Hondo Garage's New Thing

When mine failed there was no warning and with such quickness it nearly hit me.

I keep duct tape in the truck now just for this.

I basically consider the hinges a wear item now. I'm just waiting to have to do it again. I give it a year.

 

100% agree. I was not trying to blame temperature or customers but point out the flaw in material vs design as I see it (I am not an ME). It must be fixed.

Potentially useful info for anyone else that has this happen, here is my field repair:

1. Remove gas struts from door and frame. This was a pain with the wrenches I had. Place door in position, latch shut.
   
2. Duct tape door in place front and rear. Ensure wind can’t get in from the front to peel it back while driving.
3. Take 2 ratchet straps. Using the holes in the door where the gas struts used to attach, run a ratchet strap through. This holes may have sharp edges, line with copious amounts of duct tape.
4. Attach the ratchet straps on the opposite bedrails somewhere.
5. Ratchet tight.

The door is secured from the inside and tight to the frame.

Let’s be real, this has happened to many of us, it will happen to someone else.

Edit: the field repair I did avoids the plastic panel like @pilosopo posted above.

 

Plastic panel?

That's pure duct tape, haha.

I felt it best to not try and use the panel itself in the repair as the hinge dictates the vertical position of the panel on the frame. So without the hinge gravity pulls it down and the latches are useless. They're not really clamping onto the tube, just kinda pulling the panel towards the frame. On mine anyway.

I was too worried about loosing the panel at some point, like after a bump on the freeway, and possibly hurting someone so I just left it off till I was able to do the hinge replacement.

The duct tape sealed the opening because I drove with it open for one day and then worried about losing the rear hatch panel from wind hitting it causing a hinge failure. The amount of wind noise created from air rushing into the open side panel was alarming to me.

 

Hinges should not be a 12 month wear item. That is ridiculous.

I definitely agree that driving with one panel missing is a bad idea unless you cover the opening one way or another.

I just put up pics of my field repair in the tips and tricks thread. It held solid.

 

Those gas struts are crazy strong for how light the panel is.

Side panel complete hinge failure pic and rear panel partial hinge failure pic.

 

Now that yours have failed don't you agree?

The side that failed in mine was the least used side too.

I'm sure it's a combination of uv, environmental factors and usage.

Also, agree that the gas struts are crazy strong for the weight of the panel. I think they contribute some to the premature failure as they constantly out load on the hinges whether open or closed.

 

Agree. I can’t believe you or someone else went through this twice.

My side hinge that failed is the most used side. It also faces the sun where I park at work. I probably use the rear hatch most though and it is failed. I almost don’t want to open the other side now.

 

I wonder if there are some significant manufacturing problems with the provider of the hinges. Mine have had no problems being used daily in subzero temperatures and sat outside in 24 hour sunlight with no UV damage.

 

After having every hinge fail, I luckily got my GFC picked up and taken back up there on their trailer. It’s absolutely maddening to see all their production hub bub, IG contests, and pictures of others using theirs when mine has been deadlined for months. And they still say it’s user error, or blame sealant.

The struts are for sure too strong, I’ve already researched replacements and will test them when I get the thing back someday. One more hinge failure and I’ll probably leave it on the 15 fwy on the way home

 

If you do leave it make sure you burn it so no one else picks it up and gets screwed

 

The user error bit really gets me.

Like you, reading and seeing all their Instagram stuff, the claims of it being the strongest on the market etc. Just pissed me off more knowing how easily the hinge failed. If I need to use this thing with such care what's the point.

A knife of any kind will get you into these things too, it's so easy to cut the hinge at the top. My failure made me question my usage of the camper as secure storage.

The best thing about this camper is that it got my wife liking having a bed on the truck and all that opens up for us for exploring and going out. The thought of selling this thing and going for a Project M or an Alu-Cab has been crossing our minds more and more.

When we ponied up for the concept of the GFC, it was the only game in town. There are more options now.

 

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yes, very much the same for me on all these points. It will be a very interesting trip up to MT when mine is done

 

GFC should be embarrassed by yours and other duct tape repair photos. If I was in their shoes, I'd make working on a fail safe hinge fix, job #1. They're continuing to pump out units at an increasing rate with the same design flaw. Eventually the chickens will come home to roost and they'll be in deep *hit. Two years from now will bring out many more failures and photos. The fantastic order growth will be threatened unless they get this fixed.

The first fix didn't work because there were failures despite the sealant upgrade. I don't understand how the sealant could correct the weak point in the hinges which is the ~ 1 mm thickness of the hinging material where it actually folds. Most commercial toppers, that have full opening doors, have a full length metal hinge with a proper hinge pin or beefy regular hinges. GFC needs a hinge able to withstand the rough and tumble nature of overlanding and doesn't require the doors to be babied. The failures seem to be concentrated in the early units so time is a factor. The large topper companies would not allow this situation to persist both from a legal standpoint and marketing concerns.

I don't like the idea of having to carry around rolls of duct tape in anticipation of door failure. I also don't like the feeling of cruising down Interstate 90 @ 80 MPH not having confidence that the doors are fail safe.

Aside from the hinges and a few other relatively minor issues , I love my GFC and I've been treated well by the company despite some early issues. I want the company to be successful. I've been accosted many times in parking lots by individuals interested in it. I'd hate to have to inform them of the hinge issue but I don't want to lead them astray.

 

Hey, Folks.

I'm bowing out of the GFC dream. It is mainly a cost thing on my side. I ordered up a Softtopper and plan on using the bed to camp when it is wet out. The side access was a big driver for me and a canopy with windoors was too expensive for just being a heavy shell. Summer storage is non-existent.

It was neat seeing the wedge camper market develop.

I hope this hinge situation gets properly corrected soon for you folks.


Have a good one!

 

Can You order a GFC camper with the duct tape already installed? Asking for a friend.

 

There's no doubt I'd like to see a US manufacturer succeed as well.

The sealing was supposed to help with the issue because the sealing material held the hinge material more rigidly in position, allowing for more consistent alignment.

My camper originally went back for sealing because my doors had started to not seal against the space frame, which was explained to me as due to movement from the hinge material only being sandwiched between the space frame and the aluminum extrusions. The sealing was to do double duty and prevent the nuisance leaks others where experiencing and prevent the hinges from moving and affecting sealing.

This is what was explained to me.

I'm guessing the more consistent alignment was supposed to address extra loads on the hinges as well. This wasn't told to me, this is just me inferring based on what I've seen and been told.

I too felt I had excellent customer service and was treated extremely well. But I also think it was an unsustainable level as described in my post on the GFC forum. I'm still of the opinion that if my camper was one of the first to experience the failure with a sealed system, they should've been the ones to take it back, fix it, and evaluate it. As it is, I have no problems with showing what was entailed in the repair and why I think it sucks, because honestly I fully expect I'm going to have to do it again. Having to treat the panels so carefully when opening and closing, that to ensure their life I have to close them by grabbing in the middle, just flies in the face of the claims of being the strongest camper on the market.

The GFC is still the lightest solution out there though, so they'll always have that.

But they aren't the only game in town anymore either.

Also, duct tape is useful in any repair kit lol, I just carry even more as there are some big opening left by hinge failure, lol. I recommend the Gorilla tape BTW. Mine failed right before the bit of rain we got here in SoCal about 6 weeks ago, and it kept the camper nice and dry inside

 

McNett Tactical Duct Tape, Pack of 2, Green/Sand

https://www.amazon.com/McNett-Tactical-Duct-Tape-Green/dp/B008H9NJH2

Only tactical tape, lol. Gotta be as strong as the camper.

 

You right.

Teflon Tape, PTFE Tape for Roll Plumber Sealant Tape for Leak Water Pipe Thread 3/4inch x 780 inch (4 Pack/White) by CagonLife

Cagon Teflon Tape, PTFE Tape for Roll Plumber Sealant Tape for Leak Water Pipe Thread 3/4" x 780" (4 Pack/White)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GYY25T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_c51TDbK69EGTX

 

If GFC doesn't come up with a solution soon, I may start on a home brew. I have a machinist friend who may be able to construct some auxiliary hinges that you could retrofit over the plastic hinges using the T track to connect them to the extrusion. 3 per door. The old hinges would serve as gasket to prevent water intrusion. These hinges would take the load off of the old ones.