Hondo Garage's New Thing

Hi all,

I apologize for having gone dark the last couple of weeks. Between expo and building and delivering campers it's definitely been busy. We have actually hired a person to help manage/triage the hundreds of emails we get each week. Graeme will be back in town tomorrow and we'll be organizing the build queue and sending out fulfillment estimates based on our current production rate of 5 units/week. If you're in the first batch of 50 and haven't yet gotten your GFC, then you can expect to receive an email on Wednesday. The biggest hurdle for us in this regard is that we had orders coming in from a number of different channels (web/mail/phone/and even folks stopping by the shop and leaving notes). Had we known the onslaught of orders we'd get we would have built out some infrastructure to handle that in an orderly fashion. Hindsight. But now that Expo is over, our number two priority behind building campers faster is being more communicative.

Speaking of Expo, the show went really well and people seemed really stoked on the product.

And for you 1st gen drivers, there's one coming up in the build queue real soon. As in I'm machining the weld fixtures for it this week. We haven't forgotten about you. We're just building new truck models as they arrive in the list.

I'll try to jump in here at least once or twice a week from now on to answer any design/feature related questions.

 

I wish. A Baja trip sounds really good right about now. Although to tell the truth, I am really enjoying getting the shop up and into production. There's something very satisfying to see it all come together. Even with the constant need to make it all happen faster

 

@wileydavis

Does first 50, include all models? XL included?

 

That's going to be a Graeme question since I'm not 100% sure how he's been scheduling those. I can tell you that I just placed a big order for material to make a whole bunch of XL units though. But how many fall into that first 50 I can't say. We'll be updating everyone on the list this coming week, but we're aiming to get the first 50 unfulfilled customers updated by Wednesday with the remaining customers updated later in the week if that makes sense.

 

So with that production # I’m guessing mine (#150 via email receipt) will be done December / January (website mentioned September while ordering)

 

Production rates will increase. That's just what we're at right now and we have a lot of low hanging fruit left to speed things up.

 

Thanks for the update @wileydavis. Glad to hear the show went well. Keep on keepin' on!

 

Hey all,
I’ve ordered my GFC (#163)...really excited!! I currently have an 07 TRD sport and am about to order an ‘18 TRD OR DCLB. I am wondering about the OEM tonneau cover and if it will interfere with the mounting locations of the GFC? I want to have a tonneau cover for when I don’t have the camper on the truck (Planning to build a hoist in the garage to remove and store the GFC when not in use).
Knowing that it’s much simpler to order the cover with the truck versus installing after, does anyone know if the pin locations on the side rail for the OEM tonneau cover will interfere with the GFC mounting locations on a 3rd gen long bed?
Thank you,
Dave

 

Can any one comment on the vent fan performance / operation? Considering getting one for hot humid days. Could it be used to exhaust air/condensation when cold weather camping?

 

The graphics on the doors (or lack there of) look different from others. Was that a special request or did GFC make a change?

 

We weren't sure what the plans for Bivouac Coffee branding was so we left it blank. We have switched to sending them out with a simpler non-stripe logo like the one shown here on my truck:

 

Hey guys,
We originally had both. We decided to forgo the fan, and just have the lighting system. We have not hooked any of it up because it is going directly into our auxiliary solar system which is not installed yet. However, it looks incredible.

We decided to forgo the fan as it sounds like it was mostly designed as a condensation fan. We are going to use the USB power to run some fans in the top as we need. If we decide we want fans, we will install them at a later time.

I know a lot of people are concerned about dog ventilation. Graeme has come up with a pretty good solution, but sounds like they have to test it a bit more before they push it to the general ownership.

 

Yep our graphics are going on today. As you can see, our entire truck is debadged in those photos in preparation for custom vinyl . We are going to leave room for GFC branding, but need to put it on after ours goes on. Thanks @wileydavis !

 

The fan is solar powered and operates only when its in direct sunlight. There is no "battery" therefore it can't be used otherwise. So for those hot nights, if you want something to create some airflow, this is not it. Wish I'd known this before ordering.

 

Bummer to hear that, but thank you for the information! Hope you're enjoying everything else on the GFC

 

@wileydavis is there going to be an option for a fantastic fan? Something along those lines? It’s seems like ventilation is mighty important to most on here... perhaps this option should be explorered ASAP?

 

I spoke to Graeme about this. Sounds like they are exploring forced air fan options but the limiting factor is space inside the top. The window placement was intentionally designed for optimal passive ventilation. I also can attest to the fact that the insulative roof is very effective. When we did the install it was 85 deg in the sun, and under the top it was significantly cooler. In comparison to other fiberglass toppers that become an oven in the summer, it is very impressive.

 

The issue with the fantastic fan is that it sticks too far into the interior. We are working on our own vent fan that will be very low profile and still move enough air to be more than just a ventilator. It's several months way though, but will be retrofittable. But to be honest, the tall peak, vented edges, and the window layout all work together to make the tent passively vent really well. This is especially true when a floor panel is out and the lower sides are cracked open. The chimney effect will expel a lot of warm air. It's also worth noting that the side window design allows you to keep the side windows open even in a rain without soaking your interior. A fan for hot and humid conditions is really only effective if it moves enough air over your skin to provide some evaporative cooling sensation. A fan won't help the interior humidity if all it's doing is sucking in more hot humid air. But for most conditions where a fan would typically help (like in a van or smaller tent space and dry exterior weather) the GFC passively vents well enough to negate any need for a fan. We're also toying with a battery powered fan that velcros to the window to provide airflow over the skin for muggy nights.

 

Glad to have spoken with you guys at expo and letting me pick your brains. It was nice seeing the product in person and others I was interested in, might send you a few questions as my decision process narrows on a direction I will be going.

 

@wileydavis I know it's been asked before, but with no definite answer (yes/no), are you guys any longer investigating anything like the following for the large window?


Also, any idea if there will be the capability to add T-Nuts to the AL-channel on the fore and aft pieces (not just the sides)? Not sure how that would work with the end structure.