Four Wheel Hawk Camper Trailer Rig Hauler Build

[Pearce]

I have been wanting to do this for some time. I should have stared looking before I moved to FL but had no clue how hard it would be to find a used small truck camper like the Four Wheel Hawk. All those things are out in the mid-west or further. So, I spent several months searching craigs list and ebay multiple times a day till I found this unit on ebay. It went dirt cheap so I got it. Figured with the skills of building a crawler I should be able to build a camper. It currently has a gas heater, gas two burner cook top, 3 way fridge, and roof vent. I didn't know before looking but a 3 way fridge works off AC, DC, and gas. Pretty sweet. Current plans are to fix the roof leaks. Looks like the thing got driven under a low bridge or something. The upper bunk floor is gone and needs new. That looked to be made out of teak. Clean up some of the wiring and make sure I understand it all. Put in flooring. And make the pop up roof stay up correctly. These Four Wheels are pretty useless without their fancy design pop up device. I got a pole jack in there now for the front, the back one kinda works. Future plans include adding a window AC, deep cycle battery, water heater and outdoor shower.

I had to get it delivered from out of state and of course the FL weather gave me a down pour for the delivery and transfer to my trailer, typical. Love how low profile the Four Wheel campers are.



Once its pushed forward and the tool box is removed it will leave just enough space for the rig.









If any of you guys know any good online sources for info on these I would appreciate it. Found a couple forums but haven't spent much time on them yet to see if they are right. Also have not been able to find a place that sells parts. Anyone with experience in fixing something like this up I'd be happy to hear any advise.

[OverlandXJ]

I believe you can find the manufacturer active over at www.expeditionportal.com.

Nice project, keep us updated.

[zjeepin]

I'm totally jealous Pearce… you still planning to take the big toolbox off the trailer and put boxes under the fender wells of the camper?

[Pearce]

Yup, I think so. Tool box is gone for sure. Will be used for storage at the house. Haven't decided yet how I will do under fender storage. Or, a real under trailer deck box but those are pricey.

[ATL ZJ]

Very cool.. But that thing's gotta be hot as shit to work on this time of year. You going to set your easy up on jackstands over it for some shade?

[Pearce]

Yeah it is damn hot, think I am getting used to it though. Haven't figured out how to put the easy up on jack stands yet, lol.

Yesterday I did roof patch work. It appears this thing has been on its lid once from the scuff marks. One existing patch was pretty nasty. As I tore into it, it got bigger and bigger. It appears to have been filled with JB Weld and lead patch. Here's what it looked like cleaned up.




After pondering how I was going to fix this, I settled on using aluminum coil, rivets and self tappers. Fortunately all the frame work and structure of these campers is aluminum square tube.
Resulting patch.




Next the back right corner had been split at the joint. I picked up some AL bar and bent it around the corner, a few heavy self tappers all the way through and it was solid again. I had plans to plate the top but this seemed to have really done the trick. Big hole in it too.



And then the same aluminum coil patch method on it.




Today I'm in the process of applying Grizzly Grip bed liner to the roof. From what I've ready on the RV forums its a popular product. And just so happens to be made here in Orlando so I picked some up. So far seems like a really nice product and is filling in all the holes. I'm applying the fine aggregate version. Pics later today.

[Pearce]

Roof is all coated. Stuff seems to work pretty good. Nice clean coat where the roof wasn't damaged. Doesn't really hide the patch work. But does coat it well and looks good. We'll see how it does after the first rain. I may roll another coat over the patch work to thicken it up. But for now have some other plans for the last gallon. Next project is rebuilding the cab over bunk.

[Pearce]

We've had a bunch of rain and the roof hasn't leaked, but kinda slowed my progress down. I did finish up the bunk. It was completely rotted out and missing some of the original material so I took my best guess on how it was originally built. It appeared to be made of plywood and oak planks. I was able to use a layer of the old plywood floor as a template on the new. Then decided instead of trying to laminate a sheet of vinyl to the bottom of it I would use the bed liner again. Fantastic product on wood too.

Demo'd


New coated panel



The oak planks are held in at both ends by being wedged in. There is a cavity in the frame for a plank to fit in vertically, then add the wedge piece and the planks are held down tight. Pics explain better:









Need to work on some cosmetics next but the next major fix is the lift panels. Which I won't have for another couple weeks.

[Pearce]

Let there be air conditioning! This is a 5000 btu window unit mounted in the escape window, smallest I could find. Plywood cut to fit the opening with a lip to catch at the top. At the bottom on the inside I added a couple slide bolts to secure the bottom from sliding out of the frame. On top of the AC are a couple of door stops for the window glass to rest on and then a handle to assist lifting the unit into position. This should be a fantastic addition for camping at GSSE!!! Just need to apply a couple coats of exterior white paint.

[Pearce]

Also got it mounted at the front of the trailer using turnbuckles.






And the bed liner floor coating worked out great too. Little dirty from going in and out. Might add another coat to that to thicken it up more.

[Ken L]

Good work on this!

[kingskippy2001]

Think it'll pull ok with that much weight towards the rear? Hard to tell from the pic how much room without the rig on it.

Love it though, I would like to do one next year.

[Pearce]

The rig will only be about another foot or so back from where it was. And the camper weighs 800 to 900 lbs. Then all my gear stored in it should work out nice. It's a bit of a gamble but I'm pretty sure it will work fine. There are campers with a 6' floor which is what I really wanted to find. But they are even harder to come by cheap around here. This one is 6'-8".

[Wil Badger]

Are you going to do some lock boxes down the sides of the camper? I have seen a few done were they made their own and I have also seen truck side boxes used.

[Pearce]

Yeah I have plans for that down the road. I would really like to do some aluminum boxes on the sides. But I've not really found anything I like in terms of how it opens that also doesn't cost several hundred dollars. What I may do is find used truck boxes on craigslist, cut them up and weld them back the way I want. Been wanting to get into aluminum tig welding anyway. That will be a project for later. For now though, there is a basket on the front of the goose that I am going to convert into a weather proof locker. That process will include adding a second drop leg jack for a more stable disconnected trailer or minor leveling. Should have got the trailer with two drop leg jacks to begin with. Lesson learned.

[K2]

Why not put the a/c on the floor/deck, or that front window? It looks like it would fit up front, but I really can't tell. But I am sure it would fit on the side of the camper on the trailer deck. This way you won't have to move the a/c every time.

[Pearce]

I want to use the camper on my truck too. So that spot works best for double camper duty.

[Pearce]

Skipping updates since the last one and going right to the mostly finished result cause it's ready enough for wheeling this weekend! So far it has towed great. But have only taken it to work today before heading north. I'll update the battery system, lift panel, tool box, and jack leg mod after the trip.

[Pearce]

Did a little work on the Dodge this weekend. Finally found some 5.9 louvers that weren't overpriced to put on the 5.9 Cummins Rockin ZJ parts again!
I wanted to put them further to the side but the hood structure pretty much limited my location. I still like it and air is blowing out like I wanted.
Only decision left to make is to go flat black or paint them to match the hood. Fortunately they are slate black for now, and pealing.

[warrem]

Nice. I think flat black will look good and add a nice contrast.

[Pearce]

Did a little more work on the trailer this weekend. I can only get into the camper thru the front window when the rig is loaded up. And that is also where one of my two spare trailer tires is. So, I built a swing out tire carrier with some worn out heims I had laying around. I didn't make it thru the first trip without having to climb thru that window to get my clean clothes that I left in the camper after loading up the rig. Will also be able to get in and spend the night on a long haul trip!