Hondo Garage's New Thing

Been busy working 12’s this week and I just got a moment to catch up on the past few days on here...

First, and this is only my opinion Graeme, you don’t need to answer to anyone (expect your wife) about what you spend you’re very hard earned money on. I can only assume as part owner and main delivery dude you draw a salary, as you should, you can buy a Raptor, or a Blackhawk helicopter for all I care, it’s your salary.

Secondly I kind of have to laugh at the people concerned about the GFC boys having “new toys” or going on trips. A HUGE reason we (myself included) are GFC-fanboys is because they are product users and the GFC was designed, built, and evolves through real world use. We don’t wanna chain Graeme and Wiley to a desk, it’s why we like them to start with. I heard a ton of complaints about the SNAP! Treehouse because they weren’t real vehicle users and there just a company who already was a fabricator who can build campers. I’d be willing to bet they answer thier phones during business hours.... I’d also be willing to bet they haven’t sold 10% of the campers GFC has. Again this is why we like GFC. (Not saying SNAP! isn’t good, just saying I read that on TW repeatedly).

Finally Elise is just one person, who also happens to be VERY active in the overland/ Rally communities. Again this is the kind of person we want to answer questions but admittedly it can come at a cost (can’t always be available if you’re out doing stuff....)

Long story short for what it’s worth I get the frustrations. I paid in Feb and got my camper (first on the now infamous East Coast run) about 3 weeks ago. I promise you all it’s worth it. And if you have an issue GFC will make it right. Graeme has answered a question or two of mine via text (granted it did take a few days). I’d say while there customer service may not always be fast, it is excellent.

Keep the faith GFC legion, your times will all be here before you know it...

And again....

So worth the wait.

 

I think my question is the accuracy of the wait time.

I purposely purchased my camper last month so that I could pick it up in May/June.

But, as I know things change - I wonder if that time will be accurate in the long run.

 

Got my build detail email! So amped.

 

I care less about the toys; like he said his badass prospector build funded it. I care more that fanboys on Instagram get more attention than myself with a 5k hole in my jeans.There was a point where I had nearly no contact for 2 weeks and then contact once a week where I sent the same email 2-3 times without response. I know it will be worth the wait, but I have tried calling, texting, etc and can't get into contact besides email; I just started a Master's program and have a full time job where I basically babysit big V8's all day long. Needless to say I can't exactly call every waking minute. If anything I just wanted to bring attention to the customer service side so GFC can address some things moving forward. Elise did inform me that they may be making their way to Asheville, so hoping I can piggyback on the trip out East and if not then shipping will be a hoot.

 

I guess I see it differently. If I were in their shoes and had orders growing much faster than I could produce the product, I'd probably hold off the toys and trips until I got that equation figured out and the operations were a little more stable. Even more so when early customers have shelled out the full amount up front, their delivery dates pushed off 2-3x the original estimates, and seemingly pretty frustrated customers. I'm sure Pelfrey going bankrupt doesn't help.

Definitely not apples to apples, but I bet Elon Musk didn't celebrate during the beginning of Tesla.

 

I could just picture Kevin's reaction to the idea of "camping"

 

Say it louder for those in the back. I 100% agree. I submitted payment in April and my build started mid-September (#94). I have plans to pick up in November and havent been too concerned with the timeline. I have changed plans several times due to delays but thats the nature of the business and undertaking a task such as these people at GFC have. It has been awesome to follow their story, watch them grow, and see them react. I can only imagine what the future holds.

 

I paid the $5.7k in June and I also dont mind the wait. It seems like the GFC team is doing the best they can with what they have. Instead of judging them based on what they dont do, I suggest we judge them based on what they have done and continue to do. For example, I love that they reply to this thread regularly, take customer feedback into consideration, and they are taking care of all the old customers when they make minor updates to the design. It takes time to produce a quality product and even more time to build a business, so have some patience. I think companies like Amazon have us all a little spoiled (myself included). We want our orders, we want them delivered yesterday, and if theres a problem, we want 24-7 customer support. Just remeber, though, that Amazon had to start somewhere too--you dont think their fulfillment and customer service was built overnight do you? Also, you are not buying some mass produced product from China, you are buying a semi-custom, handmade camper that is designed and built in the USA. Did I mention they personally deliver it to your doorstep and install it for you? Finally, Trump's trade war is real and it has made raw materials more expensive and harder to come by.

 

Someone in my group had one of those last weekend in Kennedy Meadows and people kept stopping at our camp to check it out. It's no camper shell, but it was pretty nice.

RZ Rob

 

It might be frustrating and better communication would help alleviate that but it wouldn’t change the lead times on production. I put down a deposit before they even had a complete prototype done and paid in full before they had delivered the first production model. I fully understand the frustration you’re feeling because I was in the same boat at times. The guys have to take some time off work at some point and sleep at night. Nothing wrong with buying stuff and having fun outside of the production floor. As mentioned, they’ve hired a lot more people since starting the company and I’m willing to bet people are still putting together campers when Wiley or Graeme aren’t in the building.

 

You can almost print any color on white vinyl if you want to get custom colors too, it just gets tricky with metallics. The high end printer can pretty much print the entire color spectrum.

 

Suspension on, that was pretty much the last mod I wanted to complete before our trip out West. It looks like we are picking up the GFC in person on the "Montana" route, as long as they will do a Saturday or Sunday install. We will then camp 1 night at Mammoth springs and head to Grand Teton to do a day or 2 there (snow shoe hike, maybe wildlife tour that the wife keeps mentioning). Then its up in the air from there, maybe Craters of the moon, maybe Utah, maybe take the TAT home, who knows but time will tell.

 

That’s a damn sharp looking truck brother... that was almost EXACTLY what I was planning for my build before GFC entered the equation.

 

Thanks, trying to keep it simple and do things once this time around. Buy once, cry once. So far it has worked out, I will continue to build slowly but its making faster progress than I expected to be doing. The rear is sitting high right now because I dont have the camper weight and I have a slight low speed vibration so I am going to check my driveshaft angles but overall I am extremely pleased with the set up.

 

I wish mine sat rear end high... once I put on my GFC with my Decked system in the back, Wilco tire swing, Spare, and high-lift, filled the drawers with camping gear.... she got a pretty bad “Bro-lean” (nose up). I actually removed my tire swing and the spare that was on it (one under the truck remains) the hi-lift and a few other things and it’s perfectly level again. I think I’m gonna “bag” my truck before ExpoEast since that’ll just be part of a two week trip and I’ll want a few other things. And for the record I have what I believe are the heaviest springs you can buy for a Taco +660 from OME... I thought they’d be plenty but I’d rather be able to level it right...



Oh and for what it’s worrh these silly little levels should be a must do upgrade for anyone with a GFC. I of course can’t take credit for the idea. I believe @inv3ctiv3 had them on #1. Either way for $6-8 they made parking a breeze. Basically I pulled into a decent spot. My wife hopped out and looked at each level and I made a quick adjustment if needed. Seems simple but if you’ve ever slept on a slope it’s pretty awkward.

 

If you're in CA and want to do the wrenching we can work out something if you need OME AAL.

I use a similar level. Keep it in the cab and get out and hold it to horizontal surfaces (side/rear) of my camper/shell. Since I've got to get out anyway I just keep the level in the truck. Either way they are a must to get a level sleeping platform.

 

I have the HD dakars from OME as well, I am ok with the high rear end rake for now because I am pretty sure it will level out just fine with the GFC and other gear. I thought about pulling a leaf out but I am too lazy to pull one out just to put it right back in November.

 

Thanks for the offer I do appreciate it, unfortunately I'm about as far from Cali as can be (New York).

I'm curious though about the add-a-leaf, are you saying there's another AAL I can add? I was under the impression that I got the Heavy Rear leaf pack that had all the AAL's in there already. It's the +660lb set and I thought that was the heaviest they made... If I'm wrong I'd consider adding another leaf.... Though to be honest I think bags are a better choice overall since they're basically infinitely adjustable to changing weight. I am going to have to dig in farther of course but they seem like a solid option.

Anyone on here have any experience with bags? Again I'm not a rock crawler or desert flyer (those aren't really North East Options) General off-road and cross country travel. Looking for simplicity and durability over anything else... Though if I found a reliable in-cab adjustment system I'd probably have to own it....

Marie ( @HeadStrong Off-Road ) Got any opinions on making my HD Leaf Pack even heavier?????????? Do you guys do bags? TY.

 

Where in NY? Can't make the outdoor expo, but just got the Taco, and well, mentally have about 35K spent on accessories already (ameteur for some I'm sure). Anyway, would love to be able to see some gear first hand and it might make the deposit easier to put in with GFC. Thanks !

 

I reached out to wheelers with my pics and weight (at a constant of about 600 pounds right now in/hanging off the bed and will have an additional 400+ back there with the GFC and what not on my trip). I will let you know what they suggest too!