Lighthawk
Weekend warrior
After 14 years with our 08 FWC Hawk we have moved on to a flatbed camper.
Longtime WTW members may remember our various trip reports with our first gen Tundra/Hawk.
As retirement approaches, we decided we were still firmly in the truck camper family, yet wanted more room and amentities.
In 2021 I ordered a RAM 3500 Tradesman to replace my first gen 06 Tundra. We were lucky and beat the COVID supply chain problems. The FWC Hawk fit perfectly, but we weren't done. Meanwhile we did some great trips, including High Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Black Rock desert and up to our Grouse Ridge hideaways.
In January 2022 we installed an OEV Alumna flatbed working with KP Pawley of Zero Declination in Reno. I bolted down our Hawk, and this was our camping rig for two seasons.
After a decade with a Hawk we were ready to get a flatbed camper, and visited the FWC Woodland factory in 2021 to check out their Hawk flatbed model. We liked the underbed storage and larger cabin, but were priced out when adding options like solar/lithium. We also consulted with ATC, and other builders about what could be done. We looked into Bundutec and visited a neighbor who had a custom hardshell version.
We placed the order May 2023 with a 14 month lead time. We continued to camp with the Hawk bolted down for another year.
My 2023 winter project removed the backseat and built a 5 ply birch platform with access to below, L track, EVA boat decking and a removable dog bed.
June 2024 the camper is ready! I unbolted the FWC Hawk from our flatbed and we took off for a nine day road trip to Iowa.
We stayed in hotels in Salt Lake City, UT and Ogallala, NE. We just missed the catastrophic floods and the Missouri River was running high.
We checked into our last motel at Waterloo, ID a few miles from Bundutec HQ, exhausted from 1800 miles of driving.
The next day was a big one! We checked out and were at Bundutec at 8am to get our new Odyssey!
Longtime WTW members may remember our various trip reports with our first gen Tundra/Hawk.
As retirement approaches, we decided we were still firmly in the truck camper family, yet wanted more room and amentities.
In 2021 I ordered a RAM 3500 Tradesman to replace my first gen 06 Tundra. We were lucky and beat the COVID supply chain problems. The FWC Hawk fit perfectly, but we weren't done. Meanwhile we did some great trips, including High Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Black Rock desert and up to our Grouse Ridge hideaways.
In January 2022 we installed an OEV Alumna flatbed working with KP Pawley of Zero Declination in Reno. I bolted down our Hawk, and this was our camping rig for two seasons.
After a decade with a Hawk we were ready to get a flatbed camper, and visited the FWC Woodland factory in 2021 to check out their Hawk flatbed model. We liked the underbed storage and larger cabin, but were priced out when adding options like solar/lithium. We also consulted with ATC, and other builders about what could be done. We looked into Bundutec and visited a neighbor who had a custom hardshell version.
We placed the order May 2023 with a 14 month lead time. We continued to camp with the Hawk bolted down for another year.
My 2023 winter project removed the backseat and built a 5 ply birch platform with access to below, L track, EVA boat decking and a removable dog bed.
June 2024 the camper is ready! I unbolted the FWC Hawk from our flatbed and we took off for a nine day road trip to Iowa.
We stayed in hotels in Salt Lake City, UT and Ogallala, NE. We just missed the catastrophic floods and the Missouri River was running high.
We checked into our last motel at Waterloo, ID a few miles from Bundutec HQ, exhausted from 1800 miles of driving.
The next day was a big one! We checked out and were at Bundutec at 8am to get our new Odyssey!
