FOUR WHEEL CAMPER (FWC) THREAD!!

Mine is a 2021 and I emailed overland solar directly for a super responsive and easy warranty replacement

 

https://monterey.craigslist.org/rvs/d/pacific-grove-wheel-popup-camper-tacoma/7550163591.html

 

had a good rim side camp in Moab by the Green River

 

more epic campspots

 

Epic. You're living the dream.

 

Fantastic pictures! We’re these all taken in Moab?

 

Absolutely feels like a dream!....until i return to work my desk job after the trip ends.

the post you quoted was from an area around Capitol Reef

 

Capital Reef NP was our favorite Utah park. If you haven’t already left the Hartnet road was a great, easy drive. Also the Notom/Bullfrog road through Burr trail switchbacks is amazing.

 

Having a dog keeps us from entering most national parks, but luckily in this area there's plenty of good stuff outside of the parks, as long as you're willing to deal with washboards!
We drove right by Hartnet but did enjoy Notom Bullfrog and the switchbacks!
Still shrinking my 129387324986234897 photos down to a handful to post, but stay tuned for another great place we camped not far off from Notom Bullfrog road

 

Thanks! that was why I asked, also travel with my pooch which makes most of Canyonlands NP off limits for me and my dog.

 

couple more places we camped



(yes the camper is in this picture)

 

With us having lived full-time our Four Wheel Fleet flatbed for the past two years thought I’d pass on on a tidbit on solar panels. We had our FWC dealer installed two 160 watt semi flexible solar panels made by Overland Solar. Unfortunately, the dealer installed the panels raised off the roof (to provide an air gap under the panels to prevent overheating) using aluminum Z metal but did not support the ends of the panels. Causing both of the original panels to ultimately fail.
One failed before we even began our trip. And the other failed after six months of travel while we were still in the US. Both times, the Overland Solar were great to deal with. The second replacement we even drove to their office directly in Idaho and had them replace it. That’s where they noticed two mounting failures by the FWC dealer: 2) they drilled through the edges of the panel and mounted the panel onto the Z metal with nuts and bolts. They said that water would eventually penetrate causing failure, and 2) they did not use long enough Z metal along the length of the panel so it overhung by itself two or 3 inches along the edge of the camper.
Below you is the general layout on the roof with the z metal mounted onto the factory-installed Yakima roof racks. The back one is an Overland Solar panel. Front is a 175 watt Renogy panel


Below you can see the Z metal and how it doesn’t support to the end of the panel.


So in July 2021 we shipped our truck to Europe now with two new Overland Solar panels. One of which was mounted by the Overland solar people at their office using a thin sandwich material called Dibond. The other I replaced using the FWC dealer mounting technique, (how did I know it was bad, they’re supposed to be the experts, it’s what I paid them for). It’s about an eighth of an inch thick with very fine layer of aluminum on the top and bottom with a plastic in between. It weighs about 4 pounds and is very stiff and cost about $65. The below photo shows The Dibond material as well as a failed panel #4 that has curled up at the edge.


So over the last year here in Europe, both panels have failed again, including the one that was being fully supported by the Dibond mounted onto the Z metal. So now we've had 4 panels stop functioning. So I’ve now replaced those old panels with 175 Watt panels from Renogy.

I mounted the Dibond onto the Z metal using waterproof VHB tape. VHB tape is plenty strong enough . This allows the Dibond to sit flat on the Z metal without the use of nuts or bolts as seen below.



Below is a close-up of the Z metal with me scraping off the old VHB tape


Below is the Z metal mounted onto the bottom of the Dibond



The solar panel itself is mounted onto the top of the Dibond using 1” waterproof Velcro tape. My thinking is that we haven’t had very good luck with solar panels so this way I can replace the solar panel and reattach the new one with new Velcro tape.

Below, you can see how much Velcro was used to keep the panel flat to the Dibond


Here’s one of the new Renogy panels mounted on the Dibond with Velcro. I’m holding it with the Z metal.

Hopefully we’re now ready to enter Africa next month.

 

What kind of dog bed is that? I'm looking for something to keep in the truck.

 

For Sale 2022 Tacoma dbl cab, manual, 9500 miles
Fwc swift internal mount
2” OME lift, Icon leaf pack, backwoods bumper, badland 12000 synthetic rope winch, 32 in bf k02 tires.

email rossnh@gmail.com

 

huh weird, the 160W overland solar panel i optioned from FWC had a welded Z frame that went longer than the solar panel, I ended up cutting them down.
Hope your new ones keep working though! (I've replaced mine under warranty from Overland Solar too for delamination of the panel itself, not from the mounting frame. photo of after i cut it down

$40 Portable Elevated Bed | Folding Pet Cot for Indoor, Outdoor, Traveling, Camping | Fold Up Steel Frame with Padded Cushion Canopy | Raised Travel Lounger for Large, Small, Dogs, Cats, up to 100 lb.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B082WKNKNG?smid=A3SG30K87A64CO

 

Looks like your installation was done by the FWC factory, mine was done by the f…ing dealer who did it wrong. I wonder if the OS panels fail because they flex too much in the middle due to only being supported along their edges, who knows? Love your Utah pics!

 

oh gotcha, yea that might be the difference.
With how easy the warranty replacement was with OS I'm not too bummed about the early failure, semi-rigid panels are the appropriate choice for me who can't avoid all the trees in the midwest, so glad they at least stand by their product.
i don't have any pictures but the aluminum frame from the factory i have has a couple angle aluminum straps running under the middle of the panel too. maybe 3 or 4 straps? I was unhappy with the fit and finish of the frame but structurally it was sound. Are there any FWC dealers in any of the countries you are headed to? or if FWC can just send you some photos of their frame any fabricator will be able to make something similar for you in a fairly short amount of time. I'd estimate 1-2 hours of labor+material.

 

the places we get to see and camp with a FWC still blows my mind

 

Joined the FWC club today

 

An older model with the squared door and side reflectors. Nice.