As stated in our Frequently Asked Questions, Truck Camper Magazine reviews are wholly independent and posted without notice or review by the industry until publication.
However, the manufacturers are invited to submit a manufacturer’s response to be immediately published, without edit, the following publishing date.
Dan Welty, Vice President, and Stan Kennedy, Sales and Marketing, of Four Wheel Campers, submitted the following manufacturer’s response to the 2018 Four Wheel Hawk Review.
Four Wheel Camper’s Response:
Four Wheel Camper Exterior Weight Sticker
Four Wheel Campers weighs every truck camper before it leaves the factory. The resulting dry with options weight is included in the paperwork for every unit.
As we add accessories to build our quotes, the related weights are provided to prospective customers and their quote reflects a dry weight with all accessories. The wet weight is also always addressed in prospect and customer discussions.
Above: An example of a Manufacturer Statement Of Origin for a Four Wheel Camper Hawk
When a customer picks up a unit at the Four Wheel Camper factory or from a Four Wheel Camper dealer, they get that paperwork. We want to make sure our customers know the accurate dry with options weight of their new camper.
What we’re not doing is putting that unit’s dry with options weight on the exterior sticker of the camper. The exterior weight sticker on a Four Wheel Camper shows the dry weight of the camper without installed options, water, propane, or a refrigerator.
The wording of the exterior weight sticker caused some reader confusion in the Truck Camper Magazine review. To be clear, Four Wheel Camper exterior weight stickers do not include installed options, water, propane, or a refrigerator. Those weights need to be added to the weight posted on the exterior weight sticker.
Weight stickers are currently generated two weeks in advance and do not reflect the final build weight. After the response to the Truck Camper Magazine review, we will be moving this step to the end of production when the final camper weight is determined. This process change will happen within the next 60 days.
In addition, we have added two documents to our pre-point of sale; a recommended suspension sheet, and a recommended tire document. By signing these two documents, Four Wheel Camper customers understand what suspension enhancements and tires they need for the camper they are purchasing.
Dry Weight For Four Hawk Models
As the review points out, every Hawk floor plan has a different dry weight; side dinette, front dinette, rollover couch, and shell model.
Even though the weights between the four models are not all that different (with the exception of the significantly lighter shell model), we feel the individual floor plan dry weights are important to share with our customers.
We are in the process of building a new website and will post dry weight averages and ranges for all four models on the new website. It’s best to have accurate weight information available so customers can properly set up their truck and camper.
We have seen Hawk models vary as much as 300 pounds depending on the amount of options a customer orders. Options like awnings, larger refrigerators, and solar panel systems make a difference. The average dry with option weight of a Four Wheel Camper Hawk is 1,428 pounds out the door. Option weight adds up.
Switch Plate With Inserted Option Blanks
With the entry way switch plate, it’s easier for us to install a universal plate. As a standard, all of these options are pre-wired behind the plate. For example, if you don’t get flood lights, you will find a coiled pre-wire behind the plate for flood lights should you want for flood lights in the future.
Some customers use these plate blanks to add switches for their own modifications and features. Think of the plate like a fuse box. There might be spots – or fuse locations – left for things that you didn’t order.
Split Doors For Rear Vanity and Porta-Potty Compartment
For both the vanity and porta-potty compartment, a single big door would be hard to open and would obstruct the main living area of the camper. It would also likely block the entry way.
With split doors, you can open just one side or the other, or both. The Hawk is a relatively small camper, so having the double-door storage compartments for the vanity and porta-potty area makes the most sense.
Windows Behind The Dinette Seats
There are four floor plans for the Hawk; the front dinette, side dinette, rollover couch, and Shell model. The front dinette is the only floor plan that blocks those windows.
We are required to have one emergency window exit window for people to get out. The other window is there for ventilation. Many customers take out the seat back in the dinette, put it into the cabover, and open the window for air.
Keep in mind that there are not a lot of options for where windows can be place in a Four Wheel Camper. In the front dinette floor plan, the only place to put them is where they are located. One is required. The other provides ventilation.
10-Pound Propane Tanks
We have two 10-pound propane tanks because don’t have room for a bigger 20-pound tank. We physically can’t fit a 20-pound tank in there. Ten-pound tanks are also smaller, lighter, and easier to handle. You can use one for the camper and one to run your outdoor stove. The one disadvantage is that you can’t exchange them like the 20-pound vertical tanks.
Keep in mind that the average Four Wheel Camper customer might fill their propane tanks once a season. They running very few propane appliances, and do the majority of their cooking outdoors. Our customers are outside camping, not sitting in their campers. Some only camp in comfortable weather and don’t even run their propane furnaces.
Multi-Use Truck Bed Access Doors
You were right in your review that people use the access doors for storage in their truck. They can also be opened for ventilation. They are multi-use. However, the main reason they are there is for access to the turnbuckles to tie-down the camper.
With the other models there is a spring loaded door with a bigger opening, but with the front dinette, you can’t access turnbuckles with that approach. That was a design choice had to be made to put the turnbuckles in front.
Interior Battery Compartment
All battery compartments on Four Wheel Campers are now lockable, as well as vented to the outside. We have been venting the propane boxes for a few years, but have only recently added the lock to the battery compartment.
Cassette Toilet Option
With all of the Front Dinette Seating floor plan models (Fleet, Hawk, and Grandby), the campers are available as a self-contained unit with a built-in cassette toilet. The Hawk camper in the review did not have the built-in cassette toilet installed, but it is available as an option.
For more For more information on Four Wheel Campers, visit their website at fourwh.com. Click here to request Four Wheel Camper information.
The post Manufacturer’s Response: Four Wheel Camper Hawk Review appeared first on Truck Camper Magazine.