Why did you choose ATC over FWC
- Thread starter Star152
- Start date
ATC offers customization, they have superb customer service, and great campers. Prices are lower than their competition.
When you call, you’re almost always talking to one of the owners.
When you call, you’re almost always talking to one of the owners.
Over the past 10-12 years I've had my Hawk worked on by both ATC and FWC and both do excellent work, but I've found ATC to be more reasonable on costs and their turn around time much faster. 2 years ago I decided I wanted to buy a new camper and visited both factories. FWC makes a great camper but weren't willing to do any customizations. Marty, on the other hand was willing to build the camper with most of the modifications I wanted and the cost still came in under FWC. A newer(for me) Hawk came up for sale at that time and I ended up buying it instead. Fast forward to February 2019, a large oak fell on my property and totaled my Tundra and Hawk. 2 weeks ago I put my order in for an ATC Panther Shell. Again, Marty was willing to build the camper with my list of mods that I wanted. Understandably, ATC has limits on what they can do, but if it's possible they'll do it. Options will include the stove top and Marty will have the electrical and gas line set up for me to install a Propex Heater. He'll also build a sofa across the front of the camper and use parts from the side dinette off my old Hawk. He'll also pre-wire for my Truckfridge as well as a couple of other items I plan on adding later. Bottom line, Marty is great to work with and he really enjoys brain storming with you to create the setup that you want!! You can't go wrong with either ATC or FWC - they're both quality products. I just like ATC's willingness to work with you. Good luck on your choice!!
Congrats. 
I think you will be very happy with your choice. Congrats!5outta6 said:
Wango
Contributors
To add two cents,
They build what you want. FWC are great, just more than some of us want.
I wanted mine the way I wanted it, for better or worse, they gave me what I asked for.
And to this day, are still great to work with. Always available for a question.
w
They build what you want. FWC are great, just more than some of us want.
I wanted mine the way I wanted it, for better or worse, they gave me what I asked for.
And to this day, are still great to work with. Always available for a question.
w
57Pan
Senior Member
I was first looking at doing a van conversion, then tossed around a small pop up tent trailer that I would modify the suspension to tow behind my Tacoma. Then I started researching campers it was down to FWC or ATC they both looked very nice to me. Couldn’t justify the price of a new one, just kept watching craigslist and a 2011 ATC Bobcat popped up and I was the first one to jump on it. I was able to buy it from a really nice gentlemen in his 80’s, he said he was having a tuff time getting in the bed so he bought a small tow behind trailer.
Just in the process of cleaning it up and making mounts for my Tacoma. It is in awesome condition, and the quality of original build shines thru.
Just in the process of cleaning it up and making mounts for my Tacoma. It is in awesome condition, and the quality of original build shines thru.
First, welcome to WTW!57Pan said:
I think you’ll love your Bobcat. They are great little campers and the crew at ATC is the best, congrats on your camper!
Ditto what Sage says.Wandering Sagebrush said:
IMO the Bobcat is a great camper.Ours is in it's 10 year of use with over 50K miles of trips with it.
Also great crew at ATC.
Buying new I did have a choice .Checked out both FWC and ATC.
Totally impressed with ATC and the value you get for the price.
Also a welcome to the "cult".
Enjoy your Bobcat.
Frank
57Pan
Senior Member
Up date on ATC Bobcat. Now that I have had this camper for a few month, been camping a few times. Including a trip thru Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and back to Washington. I can’t say enough about it, it has lived up to all my expectations. Everything works perfectly, and it has been totally comfortable for me and my wife. I would highly recommend an ATC camper.
I agree! The ATC team builds wonderful campers! “Built To Survive”.57Pan said:
View attachment 35533We're getting our first rain so I can't go on my planned hike, so I thought I'd post some pics of my new Panther. I picked it up on July 10th and have gone on 2 trips so far and I couldn't be happier with how it came out. The Panther is 84" wide so there's more clearance between the rear fenders. I don't have to use the jack bracket extensions I needed for my old Hawk. I opted for the 2" higher sides that give more head room plus a little bit more clearance for climbing over each other on the sleeper. I didn't get the extended bed but Marty added the side brackets for it if I decide to add it later. This is a tweener decision for us cuz' although a wider bed is nice, I don't like having to store the extra cushions and the extended bed would get in the way of the front bench seat. Being backpackers we're used to having only 48" of sleeping space, so we'll see how things work out.
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Looks great Ronin! Congrats and best wishes for safe travels!
More pics.
The Panther has the 2 burner stove and I've installed the Propex heater. I already had the Truckfridge and slider that I built for my old Hawk. Marty made me an extra table top that I wanted for a small food prep table. I installed the side table using simple 12" folding shelf brackets. My original plan was to build cabinets that would sit on each side of the passenger side window but I really like the extra space. A few other add ons are extra usb plugs, 2 places to plug in my portable 120 watt solar charger - one on the roof and one near the passenger side front, and side awning light. Oh yeah, there's a large side window on the drivers side which is why I need the fridge on a slider to keep it from blocking the view when the side table is being used. All and all I'm extremely happy with how the camper came out. Marty and crew were fantastic!!
One additional note - the camper weight came in at 988 lbs with the jacks installed, so around 900 lbs without them.
The Panther has the 2 burner stove and I've installed the Propex heater. I already had the Truckfridge and slider that I built for my old Hawk. Marty made me an extra table top that I wanted for a small food prep table. I installed the side table using simple 12" folding shelf brackets. My original plan was to build cabinets that would sit on each side of the passenger side window but I really like the extra space. A few other add ons are extra usb plugs, 2 places to plug in my portable 120 watt solar charger - one on the roof and one near the passenger side front, and side awning light. Oh yeah, there's a large side window on the drivers side which is why I need the fridge on a slider to keep it from blocking the view when the side table is being used. All and all I'm extremely happy with how the camper came out. Marty and crew were fantastic!!
One additional note - the camper weight came in at 988 lbs with the jacks installed, so around 900 lbs without them.
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I hadn't heard of ATC before joining the WTW community. Thanks to you and a few other owners favorable comments it was a no brainer to have Marty build my Panther. I realize that most of the mods I did were because I always had used FWCs and I was never satisfied with the layout. I did gain valuable experience that I used for coming up with my ideal layout!ski3pin said:
Ronin what a nice job the guys at ATC did.
IMO their campers are the best and working with them is such a great experience.
How do you like the side dinette?
Our Bobcat has a side dinette,the second one they made,and we love it.
No problems with not enough storage.
Enjoy your new camper.
Frank
IMO their campers are the best and working with them is such a great experience.
How do you like the side dinette?
Our Bobcat has a side dinette,the second one they made,and we love it.
No problems with not enough storage.
Enjoy your new camper.
Frank
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