*Pending Sale* '17 Ford F-250 / FWC Hawk Flatbed - Built Out

[B_Dub003]

Since the camper lives on the truck full time (I've never removed it), I registered the truck as an RV. Here in CA, the DMV views all trucks as commercial vehicles and we have to pay for that with a weight fee. Since it is registered as an RV and is not a commercial vehicle, they eliminate the weight fee and the annual registration fee is significantly less; it's now under $300 which is really nice!

 

[B_Dub003]

Over the past several weeks I had been monitoring an intermittent check engine light that was leading to an issue with the turbo... I had my mechanic diagnose the issue and he confirmed that it was indeed a turbo issue.

A new OEM turbo has been installed and there are no check engine lights. This was a $4500 repair, but I feel good in knowing that the next owner will have the best experience possible with this rig!

If you have any reservations on the mileage of this truck (honestly I hadn't even thought about it until someone brought it up), you can rest assured that this truck is dialed and that I've spared no expenses in insuring it's reliability and longevity.

In the last 10k miles:

• All fluids have been changed
• CP4 Disaster Prevention Kit
• New custom valved Carli (King) shocks tuned to this setup
• Transmission was replaced under warranty from Ford with a factory remanufactured unit with a 3 year warranty
• Passenger side valve cover leak repaired
• New OEM turbo

 

[B_Dub003]

Anyone have any desert or Baja trips planned this Spring?

Sunrises in the desert are pretty epic and this is a great rig to go enjoy them!

 

[B_Dub003]

I wanted to take a minute to highlight how beefy the front end is on this rig!

• Nearly new massive Carli fabricated radius arms with greasable Johnny Joints
• Nearly new Carli Tuned King 2.5 shocks that are custom tuned to the camper setup
• Carli track bar with nearly new heim joints on both ends
• Carli diff guard with steering stabilizer
• Massive PMF 1.5" drag link with heim joint at the Pitman Arm
• Inner and outer tie rods were recently replaced with greasable Moogs
• Front end alignment was also recently done

This rig drives really well! It's impressive how well it carries the weight of the camper setup and is very comfortable on the road. It's also very impressive how great it drives off road as it handles washboard roads really well.

 

[B_Dub003]

Does anyone else have a strong dislike for all of the chrome on modern trucks? Well I do. This is why I had the grille painted black along with the "side vents" painted black and added a color match to them to match the two-tone paint on the doors. In my opinion, it makes a huge difference and looks much better!

 

[B_Dub003]

One thing that I've found that is easily overlooked on the FWC flatbed models is solid entry steps. Sure, you can use the flimsy accordion/style steps or just use the tire. However with the entry door threshold being over 4' tall, it's really nice having something that is solid and feels safe.

I've deconstructed an aluminum step ladder that lays flat on top of the bed in the camper when not in use. It has deep treads that measure 14 1/4" x 8" which inspire confidence when getting in or out of the camper. Especially at night when nature calls and you gotta go outside! This setup also works well for your four-legged friends as it's easy for them to get in and out of the camper.

OEV has a great ladder bracket for their camper setup so I picked one of those up and modified it to fit the ladder and it works great! It secures the ladder really well and blends into the flatbed tray nicely.

 

[B_Dub003]

Spring time is here so it's time to start getting out there to enjoy those remote areas! While this setup does great this time of year, it's also does really well all four seasons and has allowed us to camp year round in comfort.

From single digit temperatures in the Eastern Sierras in the winter to the Utah desert late summer, to waiting out rain storms and/or heavy winds, I've been very pleased with it.

When it's cold, set the digital thermostat to your prefered temperature in the evening and enjoy a book sitting at the dinette. You'll stay comfy and warm. On those hotter evenings, open up all of the windows (six of them have screens not including the door) and set one fan to blow cool air in and the other fan on the opposite side of the camper to exhaust warm air out. You'll sleep well on those hot nights.

 

[davidtzlu]

Does this truck have functioning blind spot radar? IE the little indicator on the wing mirrors that someone is in your blind spot? My wife really likes this feature . . .

Awesome rig. Thanks in advance!

 

[B_Dub003]

Thanks for the message! The truck came equipped with BLISS (Ford's blind spot radar) which mounts in the stock tail lights. I actually found a guy with a late model Super Duty like mine with an XP Camper tray who mounted the blind spot radar to his tray in a very clean way. The guy was an electrical engineer and was generous enough to send me a schematic and directions on how to do it. This was early on just after I built my truck and my fabricator who I wanted to do it was super busy. So I scheduled him to to do the job months out. However when the time came to do it, I was over it and had already learned how to drive the truck as is.

Long story short: The truck was equipped with it at the factory, I have the OEM parts and directions to do it, but it is not currently installed.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[B_Dub003]

Water storage and capacity:

There is a 20 gallon fresh water tank and a 6 gallon water heater. However you can open a valve for the water heater and let it drain into the fresh water in a pinch. So you've got 26 gallons.

On longer trips, my wife and I would take up to an additional 4 x 5 gallon scepter water Jerry cans and stick them under the benches in the dinette. So you can take up to 46 gallons with you pretty easily!

Dropping the sceptor Jerry cans into the outside filler is pretty easy as well as I have a spout with a hose clamp that works pretty well.

Lastly, I upgraded the outside fresh water drain with a metal one that is much more durable than the plastic one that FWC provides. We use the drain to fill up our water bottles when we are on the road.

For grey water coming off the sink I rigged up a 90 degree fitting with a washer machine supply hose to have the water drain under the camper. I also have a collapsing bucket if we are camping somewhere where draining under the truck isn't appropriate.

 

[B_Dub003]

Pending sale

 

[WU7X]

Congrats on the sale, Brian! Wish it would have been me.