Hondo Garage's New Thing

It is. There are three clamps on each side. They're designed to pull the frame down into the gasket really hard. All of the side to side movement is prevented by the tremendous amount of friction that creates. That said, those tabs on the frame were a last minute change to accommodate the hinged panel design which we weren't going to offer initially (we are now, so no worries ). So those tabs are less refined and not perfectly spaced than they will be in the customer version. If everything was perfect we'd have to stop calling it a prototype But it's definitely clamped down and not budging.

 

My tonneau (Lund Genesis) has a varying gap between the upper clamp and rail attachment. Different scenarios, but I think you will see a minor variance as the rail does flex when drawn up.

Like Wiley said, there is a lot of friction generated that will work great.

 

Curious to see how the couch sets up

 

Me too. We don’t have the bracketry designed for that yet. But the rough concept is that two supports fold down from the tube frame to make a ledge for the panels to sit on.

 

The base version gets either black, gray, or white powdercoated panels. There will be a color match option but we’re not sure what the cost for that will be yet.

The tube frame will come in either international orange or forge gray to match the tent frame. The tent frame will always be forge gray with titanium gray anodized corners. The rear grab bar is color matched to the tube frame.

As for the liner and heater options, they will work with the standard camper. We won’t have them ready for sale until the end of the coming summer anyway.

 

edit to add: Wiley beat me to it

We will probably finish that mechanism post Baja. Going to do some empirical testing on this trip to see how it should be laid out in real life.

1) Base version is powdercoated aluminum, that will likely be available as one of three colors. Black, gray or white. Each unit is custom built for the client, so colors will be chosen before we actually start manufacturing the product. Custom colors will be available as an option, with custom powder coating colors and also automotive paint matching. Both of those options will have longer lead times than standard colors, and the custom paint will be a more expensive option than custom powder.

2) Insulation liner is able to be added at a later date. The goal with that product is to create something that can be taken out or installed seasonally.

 

@inesshell


oh, and sub'd

 

I’m also hoping bikes will fit. I’d like to just put a couple fork clamps in the front bed rail.

 

Everything looks great. Very impressed.

Looking back at previous responses, I also vote for metric hardware when possible to be consistent with the rest of the truck.

How will shipping logistics work out if we can't make it to Bozeman? Shipped to a freight center? That might force parking lot install to get it home.

 

If the weight is 2-300lbs you could bring a couple friends and the install probably wouldn't be too difficult.

 

Usually items of this size are freight to a distribution facility. Once there you can either pick it up or pay for lift gate service to bring it to your location which varies based on distance from the facility.

 

edit* See @dman100 's post on the next page.

I'll see if we can get @wileydavis to pull a tape before he crosses the border. I am posting this from a coffee shop up near the Canadian border while visiting the in-laws, assuming Wiley is somewhere outside of Las Vegas right now.

Even with the bed paneling in place, the canopy is couple of inches higher than a typical topper on a 2nd and 3rd gen taco. But I don't know the number from the interior floor of the truck bed to the bottom of the floor panel off the cuff.

 

Thanks @Shellshock and @crazysccrmd (btw, what does that username mean? crazy soccer doctor?).

Another alternative option to parking lot installs and local delivery would be to find a commercial address that is willing to receive the shipment. For some folks, it might make sense to ship to a local automotive upfitter/topper installation shop. Might be able to facilitate the install and help with tying the third brake light and pulling power from the existing harness for a fee that could rival the lift gate service.

We do of course plan to make that system as simple as possible, and provide a lot of online documentation so that people can do this work themselves.

Three guys can install the complete system without disassembly, but it is an awkward load, especially if the truck is lifted. We did it in 3* weather last time which was a bit of a bother. Four guys would make easy work of it.

 

Regarding the internal height, I had asked Wiley that question a while back and I think the bottom of the frame tubes is 22" above the top of the bed rail. By definition its higher than the top of the shark fin, so quite a bit of room for clearing a normal-sized 29-er with seat dropped and front wheel removed. That's one of my must-have criteria as well.

 

Not a problem!

A deflector is planned, I think it would look pretty cool. Will likely tie into the lower extrusion of the pop top frame.

The bracing will stay behind the cab, you will just be able to see your cool powdercoated spaceframe through it. Each of the tubing components are structural, and help keep this system as lightweight and durable as possible.

The pop top frame can carry 100 pounds when being used as a camper (meaning the roof is raising up and down). It can carry 500 pounds when being used as a rack, assuming you are putting the load on crossbars or a roofrack (that we are currently designing).

The roof isn't walkable without a rack. We will have a ladder for our rooftop tent that will be available for purchase independently, which would be a good way to get up there if you have a rack to stand on.

 

hahaha no worries! There's a lot of info in this thread.

 

Not without sliding the camper back about 6” to gain access to the dzus fasteners. Then the whole front panel with the window in it can be removed. Or if you have a sliding rear just open that and clean the window from inside the cab.

Or a rag on a stick

 

Damn you guys...
Order #35