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Ramblinman

Ramblinman

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
506
Location
Alberta, Canada
Looking for opinions. Apparently everyone has one.

I will be typically using the Camper in colder weather with 1-3 adults. I expect to be dragging around two German Shepards from time to time. I live in Canada so I would rather not have to deal with Warranty issues - if anything is prone to breaking I would just as soon do with out. My girlfriend needs to feel comfortable so I don't have to roll alone. Hope to be traveling rough roads. Durability is more important to me than aesthetics.

I would like to hear FWC owners opinion on the following:

1. Aluminum Siding or Fiberglass.

2. Outside Shower or not.

3. Rollover Couch or Dinette.

4. Is the Awning worth it.

5. Arctic Pack

6. Rear Window (Not sure if this an option with the Hawk.

Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Looking for opinions. Apparently everyone has one.

I will be typically using the Camper in colder weather with 1-3 adults. I expect to be dragging around two German Shepards from time to time. I live in Canada so I would rather not have to deal with Warranty issues - if anything is prone to breaking I would just as soon do with out. My girlfriend needs to feel comfortable so I don't have to roll alone. Hope to be traveling rough roads. Durability is more important to me than aesthetics.

I would like to hear FWC owners opinion on the following:

1. Aluminum Siding or Fiberglass.

2. Outside Shower or not.

3. Rollover Couch or Dinette.

4. Is the Awning worth it.

5. Arctic Pack

6. Rear Window (Not sure if this an option with the Hawk.

Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks

What's wrong with all terrain?Remember that either camper brand is small.1/3 adults plus dogs might get cramped in a pop up,IMO.Both brands are built strong.Call and talk to Stan@FWC,or Marty@ATC.

I like the dinette,outside shower?

Frank
 
Not an owner, but I have been planning for my camper for the last 20 months. First post of my build thread (linked in sig) has info on my thoughts and designs. But feel free to ask more questions.

1. Aluminum Siding or Fiberglass. Alum

2. Outside Shower or not. Would be handy depending on how you plan to shower. Although it is more to break or leak.

3. Rollover Couch or Dinette. Build out a shell and have both! :D

4. Is the Awning worth it. I think it should be.

5. Arctic Pack No, make your own. Easy to do.

6. Rear Window (Not sure if this an option with the Hawk. No, door has large window.
 
Yup! I live in Canada. I made a call to ATC to which he advised that they do not ship North. I would be more than willing to look at ATC ... in fact I am interested in ATC due to their no frills nature. Cause I am a no frills kind of guy :cool:

Coincidentally I am headed to Sacramento on business ... and yes I will be checking in with both ATC and FWC. ATC would really have to sweeten the pot from me to make the drive that far south. I have not ruled them out yet.

Sounds as though FWC Canada will deliver to my home town and mount the camper to the truck for me. I am no where near retirement, so it is the double edged sword. I need to work to pay for the camper .. but can't get away from work to pick up the camper. Also it should be easier to heckle the Canadian Distributor for Warranty issues.

Thanks for the replies.
 
Rear window not necessary. Awning, well I plan on installing one in the near future. Outside shower, why not if you're getting the water heater. Haven't seen the new siding yet so hard to comment on that.
 
Hadley,

I have been monitoring your posts. Thanks for passing on all the great info.

Can you please explain why you prefer Aluminum over the Fiberglass?
 
Both campers (ATC/FWC) are similar, but VERY different at the same time as what goes in to each camper for parts, pieces, and details.

Unless you work in the industry 40 or 50 hours a week, most customers won't see the small differences throughout the campers.

Both campers are built for durability & utility.

Yes, Gary Morrissey can get the camper back in to Canada easily for you.

And we do a few modifications especially for the FWC's going to Canada (specifically the propane system) so that is meets the Canadian Standards for safety & design.

Other owners will probably chime in too with their opinions.

:)

If you are in Sac, then that is a great idea to check out both camper companies while you are here.



.
 
Hadley,

I have been monitoring your posts. Thanks for passing on all the great info.

Can you please explain why you prefer Aluminum over the Fiberglass?


Thanks. I have been researching campers for a while now, so I have gone through a lot of info. I need to get a life, I mean get a camper.

I will get you my thoughts on the siding in the morning, when I am back at my computer.
 
1-3 adults and a couple of dogs. Hmm gonna be real tight. As for your options, out side shower the very last thing, your water tank is too small.
 
1-3 adults and a couple of dogs. Hmm gonna be real tight.

This was my thought, too...unless everybody is a good sport and tolerant of a less-than-ideal (crowded) situation.
If you expect to camp in cold weather you'll probably be in there all together quite a bit on those long, dark, Canadian winter nights. On the other hand, several bodies in a small space should reduce the need for heating.
cool.gif
 
Sorry, Let me qualify. 1-3 Adults and Two Dogs but not all at once. Me, the girlfriend and two dogs Or 3 adults and no dogs. :LOL:
 
Aluminum V. Fiberglass


There are a few reasons I have decided to stay with the aluminum siding, even though I once swore I would never own a camper that looked like it had house siding on it.


Looks: I like the way the glass looks when new, but there is a (small) part of me that likes the old school look of the aluminum. My girl pointed out that the smooth sides look cheap, and I can see where she is coming from, especially with plain white glass. If you color matched the camper to the truck then it is a no brainer. But I also think in the long term the aluminum will stay looking nicer, as painted glass scratches easily.


Longevity: I am sure FWC has done it's homework, but I have become skeptical about how long the glass will look good, and looks are the only reason to go with glass. Spider web cracks from flexing. Scratches from tree branches. Minor dings and damage. These things will be very obvious on the glass, but not a problem with aluminum. The aluminum siding can have sections easily replaced, but as best I can tell the glass is a one piece shell, so fixing major damage would be a problem. In the end I know that a ten to twenty year old camper with aluminum siding still looks nice, and I am not convinced that the glass will stay looking as good as it does when new. (Stan please chime in if you have any thoughts on this.)


Cost: $400 is not a huge amount, but it is over 5% the cost of a shell and I am pinching every pinney to afford this camper. (Not sure how much having a shop color match would be, but I would guess an extra $500+.) So for myself spending the extra grand just for looks is a big consideration, a thousand dollars buys a lot of gas.


Weight: Just as with cost, I am watching every pound on this project. Stan says there is not much of a weight difference, but on a Tacoma every extra pound makes a difference. So I would go with the aluminum solely based on a small weight savings.


So those are my thoughts. I reserve the right to change my mind at any point.
 
1. Aluminum Siding or Fiberglass.

As posted above, the longevity and repairability of the fiberglass isn't really known at this point compared to the aluminum. I'd probably go ahead and try the fiberglass if it was the same cost, but at an extra $400 I'm not sure its worth it. I suppose if you ran some kind of business and you wanted to brand the camper with graphics then it would be a good choice.


2. Outside Shower or not.

I'm done with the showers and hot water heaters. I had them on my previous two campers and they were rarely ever used. If FWC really wanted the shower to be a good option they would offer some kind of custom privacy enclosure to go with it. IMO both the shower and water heater are expensive and complicated additions that really don't offer extra utility over heating some water over the stove and using a Zodi shower or the equivalent.


3. Rollover Couch or Dinette.

I'd say dinette. I never liked the couch and it makes the large side window pretty useless. You can search for more on this here at WTW as it's been discussed a lot.


4. Is the Awning worth it.

Yes absolutely.


5. Arctic Pack

Depends if you plan on doing off season camping. I'd say this is a good option, but not necessarily essential.


6. Rear Window (Not sure if this an option with the Hawk.

Sure why not.
 
Ditto on the comments from DD below.


We know the aluminum siding holds up very well over the years, is easier to repair, easier to touch up scratches, etc. etc.

The "new to us" fiberglsss siding is still an unknown.

We built the "Super Freak" FWC Camper for O'Neil with fiberglass sides 4 years ago?, and I think that is still doing well.

We built an Eagle 1 1/2 years ago with the fiberglass sides and it is doing great too (it gets used every weekend somewhere).

So far, so good.

I don't think there is much to worry about.

BUT, if the camper ever gets damaged and the fiberglass sides need to be repaired or replaced, it will be VERY expensive compared to replacing the aluminum siding.

FWC offers a 5 year warranty for the traditional aluminum sides of the camper.

With the new fiberglass siding, FWC only offers a 2 year warranty.

Just a little more infotmation on the topic.

:)


________________________________________________________________________________


1. Aluminum Siding or Fiberglass.

. . . longevity and repairability of the fiberglass isn't really known at this point . . .







.
 
Thought I would share my Limited experience on this topic. I owned a hard side fiberglass '07 truck camper. I had it for 2 years. In the time I had it, had to have the fiberglass under warranty fixed within the first 3 months. I really didn't even use the thing yet..and spider web cracks. Had that fixed, then upon inspection later. Found another spider web crack..So this thing wasn't working for me. Sold it, found a Grandby with alum. siding. Driven around forest roads, highway speeds...the alum. is going to hold up better. Esp. for the purpose these campers are built...for off road driving. The fiberglass looks sexy, however I think the alum. siding is great and easy to fix if a problem arises.
 
Aluminum will show hail damage. Fiberglass may (probably will :)) show UV fade.

I would do the arctic pack.

I would not do the awning. I like E-Z ups. Have to park the truck on the gravel pad but want the shade on the table? Replacing a waterpump on your brother's van and wish you could do it in the shade? Did you leave the shade device out when you left and now that a thunderstorm is rolling through you have to deal with wondering about the repair/replacement cost as you return to the campsite?**

I got 2 Sierras from Cabela's on sale at $69 a piece with free shipping. I use them everywhere and I don't have to take the truck to do it.

** Based on actual events. :D I did replace the broken awning. It was on a 5ver. Ouch.
 
Shipping to Canada. (?)

Both ATC and 4wc will ship/deliver to Canada. ATC charges about $1.00 per mile from Sacto one way. If you buy in Canada, or anywhere else, the dealer just adds the shipping to the cost of the camper. Some (not ATC or me) also add a surcharge as well. Or you could save yourself $1500+ and pick it up yourself and enjoy a nice shake down cruise back home.
 
I'll throw in my bit on the fiberglass siding.

I have a 1999 Triple E travel trailer with fiberglass siding. For the first 2/3 of its life I stored it inside for 6 months during the winter and outside in the shade during the summer. Since I retired a few years ago, we travel to Arizona/New Mexico in the winter and around Canada in the summer. After about 5 years, the fiberglass started to fad and chalk even though it had been stored inside during the winter and I waxed it twice a year. Now I have to polish it with a marine gelcoat compound to get the shine back but even then it only lasts for a month or two. Apparently, this is typical from what I have read. There may 'good' brands and 'bad' brands of fiberglass skin out there but this was my experience. On the plus side for my travel trailer, the framing is wood and the fiberglass backed with thin plywood is glued to the frame. This stiffens it considerably. Nothing ever goes out of alignment. This is probably less of an issue with FWC. One other problem I have had with the fiberglass resulted from a leak behind the skin. The thin plywood is not very rot resistant and once damp inside the wall, the plywood turned to mush in a year or so. I did manage to repair it but it was a lot of work. When I put my order in through FWC Canada this fall, it will be for aluminum siding.

By the way, my dealings with Gary Morrissey at FWC Canada have been very pleasant. I would recommend him to other Canadians looking at a FWC.
 
We concur with DD's comments above. He's pretty right on from our experience. Only one difference. We do not use an awning. We're just not around camp that much.
 
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