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My '04 Hawk

FWC Hawk mods

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#41 wuck

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 08:32 PM

Nice wandering wuck! Thanks for the posts on the bedboard. Someday soon I see myself helping Barking Spider replace the one in his 2005 Hawk.

I see from your blog we all like to wander around Carson Pass area, it's a great spot to get away from the skiing/boarding masses (Don't tell anybody!)

 

Say Hi to Marty when you pick up the bedboard for Mr. Spider!


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#42 wuck

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 08:50 PM




Wuck, can you explain that comment about "cutting the side board up a bit"?  Not sure what that refers to.  Great job on the repair!

 

 

Thanks Vic.

 

There's a 1x4 wooden board inserted into the large C-Channel that forms the main structure of the cabover, I refer to that as the "sideboard". In the bed area, the side paneling is screwed to the c-channel at the top, and stapled to the sideboard at the bottom. I used a circular trim saw with the depth carefully set to removed an inch or so from the bottom  of this board. This gives you more room to work with removing the old board and installing the new.

Here's the original left side, after cutting:P1040033r.JPG

My new sideboard (Poplar) installed on the right side:P1040036r.JPG

 

It seems "Bedboard" is the official term used at ATC, "Sideboard" I made up to describe the other wooden piece up there.

 

A last thought, as I slung the skid-guard around prior to installation I thought "This seems kinda heavy". I was right, the new skid-guard weighs in at 60 lbs, the old lumber-core bedboard was just over 40.

P1040039r.JPG


Edited by wuck, 13 May 2016 - 03:54 PM.

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Pat

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#43 Vic Harder

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Posted 12 May 2016 - 03:18 AM

That helps Wuck!  So, I take it you put in new "sideboards" as well, since you cut them up.  I imagine some trepidation at setting the depth of that blade, lest you go through the siding too!  I'm also wondering how you get so deep into the corners with a circular saw?  

 

I bet that skidguard won't rot out.  And is worth the extra 20#.


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#44 wuck

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 04:16 PM



That helps Wuck!  So, I take it you put in new "sideboards" as well, since you cut them up.  I imagine some trepidation at setting the depth of that blade, lest you go through the siding too!  I'm also wondering how you get so deep into the corners with a circular saw?  

 

I bet that skidguard won't rot out.  And is worth the extra 20#.

I used a Milwaukee trim saw, a bit smaller than your average skilsaw, but the last couple of inches into the corner I had to freehand cut. Yeah, you really don't want to be slicing into that c-channel!

P1040042r.JPG

The original sideboards were cut from the same lumber core ply as the bedboard. Once the trim is removed from the bedboard, the exposed edge can be used to set the cut depth on the saw. The "C" is actually more of a "G" channel so the saw was riding on aluminum over the sideboard, that cut wasn't deep enough. I reset the depth with another 1/16" or so made a second pass, then just snapped the piece out with a wonderbar.

P1040041r.JPG

I really didn't want to put lumber core back in there, but I couldn't find any locally anyway. My backup plan was to use regular plywood skinned with formica. The probably would have weighed just as much, if not more than the skid guard. I think the 20# are worth it, time will tell.


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#45 wuck

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Posted 13 November 2016 - 04:12 AM

Well, the summer flew by, we had some plans other than campering, so the Hawk got put on simmer for a while. But, we did sign up for the FWC owner rally down in San Clemente, so as Fall came around I reassembled the remaining items to take a trip. We're just back now, figured it is a good time to get caught up on my rebuilding adventures . . .

 

Going back to last winter, I had to decide what to do about my jack brackets before installing the new aluminum skin. They were a mess, with broken off bolts, also variety of different length and diameters. Sometimes there were two or even three broken bolts in the same hole. Here's a sample from the right rear corner. 

P1030691r.JPG P1030753r.JPG

 

The previous owner told me of problems backing his extra fat-tired Ram truck under the camper, he made up some extension plates added five inches of extension and lift. I feel both these might have led to an accident or two, stressing the brackets and breaking bolts.

P1010755r.jpg

 

The broken bolts were removed with vise grips or a dremel tool and screwdriver. Some were buried too deep, I couldn't get to them without destroying the corner tube, so they remained. At this point, nearly all the remainng bolts were loose enough I had to change something.

IMG_20160207_153447_310r.jpg P1030761r.JPG P1030762r.JPG

 

The first solution I thought of was replacing the corner tubes, which would probably involve gutting the camper first. While this would bring my camper back to good as new as far as the jack brackets,  I wanted something thick enough to get more thread engagement. Reluctant, I thought of other options. Some kind of insert, aluminum or wood, coming in from the bottom seemed promising, but the remaining broken bolts were an issue. Eventually, I thought about rivnuts, or threaded inserts. These are made to be installed blindly, ie access from only one side. They are available in a few different materials - aluminum, stainless, zinc-plated steel. This seemed to be the ticket. I found a tool for a reasonable price, the Astro-Pneumatic # 1442 and picked up a couple of pieces of aluminum tube to play with. On my test tube, I installed a couple rivnuts alongside a standard jack bracket bolt. I then started prying on both with a wonder bar, the standard bolt was quickly stripped and pulled out. I couldn't budge the bolt in a rivnut, although the aluminum tube was deformed. So, one downside, they might be too strong. Any further "accidents" might really harm the camper frame!

 

I chose 1/4-20 zinc-plated steel rivnuts, and 1/4" bolts to mount the jacks. Now, to put 48 rivnuts in by hand took a while. The existing holes were too small for the most part, for maximum insert strength the holes should be round and tight. I used a tapered reamer to form a nice round hole - drill bits will leave a hole slightly triangular, especially with a hand held drill/bit. The long reamer needed deep clearance, in most cases this was already in place as at least 1.5 inch length screws had been used. I had to drill through both sides of the tube in someplaces. Another problem was the less than precise location of the inserts with respect to the brackets. I really just had to go with the results, which meant modifying the brackets to some extent. In the end, I used a milling machine to slightly widen and lengthen the bolt slots in the brackets.

P1050750r.JPG P1050751r.JPG P1030847r.JPG P1030844r.JPG

 

 

 

 


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Pat

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#46 hebegebe

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Posted 13 November 2016 - 03:53 PM

I luv Rivnuts! In mid 90's I built a race van and installed all the panel sheets with them and it was really stout and durable, It was a newer product then glad to see the price came way down Good job


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#47 PokyBro

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Posted 13 November 2016 - 05:46 PM

Very good idea, wuck, for solving the problem without any cutting or welding, great job. They sound and look pretty solid, so that being done, I'm sure getting it put back together will be great, with worries of stability behind you.

Thanks for sharing, and hope to see more pics of the full repair finished, and back together.

Poky


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#48 Ronin

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Posted 13 November 2016 - 07:41 PM

Wow- I just read the entire thread. I'm very impressed with the volume of work that you've done and you seem like you are enjoying the process. I love cabinetry work but electrical and mechanicals are way beyond my comfort level. Congratulations on your doggedness and determination!! Happy camping !!


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#49 wuck

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Posted 14 November 2016 - 05:26 AM

I luv Rivnuts! In mid 90's I built a race van and installed all the panel sheets with them and it was really stout and durable, It was a newer product then glad to see the price came way down Good job

 

Thanks hebe, I found a few more uses for rivnuts on the Hawk . . Stay Tuned

 

Very good idea, wuck, for solving the problem without any cutting or welding, great job. They sound and look pretty solid, so that being done, I'm sure getting it put back together will be great, with worries of stability behind you.

Thanks for sharing, and hope to see more pics of the full repair finished, and back together.

 

Ah, from a master of bringing old campers back to life :) Thank You!

 

Wow- I just read the entire thread. I'm very impressed with the volume of work that you've done and you seem like you are enjoying the process. I love cabinetry work but electrical and mechanicals are way beyond my comfort level. Congratulations on your doggedness and determination!! Happy camping !!

 

Thanks for the kind words Ronin. Yes, I do enjoy fixing just about anything, and I hope some of this helps others out. We just spent 10 days in SoCal from the coast to the Sierras, Happy Campers we are!


Edited by wuck, 14 November 2016 - 05:27 AM.

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Pat

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#50 wuck

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Posted 14 November 2016 - 06:48 AM

New Skin!

 

Well, almost, just a couple of more things to take care of . . .

 

First up was the Fiamma mounting. With water stains on the back of the inside panel just above the window, I wanted to track down the source. Since it was still raining here in Sonoma County, I got to do it "Naturally" rather than with a hose. I only needed to sit inside the camper during a downpour! I had a couple of spots where water could be seen dripping down between the framing and outside skin. I couldn't tell exactly the source, so I marked the spots for later investigation. On removal of the awning - I found what I thought to be the culprit. My awning was hung from a long aluminum rail screwed into the side, and then the bottom of the case fastened with 5 sets of #8 screws and an adjacent large pop rivet. The rail has the usual weatherstrip under it, and was screwed into the c-channel top framing member with dozens of #8 screws. The weatherstrip had failed allowing water to seep under and on down to the window. On its way down, some flowed across the screw/rivet pairs below. These lower screw/rivet combos had been placed rather haphazardly, the seam between to siding sheets had been punctured in several spot. These spots coincided with my inside leaks.

 

Awning Off P1030759r.JPG P1030897r.JPG Note the holes in the seam!

 

Next, the entire front of the awning was dangling in space. This led to the casing twisting when the awning was put away, which of course it is almost all the time. Finally, the mounting didn't allow for any clearance between the case and the trim strip around the bottom of the cabover, which led to further bending of the case.

 

Problem area with trim P1030983r.JPG P1030895r.JPG Twisted Case!

 

Since I had rivnuts, I used them again:) First I cleaned up the awning case, and remounted it on the rail before installing the siding. This way I could see all the framing to choose five even mount points across the length of the case. I picked a low spot in the case so as to not interfere with the stowed awning, I drilled holes through the case into the frame in four spots. The fifth spot was actually below the cabover, where I planned a bracket to support the front of the case.

 

The four holes in the frame were fitted with rivnuts, then a spacer milled to prevent the mounted awning from smashing the "Mesa" on the siding down, giving some of the space required to clear the front trim. Button head screws were used to secure the awning, allowing a bit more clearance from the wound up awning. A new gray siding piece was sourced from FWC, which almost matched the old one but a bit different (don't tell anybody!).

 

Machining P1030902r.JPG Mounting Spacer P1030903r.JPG

Placement is good!P1030904r.JPG

 

More Chips!P1030994r.JPG And a bracket is born P1030995r.JPG

 

With the new awning mounts in place I could begin siding installation . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 


Edited by wuck, 14 November 2016 - 06:50 AM.

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Pat

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'15 F250 SD SuperCab / Short Bed

SuperDuty Mileage (Fuelly)

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