We finally did it! My wife, Ellen, and I took the plunge back in March and ordered a truck and camper. We ordered a Ford F150, 5L Coyote engine, 4×4, extended cab on the same day we ordered a Four Wheel Camper Hawk front dinette model. The new rig has hot water, a furnace, a king-size bed, solar, a fridge, and what seems to be plenty of room for our kitchen and clothing needs. In the cab, we store items not necessarily needed in the camper like binoculars, bike bags, a tire pump, paddleboards, a slackline, guitar, etc. We’ll have a swing-away bike rack on the back.  The truck can hold 2,300 pounds in the bed and the Hawk only weighs 1,300 pounds coming out of the dealer with our add-ons.

We drove to Rancho Cucamonga in southern California on November 29th, spent the night, and got her installed the next day. We drove home immediately afterward and went to sleep. All of this, coming off the heels of a six-day round trip drive to Cinncinati, then thanksgiving with family, then a day of rest before hauling off to California…we were exhausted.

We both had Wednesday off and spent the day getting her ready for our first overnight. In the driveway. With heat. Did I mention it has a furnace? Seriously, a game-changer. As is the ability to get out of the elements and stand up! Or sit at the little table.

Driving with the ability to reduce our profile was important to us. As well as having a small, compact rig that is relatively easy to maneuver in parking lots, gas stations and on forest service roads. Here she is, basking in the palms of Barstow on the way home,  in travel mode.

Our only goal on Wednesday was to get her ready to sleep, then wake up in the morning and be able to have tea and coffee. Ellen filled the two ten-gallon propane tanks, we made the bed and made sure the heat and stove worked, and slept in the driveway. Here’s an interior image of me sitting with the dinette area turned into a couch. The bed slides out over the table to become a king. We plugged into shore power, turned on the heat, went to sleep, and woke up in the morning after a night of neighborhood catfights. Not quite as soothing as coyotes howling in the distance.

We then turned on our hotpot that was plugged into the outlet (only on shore power) and heated our water.

The interior, popped up, has plenty of headroom. So far our tallest friends fit!

So there, you’ve now been introduced to Coyote Hawk. We hope to see you on the road and if not, at least you can follow her adventures, and OURS, in this blog.

Cheers! Happy Trails! and Happy Shooting! No, not guns…cameras!! Lol.