GFC Camper Q&A and Visual History

Sherpa Equipment Company makes a half rack intended for these sort of campers.

https://sherpaequipmentco.com/products/animas

 

What I like about the Wildernest that I have on my 1st Gen, packs quite small, lots of room inside when opened, one person could be reading in bed an the other making coffee or what not below, and to the untrained eye looks like a regular topper. Wish someone made something like that again, AT Habitat is kinda close however don’t care that it flips to the back. Flipping to side feels more open to me.

Have been looking for a replacement for my 3rd Gen, can’t decide. After using the Wildernest for roughly 15 years, not sure if I want a camper attached to the truck anymore. Decisions decisions…

One of our customers has a GFC looks like well built quality unit. Unsure if it is right for me though.

 

https://gofastcampers.com/blogs/pro-team/tagged/toyota+tacoma?page=4

 

I picked mine up beginning of March '22. Happy with the purchase and have about 14 days in it so far, another 8 coming up in the next 3 weeks. There was some wind noise, installing a Martin roof rack has solved that. I don't know what my milage was before the camper but avg. 18-19 from Phoenix to San D with AC full blast the other day (108 outside temp). I felt it was the best value for the money, light weight, the lead time was reasonable and made in USA.

 

We install a gasket between the truck bedrail and the bottom of the camper, but we don't do any waterproofing of the truck bed itself.

 

I do that all the time in the GFC on my trucks (the tacoma and the F350). The removeable floor is configurable, so we set it up so that the long bunk panel goes front to back. I sleep on the two squares since I get up first. I drop the two squares down to use as a couch and make coffee below while the other sleeps. It's like having a split-level loft.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ceez_2PpVtO/

 

It is still pretty tight, the beds on these Toyotas aren’t very big with to begin with. The ‘Nest had the whole bed of the truck open to move around. I ride dirt bikes and like to change into gear in the camper. Gear bag is set at the front of the bed to dig through while I change and my wife could hang out in the bed of the camper, no shuffling the pads either, sorry man that looks like a pain in the ass. The GFC is definitely a cool product, but can’t please everyone.

Out of all of the new wedge campers, which I still call Westy style since we used to own a VW Westy too. Think I like the Hiatus the best, hard sides since I like to shoulder season camp the most, and lots of room. Available rear doors, after owning the Nest for 15 years, climbing over the tailgate gets old. Unfortunately there is a two year waiting list, and I am not getting any younger. May move to a trailer instead because of all the hold ups.

Not my picture, don’t think I have any pictures of the interior. Still have the truck/Wildernest though. Sitting needing a new engine.







love how it doesn’t look like a camper when closed, (I am old) not much into the trendy tacticool look. (when did the war start on car camping start anyways, lol! ya know!) If I color coded it to the truck, couldn’t tell even more.

 

I water-proofed my bed before going to Montana. My truck was painted in Dec and many of the clips were broken by the painter during removal so I bought new bed rails (~$120) online for set. Before installing I laid in closed cell foam stuck to the rails between the inside of bed and the holes for the clips. Bought 1/2" x 1/2" so actually had to put down 1 layer and then another layer on top which I cut down slightly. Also did this under my tailgate cap. Used silicone for the various joints in the bed.
Put 1" x 3/16" foam on the bed boxes in the back.

Overall working pretty well. No leaking from up high, I have some leakage, I think from where I drilled holes in my bed for wiring. This was after driving in AZ monsoons for 3 hours of heavy rains. I watched where someone recommended using flex seal with silicone under the bed rails, bought materials but the implementation looked difficult. The foam is completely hidden, you don't see anything, and no impact to the paint under the bed rails. I am happy with the foam.

 

I wish you guys made a platform camper with a removable RTT and side panels. That would allow me to use my truck bed for work during the week. And when I want to go car camping I could simply attach the panels and RTT back to the frame. How complicated would that be to build?

 

Adding another vote for a GFC topper with a superlite on top. If that combo comes to market, I'll be the first one putting money down. Pleeeeease dont make me go with the RSI Smartcap

 

'love how it doesn’t look like a camper when closed, (I am old) not much into the trendy tacticool look. (when did the war start on car camping start anyways, lol! ya know!) If I color coded it to the truck, couldn’t tell even more.'

I feel the same way(I'm old too)! I intentionally kept my 'westy-style' as plain as possible so it doesn't scream CAMPER. No windows, fans, or racks on the outside. Now, the inside is still a work-in-progress and I'm building a sink/cabinet set-up right now. I've also carpeted the entire bed.

Some have told me mine looks like a tool box with it unpainted raw aluminum finish(AT Summit). Less attention is sometimes a good thing!

 

I thought we were talking about GFC on this thread.

 

I mentioned it just once at the very bottom of my post. Apologies if I stepped on some toes. I just enjoy reading ALL the pop-up camper threads and will occasionally post a reply if I have something somewhat relevant.

Back to your regular schedule programming

 

We are. Be cool if it came in different configurations, little tight in there…be nice if there was a Wildernest style version. The ‘Nest on my 1st Gen packs small, yet opens up to be quite roomy.

Could have it flip all the way forward like the old Flip Pacs for more room, without adding too much weight, but GFC seems to have no interest in making the interior any bigger, sooooo it is what is. Other manufacturers have bigger interiors though, AT, Hiatus, OvrLnd, Super Pacific, etc. Is quite nice to have so many options now, where in the past there was slim to none.

 

I recently found the Alu-Cab Contour Canopy that's available for pre-order and I too am looking for a reason to not purchase it.

 

Love the idea of a Topper, I'll be in line for that! Always thought that a sturdy chase frame would be the perfect platform to use as base to add & remove panels/windows/doors at will, rather than getting a one-piece that you can't configure on the fly or a softtopper that can't carry a load. Like the difference between a iPhone where you can configure the apps -vs- a Nokia that works well as long as you do it their way. I haven't found anything like that yet...RSI came close, but missed the mark on flexibility as it's 5-panels or nothing. Keep us informed!

 

What happened to the GFC Superlite?

 

Unfortunately a GFC won't fit in my current garage, but my next garage will have a taller door. You're on my list! It's really a fantastic design, simple and good looking.

 

V2 is on its way, at least from what has been hinted on IG and what I was told when I asked when I picked my camper up. Usually when they come up for sale, they sell quick.

 

THIS