Four Wheel Camper - A Review

[fisher205]

KC, check out Nova Kool. I replaced my old 3 way with one, They're about 20% cheaper than a Norcold or Dometic.

 

[kcowyo]

Question: What is the loop of rope for that I see on the wood section of the couch near the front door?

Not a clue...? They're just short loops, no bigger than a bracelet. I know he pulled the couch out & put it back in a couple of times... maybe the rope is for a better hand-hold? I didn't think to ask...


**Nova Kool... I will check them out, thanks!


A few more details from my trip through Yellowstone country, to pick up the couch. Crazy weather for April 28th...

I wound up having to drive 750 miles around the entire park when snow forced the closure of the west gate in the town of West Yellowstone, MT near where we were to meet. I was forced to go up to the NW entrance in Gardiner, MT and attempted to go out through the NE entrance at tiny Cooke City, MT. The road was still closed out of Cooke City to the east, over the Beartooth Mountains...

But after consulting with a local motel owner, I risked the unplowed road for 14 miles to the Chief Joseph's Scenic Highway into Cody, WY. With depths of snow from 8 inches to 14 inches, I bogged slowly but steadily through it, my mind somewhere between the rush of rebelliousness and the fear of the worst, if I were to become stuck out there in a drift in the dark... Fortunately, I made it safely all the way to Chief Joe's Hwy where the WYDOT had plowed to. Smooth sailing back into Cody, where I spent the night and then home the next morning.


A bunch of driver's seat pics from a whirlwind 24 hour trip, all for a silly couch... which I love, and have already slept on. Twice.

Togwotee Pass above Dubois, WY -

Jackson, WY -

Togwotee Pass above Dubois, WY -

West Yellowstone, MT -

Gardiner, MT and Nissan Patrol -

Gardiner, MT -

Cooke City, MT -

Chief Joseph's Scenic Highway, above Cody, WY -

Wind River Canyon, near Thermopolis, WY -

Wind River Canyon -

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[HongerVenture]

Just got through re-reading this. Man I love reading what you have to write. Wanted to give you some props so you knew I was soaking it up and not just nit-picking your broken picture links. =) You make me miss the US bro. I'll live it vicariously though ExPo until I return... in the meantime I need to post up some trip reports from my outings here in the Middle East.

 

[Regcabguy]

Further evidence of global warming.

 

[wyotoyo]

I would hate to see the pictures the fish have been taking lately in the Wind River Canyon.

 

[kcowyo]

Really! Trains don't float, ya know... :Wow1:


Train derailment in Wind River Canyon video #1 - (May 12, 2010)


Train derailment in Wind River Canyon video #2 (some spicey language, but hey, it's a train wreck, and people are freaking out a little...)


We just came through the canyon again 3 days ago and we couldn't even tell where the accident happened. They did a great job of cleaning that up, in an almost impossible spot to reach.

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[Maximus Ram]

WOW, good to read that the engineers made it out alive. That was a big boulder that they hit.

 

[wyotoyo]

I think I just blew the head gasket in my t100. Feels like a train wreck.

 

[kcowyo]

Recent pics from another trip to Utah... zero failures, 100% smiles & good times.


Probably not going to get the top open tonight...

Muley Point -

Long time gone -

Where does this road go?

To Cathedral Valley -

Utah always makes you feel small -

How are you supposed to capture it all? -

I'm not paranoid... he's really following me -

How could you not love that smile?

A new favorite spot in an isolated canyon -

 

[Willman]

Nice KC....

Not feeling the love here by the way......(Father's Day)

 

[slooowr6]

Very cool that you are going to babysit Spirit.

 

[kcowyo]

How did the ice box/pantry mod turn out?

Thanks to Marty & Jeff, it turned out great!


From this, icebox in place -

Icebox removed, but a mess of wiring, propane lines & an unneeded outlet box remained -

To this: new framing, a false bottom, lipped shelf, outlet removed and wires & propane line wrapped -

New cabinet door & latch too -

In addition, after much debate, I decided to have Marty & Jeff pull my unused water tank... With the crazy cold temps we experience here in Wyoming, from September - June, I would have to drain & winterize the tank after almost every trip, lest it unknowingly freeze on me and we risked splitting the line & tank. So we never used it, as it was as much a liability as an asset. We just carry our water in portable containers, which we've found easier to refill or replace on the road.


The water tank was located behind this breaker panel -

By removing the tank, they were able to push the breaker panel back to the exterior wall, leaving a nice new amount of storage space -

Due to the propane line & breaker box, we will use this place for soft items, like paper towel rolls, dish towels, paper plates, big bags of chips, etc., whatever won't harm the propane line & circuit panel while bouncing down the trail -

Our typical water container -

The 2.5 gallon square jug fits perfectly on its side in the sink while in transit or when not in use. And if it leaks, it drains out to the exterior drain, simple -

The two new cabinets, along with the "new" bench & storage underneath, have increased our storage considerably. Where previously the floor was full with camp chairs, a chuck box, shower kit & tent, a fridge & firewood box, we now only have our fridge & firewood to work around upon set-up. I went back & forth on adding a new fridge instead of making the icebox spot into a pantry, but in the end I decided we already have the Engel, so we'll make it work with it being on the floor...


Engel 45qt fridge -

While they reconfigured our galley storage, they also added new bed cushions. Time will tell if this was worth the effort & money, after all, two inch thick cushions just don't offer a lot of support, when used or new... We also upgraded my out-of-compliance propane tank, along with new lines. It's nice to have a bottle now with a gauge, which takes the guesswork out of trying to figure out how much propane remained in my old bottle.

In addition, they fixed a finicky door lock, replaced some broken trim pieces, capped the exterior water fill, put a cap on the sink drain exterior outlet and found & fixed a blocked section in my furnace. To their credit, Marty & Jeff did great work, found issues I didn't know my camper had and they got me out the door without breaking the bank.

I was also very grateful to them for sticking around late on a Saturday afternoon, so I could pick my camper up, which saved me from sitting in a hotel room for 2 nights until Monday morning when they re-opened. It's little touches like that which endear Jeff & Marty at All Terrain Campers to their customers and why I would be happy to give them my business again in the future, and why I will recommend them to anyone looking to have repair/restoration work done to an older model Four Wheel Camper.


With all of these new upgrades like the couch, Fantastic Fan, additional storage, bed cushions, aux battery charging solution, new flooring and propane tank, we are really excited for this summer and our upcoming trips to Colorado and the Pacific North West. I'm still very much a fan of the product and can't complain about putting a few bucks & some TLC back into our camper as it approaches 20 years old and considering all of the rough & tough miles we've put on it. As always, thanks for the encouragement and thanks for reading -


:campfire:

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[Marc1]

Hi KC,
Looks great !! I'm glad you gave Marty & Jeff a chance. They do nice work and are real easy to work with. Just returned from one of your favorite areas, Mendocino. The coast is as beautiful as ever.

marc

 

[kcowyo]

I was happy to give them the business. I figured they built my '92 originally, and likely refurb'd it at the factory in '99.... made sense to have them freshen it up again.

You should thank them for letting me pick it up last Saturday, otherwise I was going to call you for a couch to sleep on.

Glad to hear you made it to Mendocino... hope to be there in September!


:beer:
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[Rambling OBHF]

I have truly enjoyed reading this thread although I did not discover it until we had already decided to buy a FWC Hawk and then purchased a Ford F-150 to slide under it. But, the thread and the wonderful photography has reinforced our FWC decision. Now we're just hanging around in the "waiting" room while the gang at FWC get to our "number" on the production list -- probably late October or early November. We did decide to add a furnace to our Escape Pod while reading your posts. Can't wait to get back on the road!

Again, thanks for for your interesting thread!