4 replies to this topic

[DirtyDog]

From the blog:

Comparing your photos to those of older campers, there seems to be a greater distance from the bottom of the sheet metal, under the door, to the bottom of the door. Also, a greater distance from the top of the door to the base of the roof, and the cabover section seems to have added some height.

Has Four Wheel Campers made some design changes recently, to their whole line, or are the changes I see specific to campers for use with the new F150s?

I have asked this question of FWC, and have not got an answer - which, from what I hear about them, I should not be surprised.

I'm not sure about changes across the line, but the Hawk was redesigned in 2004 to fit the new F150. The bottom part is deeper to accomodate the deeper F150 bed. I'm not sure how that effects the other dimensions. The part that extends over the top of the cab sits higher on the F150 than any other truck I have seen. I'm not sure if this means the camper is taller overall than non-F150 models. I'd be interested to have two side by side and take some measurements.

[simimike]

I met Tom , the new owner at a show in Ventura Ca. last September and asked him about the cab over size. He told me that they had increased the hight buy three inches to accommodate the new , larger refer unit.He said that there was a large demand for the bigger refer.
Does any one know if they make brand specific campers? i.e Ford campers, Dodge campers . I would not think so as this would be to expensive. I know other manufacturers need to add a platform to fit the Ford F250/F350 because of the cab hight.
One of the best features of the FWC is the low hight and the light weight. I hope they try to keep tight and light.

[TGK]

I purchased a new Grandby in 1998 to fit the new generation 1999 Ford Super Duty. The cabs on these trucks were taller than anything on the market. This was prior to the current ownership. I was the first owner of the new style Super Duty to come to them. Rather than prop it up on boards, they added 3" to the height.

I no longer own the Grandby but wanted to ask whether anyone on this forum has ever had any problems with leaking. I live in Portland and parked the truck outside with the camper on. I had alot of trouble with water collecting in the outer folds of fabric when the roof was down and the truck parked. It would pool in the folds and then leak through the stiching or, more frequently, through the windows/velcro. The owners in place when I bought it were not much help. I will say that things improved considerably after Tom bought the company and started exhibiting in Portland. I met him at the Sportsman show and explained the situation, and they took the camper back to Woodland twice on their dime to fix it. They finally seemed to get it straightened out. I appreciated the fact that they stepped up to help me out even though they did not own the company when I bought the camper and 5 - 6 years had passed.

I am interested in knowing if anyone else has ever had this problem. It was a major pain. I often wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that my camper was the first one they ever made with the taller sides to clear the high cab and whether something was different about the way the roof fit. I'm not talking about taking on a bit of water when barreling down the freeway at 75 MPH in a squall or being camped at the ocean with the top up when a big storm rolls in. Any fabric will be challenged in those situations. My truck just sat in the driveway with the top down. The roof wasn't leaking. Instead, water somehow got into the outer folds of fabric.

Other than the water issue, it was a great camper for exploring the gnarly back roads. I had it places I probably should not have been with a truck that big. My wife and I finally sold it to try out hauling a vintage Airtream around. Like anything else, there are always trade offs. The Airstream has more room and character but I certainly can't take it down some of the roads I explored with the Grandby.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

TGK

[DirtyDog]

I haven't had any problems with leaking in my 2005 camper. I live in Bend though so I don't experience nearly as much rain as you do.

[simimike]

I had an 1997 Granby and never had any leak problems. But I live in SoCal where rain is front page news!