Tossing out an intro...

[mtn-high]

Hello all.

I got a bit ahead of myself in my never-ending QUEST to find a FWC Hawk for my Tundra and didn't take the time to properly introduce myself. My bad!

I'm a 25 year Colorado resident and I live near Vail on the Western Slope @ 7250 msl. Winters are long here and Summers are short and sweet. My wife and kids and I have slept on the ground in a North Face dome tent all over this state in our 25 years here and I've backpacked extensively on top of those outings ala the fabled "boys weekend's out". My favorite hike is a 22 mile jaunt up and over Missouri Pass and down the 16 or so miles into the Cross Creek basin in the Holy Cross Wilderness...a hike that I've completed 3 times.

However, as DDD creeps into the picture and my herniated back and neck go South on me we are now searching for the ever-elusive FWC Hawk to inject some much needed comfort into the picture. (the kids are starting to leave the nest w/only 1 remaining) My oldest son is heading to college in the Fall and adding a Hawk into the picture would allow us to road-trip to visit him occasionally and not incur hotels bills. In the end we love the outdoors and loath hotels..especially as we find that more-often-than-not we spend a sizeable amount of time merely dodging hotel MANAGEMENT as we head to our room with our 2 Golden Retrievers in tow! "No Dogs?" No s*it? Say what? LOL. Fortunately my wife is of the same mind as I and there is no "hard sell" to be done on the acquisition of the camper. Now all I have to do is FIND one!

I guess I should reveal right-off-the-bat that I'm not a gearhead. I've definitely done a bit of 4-wheeling here in-state but have generally taken to the trail on foot in my years here and have chosen to leave the noise and fumes behind. Most of my hiking is done in the Wilderness areas so "everyone" is happy. In the end, 99.9% of my driving time in the forest has been on Forest/fire roads with an occasional rock-strewn ride here/there.
(I hate wrenching so I go easy!)

I owned a '84 4x4 Nissan King Cab for many years and it would go *most* places I wanted to go. We did 185K miles worth of backroads and exploring in that truck in 18 years and I bet she's still chugging along today. Due to the *family* and the size of my teenage sons, I own a 2004 Toyota Tundra DC...you know...a psuedo-truck! My wife actually bought the truck..though I made no protest and love it my recent journey into "all things FWC" has revealed what many of you know and that is that the payload of this truck is fairly restrictive (OK, downright wimpy) when you start talking "campers". Good thing I fell in love with the FWC's the first time I saw one, huh?

As the years have gone by I've found I get out less and do the "tent" thing/camping gig...especially with the wife...a serious crime considering that I live in the middle of one of the largest Nat'l forest's in the country...and certainly in this state.

I'm hoping the acquisition of an FWC will get us out more...and as I've gotten into this an have seen the wife get a renewed interest I have no doubt we will.

I've enjoyed the FWC stories here on WTW incredibly and it is those stories that sparked me into the quest to purchase an FWC of my own. Thanks to all who've contributed to the myriad of tales that exist here! I hope to add a few of my own *soon*!

back to the search! Thanks for the place to play!

mtn-high

 

[SunMan]

Welcome to the board mtn-high. I'm running essentially the same set up you will be running when you find your Hawk. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Good luck.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

Welcome to the forum Mt. High..Sounds like your ready for an FWC!!

You will know true joy the first time you use your horn to get some pesky hikers out of your way

TT

 

[simimike]

Welcome m-h,

I lived in Clifton for a short while a long time ago . I love the Western Slope. When I first see the Bookcliffs on I70 I still feel like I'm home. I try to get to Colorado at least once a year.

FWC's for sale seem to be on the located on the West Coast . Perhaps a drive to pick one up can be turned into a vacation. Death Valley and Yosemite shouldn't be missed. Good luck with the quest.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks for the welcomes SunMan/Tomas/Simi Mike.

Question for ya, Sunman/anyone... where would be my best bet on a place to go to get a few mods for my truck suspension? Toyota dealer...or a 4-wheel shop? Where'd you go/what did you have to spend on your airbags if I may ask? My truck is stock @ present... (don't laugh...nyuk..nyuk)

The thing is such a beast I doubt I'll get too wild and crazy in it but I'd like to ensure a good ride and take any precautions I can.

any info appreciated.

mtn-high

 

[mtn-high]

a few of my favorite places....

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

welcome aboard !


I will let you know if I hear or see any used campers come up for sale.

I just found out we have a Hawk Model in stock / for sale now (sitting in the racks) if you need something fast



but it is built with the "standard cab-over" bed


for the tundra double cab you might want to consider the "extended cab-over bed"



.

 

[SunMan]

Mtn-high,
Got my bags at a local 4x4 shop for around $500. Lots of folks here have used the DIY program with much success (a search for "air bag" posts will provide much info). For me, I'm not much of a wrench turner and thought it was worth the $$ to know it was done right. Shop around.

Airbags are definitely required equipment for the Tundra/Hawk combo and will make a world of difference. Couldn't be happier with my package.

 

[DLN]

mtn-high,

Welcome aboard. Great intro, it's always nice to have another high altitude type around. Air bags are likely the first step, I'm not much of a mechanic but installed mine in about 4 hours and saved $250.00 on the deal. Keep us posted.

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks for the info, SunMan. I shall make some calls.

DLN...yes..high ground is good. I get extremely nervous when it gets flat or I get somewhere where there's more than 25% humidity or temps over 85. LOL.

Thanks for getting my hands shaking, Stan! A new Hawk...woah... that'd be something to dream about, for sure! I'm gonna let the used "fun" play out a bit longer as I'm only...like...95% frustrated @ this point in time and I'm hopin' that **somehow** that last 5% will hold me over until I can get someone to count my cash and watch me drive away with a unit.

Thanks also for keeping a watch out for me for a used unit and for the advice/info during my phone calls. I made a call a bit ago to the person who you told me spoke of flying/of planes to you that may have changed their mind/etc. to see if by chance it is still available. After another frustrating week of searching and screwy deals that fell apart/non-returned emails on campers that are "supposedly" for sale any hesitation I had a week ago on that one is gone. You only live once......

FWIW, folks, that's me plastered all over crazedlist in the wanted section in key Western areas. Hopefully by doing so something will show up/I'll somehow be alerted to a unit before it hits the listings on CL/elsewhere.

hope to see you on the road...soon!

mtn-high

 

[Ted]

2000 Hawk for sale near Sacramento, CA

Hey Mtn-high,

Bit of a drive, maybe you could make a vacation out of it. There is a Hawk for sale in Auburn, CA - extended bed, heater, screen door, power vent, three-way fridge, etc. Check it out here: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/rvs/706766799.html

 

[mtn-high]

Thanks for the link, Ted. The person selling that one contacted me just after listing it on CL but as I told them, the 2000 model isn't listed as one that will fit on my truck on the FWC website. That's too bad because that's a decent price and a well-equipped unit.

I'm resigned to the fact that there's a 90% chance or better that I'll be driving to the Left Coast to secure a newer unit.

time will tell!

mtn-high

 

[pvstoy]

Hi mtn-high,

Welcome to the board and that is quite a nice introduction post. Do you know about this web page? Might also check for used ones there.

http://www.usedfourwheelcampers.com/index.html

Like your two pictures. You had a picture in place of the arch that caught my eye then you changed it? Any chance you could repost and explain about that other one? If it was a seceret place I can understand and you can PM me anyway

 

[mtn-high]

Yo pvstoy. Thanks for the kind words on the intro.

Hmmmm.....those pics are the originals to the post. I didn't change anything. Perhaps it was someone else? What was the picture of?

I've ventured to what I feel are *all* of the sites where used campers may show up. It's amazing how many OLD links are still out there...however after looking daily for 6 weeks I have gotten to the point where I can spot the older ads and skip over 'em.

There's a nice Hawk listed on the "usedfourwheelcampers" site but unfortunately it is listed as a package and emails about the camper alone have gone unanswered. nyuk..the last thing I need is another Toyota! (I have 3)

 

[pvstoy]

That truck and camper package is from a poster here and here is his link
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1280

I re-looked at the first picture and it is my bad...The picture is the same. That is what getting older does. my vision and mind was off and it was giving me a image of a island in the middle and a gooseneck wall canyon. Did not have a good day yesterday.

 

[mtn-high]

Yup, pvstoy, that's the one. Didn't see it posted here until you mentioned it.

Just another in a long line of ads that are out there that you can't get a response to that serve to clog up the wheels of the search for a new unit.
Anyone who is *truly serious* about selling their camper can sell it in days from what I'm seeing...but hey...*whatever*.

@ this point I'm on the brink of saying "F... it" and may very well just order myself a new Hawk and put an end to this searching madness. In short, I can honestly say that I've never had such a hard time spending money! Holy crap

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

That was exactly how I was feeling and then someone in Phoenix responded to my wanted ad on this forum. I checked out the pics of it and told him I would come up that weekend and buy it if everything checked out when we got there. We started talking on a Thursday night and my wife and I were up there buying it Saturday morning. He was sad to see it go, but needed something bigger. He bought one of the ruggedized pop up tow behind trailers w/ the platform for a quad to replace it.

Kyle