31 replies to this topic

[dakozicki]

Thank you for the responses. All of the helped.

[Andy Douglass]

We don't have a PW, but have our Hawk in a 2018 3/4t Ram, so the same bed that would be on a PW. No need to cut the bumpers on the camper other than cosmetic. Our Hawk protrudes about 6-8" (I think) past the bed rails; and it doesn't bother us at all. We have an Easy Hitch Step mounted in the rear hitch receiver, which should illustrate that the length of the camper has no functional impact on our setup. You can see a little bit of the sides of the camper where it protrudes out of the bed, but who cares? A couple things about cutting the bumpers in a Ram 3/4t (Gen 4): Our FWC with stock bumpers has about 3/4" of space between the front of the camper and the front wall of the bed. We store a stack of 2 interconnecting PVA gym floor mats there to be used for all kinds of things in camp, and there is not room for anything else. So if you trimmed more than 3/4" off of the bumpers, the camper would be rubbing on the front wall of the bed, and your camper would only be 3/4" further forward than stock, which you wouldn't even notice. On top of that, you never know the bed geometry of a future truck you might put the camper in, so I think cutting the bumpers is not a good idea.

[dakozicki]

Thanks for all the good advice.  My Hawk is now on the back of a new PW.  I had Hellwig Airbags installed, and I have found them to be a HUGE disappointment.  I have been back to the shop that installed them 4 times because they keep leaking.  They basically loos all air with 48 hours.  Hellwig said they produced a bad batch of the plastic air hose connection and sent new one that leak as bad if not worse.  The installer and I agreed they were garbage and wants to remove them (refund of course) and install beefier coils.  The truck does not have leaf springs.  Thoughts?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Firestone and Airlift bags seem to be the de facto standards that most (in my opinion) folks go with.

[K6ON]

I use Carli long travel  air bags on my RAM 2500. With the long travel bags, you get full suspension articulation.  Been on over 8 years with no leaks. I check them every couple months and add air about twice a year.  They're NOT CHEAP, but you get what you pay for.

[Ramblinman]

My Firestones leak from time to time - always from the connectors

[Oilbrnr]

Thanks for all the good advice.  My Hawk is now on the back of a new PW.  I had Hellwig Airbags installed, and I have found them to be a HUGE disappointment.  I have been back to the shop that installed them 4 times because they keep leaking.  They basically loos all air with 48 hours.  Hellwig said they produced a bad batch of the plastic air hose connection and sent new one that leak as bad if not worse.  The installer and I agreed they were garbage and wants to remove them (refund of course) and install beefier coils.  The truck does not have leaf springs.  Thoughts?

Get AirLift (internal snubber) with Daystar cradles. Nobody makes PW specific rear coils to handle the weight and ride height. I am going to hit Thuren up again regarding this however. After returning from a 6 day UT excursion doing pretty extreme trails, it did give me pause enough to talk to another PW/FWC/Airbag owner about going in on another set of bags so we'd each have a spare, though reality is, they'll probably never fail.

[GreggNY]

I joined this forum exactly looking for a thread like this. I’ve owned an ‘18 PW for the past year and am researching campers now. I really want the hawk but the low payload of the PW had me checking out the stripped down project M. It’s REALLY good to hear you guys are happy with the campers on PWs because I love this truck. Not to hijack but maybe this will help other as well- do you feel the PW has enough power hauling the hawks? Anyone considering a re-gear? I live in flat country but take multiple trips out west each year so will be running the mountains.

[autorot8]

I think my non PW 2500 has the same 6.4 as your PW. I live on west coast and carry a TC thats around 2500lbs. No issues with power. I have to climb a pass to get anywhere.

[Oilbrnr]

6.4 with a Hawk on 35's and stock 4.10's is more than fine. My last trip to UT I was over 10k. Now if you jump to 37's I'd re-gear without a doubt. Even if I didn't have a FWC in the back.

 

The M is going to be a dust nightmare. I had a shell before the Hawk, never again.