13 replies to this topic

[CreekRob]

I've got a 2023 Ram 2500 crew cab I'm putting a Hawk on. 6'4'' bed and from what I've see the Hawk will extend out a bit out from the bed and over the bumper.

 

Also, it appears the rear of the Hawk at the bottom has a bit of a lip extending down beneath the door.

 

The reason I'm asking is that I'm relocating the rear backup camera, and the exit port for the wiring is on the bed, and I'm wondering if I can access that hole once the camper is mounted. Whether the lip will press close against it, or whether the lip reaches down enough so that I can't reach in there. If anyone knows and has a similar truck/camper combo.

 

I can set up some wiring and tape it down temporarily, but I'd prefer to do all the routing once the camper was on, if possible.

 

thanks

[Jon R]

The camper body is 80 inches long, and it has roughly 3 inch thick bumpers on the front. The front and rear walls extend 1/16 to 1/8 inch below the bottoms of the cleat boards on the bottom of the floor tub, so the rear wall will not block openings on the rear of the bed below the bed floor level.

[CatButt]

You can access that part of the bed. I did my camera after the bed was installed. I used the stock camera in a plastic molded box and mounted it high on the driver side next to the door. The 360 areiel view still works just fine. I used an extension...there is a company that supplies all the stuff but I can't think of the name right now. I'll see if I can come up with it.

[RLS]

I'm in the same place as you CreekRob. I'll be picking up a new Hawk in a few days. Putting it on a 2021 Ram 2500 crew cab. Every photo I've come across online seems to show the Hawk extending passed the bed on the Ram 2500 w/ 6'4" bed. I'm wondering if it is possible to cut down those rubber stops on the front to allow the camper to sit further forward in the bed. That's something I will be asking the folks at Mule Outfitters on the day of install. Good luck CreekRob.

[CreekRob]

Thanks all. I have the camera relocation kit from Camera Source and will probably put it smack in the middle of the door. Got enough wire to easily do that.

 

I'm not sure about moving the Hawk up. It might mess with the angle and location of the turnbuckles. I assume the length and position of those was chosen to end up with the weight optimally set over the rear wheels, but not sure about that. One wants the turnbuckles to have opposing angles if possible. But let us know what they say RLS.

Edited by CreekRob, 27 May 2023 - 09:22 PM.

[Jon R]

The thing that limits whether or how much you can cut down the bumpers is the geometry of the rail at the top of the front bed wall. On my gmc the rail extends 2 inches aft of the wall where the bumpers hit, so I get about 1.5 inches of clearance with stock bumpers. You want some clearance for shifting to occur on rough roads without that front rail hitting. I’d feel comfortable reducing my clearance to about 3/4 inch, but I have no reason to reduce it with my Grandby in an 8 foot bed.

[RLS]

Jon R, The rail on my Ram extends out about 1 1/2 inches. Even if you can cut down those bumpers, it seems like taking off maybe an inch would not amount to much of a change out the back. Oh well.

CreekRob, sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread. :-)

[Jon R]

Yes, the Hawk is 6’ 8” plus bumpers, so it’s going to stick out a little on a 6’ 4” bed no matter what.

I have not cut my bumpers, but there have been other threads where people have described cutting them with little difficulty.

[RallyRock]

I've got a 2023 Ram 2500 crew cab I'm putting a Hawk on. 6'4'' bed and from what I've see the Hawk will extend out a bit out from the bed and over the bumper.
 
Also, it appears the rear of the Hawk at the bottom has a bit of a lip extending down beneath the door.
 
The reason I'm asking is that I'm relocating the rear backup camera, and the exit port for the wiring is on the bed, and I'm wondering if I can access that hole once the camper is mounted. Whether the lip will press close against it, or whether the lip reaches down enough so that I can't reach in there. If anyone knows and has a similar truck/camper combo.
 
I can set up some wiring and tape it down temporarily, but I'd prefer to do all the routing once the camper was on, if possible.
 
thanks

I have the same setup, 2020 ram 2500 6’4” and hawk. You can access the wiring hole no issue and no need to cut the bump stops. I even mounted my camera below the lip because there is a gap between it and the bed and I didn’t want to drill into the aluminum skin.

[Adventurebound]

The Ram bed is not ideal for a Hawk, lengthwise. Not a deal killer by any means. I trimmed my bumpers down (on a table saw) so I'm sitting maybe a 1/4 to the front of the bed. No issues, been that way for a couple years.

I also relocated the camera to the door. 360° works just fine.

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