A New Hawk Hits the Road

bsharp007

bsharp007

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Joined
Aug 4, 2008
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250
Location
NorCal
Had the new Hawk mounted a few days ago...will soon be taking it out for a camping trip in Big Sur. I was impressed with how my truck handled the camper, felt very stable and plenty of power with the Ecoboost engine! Initial impressions of the camper is FWC's quality and build have incrementally improved since I bought my previous camper from them 4 years ago. That's the good part.

However their quality control for getting your camper installed hasn't improved unfortunately, at least one component DOA (the battery and water monitor, looks like I have a short in the wiring) and they forgot to install a major item. More to follow on this so people can learn from my mistakes...it's easy to get caught up with the install and learning about the features of your new camper and miss something basic at the factory. Although you would think that at the very least the factory would make sure everything turns on, but that didn't happen in my case.
Looks like It will cost me a 6 hour drive.
 

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Grrrrrr !!

I will forward this to the shop and to the owner in the AM.

I'm on the road in Denver and its late to be texting.

I will hit them bright and early in the AM.

That stuff should not be happening.

: (

Let me see what I can find out.
 
No worries and thanks for checking Stan. As we all know human error just happens accasionally. Bottom line is FWC willing to fix everything and overall I love the camper.

The real purpose of my posts is perhaps people can learn from my experience especially people coming from a distance to pickup their new campers to plan on spending as much time as possible at the factory making sure everything works. I would recommend getting their propane tanks filled as well as the water tank to make sure all the accessories work properly before driving away.
And of course that would go with any popup camper or rv.
 
Just a follow up on my experience with my new Hawk.
I called the factory the next day and reported the problem with the
battery/water moinitor and they sent a new one that same day! And if that didn't
work they offered to have it fixed in my local area, they have also offered to
install the item that was forgotten. A couple of days later the monitor came in
the mail and problem solved! I have a working monitor.
I have also recieved several follow up phone calls and emails from FWC making
sure everything was taken care of.
This is the second FWC I have owned, the first was a 2008 Eagle and I can see the improvements in quality in the new camper, it's the little things like the one piece roof and the composite lifting
panels, the CNC'ed latches etc. And just as important to me this is a company
that stands by their product even after they make the sale.

So I'm now just another happy FWC owner waiting for the warm weather to hit.:rolleyes:
 
Congrats, looks beautiful and well matched for the truck!

Did you end up with the 3-way fridge or the compressor one, just curious? What options did you get? Is that the "silver spur" exterior?
 
Thanks Peter, the options included:
Silver Spur edition
Hot water heater
Heater
Awning
Solar System with 2 batteries
Led lighting
The newer flat sink and stove FWC is offering, I also went with the compressor 2 way frig and I really like it. It looks like I should have plenty of power with the 2 batteries to run it.


Mods so far have been a digital thermostat and the Iota smart charger for the converter
Hoping to get down to Big Sur very soon for a proper shake down trip, we are planning a Baja trip for about 23 days or so in April. Hope you are enjoying the camper...did you buy a new battery?





Congrats, looks beautiful and well matched for the truck!

Did you end up with the 3-way fridge or the compressor one, just curious? What options did you get? Is that the "silver spur" exterior?
 
Congratulation! You'll love it. Sounds like it's equipped like ours. We're heading to Jade Cove Beach just south of Big Sur in a couple of weeks for our third trip since picking it up at Christmas. Broke it in in the desert near Joshua Tree, did an over night in the snow at Shaver Lake last weekend, and now to the coast. Enjoy!
 
I like the Shaver, Hunington lake area a lot. Have you been up to Mono Hotsprings area? Lots of great camping along that road. Broke it already??




Congratulation! You'll love it. Sounds like it's equipped like ours. We're heading to Jade Cove Beach just south of Big Sur in a couple of weeks for our third trip since picking it up at Christmas. Broke it in in the desert near Joshua Tree, did an over night in the snow at Shaver Lake last weekend, and now to the coast. Enjoy!
 
I like the Shaver, Hunington lake area a lot. Have you been up to Mono Hotsprings area? Lots of great camping along that road. Broke it already??

And Captainphx they forgot to put diamond plating on the bottom panels that I special ordered. It just got lost in the shuffle, bottom line is they are willing to put in on as soon as I can get back to the factory.
 
I like the Shaver, Hunington lake area a lot. Have you been up to Mono Hotsprings area? Lots of great camping along that road. Broke it already??


Sorry, "broke it in"as in shakedown cruise. Everything has been working great.

We tent camped at June Lake last summer and went to Mono Lake and Bodie and that trip got us seriously thinking of a TC. Haven't been to Mono Hot Springs but hot springs are one of my wife's favorite things so I'm sure will try to find as many as possible.
 
I see you have your new FWC on a 2012 Ford F 150. We just purchased a 2013 Ford F150 4x4, regular cab 8 ft. bed. We are ordering a new Grandby in March. We're trying to decide what E rated tires and spring set up to purchase and would appreciate any experience anyone has had with this.
Thanks.


Had the new Hawk mounted a few days ago...will soon be taking it out for a camping trip in Big Sur. I was impressed with how my truck handled the camper, felt very stable and plenty of power with the Ecoboost engine! Initial impressions of the camper is FWC's quality and build have incrementally improved since I bought my previous camper from them 4 years ago. That's the good part.

However their quality control for getting your camper installed hasn't improved unfortunately, at least one component DOA (the battery and water monitor, looks like I have a short in the wiring) and they forgot to install a major item. More to follow on this so people can learn from my mistakes...it's easy to get caught up with the install and learning about the features of your new camper and miss something basic at the factory. Although you would think that at the very least the factory would make sure everything turns on, but that didn't happen in my case.
Looks like It will cost me a 6 hour drive.
 
We tent camped at June Lake last summer and went to Mono Lake and Bodie and that trip got us seriously thinking of a TC. Haven't been to Mono Hot Springs but hot springs are one of my wife's favorite things so I'm sure will try to find as many as possible.


I love that whole area. One of my favorite places on earth! So much to see around there. And never get tired of it. Here's a few pics from our trip over Mono Pass last year.

IMG_5187.jpg

IMG_5252.jpg

IMG_5299.jpg
 
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