New FWC Hawk is in the house

Wyo4Life

Advanced Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
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We picked up our new Hawk late last week up in Bozeman. I spent a day moving things into it that we had in our previous truck camper (Northern Lite) although I only used a fraction of what was in the NL.

Then it was up the mountain for a couple of days on a shakedown trip.

Everything worked as it should and while it did not get cold enough to need heat, I turned it on one morning just to make sure the Truma heater worked. Man, I can already tell I am going to love the new Truma Varioheat heater and Truma Aquago instant hot water heater. What a great change FWC made in getting into modern times with these two systems. Kudos to FWC on this change.

There is one thing that I am going to have to change and that is the bed. Rock hard and very little sleep both nights. For what these cost, I am surprised FWC has not put a better mattress in these campers. I had read a lot about people doing different things regarding the mattress prior to getting mine but did not realize just how bad it is. Come on FWC, you make a great camper and can do better than this.

Steven and Ralston at the dealership in Bozeman did a great job prepping my truck and going through the camper with us.

Looking forward to many hunts, fishing trips, camping excursions, wildlife photography outings and general get aways way, way off the beaten path!
 
Great rig! Looks like you got all the bells and whistles. Good call on the F350, and I admire how FWCs fit Fords like a glove. Sticks out a fuzz on my Chevy.
 
Thanks guys. Really looking forward to all the excursions!
 
Looking really good! Truma products are a great step forward. We love our Combi.
As far as the mattress goes, try adding a topper.
 
I have had 3 FWC campers over time, the latest 2022. The 2022 has the firmest foam of the 3. The first night I thought, wow, this is really hard.

It was another year before I got to camp in it, I did the whole month of June this year and some other nights since. Now I think it is firm (my usual preference anyway) but not as hard as my first impression from the year before. It has been just fine for me this year.

I have added toppers to other trailer mattresses. For this Hawk, this year, I cover the mattress with a folded in half fleece blanket and a larger rectangular sleeping bag with Hollofil, it does have some thickness.

Pick any foam density/type, it will never please everyone. Maybe they can offer a choice of foam density/combos at time of sale, still you have to guess about how it will work for you, and you can easily guess wrong.
 
Congrats on the new camper. We tried both our mattresses in our two FWCs and both resulted in a trip to the doctor for muscle relaxers after I lost use of my right arm, twice. The Exped mattresses have worked for us, find what works for you. Other than that we've loved our camper.
 
I have had 3 FWC campers over time, the latest 2022. The 2022 has the firmest foam of the 3. The first night I thought, wow, this is really hard.

It was another year before I got to camp in it, I did the whole month of June this year and some other nights since. Now I think it is firm (my usual preference anyway) but not as hard as my first impression from the year before. It has been just fine for me this year.

I have added toppers to other trailer mattresses. For this Hawk, this year, I cover the mattress with a folded in half fleece blanket and a larger rectangular sleeping bag with Hollofil, it does have some thickness.

Pick any foam density/type, it will never please everyone. Maybe they can offer a choice of foam density/combos at time of sale, still you have to guess about how it will work for you, and you can easily guess wrong.
I just picked up a 2022 Hawk. When you say that year in the firmest, does that imply the mattress is better than previous years being firmer and was more comfortable?
 
Well, I ended up getting a 2 inch memory foam mattress topper from Wally World. I bought a “Full” size and cut it to fit the standard mattress. I bought a fitted sheet and put it over the mattress and topper. I put my Pendleton blanket on top of the sheet. Not that I need the blanket, I just like them and the color of this one goes well with my blue camper cushions and maple cabinets.
I sleep in a sleeping bag on top of all this and have a couple different bags depending on how cold it is.
While I have not slept on it yet, just laying on it after putting on the topper made a big difference. I will test it out this week when I head out for a few days of bird hunting.
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I just picked up a 2022 Hawk. When you say that year in the firmest, does that imply the mattress is better than previous years being firmer and was more comfortable?
I thought my 2008 and 2013 camper's stock foam was not firm enough. 6 years without a camper and now the 2022 seems very firm to me. Did not use the camper in 2022. The first and only night in the camper in 2023 I thought it was too much. In 2024 I finally got to use the camper and after spending a month in it, it is just fine for me with a fleece blanket added on top. Maybe I changed over that time, hard to say. I am 6'1" and 200lbs and I do not bottom out. Side sleeping I can feel good pressure on my shoulder initially but that seems to have become less noticeable over time.
 
View attachment 110573View attachment 110574We picked up our new Hawk late last week up in Bozeman. I spent a day moving things into it that we had in our previous truck camper (Northern Lite) although I only used a fraction of what was in the NL.

Then it was up the mountain for a couple of days on a shakedown trip.

Everything worked as it should and while it did not get cold enough to need heat, I turned it on one morning just to make sure the Truma heater worked. Man, I can already tell I am going to love the new Truma Varioheat heater and Truma Aquago instant hot water heater. What a great change FWC made in getting into modern times with these two systems. Kudos to FWC on this change.

There is one thing that I am going to have to change and that is the bed. Rock hard and very little sleep both nights. For what these cost, I am surprised FWC has not put a better mattress in these campers. I had read a lot about people doing different things regarding the mattress prior to getting mine but did not realize just how bad it is. Come on FWC, you make a great camper and can do better than this.

Steven and Ralston at the dealership in Bozeman did a great job prepping my truck and going through the camper with us.

Looking forward to many hunts, fishing trips, camping excursions, wildlife photography outings and general get aways way, way off the beaten path!
Did installation on an Alumiduty require anything special for the bed attachments?
 
I'm not a fan of memory foam (too hot) but I do like latex foam. I added 2 inches of latex foam (ordered from SleepEZ, they cut it to the exact dimensions I provided them) to our 2016 Hawk mattress, which was too firm for us. The topper has made it just right, and no issues with the increased height.
 
Great set up, one question can your tailgate be left on and closed ? The numbers say it should close ? Just asking as I am looking for a hawk for my 2015 f250 short box approx 80" truck bed and would like the option.
 
Great set up, one question can your tailgate be left on and closed ? The numbers say it should close ? Just asking as I am looking for a hawk for my 2015 f250 short box approx 80" truck bed and would like the option.
There are previous threads that get into this. Between needing some clearance between the front wall of the camper and the front rail of the truck bed, and the hardware and water drain on the back of the camper, the clear distance you would need for a Hawk from the truck bed front rail to the inside of the tailgate is about 82 inches. I don’t own a Ford, but the photo the OP posted, if you magnify the tailgate area, seems to be consistent with this.

Having a truck-bed-height platform (open tailgate) outside of the camper door would have some advantages, but would make entering the camper more difficult due to the short door. Most find it easier to get in and out with a step down immediately outside the door - less bending over or neck bending.
 
Did installation on an Alumiduty require anything special for the bed attachments?
The dealer in Bozeman did the installation a d preparation of my truck. They did use brackets on the underside of the bed but other than that, it was just the standard eye bolts FWC recommends.
 
Great set up, one question can your tailgate be left on and closed ? The numbers say it should close ? Just asking as I am looking for a hawk for my 2015 f250 short box approx 80" truck bed and would like the option.
No, you cannot leave the tailgate with the Hawk and my 2017 F350 short bed truck. The back edge of the camper comes right to the back edge of the bed. There are a couple of inches between and from of the camper and the front of the bed due to the bump stops but even if you could get it closer, there is just not enough room.
At first I thought it would be really nice to have the tailgate on as your back patio etc. and with my built in tailgate step it would make it really easy to get up on the tailgate and into the camper. What you have to keep in mind those is the camper door is really short and is made to step up into the camper from the ground rather than walk through the door in an upright position.
I guess if you really wanted to keep the tailgate on your short bed Super Duty, you could get the Raven model, which is built for full size trucks with the shorter best, like the Ford F150 and Toyota Tundra Crewmax. Check out the Raven if you really want to keep your tailgate on your truck. Let us know what you decide to do and send pics if you go that route.
 

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