1999 FWC Hawk rebuild

Some people wanted to see pics of my FWC rebuild so I figured I would just start a thread.

Last few years I had been looking for a FWC. Then in late 2019 I found a older hawk a few hours away from me. I showed up, looked at it, found the whole back half of the floor pack was rotten, offered him a grand for it and brought it home.

Now the rotten floor wasnt a issue as I knew I wanted to drop the floor 2” for more head room inside anyways. And this camper had almost perfect vinyl which was one thing I didnt want to tackle on the initial build.

Here is a almost finish pic.

 

Here is the rotten floor pack removed from the aluminum frame. The dry rot was so bad that i had to cut back till I got to decent ply before removing it.

 

Then I welded, epoxied and through bolted a 2” riser, 2x1 rectangle tube to the existing camper frame work.

 

The Hawk is 4’ wide so 1 sheet of 3/4 for the main floor. Level it, screw it in front and rear while supporting the middle of the sheet. Then rip some uprights and glue/screw them to the alum frame and floor. rip some more down to create the wings. Setup some dowels and glue the wings to the main floor pack.

 

Installed hatches for window AC unit and sink access. Installed foam insulation.

 

While I had it all apart I setup the jack mounts to use grade 8 bolts and be removable rather than using 10 grade 5 lag bolts into soft aluminum.

 

Then started building out the kitchen and also added 1’ to the bed slide to allow north south sleeping.

 

Built a couch and a single seat across from it using scrap plywood and a foam mattress. Leaving enough room for my engle fridge to fit near the door for easy access and a self contained toilet on the otherside. Finished triming it all out and threw some poly on it.

 

I had a couple 8’ awnings sitting around so I fabbed up some mounts.

 

I have a few rotopax so I fabbed up some mounts for them too. Used some alum unistrut for a roofrack and install a 100w panel and a maxair fan.

 

Added 6 low profile LEDs, 2 pole jacks for remote solar panels so I dont have to park in the sun. These edges will be trimmed out in thin wall alum angle.

 

Great job!

 

Still need to finish trimmimg the exterior out, cleaning up the butyl tape and epoxied holes, and paint the whole thing. But that will be this spring.

 

Added load lifters front and rear. Backup camera on rear door and 3rd brake light above it. Various hatches for 120v extension cords. For summer trips, AC unit rides on pass ledge and then slides through the rear hatch

 

clean looking s2000!!

 

Thank you for the write up!! I’m looking to do the same thing!

 

LOL, was wondering if there were any s2k fans on here. Thanks.

 

Best way to get into one for sure. All Terrain Camper will ship the vinyl if you find one with blown out soft sides.

Not sure if FWC will ship it. But ATC still makes campers with the older FWC specs.

 

@pickeledpigsfeet Have you used this enough where you noticed if the composting toilet makes the camper smell being out in the open like that?

I'm always looking for deals and projects and a FWC or ATC camper would be awesome! Looks like you did a great job!

 

looking good !

 

Awesome! Job well done.

 

Its a self contained toilet like the ones used on sail boats. No smells until you dump it, but if you use the chemical packs it neutralizes the smell and grossness factor. The unit separates into a top and bottom and you take the sealed bottom unit to any toilet and dump it out of this little spout.

https://www.campingworld.com/porta-potti-portable-toilets---curve-58980.html

 

I carry a shower/bathroom popup, so depending on where we are the toilet goes into it. Obviously not possible if stealth camping somewhere.

actually that reminds me that I forgot to mention that I built it so that with the top down I can sit on the couch and even sleep on the couch with my feet on the fridge. There has been times where I was stuck in a place where I didnt want to draw any attention.

 

Very nice.

You have serious skills.

 

I just stumbled on this thread, great work! Any updates?

 

Started working on my portable chinese diesel heater setup. Will post some pics in a bit.

Had a family member get sick so have been doing some stealth camping in hospital parking lot.

Also been planning out a DIY 270 awning. Looks like south africans have figured it out.
https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/showthread.php/168671-DIY-swinging-awning

 

Nice! Saving thousands is always a good thing!

 

I bought a scratch & dent Lagun swivel table. Here are some pics of my heater ideas. Also picked up a water heater and am going to try and squeeze it into a pelican case as well.

 

What a great project! Nice work!

 

Sub'd, nice work sir!