Hondo Garage's New Thing

It would be great if GFC offered a backdoor awning similar to this design. It would enable keeping the backdoor open in rainstorms, provide a little more shielding from the sun and more privacy.

 

This is exactly what I wanted to hear. I'd also be camping in the dead of winter. Any more word on this? I'd love to see the additional insulation layer and even a build with a heater installed.

 

I ordered in February and at this rate I am hoping to get mine before Xmas. Better get in line.

 

I placed my order on January 2 with a deposit. I'm now paid in full. Hope to pick up in Bozman sometime in October. It would be nice to explore Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, etc., before the heavy snows come. One thing for sure, I better have a good heater. Won't have to worry about crowds though.

 

I was thinking a piece of light canvas cut to the roughly triangle shape the panels leave when open and using velcro to attach it to the underside of the panels. Make it tight in the rear and slightly looser in the front so it forms a natural sloping gutter outwards to funnel the water away.

 

Could probably use some high strength adhesive to attach the fabric. Maybe try the 9/16” double finger style to give more surface area gripping the panel once the rain starts weighing down the fabric.

 

I know one washer is cracked, the other probably is as well. I haven’t had them loosen up and have done about 1500 miles of rough dirt and gravel roads. I tend to overtighten and over secure stuff though. If one ratchet strap will work, three straps is better.

 

GFC Camp set up


Rear of GFC


GFC in the blueberries.

Ok TW, I finally got a good shakedown of my GFC and figured I'd give my $.02 on how it performed this past weekend.

First off I headed up to Moose River Plains in the Inlet/ Old Forge area of the Adirondacks, this may not be remote by Western standards but for the East Coast it's pretty far off the beaten path. There are "campsites" in the area marked with numbers but that's in. Basically a place to park a vehicle and a fire ring. Everything is free and it's about 80K acres with a couple hundred miles of fire roads and double track.

First night we rolled in after dark and found a spot close to a fire road, temps reached the mid 40's over night and we could not have been more comfortable, light sprinkle in the morning so we pulled the crappy Chinese ARB awning and cooked and made coffee under it.

Second night hit mid to low 30's, we were not uncomfortable, but it was about as chilly as I'd want to do with the gear we had on hand. That second night I deployed the Awning with complete room. The morning when we woke up we fired up the Buddy Heater in the room. Now that was awesome. Couldn't have been more comfortable. That ARB may have been made in China but I 100% loved it. No complaints at all, and the fact that the rooms snaps right on, I don't think I'd want to camp without it. Very very good upgrade.

Now for the GFC. It kept up quite warm and comfortable, the low profile helped me squeeze under a few things that a normal RTT would have required a little more of a creative solution. It's light, deploys super fast and the mattress is very very comfortable.

Now that bad, we experienced a LOT of condensation on the inside both nights, I'd attribute most of this to the fact that it was quite cold out and we had it buttoned up pretty tight. It's not a complaint as this situation is impossible to escape but it's worth noting. Both mornings we used two micro fiber cloths to dry everything out. Also it's a bit more difficult to collapse down in cold weather, but again it's new and that may be par for the course.

Overall it was by far the best camping experience my wife and I have had due to fast set up and super comfort, there is no way we (my wife) would have done those same two nights in a ground tent. No way, but in the GFC things were very comfortable.

The other thing we really enjoyed was all the operable panels, they make a huge difference it's really a super smart design. Props to GFC for that. I'll update this as I think of things as I'm back to work now. Please feel free to ask any questions.

-Yota

 

A few more pics from the trip

 

Did you have the side windows open at all? I know with mine having those cracked about two inches on each side made a big difference in condensation buildup.

 

I did yes, each of the “long side” zippers was down about 6”, and the flap was tucked down into the outside area between the screen and the rain panel. About 10 sq inches of screen was open on both sides.

It should be noted that it was not only cold but DAMP, about as damp as it could get really. Still, there was a lot of condensation but it really didn’t get on my or my wife at all due to the slope of the roof.

We slept head toward the wedge side and the area left up above our heads was super handy for storing stuff. I do kinda wish there was a mesh pocket on either side like my Mountain Hardware tent. But that may be something for the future.

 

For cabana mode in the rain, I am assuming that you're probably not hanging out on the outside of the truck. With that, I keep thinking about paracord limit straps for the gas struts. If you have the side panels set where the water is running away from the hinge, you shouldn't get water coming in the bed?

Also, if you put a short stick in the loops and turn them, you can 'tune' the tension of each. The long side of the stick would prop against the side panel or gas strut to hold it there.

Just a thought.

 

Oh man looks like a fun trip and the pics are invaluable for those still on the fence or like me, waiting for their GFC.

Is the ARB awning a definite keeper? How difficult is it to unmount? I dont think I will need it for daily driving around NYC area but definitely plan on getting it for travel.

Any interior pics worth sharing?

Thanks!

 

Ah! Sorry that it didn't work out.

The triangular panels sound like the way to go. Like you said, the challenge is attaching them to what is available. On the extreme side, adding some sealed snaps is a possibility, but that comes at the cost of holes.

Otherwise, you could bond that trim extrusion on with opening facing away from the corners? Then use another piece with fabric attached. They could the interlock with each other. It would look odd on the ends of those panels.

Final idea. Use some snaps on t rail nuts in the GFC extrusions and a more rectangular piece of fabric. It could then drape over the opening between the side panels. With a couple grommet holes in the lower corners, you could bungee these to the the side panels?

 

Excellent.

I hope it works for you.

 

PiranhaLox 9-1000-3000 Surface Mount with Universal Insert Block

https://www.amazon.com/PiranhaLox-9...F8&qid=1516429434&sr=8-3&keywords=piranha+lox

@Ralston had originally posted this up - have not seen anyone try one out yet but seems useful.

 

@YOTA 4X4 -Thanks for the review. Nice photos. YOTA 4x4 license plates.
What make of stove is that?
Do you feel that the condensation problem could be mostly solved by insulating the panels? Did you get get condensation on the inch thick honeycomb roof? That will be difficult to correct. A little wood burning heating stove would dry out the interior fast. Too bad you need a smokestack.

 

Mine are disintegrating. I need to look into a different solution that lasts longer than a couple months.

I camped Friday night at near freezing temperatures, all windows completely up, with two people and had zero condensation. Did you have super high humidity?

 

Yes humidity was darn near 100%

 

Wiley and company have put these things to a torture test, I wonder what theyre thinking on the washers and what kind of improvement they may have for that.