Hondo Garage's New Thing

Sleeping footprint of the GFC is 50"x 90" whereas the Drifter's is 48" x 80". GFC XL is 56" x 90". A couple would probably be more comfortable in the GFC. Better for tall people too.

 

Where is the extension stored?
No getting around that the greater overall length of the Drifter is due to the huge cab overhang.

 

Had a good night with the new room. Snow conditions turned to garbage today so we took off early.
Really made life comfortable in the rain.
The take down time and packing it up wet was kind of a pain.

 

Nice. I love when it gets all heated up in here. Can we talk about locks again?

 

No, we locked that shit up already.

 

The Drifter is just larger, no getting around that. You pay for it too. Sometimes I wonder how that long cab overhang will stand up to the test of time.
I suspect that it takes more hours to build the Drifter given all the welding points.

Since the overall roof is longer in the Drifter the apex of the tent offers less headroom if you sleep head forward because of the angle of the tent. Therefore less usable space.

 

Ok let’s argue about the size of a Tacoma bed again.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the tip. You always got the good Amazon links.

 

It’s time to get more technical. The beds are the same size so we need to determine the exact internal volumes in cubic inches.

 

I had my wife out with me in the cold (~20degrees) this week. We were comfortable but it did feel like we were near the bottom range in which the lil buddy is adequate without more insulation.

One funny issue we encountered was the latches for the roof getting frozen in, which resulted in some problem solving when it was time to head home. Winter trips for us often include driving through very heavy rains on the western slope of the cascades which leaves lots of water around to freeze when we get to the dry and cold side of the mountains.

I lubed them when we got home, and will try to remember to pop them out into the locked position next time we deploy in sub freezing temps so we can break the ice by whacking them.

 

I had my southco matches freeze while up at mt. Hood. After that freeze they all became a pain to get the key into. A few sprays of boeshield t9 brought them back to nearly better than new. Was very happy.

 

Just use a measuring cup to fill them.

 

Snowboarding right now. I’m mostly up at meadows.

 

There have been a lot of user feedback items posted here regarding regular maintenance, use in cold climates, etc. Is there a maintenance FAQ or owner's manual either available (online via GFC page or hard copy/PDF download)? Something that would include recommended maintenance schedule like a car would be helpful for those of us that have erratic schedules or may be away from home (and vehicle) for extended periods of time? It would be a lot easier from the customer service perspective compared to reading through the most recent posts on TW once more get out into the wild and people start to provide feedback. Thanks in advance!

 

PM Sent

 

I'm usually up camping around Hood area once or twice a month. Usually week days though because I work weekends.

 

Use beeswax to lubricate the zippers. Go to michaels buy a big block and carry it with you or cut it up into small pieces.

The majority of zipper lubes are beeswax or a mixture of it. I bought one block 12 years ago and used it regularly on all my diving gear zippers. Its cheap, enviro friendly and works amazingly well, also jt doesnt melt In the heat as easy. In a ounch use bertie bees lip balm.

Speaking of which, I gotta lubricate my shadow awning zipper its getting a bit stiff from All the dv dust.

 

Already sold! Sorry man.