Visited FWC today!

[rich]

I was driving through Davis today so I swung over to FWC to see the camper's in person. I was impressed, they definitely lived up to all the hype. I really liked the extended cab over bed and didn't really like the standard bed that pulled out farther into the camper. The cabinets were pretty good but some of the sliding doors were a bit rough to move and flimsy, I could see myself breaking them quickly ( has anyone had any problems with that?). Overall I really liked them and decided that the Hawk is definitely the size for my needs the eagle was too small. I spoke with Stan and he said that the new '07 Tundras have the same bed depth as the fords, dodges and chevy's so a standard hawk will work with them. With the rumors of an '09 Tundra diesel release that would be the ultimate combo, Tundra diesel with a hawk. Now I just have to visit Ben over at ATC and check out the Panther camper. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[pvstoy]

Hi Rich,

Are you talking about the sliding doors on the cabinet over the couch? That rubber stop is always too long and I end up trimming it down shorter. That allows the sliders to slide better without too much stress.

I’m waiting to see the new Tundra diesel come to the U.S. it is out in other countries. Wonder after all the U.S. restrictions what the gas mileage will end up to be?

 

[rich]

Cabinets and Tundra

Hi Pvstoy,

Yeah that cabinet and the one under the sink near the floor that has the same rubber stopper on it, I could see me breaking those within two trips. I'm curious about the tundra mileage as well although it won't be a deal breaker for me because I know it will be better than the 14-16 I currently get in my 96 T-100. The mileage will only be an issue for me through the warranty period anyway, after that I will put a veggie oil conversion on it. I had been planning on doing that on a ford diesel but you can't beat a full size diesel with Toyota reliability. I'v never purchased a new vehicle before but this one might just be worth the immediate loss in value you take by buying new.

 

[pvstoy]

On my Ranger they are holding up well. For the bigger one under the sink, I took the face of the cabinet off and used hot glue gun and added more to the plastic slides on the back side.

For the Tundra I’ll have to wait 4-5 years and then see what is out there.

 

[Ted]

rough cabinet doors

Welcome Rich,

Our Hawk is four years old now. One of the cabinet doors is difficult to slide now. I have tried filing the groove it slides in to improve it. But there is an advantage to the rather basic design of a piece of paneling in a groove as a cabinet door - I have never had one open during off road trips. Some of the rubber stops have worn down to the point of being ineffective but the doors still stay in place.

Ted

 

[pvstoy]

Welcome Rich,

Our Hawk is four years old now. One of the cabinet doors is difficult to slide now. I have tried filing the groove it slides in to improve it. But there is an advantage to the rather basic design of a piece of paneling in a groove as a cabinet door - I have never had one open during off road trips. Some of the rubber stops have worn down to the point of being ineffective but the doors still stay in place.

Ted


I think that is why I see the cabinets with a plastic runners now?

 

[chnlisle]

On the Ranger I sold to Tom I changed out those flimsy poor operating sliders and put in 3/8 MDF with plastic tracks. They work much better and are quite a bit stronger. Maybe Ben will tell us what they're using on the All Terrain.

 

[HERR42]

well i go for a visit tomorrow...and pick up my new unit.

i had to pull my weatherguard box out of my pickup bed last night and stash my tailgate.

i am ready to go.

if i had my way i would be heading up to lassen tomorrow afternoon...but we have some ...."obligations".

...cant wait.

 

[rich]

Thanks guys

Thanks for the info everyone,

I'm glad to hear it's not just me, I think those cabinet doors would be an early modification for me. Congrats to the new Hawk owner, can't wait to see the pics.

 

[rich]

FWC ATC Differences

Hi Northcoast fishing,

what are the important differences you think one should look out for between fwc and atc

 

[craig333]

I had some stuff in my cabinet with the sliders and could not get it open. I had to disassemble it to fix it. Its definitely on the list of things to be modified/replaced. The rest of the cabinets are fine, I just had to add an external hook latch (whatever you call those things) so they can't come open accidentally.

 

[jimjxsn]

The guy who I bought my Ranger from removed the sliding doors on the bottom cabinet and the routed out track was split. He was just using bins in the open cabinet.

I ended up making doors that hinge on the bottom. Here are before and after pics...

 

[rich]

Nice doors

Yeah that's more like it, some nice doors that won't be frustrating or snap.

 

[pvstoy]

Hi Jim,

That looks great! I'm making a cabinet in a Kestrel, what kind of a latch did you use and mounted top center? And are those outside mount hinges?

 

[jimjxsn]

I used cabinet hinges from Home Depot. I'm using a magnetic latch but may switch to a more substantial one or add additional super magnets to the corners if they don't hold well enough. So far so good, though.

 

[benburnett]

doors

You guys are right about the old doors. The rubber bumpers worked to a point on the old campers but you had to use two hands to open them.

We have changed over to a positive latch system on our campers now and added the plastic tracks for the cabinet doors.

The main differences that you will find between us and FWC are the options for one. FWC offers more options than we do. FWC has that neat roll down couch also that everyone likes. FWC has the new liner that does not have the outside flaps that you have to roll up and down. We have increased the width of the campers 4". This gives you a little bit bigger bed and increased cabinet depth for storage. The extended bed is a standard feature on our campers instead of an option. FWC also raised the walls of their campers to offer the bigger refer with the freezer. This in turn gives you a higher head room clearence in the FWC.

That covers the main differences between the campers.

I believe you will still have all your fingers after talking with us.

 

[rich]

Planning a visit

Hi Ben,

Yeah, I have no fear for my fingers. I am planning to come by and see the ATC campers soon. I end up going to the bay area once or twice a month to see family and friends so I will swing by on my next visit. I figure by then you guys will be all settled in to the new location. I'm looking forward to seeing your campers.