New Hallmark Milner - excited!

[bikezest]

I picked a new Hallmark Milner last week. What began as a search for a Four Wheel Hawk to fit my F150 quickly escalated as I chased leads on used units after coming up empty on finding a new one in stock, and learning how long the lead times were. I had always thought Hallmark's looked very nice, and a friend has had one since 2013 which has been pretty much flawless, and he spends more than 100 nights a year in it. The problems for me were #1, the price, or the perceived price. #2, the weight which is a bit heavier. #3, I knew they had no dealers, and I figured they would be as backed up as Four Wheel. Luckily I called, talked to Matt Ward, and after he confirmed the lead times were long, I swung for the fences and asked if they had any cancellations. It turns out they had a Milner that was slated for the expo in Gunnison this summer that was just started and now had no expo to attend. Better yet, I could pick it up in 2-3 weeks if I decided to go for it.

After making the decision, I also decided to upgrade trucks and purchased a 2020 Ford F350 CCSB with the 6.7l diesel option. Too much truck? Well, if we ever add a 5th wheel (a possibility) for multi-month winter snowbirding it won't be. The bigger truck is also really nice in that it handles the camper like it isn't there and we like to travel on pretty rugged high-clearance 4x4 roads to get to hiking, fishing or mountain biking spots. Very happy to have upgraded!

While this is not a review per ser as I only have 3 nights in the camper since I picked it up a week ago, it is an endorsement to at least make sure you check out the Hallmark campers if you are shopping. The quality is very high and noticeable right away, the standard build is well-appointed, the insulation is impressive, plus the ability to put up to 400 pounds on the roof with zero strain in lifting is a huge bonus. Last, the Ward family seem to really enjoy making these campers and take great pride in their work. I have owned several RV's and the walkthrough from Hallmark was incredibly thorough, and left nothing to the imagination. I really enjoyed getting the behind the scenes look around their facility as well on the day of the install.

Pretty happy with how things worked out, we really love our new camper and are looking forward to spending many nights exploring our backyard and surrounding states.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Welcome to the cult.Show us some interior photos.
And also some info.
Have a great time with your new rig.
Frank

 

[bikezest]

Welcome to the cult.Show us some interior photos.
And also some info.
Have a great time with your new rig.
Frank

Frank, I need to get some interior shots. Been having too much fun camping. As for info...Not really anything super special I did different than stock other it has 200 watts of solar, Yakima tracks on the roof, Rocky Mount bike attachments on the rear wall and an awning. It does have and I believe is standard the NovaCool 4500 compressor fridge which is a total gamechanger, in my opinion, having had countless 3way propane rv fridges in my lifetime. I also carry a Thetford porta potti which is a nice addition vs using public facilities at this point in time. This is a major downsize for my wife and I as we have had many 30-35 foot trailers and motorhomes over the years. We feel this will see much more use being attached to my daily driver in addition to the ease of driving, getting off the beaten path, and feeling much less inclined to have to plan trips and scout for spots.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Having a rig like yours does make it nice to visit areas
you can't take a trailer.
The less space does take some time getting used to.
But if you pack right it all works out.
Enjoy.Share some pics of your trips.

We all enjoy seeing trip pictures.
Frank

 

[smlobx]

Welcome to the greater Hallmark family!

I agree with your assessment of the Ward family. They were great to work with and we usually stop by to say high when we’re traveling through Colorado like we did this year on our way to Alaska.

 

[DoGMAtix]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hallmark campers. Ditto on the Hallmark folks - Bill, Matt and Andy have all been super helpful when issues come up. You just have to be persistent to get one of them on the phone...
Post some photos please! I'd particularly love to see how the bikes are mounted on back, since we're trying to work out a system to mount bikes on our 8' guanella/ short bed Ram 2500. We had been using a swing-arm hitch rack mounted to the rear platform since we have a short bed truck and the back end of the camper sticks out in the rear, but that put too much torque on the platform so we're back to square 1.
The tiedown/turnbuckle mounting system you've got seems pretty good - better than the system Hallmark uses to secure their 8' campers into short bed trucks (the turnbuckle mounting plates are located on the bottom of the camper side overhangs, which can result in bent mounting brackets and/or failure of the mounting plates). You should be good to off-road in that rig no problem.
And just curious - what house batteries do you have?

 

[Hatchet Adventure]

I picked a new Hallmark Milner last week. What began as a search for a Four Wheel Hawk to fit my F150 quickly escalated as I chased leads on used units after coming up empty on finding a new one in stock, and learning how long the lead times were. I had always thought Hallmark's looked very nice, and a friend has had one since 2013 which has been pretty much flawless, and he spends more than 100 nights a year in it. The problems for me were #1, the price, or the perceived price. #2, the weight which is a bit heavier. #3, I knew they had no dealers, and I figured they would be as backed up as Four Wheel. Luckily I called, talked to Matt Ward, and after he confirmed the lead times were long, I swung for the fences and asked if they had any cancellations. It turns out they had a Milner that was slated for the expo in Gunnison this summer that was just started and now had no expo to attend. Better yet, I could pick it up in 2-3 weeks if I decided to go for it.

After making the decision, I also decided to upgrade trucks and purchased a 2020 Ford F350 CCSB with the 6.7l diesel option. Too much truck? Well, if we ever add a 5th wheel (a possibility) for multi-month winter snowbirding it won't be. The bigger truck is also really nice in that it handles the camper like it isn't there and we like to travel on pretty rugged high-clearance 4x4 roads to get to hiking, fishing or mountain biking spots. Very happy to have upgraded!

While this is not a review per ser as I only have 3 nights in the camper since I picked it up a week ago, it is an endorsement to at least make sure you check out the Hallmark campers if you are shopping. The quality is very high and noticeable right away, the standard build is well-appointed, the insulation is impressive, plus the ability to put up to 400 pounds on the roof with zero strain in lifting is a huge bonus. Last, the Ward family seem to really enjoy making these campers and take great pride in their work. I have owned several RV's and the walkthrough from Hallmark was incredibly thorough, and left nothing to the imagination. I really enjoyed getting the behind the scenes look around their facility as well on the day of the install.

Pretty happy with how things worked out, we really love our new camper and are looking forward to spending many nights exploring our backyard and surrounding states.

Truck Camper small(1).jpg

Funny as I looked at the same camper at Hallmark but decided on the larger Everest that Bill Ward was building for that same show. I picked mine up in June 2020 and have loved it every since.