FWC Hawk - Question on Hydraulic Lift Struts

[Mr.Rogers]

Good afternoon all - greetings from Northeast Oregon.

I recently picked up a 2010 Tundra and FWC Hawk, and am loving the set up so far.

I have a quick question - it has the (2) internal hydraulic lift struts to assist with raising the roof, and with any additional load on the factory installed yakima bars the lift takes far more effort to complete.

I've considered replacing the existing 60lb rated lift struts with a higher capacity, i.e. 90lb, but not certain if that might put some additional stress on the lift strut attachment points or on the roof itself?

I'm not running anything too heavy up top, currently just a Rod Vault for fly rods and a smaller yakima box for miscellaneous camp gear (camp chairs, roll up tables, etc.)

Anyone have any thoughts on replacing?

Thanks in advance

 

[Herbie]

FWC makes an external add-on kit which is probably more what you want. And FYI, they're compressed gas springs, not hydraulic, but that's just to help you search for the right thing!

 

[Mr.Rogers]

Thanks for the clarification Herbie, and I'll contact FWC customer service to check out the external kits; I might swap the springs out just for a comparison before stepping up to the external option

 

[MNtraveler]

There is a long thread over on Wander the West about "Roof lifter helper shock thingies". I think it is about 30 pages or more long. Lots of good pix and discussion. Just remember if you go to 90 lb springs, you have to overcome that to get the roof back down. I put 4 lifters on my old (1977 FWC Grandby. Works well.

 

[JBahr]

With 90lb struts you risk putting a lot of pressure on the sides of the camper. It will cause the camper to bow out in the middle as there is nothing to span across the frame. You will get a lot of roof rub on the sides. Better to look into the exterior mount front and rear.

 

[Mr.Rogers]

Thanks for the input all - the impact of the 90 lb upgrade was one concern, so I'll hold off on that and contact FWC

 

[Huntv]

Hello from La Grande...Sweet truck/camper combo. I'm sure we'll pass each other on the road or in the hills sometime!