options I would like to see

2

2020

Senior Member
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Oct 31, 2014
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Here are some options I would like to have seen offered by FWC when I bought my 2014 Grandby:

  • A choice of colors/patterns for the Formica counter tops
    I don’t know what possessed the folks at FWC to assume that everybody would fall in love with that god-awful dark gray/brown sponge granite pattern for the counter tops. The white Formica they used to use added brightness to the interior and gave the illusion of space. The dark granite pattern does just the opposite. I would never put such ugly Formica in my own kitchen. My guess is that their supplier must have offered them a great price for that awful stuff just to get rid of it. I suppose that dark pattern might appeal to some folks but not to me. If FWC offered a choice of Formica patterns it would expand the appeal of their product to more customers.

[*]Hail protection
  • The one piece aluminum top looks nice now, but after the first hailstorm it will resemble the surface of the moon, or a golf ball. Parking under a tree during a storm is not safe. Covering such as a gas station may not be available at a moment’s notice. There must be some thin lightweight materials that they could use as roofing that would be strong and resilient enough to withstand the impact of hail, or when damaged could be more easily replaced.

[*]Light blocking curtains
  • Why not offer curtains made of a material that is opaque to light? I don’t want people outside to see silhouettes on my curtains at night. What I am doing is none of their business. For that matter, they should make the vinyl for the popup section opaque, also.

[*]Gray water storage
  • I’ll be building my own gray water storage this spring, but if it had been offered by FWC I would have bought it from them.

[*]A greater willingness to accommodate customer requests for particular mods & customizations
  • ATC will accommodate such requests but FWC will not. I asked about ordering a side dinette and I wanted to substitute the 3 piece portable table for the swing out table, but FWC refused my request. Why? If they would have honored that simple request I would have paid more money for the side dinette option. Since they would not, I went for the standard rollover couch instead.

[*]I wish that mirror on the back lift panel was removable

These are just a few of the options I would like to have been offered. I would be interested to see what ideas others might have.

Thanks.
 
that is exactly why I went with ATC instead of FWC. The willingness to have custom work done by ATC was the big selling point for me.
 
Taku said:
that is exactly why I went with ATC instead of FWC. The willingness to have custom work done by ATC was the big selling point for me.
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This is exactly the point. If you want something technically more progressive and don't need or want customization you choose FWC. If more customization is desired, then the choice is ATC. Two different business models to meet different needs.
 
Is being so rigid that you send prospective customers to the competition a good business model? With a modicum of effort they could increase their customer base significantly. If the FWC product suited everyone out of the gate there wouldn't be so many folks on this forum modifying theirs. Why not FWC accommodate customer requests and take the profits themselves?
 
2020 said:
Is being so rigid that you send prospective customers to the competition a good business model? With a modicum of effort they could increase their customer base significantly. If the FWC product suited everyone out of the gate there wouldn't be so many folks on this forum modifying theirs. Why not FWC accommodate customer requests and take the profits themselves?
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Check with their dealers, I expect most of them would be more than willing to build out a custom version for you - for a price.
 
To paraphrase Lincoln...

"You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time."

I suspect that for each issue that you've brought up, there are going to be people who agree, and those who disagree. Like you, there are a few things that I wanted FWC to do, but all things considered, I think you have a very nice camper. I know that I like mine. There are modifications that you or a RV place can do to make it better fit your needs, but as pointed out above... "for a price."
 
I will measure my response by saying "Don't sweat the small stuff". For someone that spent 2 years researching, I'm very pleased with what FWC built for me. I knew going in that they wouldn't provide any flexibility. They really aren't loosing business. There business model is to mass produce a very high quality camper at a very competitive price. What they loose by not custom making, they are gaining ten fold with their pricing and quality. My first question is if you needed to air your complaints and seem to be unhappy, why didn't you talk to ATC? I don't think FWC deserves the bashing. Not a lot of room for a gray water tank. Most people connect a hose to a 5-7 gallon container or make their own like Bob M. FWC's campers are light weight and that is a big plus. Do you worry about your car or truck being damaged by hail? You could have gone to Hallmark or Outfitter, spent double what you paid for your FWC and gotten a fiberglass roof. Sorry but I think your complaints are unwarranted. The reason they are doing modes are because they bought the FWC or ATC shell and are good with tools. They save a bunch of money and finish the camper the way they want it. I don't have the talents of people like Bill Harr, or Ski3pin.
 
Also, in my scenario I'm not an ov erlander. Who knows how my gray water pipe would hold up if it was constantly buffeted by driving fast on washboard roads. I don't think fwc could add that customization with any guarantees. Besides its one of the easiest mods you can do yourself and its also modified based on your particular truck

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Wander The West mobile app
 
I'd like to see a north-south upper sleeping option with NO pull-out. Neither company seemed too interested in building us a camper with a no pull-out East-West upper sleeping arrangement much less a North-South version. Our used Phoenix already has this in an East-West configuration.

I can see why customs would be a problem on a production line. I think that by making the common custom options available in a modular manner that most special requests could be accommodated without disrupting production. Some "foundation" components would need to be able to work with any combo of options. Ever notice how all cars of a given model have the same wring loom regardless of the trim level? Low end models have several to many unused connectors under the dash while the top end models have all of the connectors occupied? The loom is the same, what varies is what gets plugged into it. That is the approach to take for custom production units.
 
ntsqd said:
I'd like to see a north-south upper sleeping option with NO pull-out. Neither company seemed too interested in building us a camper with a no pull-out East-West upper sleeping arrangement much less a North-South version. Our used Phoenix already has this in an East-West configuration.

I can see why customs would be a problem on a production line. I think that by making the common custom options available in a modular manner that most special requests could be accommodated without disrupting production. Some "foundation" components would need to be able to work with any combo of options. Ever notice how all cars of a given model have the same wring loom regardless of the trim level? Low end models have several to many unused connectors under the dash while the top end models have all of the connectors occupied? The loom is the same, what varies is what gets plugged into it. That is the approach to take for custom production units.
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The FWC flat bed models are NO pull-out cabovers with storage underneath the bed but still in the East-West configuration. However to do that the cabover height is increased.
 
I wish my Hawk had under bed storage for bulky lightweight items like; clothes, towels and blankets.
 
I have my FWC Hawk on order right now.

I do wish FWC provided an option (cost +) way of doing custom work. I would rather have them do things, like drill holes in the walls at the factory then have to work it out myself.

My suggested options (no particular order) -

1.) Cell Phone Booster

2.) Upgraded charger/inverter

3.) Grey Water (yes I know I can DYI)

4.) Longer beds (I am 6'6")

5.) RotoPax mount

6.) Bike Mount

7.) Ports (i.e. predrilled holes with wire pass thrus for customer use, in my case Sat Phone antenna and cell booster)

8.) Delete for cook top.

9.) Outside stove.

10.) Microwave (to go with upgraded inverter/charger)

I would be willing to pay for each one of these, but it's a no go with FWC. I don't mind do the work myself, but I would rather not.
 
Let's be careful what we wish for. FWC is such a reliable product because they know what they do well and don't haphazardly do customizations. I have been following FWC now for about 4years. They are adding more options slowly. Hopefully it is because they are trying to master the product and installation first.

The more gadgets the more opportunity for breakage and malfunction. I like my FWC because of its simplicity which makes it dependable. BTW the factory installed AC just died.

The premise of FWC when it started, as told by the fellas at ATC (and former employees of FWC from the beginning) was to build a simple camper for people to go Elk Hunting on the weekends. I suspect there were no cell phones and microwaves at that time and to have one in a camper was likely unheard of.

The good news is there are companies the will do whatever customizations you want - I will refer you to MYTACO over on Expo - he was looking for lots of shiny objects - look where that got him.

Stan if your reading Please don't change my beloved FWC! I like it just the way it is!
 
I don't think the people that want more "customization" with FWC really understand what it means from a business and/or a production standpoint. Many have already pointed out the issues and there are plenty of other manufacturers out there that willing to accommodate them. FWC is doing what they do and they do it well. While it may not seem like a big deal to have options like a rotopax mounts or to change a few things, it's a big deal when you are basically mass producing units. Custom stuff takes a huge amount of time and changing things usually leads to changes in other things. Not an easy model to work with and you will not be able to produce a consistent number of units per year.

In my spare life, I help out in a custom shop building custom aluminum jetboats. There is no "option list" other than whatever you want on it and where ever you want it. It takes an extraordinary amount of time to incorporate non-standard things into a build. The customer is allowed to change and vary dimensions to meet their needs like bottom widths, side height, or beam. This translates into every boat is custom fabricated one at a time...there is no "production". There are manufacturers that build the same product and they produce 150-200 boats a year. We are lucky to build 35 - 40. Sourcing vendors for products and pricing is a huge pain and while you do custom stuff, you try to keep costs in check.

I think FWC does a great job of offering what most people want or need. They move enough units and make enough profit to be able to innovate some and make improvements that can be incorporated into their production line to make a quality pruduct. Their relative simplicity is a big selling point. If a guy want's gadgets, those can be done by the owner. I seriously doubt anyone is losing sleep over losing a handful of potential customers a year because of a lack of customization options. It's simply not their gig...

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IMHO there is a big difference between options and custom. I think FWC could have a larger list of options available if there was a demand for it. A plug-n-play option is a money maker, look at the upgraded sinks and cooktops. It takes input from us, the consumer, to let the manufacturer know what the market would like. So when I saw the title of this thread I thought it would be about ideas but I guess I was wrong. :unsure:
Cheers
 
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