Hondo Garage's New Thing

One of the owners posted they would take care of you if you experience the hinge issue. Have you tried contacting them? If so, how did that turn out? Not taking sides or trying to be a smartass.

EDIT: My GFC experience was not perfect. My gas struts were rusted from day 1 and water was leaking into the camper from the brake light cable. I contacted Mike about it twice and never heard back. I didnt make too much of a fuss about it because I do like the product overall and I am a DIY guy anyway. Its going to be hard for them to fix the little things like that from across the country without a dealer network. While I don't have much confidence in their ability or willingness to fix small issues, they do seem willing to fix major issues. It just might cost you a trip to Bozeman, though.

 

He doesn’t have a GFC, he’s just an internet troll stirring the pot. And yes GFC will work with you on a fix should you ever encounter a problem.

 

Anybody who doesn’t have their head in the sand is a hater or a troll.

You 3 deserve to be GFC testers. Enjoy! Good luck down the road.

 

“When redesigning everything doesn’t fix the problems, change your warranty coverage after the fact and send invoices.”
- GFC 2019

So they upstart as a social media marketing engine with Kickstarter to crowd source production, using said funds to create the test models which they then sold to customers, untested and unproven. They can’t FIX the design, only modify it unsuccessfully (how many “retoolings” now, even on the fabric type?) which puts them at legal risk, and changes the tide of feedback from endless ass kissing to skeptical questions and extreme liability risk, and the response is what? To talk about how expensive their business model is, change the warranty terms to adjust their liabilities and durations, and then charge their customers to “fix” their failures.

Sounds like a business plan formed on successful principles and longevity right guys? How much is that customer service worth 5 years from now?

I feel for you guys even though you’re hopelessly oblivious, you guys got the short straw from day zero and from a neutral perspective (try as you might to say it’s otherwise), it’s going to get smaller.

 

I don't like GFC but I like this argument

 

Three by my count. The sealing type and technique was changed, the front and rear bars were changed and the fabric was changed. There wasn't anything wrong with the original tent material though so I don't think that counts as a retooling to fix a problem.

 

Does anybody know where I can get some new bulb seal to re mount my camper?
Would this work?

$67 Trim-Lok Round Rubber Lid Seal – EPDM Foam Rubber Seal with BT (3M) High Strength Tape – Double-Bulb Lid Seals for Truck Beds & Caps, Truck Lids or Camper Shells – .5” Height, 1.5” Width, 25’ Length

https://www.amazon.com/Trim-Lok-Rou...ywords=double+bulb+seal&qid=1574280030&sr=8-8

 

The original fabric was too thick and the campers were having closure issues (I mean, the customers didn’t know the complex method of how to close the top..), and wasn’t this the fabric they later said was too toxic for the employees to handle? The second fabric was PU coated 600D nylon that was too thin and got pinholes, assumedly because it wasn’t meant to be folded up under a roof. It also had no fire resistant properties, in a “4 season” tent?

Granted the toxicity of the original (?) fabric may have been to the heat used, and the fumes given off being the issue. Nonetheless, unless I overlooked something, this is the third tent material.

 

I used something very similar on my non GFC camper. Worked great.

 

@T4RFTMFW

Seems you've had a lot of problems with your GFC. What number were you on the list?

 

What did they change in regards to warranty?

 

Early adopters like myself were pretty much told we'd always be supported through just about anything, hence my early camper getting taken back and updated (albeit incorrectly apparently) without having to be charged.

There's a formal written warranty now that pretty much implies that we all got special treatment when that happened and that will no longer be the case moving forward.

Updates or warranty stuff is done in Montana. Getting it up there is on your dime, whether delivering yourself or paying for pickup and drop off. Personally I think that's the biggest difference vs what was implied/described originally.

 

Ah that is interesting. Yes I am currently dealing with the warranty stuff to get my early build resealed. So far it has not been fun and I am not interested on paying money to get it shipped to and from Montana.

They won't ship spare hinges because they claim they have a better solution which is the reseal. So the only solution they are offering is a one time spare hinge, then the option to get it resealed in Montana which I have to pay shipping for. I'd rather just keep getting hinges and replacing them to save the headache.

 

Have you been to the GFC forum?

I have the same screen name there.

You can read all about it, my experiences, etc.

Could be enlightening.

But suffice to say, if you get your camper resealed, make sure to have the hinges replaced at the same time.

Don't end up in the mess mess I'm in.

 

Yes sir, i am there but a slightly different name lol.

 

Then I'm sure you've read my issues.

Best of luck to you.

 

I'm in queue to get my hinges replaced/resealed. I need to bug them again. I'm the same name over there.