Hondo Garage's New Thing

And what’s the verdict?

 

Ah shit. Thought you were just being a smartass haha. Didn’t realize those were links Thanks dude!

 

Hey Wiley,
Checks in the mail, again super stoked. Was thinking about layout and usage. Right now in the ceiling of my soon to be for sale canopy, I rigged up some elastic loops I use to put thing like fly fishing rods and light duty items. Got any ideas how to utilize the inside of the door panels for holding small items like that? Could be a Quickfist style item but don’t want to drill holes in the aluminum panel.

Thanks

 

Along those same lines, ie using the interior panel space. I was invisioning a power tank on those frame bars (I CAN still get orange Powder Coat right??) think there will be clearance for a power tank system? TY

 

A snow load, being distributed, is no problem.

 

Anything mounted to the inside of the panel would have to fit within the triangles since the panel sits 1/8" off of the tubes. On the inside of the tube frame though there are small tabs for attaching things. We plan to offer a number of different items for mounting and storage. One of the first things will be a fabric MOLLE panel so you could attach all kinds of stuff to the inside walls. These panels will feature zip-open access ports so items could also be accessed from the outside. I don't have this drawn up but it's all in my head As soon as production is underway my time will be refocused on accessory design, so expect lots of neat stuff in the near future.

 

Maybe a video of it closing too....

Did you guys ever decide whether the rear window would have the slant on all models or will the production models be upright for better use of the bed area?

 

As long as you mount to one of the brace tubes and not the perimeter tubes I think mounting a Powertank would be fine. The perimeter tubes have a gasket so you can't wrap anything around them without breaking the seal, but the inner diagonal brace tubes don't have a seal. And you bet orange tube frames are an option! Orange for the bold and forge gray for everyone else

 

Will do on the closing video.

And we did decide on the rake. So the prototype in all our photos on the long bed has 9" of forward lean at the rear. On production models this has been reduced to 6" and on the short bed models it will be 3". So none of them will be vertical but there will be less lean than shown. The reason for still having some lean besides aesthetics is that if the rear panel is vertical, you can't stand in the tent floor opening facing the rear because your feet would hit the tailgate. That's why kitchen cabinets have a toe kick inset 3". So the short bed models will have 3" of lean so that you can stand at the rearward edge of the tent floor opening and have 3" of foot clearance from the tailgate wall.

 

Audaces fortuna iuvat

“Fortune favors the bold!”

 

Again, the attention to details are awesome! Thanks for the quick reply

 

There should be no issues with that from what i saw of how the frame was constructed.

As tou said just make sure the bolt locations miss the thbing and you should be alright. Waterproofing is easy.

 

Thank you!! Will the side openings through the tube frame be opened up (relatively speaking, not actually larger) for the short bed also? The shorter top tube length should need much less of a gusset at each corner (maybe none, or just a small plate gusset) since beam deflection is proportional to length cubed. Just making sure you guys are thinking about us short bed owners

 

So does this affect the length of the sleeping platform?

 

It will have the same shape. Even with the triangulation there’s a lot of access... much more than a typical topper windoor. The bracing is less about the beam deflection and more about converting shear loads into tension and compression loads in order to keep the welded corners from cracking since we use such a thin wall tube.

 

Like a sheet of thicker aluminum. They were floppy, but also not rigid. Pretty hard to do that with any metal though unless you out ridges in it like roofing. Then you will get support. Or add in a structural steel/supports.

Regards

Steve

 

Nope. Upper tent is the same on all the lower frames. It does move the overhang back a bit though.

 

You’d be fine bolting some maxtracks to the panels. But not much more than that. The panels are plenty strong when closed but the lift struts are cantilevered And not designed to lift much more than panel weight.

 

This is likely an idea already rattling around in your head, but if not... Do you plan on making a Maxtracks mounting "kit" for the extrusion on the side of the camper? On the stationary part that stays low to the truck most likely? This would be a pretty nice option for those of us wanting to keep the Maxtracks outside and not have to drill holes? Would seem like a simple bracket to match up with the extrusion would work for a multitude of bolt on goodies.

-Yota

 

Heck even on the roof of the tent on the bars. Wouldn’t interfere at all with the function of the tent. Lot of options. I’m planning to install a 270 degree awning at some point as well..... thanks Hondo Garage and GFC for turning my new truck into a money pit haha. This is gonna be awesome! Going to mail my Check Monday.