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My '04 Hawk

FWC Hawk mods

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#1 wuck

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 05:01 AM

OK, so I've had it a couple of months, but there were things to be done, a truck to acquire, and we just returned from a three week trip around Utah in our new truck & camper. So, here's the story, a bit at a time.

 

Looked around for a few months, lost out on a couple, passed on a couple. Then, a Hawk turned up about 15 miles from home. Yeah! Except, I was out of town for the weekend! Ouch! It all worked out, and I found myself on the way to pick up our new camper the following Monday. Oh, since I was shopping used campers, I hadn't updated my pickup yet. Used my '77 F250 "Camper Special" to pick it up - a 6 foot Hawk in an 8 foot bed. No problem. I brought along a couple of big straps, and left the tailgate on to keep it from exiting the rear. A quick spacer in front the camper from scrap ply & 2x4's will keep it from sliding forward should an emergency stop be required.

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Pat

'04 FWC Hawk

'15 F250 SD SuperCab / Short Bed

SuperDuty Mileage (Fuelly)

Trip Photos on Flickr 


#2 wuck

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 05:35 AM

The camper was originally built for a 2000ish Super Duty pickup with utility body, but it seemed to fit pretty well on my old '77 - other than the length of course. But, the plan was to replace the '77 with something new, even though it only has 70k miles on it. The truck came from my dad about 10 years ago, I've used it for home depot & dump runs while repairing it's age related problems. With a 460" engine (9 MPG) , no overdrive, 2WD, and for Mrs. Wuck NO A/C, it was pretty much a non-starter to use it.

 

The Hawk is fairly well equipped: Stove, Furnace, Norcold compressor fridge, 20 Gallon water tank, external shower, water heater, sink, roof racks, 100W solar, BIG (but also dead) lifeline AGM battery, front slider, rear window, extended cabover plus an internal slide out for the bed. The couch was left out, replaced by a large cabinet with the top at "Window Sill" level. No dinette or over window cabinet. It is a bit uncommon build with the fridge at the front rather than in the rear next to the door, but I guess that's how they were built back then as we looked at a Granby with the same cabinet configuration.

 

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Pat

'04 FWC Hawk

'15 F250 SD SuperCab / Short Bed

SuperDuty Mileage (Fuelly)

Trip Photos on Flickr 


#3 ski3pin

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 01:49 PM

Congrats on your new camper! :)


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#4 Wandering Sagebrush

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 04:10 PM

Cool! Keep us posted on your build, and the truck you decide on.
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#5 GroovyDad

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 08:38 PM

I love the vintage look of your truck and camper combo.


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#6 billharr

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 09:02 PM

Nice looking camper,  looking forward to what you do with it.  My neighbor has a FWC with the front fridge, I asked Tom about it at a rally and it told me it was a 2004. Tom said only year they did that.


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#7 takesiteasy

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Posted 26 May 2015 - 11:44 PM

Nice camper. I agree it looks great on the old truck. But I get that it won't work. Have fun camping and doing the inevitable mods. :)

 

That front fridge makes a lot of sense to me. You can slide the bed out and still have access to the stove andr sink. I wonder why they stopped doing that?


Edited by takesiteasy, 26 May 2015 - 11:45 PM.

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#8 PaulT

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 01:05 AM

Takesiteasy,

 

It may depend on where your dinette is located. My 2014 Hawk with front dinette has the fridge on the passenger side near the front similar to the above picture but across the floor.The stove is on the driver's side at the rear of the camper and the sink is, also, accessible with the bed pulled out.  No place to sit though. 

 

Paul


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#9 takesiteasy

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 03:11 AM

Takesiteasy,

 

It may depend on where your dinette is located. My 2014 Hawk with front dinette has the fridge on the passenger side near the front similar to the above picture but across the floor.The stove is on the driver's side at the rear of the camper and the sink is, also, accessible with the bed pulled out.  No place to sit though. 

 

Paul

 

Good point. I guess it would work with the roll over couch but not the dinette setups.


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#10 wuck

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Posted 27 May 2015 - 04:51 AM

Congrats on your new camper! :)

 

Thank you Mr ski3pin, I might have missed this one because I was out of town and not really looking. Then, I checked the gear exchange and saw your re-posting of the CL ad :)

 

Cool! Keep us posted on your build, and the truck you decide on.

 

Spoiler Alert! Don't read my sig . . . 

 

I love the vintage look of your truck and camper combo.

 

Yes, the 73-79 "Dent Side" F series is one of my favorites. A FWC just fits right in with it.

 

Nice looking camper,  looking forward to what you do with it.  My neighbor has a FWC with the front fridge, I asked Tom about it at a rally and it told me it was a 2004. Tom said only year they did that.

 

Hi Bill, at Sugarloaf last month I mentioned the original purchasers name to Stan, he immediately ID'd the camper by the huge battery that was installed - pics to come. 

 

Nice camper. I agree it looks great on the old truck. But I get that it won't work. Have fun camping and doing the inevitable mods. :)

 

That front fridge makes a lot of sense to me. You can slide the bed out and still have access to the stove andr sink. I wonder why they stopped doing that?

 

My dad used the truck to haul an airstream vacation trailer around, he bought it used in 78 or 79. He took my grandmother to the Grand Canyon using it, mid-80's, she was close to 90. When he gave it to me in 2002, it had 48k miles, and a few things leaking, tough to get it through California smog, and in need of a lot of TLC. I've continued to work on it and bring it back, but the lack of 4WD is the bottom line. Still quite sentimental to me though.

 

We just spent three weeks in the camper, we never slide the bed in. We lose a bit of counter space, but it really works well.

 

Thanks everybody!


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Pat

'04 FWC Hawk

'15 F250 SD SuperCab / Short Bed

SuperDuty Mileage (Fuelly)

Trip Photos on Flickr 






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