Hondo Garage's New Thing

@YOTA 4X4 is pretty much spot on. You can’t go wrong with a GFC or Drifter. Two high quality products made by Tacoma enthusiasts for the rest of us who lack the skill to build the stuff we want. I would’ve been happy with either as well but the GFC was able to be built within my fairly limited time constraints. The advice I always give is to decide whether you’re looking for a more comfortable camper or a more utilitarian jack of all trades topper. The Drifter (in my opinion) is a better dedicated camper and it seems most of the buyers for it agree and are building them out as a comfortable truck base camp. The GFC seems to be more popular among those who travel lighter want a truck topper that gives easy access to the bed and still has an easy/comfortable sleeping arrangement. I love having easy access through the sides and use the side panels for access way more than the back since my tire carrier is in the way.

I don’t think it would be possible to close with a decent comforter and all the panels in place. It’s a tight fit with just the panels installed.

 

The GFC would be a no brainer for me if the overhang was a bit longer for a longer sleeping platform and maybe thicker so one can put some sleeping materials in there when closed. Our trucks get bad MPG anyway. I did not notice a big MPG loss with my Autohome Maggie at 13" thick. It was a streamlined tent but still bulky. So people saying if the GFC was thicker you will get a MPG loss. I do not buy that one bit if the GFC was 2-3 inches thicker there would be no significant impact to MPG than to what it is currently.

Also when I checked out a GFC in person I did not like 2 heads of the bolts on the lower front tube hanging below the tube (not flush). I think these are the bolts that the tent bolts to the tube frame.

When getting in/out of the GFC you can easily hit your head on the bottom of the bolts, ouch if that would happen...

 

Lol you’ll see....

Graeme recommends taking out the two small panels and sliding the large one to the rear to fold it down. It can be left as configured but it takes longer....

Big Agnes stuff is awesome... but unless you have to leave it up there I’d say a box in the bed if your truck will be easier.

Not that it’ll be impossible. But it’s a TIGHT fit

 

So I was thinking this morning

is there anyway to lock the GFC so someone couldn’t just walk over and pop open the panel?

Edit: Then run away with your $6,000 camper

 

I've always closed mine with all the panels in. Don't want to deal with the two loose panels in the bed.

Little bit of a trick to get all the tent fabric folded in right, but it's not bad at all.

 

Same here. Not a problem to close with all panels and cushions in. I always leave them all in.

I still haven’t tried to close it with down sleeping bags yet.

 

I’m so deep into add ons haha...Can’t this one just come standard for us haha

 

What color did you go with on your quicksand truck? Any picture you can share?

 

https://instagram.com/overlandonthefly?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=qgbrx89qn6vy

Check him out here. There’s a few pics.

 

Maybe 2-3” taller wouldn’t be a big deal to you.... but my truck is EXACTLY 81.75” tall (to top of GFC) which is barely 2” below 7 ft.... i plan on a very low pro solar setup on the roof on custom brackets but part of my goal was to stay below 7 feet. Parking garages, ferries, garages, 7 ft is a pretty normal cut off. I’d rather be an inch or two lower if possible. Of course i could always go smaller tires or smaller lift too. But 3” more wouldn’t have worked for me.... I’d rather stuff my sleeping bag and stay high speed low drag lol...

 

Good to know as I almost ordered a rack ....now I won't and as I am in line for roughly May 2019 I imagine there might be some new goodies by then!

 

Are those storage bags in the upper right store bought or custom made? Any info would be awesome. Thx

 

Same for May 2019...

So here I am just saving up more for accessories haha.

 

I've posted most of these comments before and like @YOTA 4X4 , I got crucified on the Drifter forum because they didn't like this:
Aluminum vs Steel as a Material Choice

Aluminum is an excellent material in terms of strength and weight, but terrible for fatigue. It is prone to failure when subjected to things like washboard, and this is especially true on welded connections, which the drifter has.

Basically, aluminum has a heat treatment spec on it from the mill, the drifter is using 5052 H-32, where the 5052 refers to the specific alloy, and the H-32 refers to the tempering. When the joint is welded, it basically ruins the careful tempering preparation of the material and makes it even more subject to fatigue failure. This is why baja eats welded aluminum campers, its the washboard stress on those welded joints that will cause the design to tear itself apart.

You can re-temper the material once it has been formed, which is how aluminum bicycles don't crack. That process is expensive however, it would also cost waaaay too much money.

Steel on the other hand is virtually unaffected by the weld process, and is much much better in fatigue. That is why trophy trucks and race cars use steel and chromoly chassis rather than aluminum. A properly designed steel space frame is the best balance between weight and toughness. GFC uses aluminum panels on the outside (all rivets, no welds) but they are also not a load bearing part.

Thermal

I am surprised that so little talk has come up around the issue of insulation on the vagabond, at least not that I have seen. Raw aluminum gets extremely hot in the sun, to the point where I am sure you could cook an egg on that roof. GFC chose a white roof for a reason, that is going to be your biggest thermal load, and you want to bounce as much light as possible.

Corrosion

Raw aluminum is not a long term solution. Aluminum corrodes. Roads are salty, the ocean is salty, the desert is salty. The surface will reflect that, especially with pitting. The Vagabond is raw because powder-coating and paint are expensive, and they were trying to bring down their price-point.

Galvanic corrosion (on hinges) is also something that was brought up in that thread. Galvanic corrosion is a corrosion that happens with dissimilar metals (steel fasteners in aluminum) and can completely destroy both the steel and aluminum at the interface. It can absolutely wreck a camper, and in salty environments it is a serious threat.

Wood

I believe the bed panels of the Vagabond are plywood screwed into aluminum square tubing. This, in a camper that costs more that the GFC is surprising.

In terms of their manufacturing technique, Phil and Iggy are assembling components manufactured on equipment owned by someone else, which means that expense is passed directly on to the customer. The reason their product is more expensive is because they aren't building it. The GFC product in my opinion is higher quality and they build it at the lower price point because they do so much in-house.

All that said, I think the drifter is a really nice design and I would buy one is a heart beat if the GFC didn’t exist, but, the GFC does exist and is a superior product (for my use) because it is stronger, lighter, has a lower overall height, all the sides fully open up (super useful), its fully powder coated, AND it costs less. The main con that I see with the GFC is over 200 orders and you’ll have to wait a while to get one.

 

Best summary to date in my opinion. I just saved that post number so I could reference it in the future for others that had that question.

That said this is exactly correct, and literally exactly what I said on the Drifter forum as well reguarding fatigue strength of Aluminum.

There a damn good reason that airplanes are riveted NOT welded. I have personally seen welded “formed” aluminum boat hulls fail and crack under big water conditions. The boats I ran in a past life all were riveted aluminum and while the rivets can loosen up and leak are easily repaired. Those welded hulls were a total loss.

I wasn’t aware that Iggy and Company were using wood but now that I have my GFC i can tell you the panels GFC uses are incredible. Strong and FREAKING LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! A sheet of plywood that same size alone would easily weigh 2-3X more. Maybe that’s why they didn’t make them removable. They’d be HEAVY!

I hate to sound like a Fan boy but the GFC is an amazing piece of engineering. Drifter is very nice. But I don’t feel like it has any advantages.

Oh and as stated that insulated white roof makes a huge difference. I had my camper up in the midday sun this past weekend it was about 80 out. It was very comfortable inside with only the screens down.

Obviously it’s personal preference but i do not regret one thing about my GFC.

 

Thanks YOTA for putting that up. I am sorry to the GFC community here on TW that I have not posted anything here about mine. I have minus any free time lately, and even recreating has such time constraints around it. I will be taking it to the beech at the end of this week so hopefully I can add to the discussion here, and add a few pictures. I must say that it was real fun installing the camper with Graeme, and so glad I got the white glove treatment. So far... So great!
Thanks
Morgan

 

Best summary to date in my opinion. I just saved that post number so I could reference it in the future for others that had that question.

That said this is exactly correct, and literally exactly what I said on the Drifter forum as well reguarding fatigue strength of Aluminum.

There a damn good reason that airplanes are riveted NOT welded. I have personally seen welded “formed” aluminum boat hulls fail and crack under big water conditions. The boats I ran in a past life all were riveted aluminum and while the rivets can loosen up and leak are easily repaired. Those welded hulls were a total loss.

I wasn’t aware that Iggy and Company were using wood but now that I have my GFC i can tell you the panels GFC uses are incredible. Strong and FREAKING LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! A sheet of plywood that same size alone would easily weigh 2-3X more. Maybe that’s why they didn’t make them removable. They’d be HEAVY!

I hate to sound like a Fan boy but the GFC is an amazing piece of engineering. Drifter is very nice. But I don’t feel like it has any advantages.

Oh and as stated that insulated white roof makes a huge difference. I had my camper up in the midday sun this past weekend

 

The color was one thing I was thinking about as I am going to be picking in a few months. I was thinking even having the black panels on the sides would make it hot in the CA sun.

 

By chance, can anyone upload side shots for me? I want to photoshop the GFC onto my truck to help pick a color.

 

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