Hondo Garage's New Thing

Speaking of mis-information...

There are Drifters all over. Several in Norcal, a few in the PNW, at least one in Canada, Colorado, I'm in Utah. The list goes on.

 

Ha, beat me to it.

 

They aren't all in SoCal and at least one of them has travelled most of the western US and Canada and another all around the US. I'm sure that even though there are fewer of them they've been in plenty of rainstorms. Additionally, a single piece design like that is obviously going to be less likely to have water leaks than our GFCs.

My personal GFC has been leak free and dust tight but it's a design with more potential to have leaks. For me that's an acceptable trade-off with the better utility of fully opening sides.

 

There’s a variety of options now for different campers and after reading some good reviews and comparisons between them, I’ve started to look into other options. Not looking into the drifter and I’m not 100% yet on which one but just thinking if I’m gonna pay 6k mine as well add a few more to really get what I want..

 

Thanks for the laugh.

 

I’ve seen some comments making it sound like 90% of them leak but I’ve been following this thread for months and it doesn’t seem like a problem outside of a couple that needed a seal fixed or people leaving the rear panel out.

There are a lot of heavier, more RV style options but only one GFC. There is a reason they are selling so many of these even with a year+ wait.

 

Won’t have it for a few more months which is why I’ve been watching all the issues closely and I haven’t seen anything that would make me want to back out.

I really like that all of the sides open and that they made it as thin and light as possible even if that means they had to make some sacrifices (seals that could leak, can’t keep as much bedding up top, remove a panel to get down etc..).

I had a RTT on a 4Runner before and I liked it but hated how much of a hassle it was to set up and close, so I started looking into other options. I decided the GFC is a good compromise between camper and RTT. The AT Summit/ Habitat and Drifter are all cool but to me they seem like a bad compromise between what the GFC is and a Van or FWC. If I wanted to go more RV style I’d do a full size truck with a FWC or a Van build out.

I get why people like the Drifter or Summit since they are pretty similar to the GFC but that was my thought process.

 

? Really? Sacrifice, where seals could leak. That’s a sacrifice? I’m sure you don’t speak for GFC, but saying that likes it an ok thing is a interesting take.

 

They’ve made a lot. So it’s ok. Errors are expected. Cut em some slack!

 

Adding seals to allow the sides to flip up makes it more likely to leak than the solid aluminum campers so yes it’s sacrifice but it comes with major advantages for me.

I said before I’ve been watching and I’ve only seen one or two seals that leaked and they just fixed one of them today. My point was that the features I like about the GFC makes it worth replacing a seal if there happens to be a problem with one.

 

A downside of the fully opening lower panels is the potential for leaks. For me the benefits outweighed the risks since I don’t have any fancy cabinets built out or plan to.

I don’t think anyone has said that....but good for you.

 

Currently going through quite through quite a downpour here in Northern California, and not a drop inside the GFC. Open or closed. It should be expected to get some water intrusion through the bed, but I've had mine for a bit over 6 months now and have had no issues whatsoever.

 

The operable side panels is one of my favorite things on the GFC. Didn't even realize how much I would enjoy it either. Came from a topper with no side access and I can say that it's a huge plus to have it now. And FWIW, mine does leak slightly between the tent and frame.





Regardless, there's lots of shit-stirring and biased opinions on both sides of the fence here and it's pretty annoying. Yes, I realize this is an internet forum and that's what you get, but hopefully we're all enjoying our campers and getting out and exploring, versus just arguing on the interwebs.

 

What about camping together and arguing over a campfire and some smoothies. Cause that’s the shit I like.

 

Ok, ya’ll dragged it out of me. I DO remember seeing water droplet(s) run down the inside of the panels occasionally after driving in the highway in rain.

To be honest that never even registered with me as a leak because i sorta expect it’s gonna happen to a degree. I’m seriously talking about droplets here though....

That was actually one of the reason my build has a set of Decked drawers. They are 1000% waterproof (as proved going through Auto car washes before I had my GFC).

The Decked holds everything I need completely dry, secure, and out of the way and actually the little spaces around where it fits to the bed are kind of like little gutters so if any water does enter it’s directed to the bed below keeping me high and dry.

 

I'd be down for that. Plus, I actually have a GFC

 

Are we talking smoothies like the fruit and protein crap at the gym or stuff with alcohol? If it’s got booze in it then I’m always up for it.

 

I've always got a blender in the drawers. And usually a bottle of something. We can skip the smoothie part, though.