What are the downsides to a FWC?

[goodtimes]

Yeah, weight is a consideration. Throwing some different springs (as I do not believe that there is a real frame difference) and junkyard axles for a few hundred bucks could remedy the issue though.

It's not just the load carrying capacity of the vehicle. Adding weight makes everything more difficult. Getting a 9,000 pound vehicle up a big rock step is much harder than a 4,500 pound vehicle. Keeping a heavy truck from sliding off the road in muddy conditions is more difficult than a lighter vehicle. Extracting that heavy vehicle is more difficult. The list goes on and on. Weight just isn't your friend in tough terrain.

As always, if the benefits outweigh those negatives, then it's worth it, IMO. We've really enjoyed our FWC for the last few years.

 

[32vsnake]

Love our RTT for anything expect really cold/wet weather. We had freezing rain on a Yukon/NWT trip last year and folding the RTT up in the morning was pure misery, it was the only time that I had seriously wished for a camper.

 

[homemade]

Also consider what you like to bring when you camp. I sometimes bring inflatable boats, snowshoes, stuff that gets wet and dirty, two dogs. When it is time to go home I pretty much just throw everything in the back of the flippac and leave and hose the bed out when I get home. I wouldn't want to do that with a nice camper. Its all a compromise and personal preference.

 

[bill harr]

Ask your self what type of camping you enjoy, and be honest. If you are a back packer going to a RTT is great. If you are a tent camper not much of a difference.
If you are a tent camper going to a FWC is pure luxury. Many of the FWC owners I run into are like me, getting older and sleeping in a tent just not as enjoyable as when I was younger.

I have my camper on most of the time. We keep bed ready and most supplies loaded. Add food and water; we are headed to the hills. Putting the jacks on to take the camper off takes most the time for me to load and unload.But I am working on a quick mount for the jacks. Once the jacks are on loading and unloading about 30 minutes.


ONE downside to having a FWC. I have had so many campers ask about the FWC and want to have a tour when we camp.
I have made what I call my travel card, I can give out if I do not have time to visit.

Oh one more item, they do work off road.

 

[goodtimes]

Putting the jacks on to take the camper off takes most the time for me to load and unload.But I am working on a quick mount for the jacks. Once the jacks are on loading and unloading about 30 minutes.

Bill - the attached chicken-scratch is how I've been taking my camper jacks off for a few years. I have 3 of them on each jack - takes less than a minute per corner to either attach or remove the jack.

View attachment camper jack.pdf

 

[bill harr]

Bill - the attached chicken-scratch is how I've been taking my camper jacks off for a few years. I have 3 of them on each jack - takes less than a minute per corner to either attach or remove the jack.

View attachment 295801

Thanks, that is a lot easier to build, than what I was looking to do. And just about as fast to use.

 

[rotti]

I have seen pics of FWCs on smaller trucks(Tacomas and Rangers) in garages, but most truck/camper combos won't fit in a normal garage

Sent from my Passport using Tapatalk 2

If you have an 8' garage door your golden.
FWC Hawk on a 2012 Chevy 2500HD with stock suspension and tires.
Couple of inches to spare to the roof vents.

 

[lqhikers]

we have had 2 fw campers over the years no regrets ...But a couple of things that could of
been added to camper that would make it more user friendly.

1. design so you could have a decent size (thick) mattress most people have tried many different
ways.also so you could leave bed made up when closed up.
2. a roof lift system that would be easy to use,such as a lot of pop up campers use.

yes i have heard all the reasons they do not change the way they are now being built.
fwc says all the time they have all the orders they need,but as someone owning small
company's over the years there is always a market for "new and improved".

as the wife and myself have added on the years (yes getting old) we have found we need
a little more comfort and ease of use when it comes to our travels.

any one who has followed any of my posts know i have posted and talked about different
rigs we have had.from vans,class a,b,c motor homes, pop up campers ,4x4 adventure Proven motorhome.
now we are back to a pop up (2015 tacoma 4x4 with Northstar tc 600) why? because full size mattress and
a very easy to use roof lift .we went this way knowing that we could not go back to a fwc. price did not
enter into it our needs were the reason.

it does not bother me that fwc builds what they want as i know there is a market for them and they build a
great unit for that market.

just my thoughts your's may and should differ!

Les,lqhikers

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I totally agree with ya--

we have had 2 fw campers over the years no regrets ...But a couple of things that could of
been added to camper that would make it more user friendly.

1. design so you could have a decent size (thick) mattress most people have tried many different
ways.also so you could leave bed made up when closed up.
2. a roof lift system that would be easy to use,such as a lot of pop up campers use.

yes i have heard all the reasons they do not change the way they are now being built.
fwc says all the time they have all the orders they need,but as someone owning small
company's over the years there is always a market for "new and improved".

as the wife and myself have added on the years (yes getting old) we have found we need
a little more comfort and ease of use when it comes to our travels.

any one who has followed any of my posts know i have posted and talked about different
rigs we have had.from vans,class a,b,c motor homes, pop up campers ,4x4 adventure Proven motorhome.
now we are back to a pop up (2015 tacoma 4x4 with Northstar tc 600) why? because full size mattress and
a very easy to use roof lift .we went this way knowing that we could not go back to a fwc. price did not
enter into it our needs were the reason.

it does not bother me that fwc builds what they want as i know there is a market for them and they build a
great unit for that market.

just my thoughts your's may and should differ!

Les,lqhikers

That's why I use an air mattress with my RTT and it all just folds up with the RTT--ready for travel-


I can't sleep on any of the "SUPER" foam pads--need an air mattress and it is so much more comfortable and mine has separate chambers so, as queen size, when my wife moves it doesn't wake me up--vice/versa-

The new air mattress's are so superior to the old coleman/Olympic-

Whatever

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[icediver]

As already mentioned, quite a few positives. Love our FWC. You couldn't wipe the grin off my face the first time it was raining/snowing/sleeting out and I reached down to turn the furnace up a bit. On more then a few occasions I've slept through night time snow storms none the wiser and woken up with a few inches on the ground. I haven't slept in a flip-pac but I knew in a tent I'd be pretty aware when the snow started building up. They really do excel in foul weather camping, or when the bugs are nasty and you are looking for a place to be "inside".

I don't get too crazy when "off roading" but I've gotten my Tacoma with a FWC everywhere I've wanted to go. Death Valley, Colorado passes, Alaska, I've been to lots of places and have always been impressed.

That being said, one of the downsides probably often overlooked is MPG. I imagine a truck with a flip pac will get significantly better MPGs, and handle the highway better as well. I can't speak to putting it on a larger truck, but I know it's there on my Tacoma. I'm not setting any speed records on the highway, and cross winds become a real pain. On trips where there will be more highway driving then actual camping/exploring, the FWC sometimes gets left behind in favor of the faster/lighter approach.

As mentioned, storing it is a small pain. If you have lots of room its not a huge deal, as you can leave it jacked up on sawhorses and then loading it becomes a few minute deal. I don't currently have lots of room, so have to jack it down to a rolling dolly and push it into my garage for storage. Adds prob 30-45 minutes to the process. I can usually get it from stored on dolly in garage to trip ready tied down inside truck bed in about an hour, working solo and having to move the other garage inhabitants (motorcycles, mowers, bikes, everything else that ends up tossed in there) out of the way. It's the jacking it up the 3-4 feet to load it that takes the longest.

 

[longhorn1]

The FWC is a great product.
To me the negatives to consider.
1. East coast trails, most stick out a bit on the sides, our trails are tighter and have more trees. Just this year I have been down FS roads that a FWC on my truck would have caught stuff.
2. Soft sides. I may be wrong, but I am not sure you can camp in a FWC in the NP in bear country out west (there is - maybe was? - a rule that said you had to have a hard sided camper in some NP campgrounds)
3. Use of the bed - I have a Flippac, but not pushing that - with the camper mounted, you don't have the truck bed for a hardware store run.

Pros -
1. Hard top and less leaks. I think you can carry stuff on roof.
2. Place to play family games when it is raining at 3pm and your 2 daughters and wife don't want to read.

Pop-Ups aren't a problem in bear country. The soft side is 8' above the ground.

 

[cchoc]

My Eagle is the same width as my Tacoma, which is why I chose it over the Fleet so I could fit in narrow places.

I have been in campgrounds with my old RTT on a Chaser and had rangers make us sleep in the tow vehicle when there were bears in the camp. I'm not sure if they would have let us sleep in an FWC but probably would have - the grizzly at the time had a thing for knocking tents over.

 

[rotti]

I was in the NF campground soon after this attack:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43511151/ns/travel-active_travel/#.Va7ACIvPQ20

MY FWC was allowed because of the height of the hard wall. Pop up trailers were not allowed due to the low side wall. As previously mentioned a FWC has about an 8' to ground hard wall. I still had a restless night, if a griz wants in....

Quote:
"The forest is allowing hard-sided vehicles made of metal or strong composite plastic to be used at the three campgrounds. Truck-box campers that have a 4-foot high hard side, in addition to a raised upper section, are permissible, but tents and pop-up campers are excluded, as is camping without a shelter."

 

[JHa6av8r]

Personally I consider those a con. If Im out camping and enjoying nature I want to cook and hang outside. Sounds miserable hanging out with friends around the camp fire in the bush but I am stuck cooking in my camper. Not to mention if your caught in the rain what are you really doing? Im going to lay out and read a book, In which case a roof top tent, flip pac or basically any style camper fits the bill regardless.

We sit around the campfire with friends and cook outside all the time unless the weather is bad, like wind not necessarily rain or snow which we've been in both with ours. Also camped with overnight temperatures as low as 8 degrees F. The only real down side is you close it up if you want to drive somewhere for the day, but getting ready to move is about 15 minutes, but even then you have food and most whatever you want for a day trip.

 

[NorCalBronco]

Thanks, thats a good idea! Ill agree the worst part of a FWC is taking the jacks on and off