I've been lurking on the site off and on for a while as I soaked up information. I've followed all kinds of friendly "battles" regarding equipment and even choice of cooking fuel. The wife and I have weighed the various arguments and after much gnashing of teeth and "on the other hand"-ing we pulled the trigger and bought a truck and a pop-up on consecutive days. The truck is in the driveway and the pop-up is should be ready the last week of August. Without the good people on the forum we would have taken another couple of years to get to this point. It's not the money - we had been setting that aside for a long time; it's the decisions. So here's what we decided:
Truck: 2010 GMC Sierra 2500 4x4 extended cab 6.1L gas V8 shortbed 35k miles
Needs new tires and I've got to yank out the bed liner, but other than that it seems ready to go. Went with the 3/4 ton because I'm a worrier so I like margin. Plus with all the lard we wanted to pack on the camper, I was past nearly all 1/2 ton cargo capacities. Basic 3/4 tons were about the same price as 1/2 tons with the goodies needed for camper use. Will be paying for poorer mileage, but decided to keep both our DD autos since they're not worth much and use truck for vacations and occasional hauling needs. Low miles = low gas costs. Went with gas engine because I worry I won't alway find diesel when I want. Thing has a turning radius like a battleship, so I need to take her out to an empty parking lot and practice getting in and out of (relatively) tight spots.
FWC Hawk with so many gooodies
Made the 2 hour drive to Woodland yesterday in the new truck of course and ordered our Hawk.
Furnace
Side awning
65 L 2way fridge
Hot water and external shower
Screen door
Fantastic fan
LED lights
Side dining option
2 batteries
Solar plug on roof
Yakima tracks on roof - future expansion
Jacks
There must be more that I can't think of just now. Mike at FWC was great at answering our questions and not all pushy. This was our second visit. Expect to pick it up last week of August and then we're off to Mt Hood, Mt Ranier and the Olympic Peninsula before coming back down the coast. Won't worry too much about crowds, rain, cold and wind though. I look at it like buying a small RV and getting a pickup truck for free!
So thanks again to everyone here for sharing and arguing. We have benefitted so far and expect to continue. Indeed I plan to share my vast experience as soon as I acquire some.
Alan
