Taking The Plunge

1

100acrehuphalump

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2014
Messages
540
Location
In a pool of clear crystalline water. Appalachia
Today I placed my order and initial down payment on a new 2015 FWC Hawk. I'm ordering it through the Mainline Overland dealership in West Chester Pa. They are the closest dealer to where I live. I'm purchasing the base model and a number of upgrades. I'd love to do a build of my own, but I don't think it would be as nice as something I can get from the factory. I will be adding a couple of systems from my M416 Expedition Trailer, like the solar system and the on demand hot water Eccotemp L5. It will save me quite a few Pennies in the long run.
The options I went for are as follows:
Rollover couch......more storage space
Mechanical jacks
Aluminum brackets
Forced Air Furnace
Fantastic Fan ......over the kitchen...I already have an oscillating 12V clamp fan for the front
Outside shower " hookup only "..... no DSI water heater
Yakima Tracks only........................I already have a set with towers and yak mounts
Extended vinyl and Hinged Lift Panels and Thermal Pack to a inside height of 6'9" tall
Exterior gas strut lifts
Auxiliary battery system "Wiring only" with separator....I'll install my solar and AGM system from the M416
Both roof and rear wall solar panel sockets.
The guys at FWC are installing a storage cabinet where the 'ice box' would go. I already own a Engel 45 refer/freezer and the idea is to make it so my engel will fit into the cabinet space.. They will probably just have to leave the cabinet door off. I will mount the Engel on a drawer or TemboTusk slide out. Above the Engel will be a hinged countertop with storage below.

I'm also going to attempt to take my Tepui 6' Awning off of the trailer and fab a mount for it to attach to either the camper wall or the jack brackets most likely.

Thank you to everyone for their input in helping me to decide what might best suit my particular needs and thanks to everyone at FWC like Tom, Stan, Terry, Michael and Matthew at Mainline Overland for dealing with my million mile a minute questions.
I'm sure I'll have many more....Dan
 
100acrehuphalump said:
Today I placed my order and initial down payment on a new 2015 FWC Hawk. I'm ordering it through the Mainline Overland dealership in West Chester Pa. They are the closest dealer to where I live. I'm purchasing the base model and a number of upgrades. I'd love to do a build of my own, but I don't think it would be as nice as something I can get from the factory. I will be adding a couple of systems from my M416 Expedition Trailer, like the solar system and the on demand hot water Eccotemp L5. It will save me quite a few Pennies in the long run.
The options I went for are as follows:
Rollover couch......more storage space
Mechanical jacks
Aluminum brackets
Forced Air Furnace
Fantastic Fan ......over the kitchen...I already have an oscillating 12V clamp fan for the front
Outside shower " hookup only "..... no DSI water heater
Yakima Tracks only........................I already have a set with towers and yak mounts
Extended vinyl and Hinged Lift Panels and Thermal Pack to a inside height of 6'9" tall
Exterior gas strut lifts
Auxiliary battery system "Wiring only" with separator....I'll install my solar and AGM system from the M416
Both roof and rear wall solar panel sockets.
The guys at FWC are installing a storage cabinet where the 'ice box' would go. I already own a Engel 45 refer/freezer and the idea is to make it so my engel will fit into the cabinet space.. They will probably just have to leave the cabinet door off. I will mount the Engel on a drawer or TemboTusk slide out. Above the Engel will be a hinged countertop with storage below.

I'm also going to attempt to take my Tepui 6' Awning off of the trailer and fab a mount for it to attach to either the camper wall or the jack brackets most likely.

Thank you to everyone for their input in helping me to decide what might best suit my particular needs and thanks to everyone at FWC like Tom, Stan, Terry, Michael and Matthew at Mainline Overland for dealing with my million mile a minute questions.
I'm sure I'll have many more....Dan
Click to expand...
Congrats. You will have a great time. We got 13 nights between 8/1/14 and 10/25/14. Waiting is driving me crazy to get back out. Target is 4/1/15.
 
Good job. I picked up my Eagle just before Thanksgiving and have gotten in about six nights so far but am going to the Gulf Coast the beginning of Feb and then to the Everglades the beginning of March, planning more trips as I go along.
 
Dan, first of all congratulations, your enthusiasm is totally infectious…….. I've been lurking and occasionally posting for a few years now so I know exactly where your coming from, so much so that I think your camper might be getting to Mainline Overland on the same trailer as mine. Being from the east coast it was almost impossible to see one of these campers and through this forum, besides getting a ton of great information, I met a guy that posts under the name "Connecticut Yankee" and he lives about three hours from my house, he said he would be happy to show me his camper (actually he had two an older Grandby and a new Hawk). He enjoyed showing me his rig and sharing his enthusiasm for FWC with me. Great guy, thanks if your checking in. That visit, over two years ago, set the hook and last spring I went out to California to check out the factory and made a visit to the owners rally at Sugar Loaf.
First off, I can't give enough praise to Tom and the team that he works with, he's a class act, he's done an awesome job at the helm of FWC and he's surrounded himself with top shelf people. Secondly the owners at the rally have the same enthusiasm as we have, maybe more, and they've owned there campers for years. They are the best spokespeople for the campers and after visiting a rally you almost have to buy a camper. In addition to their praise for the product they are just good folks.
Which brings me to their new dealer that unbelievably is only 2 hours and 20 minutes from me. I've had other truck campers in the past and I had some dealings with their old east coast dealer in North Carolina and oddly enough when I became interested in FWC they had a falling out and zap, no more east coat dealer. I would call Stan and I'd say when are you going to have a new east coast dealer and he'd say they are trying to find a good match and they were working on it. Over the last few years they opened a couple of new dealers in the states and even one in Brasil. But no new dealer for the forgotten coast. Finally I decided to buy directly from the factory and arrange for the installation somewhere on this side of the Mississippi. Then there was a rumor that a good fit was discovered and a east coast dealership might be a reality.
So last Friday I stopped by MLO to meet Mat and Pete and we hit it off big time, I have a knack for speaking to a man for a short time and knowing. I've been a building contractor for over 30 years and have always made it my goal to do top quality work and surround myself with like mixed tradesman. Early in my career I must have been disappointed so many times that I developed a sixth sense, anyway I just know. MLO is a class act, FWC did another great job surrounding themselves with quality people and I can't wait for my next trip to MLO to pick up my bundle of joy.
Anyway, congratulations again Dan.
DanT
 
DanT said:
Dan, first of all congratulations, your enthusiasm is totally infectious…….. I've been lurking and occasionally posting for a few years now so I know exactly where your coming from, so much so that I think your camper might be getting to Mainline Overland on the same trailer as mine. Being from the east coast it was almost impossible to see one of these campers and through this forum, besides getting a ton of great information, I met a guy that posts under the name "Connecticut Yankee" and he lives about three hours from my house, he said he would be happy to show me his camper (actually he had two an older Grandby and a new Hawk). He enjoyed showing me his rig and sharing his enthusiasm for FWC with me. Great guy, thanks if your checking in. That visit, over two years ago, set the hook and last spring I went out to California to check out the factory and made a visit to the owners rally at Sugar Loaf.
First off, I can't give enough praise to Tom and the team that he works with, he's a class act, he's done an awesome job at the helm of FWC and he's surrounded himself with top shelf people. Secondly the owners at the rally have the same enthusiasm as we have, maybe more, and they've owned there campers for years. They are the best spokespeople for the campers and after visiting a rally you almost have to buy a camper. In addition to their praise for the product they are just good folks.
Which brings me to their new dealer that unbelievably is only 2 hours and 20 minutes from me. I've had other truck campers in the past and I had some dealings with their old east coast dealer in North Carolina and oddly enough when I became interested in FWC they had a falling out and zap, no more east coat dealer. I would call Stan and I'd say when are you going to have a new east coast dealer and he'd say they are trying to find a good match and they were working on it. Over the last few years they opened a couple of new dealers in the states and even one in Brasil. But no new dealer for the forgotten coast. Finally I decided to buy directly from the factory and arrange for the installation somewhere on this side of the Mississippi. Then there was a rumor that a good fit was discovered and a east coast dealership might be a reality.
So last Friday I stopped by MLO to meet Mat and Pete and we hit it off big time, I have a knack for speaking to a man for a short time and knowing. I've been a building contractor for over 30 years and have always made it my goal to do top quality work and surround myself with like mixed tradesman. Early in my career I must have been disappointed so many times that I developed a sixth sense, anyway I just know. MLO is a class act, FWC did another great job surrounding themselves with quality people and I can't wait for my next trip to MLO to pick up my bundle of joy.
Anyway, congratulations again Dan.
DanT
Click to expand...
Well thanks to you sir. If ours are in fact on the same shipment, then I look forward to possibly meeting you at MLO. Maybe we east coasters will have a rally of our own someday. I think we need to get our campers 1st though. Lucky you being so close I'm approximately 9.5 hours away just outside of Asheville NC. Looking forward to the drive with joyful anticipation. My 1st leg of my journey will be to visit my Grandfather in the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington DC. He is my hero and I miss him greatly. I will brave the bitter weather and crazy traffic and show off my FWC Hawk to all of DC!
 
Congrats,

I can hardly wait to see a picture or your extra tall body enjoying your extra tall Hawk. You will probably be on a magazine cover :).

I'm 6'3 and built like a grizzly bear, so I can appreciate your excitement. Your only other choice to accommodate your height was likely a 5th wheel.

Enjoy!!!
 
congrats! will be placing an order for my FWC soon. I didn't know Extended vinyl and Hinged Lift Panels was an option. Thanks for the tip!
 
There is nothing more enjoyable than working with customers who know a product well and who share their excitement about the product with others. Four Wheel Campers has done an amazing job of truly creating a family with their customer base. We are proud to bring this brand to the east coast.

And Dan, I think there may be a FWC owner rally in our near future for the east coast crowd. Something tells me keep Aug. 13-16th open ;)
 
Dan, Awesome for you!! I will also be taking the plunge this year for a Raven. I have been enjoying reading all of your post/ questions. I went up to Overland this past Oct and had a great time. That definitely helped make up my mind.

I am so glad to hear about MLO being out here on the East. Although it will be a hike for me from Florida, it will make a good trip up and come back south via the Blue Ridge. I can't wait.

I too enjoy reading about the Rally's and wish there were some out this way someday in the near future. But like yourself I have to get my FWC Raven.

Chris
 
ofc11066 said:
Dan, Awesome for you!! I will also be taking the plunge this year for a Raven. I have been enjoying reading all of your post/ questions. I went up to Overland this past Oct and had a great time. That definitely helped make up my mind.

I am so glad to hear about MLO being out here on the East. Although it will be a hike for me from Florida, it will make a good trip up and come back south via the Blue Ridge. I can't wait.

I too enjoy reading about the Rally's and wish there were some out this way someday in the near future. But like yourself I have to get my FWC Raven.

Chris
Click to expand...
Feel free to come stay at my farm on your way up. I just found out that its due for delivery around March 12-14. So excited!
 
100acre

If you are having them install the solar wiring I would request that they use at least 8AWG wire or larger to reduce voltage drop from the panels to the charge controller.
 
100acre,

Yes, it's backwards like shotguns, the lower numbers are bigger. The added cost of thicker wire is almost negligible (8AWG is less than $1/ft at Home Depot). There's no downside to having a bigger wire than you need but a small wire can lead to too large a voltage drop.
 
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