it off the truck, I think I will have to put two new eyebolts behind the front camper bolts so that the front trunbuckles will angle down toward the rear, the exact opposite of the back ones. This seems to make a lot more sense to me.

Are my assumptions correct?

dave

 

[marty]

That will work also. I Used to have a 1969 chevrolet and I put six eye bolts in it so I could carry long bed or short bed campers on it. As it turned out I was able to put two turn buckels on each front eye one facing forward one rear. How far forward are the rear turnbuckels reaching.

Marty

 

[davinski]

thanks, Marty for the help.

The back bolts on the camper sit well behind the wheel wheel on each side and there is plenty of room. I think i have them on the truck about 6 inches forward of the camper ones.

It is the front ones that will need to be moved back.

dave

 

[Sam]

While we are on the subject of securing campers, I bought a late 80's Hawk and it was built to be mounted with bolts through the floor so it has no eye bolts on the camper and I need to add some as I have no interest in mounting through the floor.

Question is where do I mount the eye bolts on the camper. Is it just through the wood or do I somehow "capture" the aluminum frame? If just the wood then do I mount them through the horizontal (step) section so that the eye bolt is pointing down or do I mount them through the side (vertical) section so the eye bolt is pointing out the side, or does it matter?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[davinski]

Hi Sam,
Well, I don't know where it is supposed to go, but mine are sticking out of the bottom of the camper, not the sides. As to correct positioning, I think you will have to ask the experts on this forum.

Good luck.

dave

 

[Sam]

Dave,

Thanks for the speedy reply. Just to clarify, your hooks are pointing down through the wood on the first stair step that goes over the wheel well?

 

[davinski]

Sam,

That is right.
The forward one is about 6 in back from the front bed edge of the camper and the rear one is 58.5 inches back from the same edge. It is right before that little bumpout the sits in the bed behind the wheel well. I do not know if it actually is secured to the wood floor and or the frame. You will have to ask the pros on that one.

They do feel quite secure. I did, however, have the camper shift a bit after installing it. For a 60 mile drive home, we stopped 3 times and each time the turnbuckles were very very loose. I'd check them often at the outset.

dave

 

[Sam]

Great, thanks Dave.

 

[homemade]

I’m no expert, but when I built my camper I used the FWC as a model for the “floor pack” portion of my camper. The “step” section where the eyebolts attach is just plywood as far as I could tell. FWC uses hardware that does not intrude into the camper, maybe Marty can tell you where to buy them or maybe they fabricate the hardware. I just used a ½” eyebolt with thick 2” washers on each side of the plywood and a jam nut to hold it - so the nut does intrude into the camper (not flat on the inside like the FWC). Mine has shown no evidence of any stress or breakage in 3yrs of hard use. I think my “floor pack” is a little thicker than FWC, I used ¾” ACX while FWC uses 5/8” marine grade plywood (at least when I checked in the past).

A few yrs ago FWC sent me an E-mail with pics showing placement of the eyebolts in the truck bed, I don’t have the file anymore to forward, but the eyebolts were in the far front corners of the bed and far enough behind the rear wheel wells so that the turnbuckles point behind and outward from the camper eyebolts in the rear and forward and outward from the camper eyebolts in the front. This seems like it would be the most stable arrangement.

The only disaster I had when building my own, which others who install their own used FWC might experience, was drilling my truck bed. I used some off-the-shelf galvanized ½” eyebolts made to be installed in truck beds, the eyebolts are supposed to be removable from a hollow bolt base, the hollow bolt base is ¾” diameter (they also make a 3/8” eyebolt model that has a ½” diam. hollow bolt base). When I drilled the required ¾” hole in my truck bed it tore the metal up pretty badly, the metal is so thin it was like drilling a beer can (I have a ‘04 F-350 but I bet all newer trucks are the same). The truck was brand new at the time so I felt pretty bad but I took it to a local shop that does automotive/truck fabrication work and they fixed my disaster and welded thick 2”washers to the inside of the bed for the front holes, on the underside of the truck I have thick steel plate as underside support - in the back they welded plates under the bed and fixed the holes I drilled - all for a measly

 

[marty]

Davinski gave you the correct measurements for the eye bolts. and they do go into the step part facing down. Do you have the access holes in the step part that we are talking about. are they in the 12 inch ish part going up or do they lay flat under the front cushion and do you have rear access holes at all. What area do you live in. I am sorry that I do not have much time this weekend to go deeper on this. I will be back tomorrow for a while.

Marty

 

[marty]

parts

Also we have all the parts that you should need. Agin my apologies as I have no clue how to make an invoice or get a price, Ben should return soon if you require any parts.

Marty

 

[Sam]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have the hardware to do the job, I went way overboard on the eye bolts and turnbuckles but I want to be safe.

Marty: I will have to cut access holes on the rear of my camper, the front already has some (not sure what for) I also don't know if I will be able to get an eye bolt installed on the drivers side rear as the heater is located there as I am sure you know. It looks like I could cut an access hole in the cabinet under the stove/sink to get to the wheel well area but I am not certain?

Homemade: I was suprised to hear that the camper is basically secured through plywood that is stapled together, does not seem like the best set up but I guess it works. Sounds like you made your camper a little stronger, I would love to see pictures. Thanks for the tip on the truck bed install as well.

Sam.

 

[homemade]

Hi Sam,

I think the “floor pack” setup is virtually bulletproof, the step part really reinforces it where the back eyebolts are and the front is reinforced by the front wall metal frame. The narrow crown staples are window dressing as far as I am concerned, they hold stuff together until the polyurethane glue sets up which is the real strength along with the inherent design that ties the whole thing together.

I don’t think ¾” ACX is stronger than 5/8” marine grade plywood but it is a whole lot less expensive and I liked working with a slightly thicker material for the joints - the weight difference is negligible, I bet.

I’m sure my frame is much stronger in steel than the aluminum used in FWC but that is just sour grapes because I couldn’t weld aluminum very well. I only built a “shell” but I’m pretty certain mine weighs less than 500# despite the steel and the heavier siding I used.

My camper is under a tarp in the backyard but I did recently buy a digital camera so I’ll take some photos at some point. Close up it is definitely homemade but a few people have come up to me asking if it was a FWC so it must not look too bad. Even one person at Yellowstone a couple yrs ago, it is sometimes a small world and for a fleeting instant I wondered if it was warpath engineering (whoever it was talked to my wife and she told the person it was a FWC, to her it doesn’t make any difference).

 

[marty]

You should be able to use a longer bolt and go through the lower storage. the cabinet under the main cabinet. your 58 1/2 should be very close to the left end. don't forget to subtract 1 1/8 inch for the front wall thickness if you are measuring from inside. if the two front access holes are on the piece you are putting the bolts in they were only to access the space in the bed for chains or other stuff that you could stash in there.