13 replies to this topic

[Sloth?]

I have tried contacting FWC multiple times and havent heard back yet. What I am dealing with is the camper elevator bolts are 6” from front(no bumpers) and my rear are 2” from the bump out in the rear. I am at the point where I want to mount the forged eyelets in the bed of my truck. I know you typically want 6” separation and as much width as possible and I can just get that in the front. But the rears are going to have little to no rearward angle. Is this normal? Maybe I am confused?

[DavidGraves]

Hello

 

Rearward and sideways offset from the camper eye bolt to the truck bed anchor of around 2" or more should be fine for the reat trunbuckles.

 

The fronts should offset forward and to the side.

 

Equally important is to have the truck bed anchors firmly well, anchored...

 

this usually means where there is a cross member beneath your bed....or a beefy backing plate or both, in the area where you mount the truck bed anchors...eye bolts.

 

This later might mean you have more of an offset than 2 "  and that is fine...but less than say 4" offset.

 

Are you using forged turnbuckles ? Eye clevis instead of hooks ? Locking nuts where applicable?

 

You should be fine.

 

David Graves

[Sloth?]

Hello

Rearward and sideways offset from the camper eye bolt to the truck bed anchor of around 2" or more should be fine for the reat trunbuckles.

The fronts should offset forward and to the side.

Equally important is to have the truck bed anchors firmly well, anchored...

this usually means where there is a cross member beneath your bed....or a beefy backing plate or both, in the area where you mount the truck bed anchors...eye bolts.

This later might mean you have more of an offset than 2 " and that is fine...but less than say 4" offset.

Are you using forged turnbuckles ? Eye clevis instead of hooks ? Locking nuts where applicable?

You should be fine.

David Graves

Thank you, that is very helpful. I am a metal worker and will build large backing plates for the bed undersides. The eyelets I have are beefy, made in the US and have a 2600 load. Turnbuckles are torklifts forged and will have jam nuts. I will move to jaw/jaw turnbuckle ends later.

I replaced the elevator bolts with angle iron mounts with 3 grade 8 bolts and large backing plates much like the current FWC mounts, but when I built them I placed the turnbuckle mount hole in the same location as the elevator bolts. If I had researched it more I would have abandoned the factory elevator bolt holes and moved the rear mounts more forward to get closer to 6” of rearward pull.

Edited by Sloth?, 12 February 2020 - 05:48 AM.

[DavidGraves]

You really want mostly downward pull and only a little "outward" (front, back or sideways) pull.

 

I don't think you would ever want as much as six inch offset.

 

You are not wanting the turnbuckles to pull the floor pak apart....but instead you are wanting them to pull the floor pak down in a balanced fashion to the truck bed.

 

I am sure you will get it setup fine.

[Sloth?]

You really want mostly downward pull and only a little "outward" (front, back or sideways) pull.
 
I don't think you would ever want as much as six inch offset.
 
You are not wanting the turnbuckles to pull the floor pak apart....but instead you are wanting them to pull the floor pak down in a balanced fashion to the truck bed.
 
I am sure you will get it setup fine.

Thank you. That makes sense. I also followed others advice and picked up a rubber mat to help with any movement.

[Living The Dream]

I talk about the angle of the tiedowns a bit when mounting my old camper to a first gen tundra. Big backing plates is critical I believe. Also, there is a video somewhere about FWC talking about this as well. Also, below.  

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=lYupGG89s4Q

 

Edited by Living The Dream, 12 February 2020 - 05:40 PM.

[Stan@FourWheel]

On those older Hawk Models, the front eye bolts used to be installed all the way in the front corners of the truck bed.

 

For the older Hawk Models, the rear eye bolts usually went between 57" - 60" back from the front of the truck bed, and as close to the bed wall as possible.

 

These are the old notes I have, and sometimes measurements varied depending on the truck camper camper combo.

 

Have you actually set the camper in your truck bed already to see if the camper even fits?

 

Many of the older Hawk Models were too wide to fit in some of the Tundra truck beds.

 

I know for sure a 1999 Hawk Model won't fit in the 2000-2006 Access Cabs, or the 2004-2006 Double Cab's.  You might have a slightly better chance if your Tundra was made from 2007 or newer.  Or if the camper was originally built for a Toyota T100.  Their are always variables.

 

Hope this helps.

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[Sloth?]

On those older Hawk Models, the front eye bolts used to be installed all the way in the front corners of the truck bed.

For the older Hawk Models, the rear eye bolts usually went between 57" - 60" back from the front of the truck bed, and as close to the bed wall as possible.

These are the old notes I have, and sometimes measurements varied depending on the truck camper camper combo.

Have you actually set the camper in your truck bed already to see if the camper even fits?

Many of the older Hawk Models were too wide to fit in some of the Tundra truck beds.

I know for sure a 1999 Hawk Model won't fit in the 2000-2006 Access Cabs, or the 2004-2006 Double Cab's. You might have a slightly better chance if your Tundra was made from 2007 or newer. Or if the camper was originally built for a Toyota T100. Their are always variables.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Stan, thats good info to have. I picked it up with this truck and it is a tight fit, the rear has about 1/2” clearance from the tailgate bracing. I did have to raise the floor 2” to clear the bedsides.

My plan is to run this one for a year or 2 to get the wife’s buy-in on a new FWC.

Edited by Sloth?, 12 February 2020 - 09:00 PM.

[Sloth?]

I talk about the angle of the tiedowns a bit when mounting my old camper to a first gen tundra. Big backing plates is critical I believe. Also, there is a video somewhere about FWC talking about this as well. Also, below.  
 
https://www.youtube....h?v=lYupGG89s4Q
 

Thanks for the vids.

[Sloth?]

Here are some pics of the mount spacing. The rear mount’s turnbuckle hole is in the same exact location that the old mount was. I havent installed the new mounts on the fronts yet so I can still move them if it would make the tiedown system more reliable.

Dont mind the rough wood, I am prepping it for paint.

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Edited by Sloth?, 12 February 2020 - 09:27 PM.