Hondo Garage's New Thing

Looks like the guys at GFC are gonna be busy! I was order #12.

Maybe there’ll be a first edition badge or something for the preorders. I’m sure Wiley could fab up something cool to make them unique.

 

Man....wish I had seen this earlier. I just read through all 26 pages and fell in love with what I am seeing. This is pretty close to the perfect camper for us. Love the small details and touches too.
Oh, and #36 btw....!! Didn't take me too long to go for it.

On a side note, we have a 2 year old and 6 month old, and a 55lb dog, we've been camping a few times already with the babies and tried variations of tent/trailer etc but feel a camper style like this is best so we can customize the interior of the bed and hopefully get a little sleeping platform area for the kids....so if you have any input or want to come up with some modular ways of attaching extra "couch" cushions as a bed down below for small children....we'd love to see what you come up with.

 

Hey guys,

In Seattle for a little winter break...nice and warm here. Thanks again for the positive response and great questions. I’m still looking into the most cost effective means of shipping your new GFC Platform, weather it be directly to your home address or to a local shipping center as Graeme mentioned above. Once we have nailed down the best shipping rates, we’ll be sure to share that info

On a side note...I bought a Cardhart beanie yesterday

 

At least one of the rack options will be for 1.125” cross bars. In fact that’s what I’m running on it right now for surfboard duty

 

Can one of the options be 1 1/8" bars as well?

 

I wouldn’t know what tool to measure that size with. I’ll ask a construction worker about it

 

Make them 32mm so they match the rest of the metric stuff on the truck.

 

Yep. Numbers is hard sometimes....

 

Awesome dude!

My wife and I are going to have a family pretty soon here, been thinking really hard about sleeping kids on a bed platform 'downstairs' and parents upstairs.

 

5.1430886e-6 nautical leagues for the vintage mariner enthusiasts among us.

Wiley is doing something in california...

 

Right on! It's pretty awesome bringing your little ones to the outdoors, but it does open a whole new realm of things to consider. Sometimes it feels like all the "overland" designers are single dudes and there's nothing out there for a young family. It'll be sweet to have someone on my side finally!

We're still at a point where they are young/small enough that they will sleep with us until they are old enough to be "on their own" downstairs haha. But it seems like your platform is the perfect one for the modularity of being able to add/subtract some kind of sleeping bunk, in line with the couch that you are planning to develop.

I know you have a lot on your plate to get the prototype all worked out, but yeah....definitely keep an option like that in the back burner for us!

 

Reserved a spot on the waiting list. Now I just hope the 30+ ahead of me go quick once production starts

 

Kinda curious about what the "sides/rear up" look is like...

Very curious about the latches/locks? Are you guys making them? How quick and easy are they to open/close, and lock/unlock?

And may I start the voting for tent fabric color? Light Grey please!

 

FWIW, The warm tent color is super nice when you're inside of it.

The latches are a keyed compression lock. Super easy to use, quick to open, close and secure. We are finalizing a supplier currently, might try to bring those in house but the manufacturers do such crazy volume that the components are actually a good deal. But I think we can all appreciate little billet machined cool guy parts, so it might be something to pursue...

@inv3ctiv3 Did you guys go on the roller coaster?

 

@inv3ctiv3 What do you think about it seeing it in person? Likes, dislikes, etc?

 

So Wiley made it across the border, and he is gonna do a shoot with our good buddy drew (www.drewmartinphotos.com) which I am super stoked about. That should be going down not too long after the new year, so we should have some good updates soon.

Until then, got some photos with the new wheels and tires mounted. We chose some Method 105 Beadlocks on the new Yokohama Geolandar MT G003's. Its a 255/75/r17, so like a skinny almost 33. Looks pretty sweet.

Up with boards...



Go Fast mode



new shoes...

 

BTW, one order away from #40...

 

This one doesn't because it isn't the production fabric, it was just the tent we made as a pattern. Will be able to show how it will work once we get back from Baja though.

 

I'm trying to resist asking too many questions, as I'm sure all will be revealed soon, but ...
- Is a rear transparent window on the liftgate a planned option?
- Similarly, is a transparent window on the front wall, openable to gain access to the cab slider, also planned? Aside from visibility and cab access, such a window would be good for ventilation for dogs in the bed.
Edit: I'm thinking that the front wall could be fabric even if the sides and rear are aluminum for security. And the window could be vinyl with an opening panel like the Softopper doggie door.