Hondo Garage's New Thing

I was just thinking about this last night... almost seems worth waiting to order a little closer to spring so you might enjoy some green on the return camping trip.

 

The gfc staff has mentioned that they can store the camper until the customer is able to pick it up.

 

I have the same sleeping bag and I was supposed to pick up this week. Number 125, but It’s looking like more delays. Anyhow, when mine arrives, I’ll try to close this bag in the tent and report back.

 

FYI, as a word of caution because some people are focusing on staying warm during the lows of winter as well as talking about storing down or synthetic bags up top. It will take longer for the downdl to re-loft and warm to it's fullest potential after stored compressed. Words from outdooroesearch and mirrored by many order companies (feathered friends, north face etc)

"It’s hard to actually “damage” the insulating properties. It’s more of an issue of efficiency. The longer it stays compressed, the longer it will take to re-loft and fully insulate.
......
Down is organic and does break down over time. Long periods of compression do accelerate this."

 

Quicker in which way? Going fast or deployment? Either way, we just like to get out together and create dust clouds, not competition.

 

If you are going to be camping in colder weather, leave the sleeping bags uncompressed in the cab. The insulation will then already have trapped warm in it. When i'm backpacking in winter, the first thing after the shelter is built, is the sleeping bag comes out of the pack and gets uncompressed to loft back up. At home all the sleeping bags are stored uncompressed.

 

So true @PNW Explorer , @VE7OSR , best just to pack it away as if you didn’t have the tent up top. Put the bags away loose in their original mesh bag they come with or something similar especially whenever using a down bag. Best to get a synthetic bag if it is going to be your designated bag for the truck as they retain loft and retain their warmth even when wet/damp. I use my synthetic army setup.(

$141 US Army Military Woodland Camouflage Camo GTX GORETEX Sleeping Bag BIVY COVER by US Government Tennier Industries GI USGI NSN 8465-01-455-6274

https://www.amazon.com/Camouflage-G...8-1&keywords=US+GI+MODULAR+SLEEP+SYSTEM+"MSS" ) Came with a bivy, a 30 bag called the ranger and a 0 degree bag(can’t remember the name) ... but they all button together making it good for -20 f weather. Although I never need both. It was an inexpensive set at around $160 back about 7 years ago. Always been my go to bag for car camping and dusty conditions since it doesn’t pack down like a down bag which I also have the 0 phantom from mountain hardware for winter camping and cold weather backpacking. Always best not to compress bags so they retain their loft and quicker to open up and hop in.

My plan is to use sleeping bag and maybe a blanket to keep moisture off it... quick and easy to put away back down in the bed.

One thing I’d like to add off topic from this subject...

I really hope they push for latches that we can close and open and possibly lock from the inside. I live up in the Eastern Sierras and majority of the days you don’t / can’t stay in cabana mode through the night because of wind and bugs and cold weather.

I love the shell I have right now because we can open and close from inside with ease plus the side window pop outwards like the gfc but also come with a sliding screen for ventilation.

Also offering a carpet insulation like offered on other shells would be nice.. mine has the carpet and adds a ton of warmth and minimizes condensation dramatically.

Being able to wake up inside and grab your breakfast supplies and coffee and setup and cook from inside when the weather is cold or really windy out is so clutch.

Sorry for my rant! Been wanting to chime in for awhile.. can’t wait to get my gfc but I’m nervous about getting rid of my current shell as it’s epic and fully water proof , insulated , and the fit/look is perfect. Might just have to save it just cause..

Can’t wait to be able to climb in close the hatches and then climb up into bed while being able to store essentiall items inside and access them without going outside.

 

Anyone have a good source for drawer slides? It looks like anything sturdy is around 200 bucks a pair. Anyone have a good source for reasonably priced ones?

 

Those who plan on using the down stairs for kids/ other people (sleeping more than 2 people).. this mattress(

$124 AirBedz Lite (PPI PV203C) Mid-Size 6'-6.5' Short Truck Bed Air Mattress (72" x 55" x 12" Inflated)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O4Z5XOA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) has been clutch for my truck so far since we dont have the gfc yet. This mattress has the cut outs over the wheel wells which fits great in my truck. When i'm solo with the dog, i prefer to use my 4'' , 4 season big agnes sleeping pad that way i can keep some gear inside for the morning duties like coffee and cooking as well as clothing.

I like the idea of utilizing all of the bed space rather than having permanent decked systems ect.(at the moment atleast..) Once the gfc is on, having the extra room in the bed of the truck with no drawers or decks will make it feel very spacious and usable for many different situations.

 

Someone may prove me wrong, but depending on the length and weight capacity you are looking for, finding slides under 200 may not be feasible. An alternative is to create your own slides using skateboard bearings. You should be able to find lots of examples with a google search, but here is one to give you an idea if you haven't seen this before:
http://paskmakes.com/2018/01/24/make-your-own-truck-bed-drawers/

 

Yep. I had skateboard slides on my last one. It was fine - but by the time I buy the bearings, square stock, and dick around with it - I'd rather just spend 200 bucks. I'm guessing I'd easily spend 100 on the bearings etc anyway.

I was just checking to see if there were any suggestions.

THanks for the quick comments. You're confirming what I was thinking.

 

Making your own is an option like @ervandew mentioned, however, after going that route myself, I personally wouldn't do it again. I spent $90 on six sets of bearings and $90 on 4 pieces of square steel tubes for my old build for two six foot long drawers. Then you add all of the bolts, washers, tnuts, and most importantly your time spent getting every bolt level and it was no longer worth it. In my new build with my GFC I am going to bite the bullet and save time by buying nice drawer sliders when I make a smaller goose gear type setup. Luckily I was able to sell my previous drawer/platform build for $550 so I made my money back, but not my time.

Disregard the crappy front of the drawer. It was for test fitting.

 

Something is drastically wrong with the Leaderboard?? Check it out.
https://gofastcampers.com/pages/leaderboard?mc_cid=92a81e2e62&mc_eid=c910915b02&utm_campaign=92a81e2e62-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_02_12_02&utm_medium=email&utm_source=In Queue&utm_term=0_a7e7362427-92a81e2e62-57331583
Hmmm...not too good. There's a lot of customer email addresses exposed.

 

Well, you can now expect to get a bunch of spam from overland equipment sales people.

 

@wileydavis
@gmacmt

 

It's fixed.

 

Leaderboard is fixed.

 

https://youtu.be/bHEjaPe3hAM

 

Thanks for posting that. That's a pretty simple solution to the dog venting issue.

 

Really digging this new leaderboard, makes it easy to see how much longer I have till I see a $5,250 charge on my credit card hahaha