Hondo Garage's New Thing

You’re going to have a hard time fitting the gfc on that car!!

 

now that is a shame, make sure it doesn't get lonely once in awhile and go give it a pet or two.

 

Why?!? I'll trade you my 2003 double cab for the winter with Snugtop. You don't even have to brush the snow off.

 

I haven't daily driven my truck in years.

It's just a wheeling rig at this point, and there's no wheeling to be had here in the winter. I'll dig it out in the spring when the weather is getting nice in UT.

 

I don't daily driver mine either. I ride my bike, motorcycle, walk or take the bus to work and ride my bike around town. Truck is only for adventuring.

 

It's a little different up here with a couple dozen plus feet of snow a year.

I have zero reason to drive my truck in the winter. Especially considering it's not a very good winter vehicle to begin with.

 

Not a good winter rig? what do you drive in the winter time that is a better rig? Up here those are fighting words. Kidding, well not really I get made fun off and laughed at all the time with my lil taco, I am literally the only taco I see armoured up and ready for off roading in Northern AB, well mine is a little more then what most do here. They jack up f250 long boxes with 8" lifts and off road those here and break everything in thick sticky clay.

 

I started playing around with reflectix to insulate the bottom of the GFC. Our dogs have been getting cold down there at night, and I figure raising the temperature in the bottom a few degrees will make us warmer upstairs as well.

I cut reflectix to fit inside both side doors between the stiffeners. It’s mounted with Velcro although it’s very light and doesn’t interfere with the operation of the door so I may leave it there semi-permanently.

For the back door I intentionally oversized the insulation so it will overlap the top of the tailgate and wrap around to overlap the sides. This panel will have to be fitted after we are all in the GFC and the back is closed up, but I think that overlap will help reduce the drafts we get around the intersection of the rear door and tailgate corners.

I may do something similar for the front wall if this approach shows promise.

I’ve got next weekend to test this approach with forecast overnight lows around 20 in eastern WA.

I’m curious if anyone has tried a candle lantern as a heat source?

https://www.ucogear.com/candlelier-lantern-aluminum-c--a--std

This one claims to put out 5000btus for 9 hours, I wonder if it could help take the edge off in the temps we see here. They seem to be backordered everywhere or I would get one to test.

Also pictured here is the bungee I ran through the gfc mounts a few weeks ago. This has been a great little tool to hold items like the two square cushions (held against the cab) or a water bottle.

 

Keep in mind my 1st gen doesn't have ABS or any kind of traction control. The newer trucks certainly do better. Also I'm talking about packed snow and icy roads, not deep untracked snow. When I did DD my truck I had a dedicated set of winter tires and it did alright, but still not great.

I use to DD a '13 WRX, for which I had a set of winter tires as well, and that was hands down the best vehicle I've ever drive in the snow. Currently have an AWD S40, we'll see how that does this winter.

 

I've spent two weekends in my GFC with temps hovering in the teens. My two dogs can't be any different from each other. The German Shepherd could care less about the temps, but my boxer's lack of winter coat makes winter camping difficult. The best solution I've found thus far is to prep the GFC for bed by running a cheapo Coleman propane heater for about 20 minutes. That is enough time to get all the bedding, dog blankets, and gear inside the gfc warm enough to sustain us from 11 p.m. to sunrise.

Let us know how the reflectix works out. It helped in my last build.

 

Ive had good results with 1" XPS foam board on panels and bed sides. Couple nights in the high teens and the dogs stay toasty down below. May add continuous 2' reflectix across the panels to seal things up, and lay some cork under the bed mat for mid winter. Still figuring out the heater setup, currently have a Wave heater and it does the job, but really heats up anything nearby and I wouldn't leave it on all night. Propex seems to be the ticket, just can't justify the price quite yet.

 

Use candle lanterns to take the edge off inside snow built quinzhis for winter camping. Yes it does work, but also surrounded with 6"+ inches of snow, with probably a better insulation value than the lightly insulated GFC. Tarping off the bottom of the truck like a skirt to minimize the air exchange under the truck can make a difference as well.

 

A BedRug insulates well in addition to protecting and softening the bed. Covers leaks to keep out dust and cold too.

 

I used to have a 2006 S40 T5 6-speed manual with the sport package and it was fantastic in snow. 2006 was the last year that traction control was optional, and I didn't get it so I could drive it like a rally car. My wife now drives a 2015 S60R, and it's also really good. After we bought it she took it out to a big parking lot after a big snow to get a feel for how it was going to drive in bad weather. She came home upset that she couldn't get it to slide at all - and my wife is a nut job behind the wheel.

 

@Quadabaum truck looks tight! Just saw it on GFC’s IG story. (Whoops now I saw it on yours too!!) That EZ-awn looks pretty nice as well. Congrats and safe travels!

 

I use the single candle UCO candle lantern in my tent when I backpack in the snow. It definitely keeps the tent a little warmer, but the biggest benefit is it cuts down on the condensation dramatically.
https://www.rei.com/product/838879/uco-original-candle-lantern

 

Submitted my specs for me camper, now the excitement is getting out of hand while I await completion

 

Just got my specs email request! My truck is black and I was thinking a black GFC... But does anyone have a pic of a black truck with gray GFC? Or if I provide a pic can someone help a girl out and put a gray camper on my truck??

 

I received my spec email today as well.

Was anyone's build date different from the original date they were given at purchase? Mine was the same date.

I was hoping to see the schedule accelerated a bit due to the ramp from 5 to 10 campers per week...

 

Mine is still scheduled for the same date after receiving the email. Hoping it gets done a little sooner as well but not expecting it.