Hondo Garage's New Thing

With 30+ employees, it better be...


Didn’t they post a few months back that they now have over 30 employees? Gotta find that info. That’s impressive upscale of its actually true.

 

Not sure what the number is but they’ve definitely hired a good number. When I picked up mine in June 2018 I think they had six guys.

 

That awkward moment when a stranger stops you in the parking lot to ask if you like your GFC and can they see the interior because they just placed order #9XX and have never seen one in person and are unaware of any field issues.

I didn’t want to rain on the guys parade, but I had to tell him about my issues when he asked to see the interior. I liked mine until the doors fell off, my bolts corroded and rusty water damaged my paint. I showed him warped replacement hinges and rust stains. I am too afraid of opening a side door since my hinge failures. I told him there is a potential solution in place and hopefully all the kinks are worked out by his build.

Hoping for the best with the mobile repair service. This is their last chance to make it right.

 

Almost 1,000 orders placed? That's insane. I'd like to think one might be in my future but not if I keep hearing this bad feedback.

 

Most of the bad feedback has been from those of us in the first 100 builds.

Mine is still functional and in use every weekend despite all my complaints. Just too afraid to open a side door.

If I were in the market today, I would consider all options an may or may not end up with the same choice.

 

I'm with @Borrego Taco . I love mine despite worrying about the hinges. I like it a lot less when I'm not opening one side while waiting for a fix. But, given the options I've seen so far - I would still buy the GFC over the competition. I use it for camping a few times a year - and as a truck 365 days a year. If I wanted a fully enclosed dedicated camper I would have picked something else.

 

I'll put in a positive plug for GFC as well - both the product and the customer service. Would definitely buy one again. Everyone's experience differs obviously, but mine has been nothing but great. My buddy has an early camper (in the 30's), mine is in the low 400's. They have made a ton of improvements in the year or so since they started. I have pretty much no complaints about the camper, it's exactly what I wanted. As others have mentioned it's not intended to be a competitor of something like a luxury slide in camper. To me, it's a significant upgrade over what I had before (a Leer shell), adding a lot more comfort without sacrificing the ability to use my truck as a daily driver or adding a ton of weight. The opening side panels are also so awesome, I'll never be able to go back to a shell without that.

Beyond that, there was one minor issue with my install (it was touching the cab slightly so it squeaked), I emailed GFC to let them know and they apologized and helped me set up a time to meet up with the delivery driver. John made a stop on a scheduled install run, he was able to meet me right at my office and get the issue fixed in about an hour, free of charge. Of course I'm lucky that I live in Seattle which is a delivery hotspot, but still the fact that they're clearly willing to go out of their way to help fix my issue was impressive. I've also never had an issue getting a response to any emails I've sent to them, they've always been super helpful.

Go to any popular product on Amazon or elsewhere and there's people that will find issues with it or have problems. You don't hear from the many, many people who have great experiences - only the few that don't. As they say, haters gonna hate. Keep up the good work GFC.

 

agreed! I’m also very happy with mine and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. It’s really revolutionized the way I camp and travel.

If you look at who the “haters” are, it’s generally the vocal minority who had a stroke of bad luck with the product, or those who don’t even own one at all.

 

Anyone running Deavers in the rear? I live near them and stopped by there today to make an appointment for next week. They recommended the expedition 2, but wanted to see what everyone else is running. Picking up my GFC in about a month so wanted to get the dialed before my trip to Montana.

I should note that I will be pretty empty in the rear 70% of the time. When I go camping, Ill be adding 100-200 lbs of load

 

I promise you that the guys there know more about the U402 and leaf springs in general than anyone in this thread. Check out this thread for 7 pages of discussion if you need more use cases https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/deaver-expedition-leaf-pack-owners.501763/

 

The tough part is that the GFC basically falls in between the expedition stage 1 (0-300 lbs) and stage 2 (400-600). It weights approximately 275-300 lbs. I will be maxing it out if I went stage 1, and this is my daily driver, so the rear is empty majority of the time. They told me I could go either way. Prob going to stick with the stage 2 though so it can support when I do load the rear.

 

I run the stage III u402 but also have a rear swing out HC bumper. I would buy these again and again these have drastically improved my rig

 

Good to see a “ProTeam” launched before mobile PITA hinge repair service

Glad the priorities for the ”strongest” camper are in order. Does joining mean faster repair?

How many profile shots of broken or duct taped camper sides can we submit for the ProTeam? There are at least 10 of us, potentially many more.

Month four of being too afraid to use the side hinges is getting real old. My replaced back hinge is already warping and I’m afraid it will fail again soon. Replacement side hinge hasn’t been used.

 

Also the rusty water draining the front tube hinge is doing this to my paint. I could drill the tube so it drains, rain would still be inside the rusty tube before dumping on the paint.

Becoming disillusioned with the broken or delayed promises and support for those that got defective products.

Waiting for the inevitable post of promises to calm everyone down for a bit followed by no or minimal action, again. I hope I am wrong, but fool me once...

 

Holy shit. Man it seems like the early adopters are really getting shafted.

 

I cant speak to any issues you may be having with the GFC but I've seen pics of 3rd gens without a GFC are having that paint issue. I believe its the white and blazing blue's with the main issues on paint.

 

It is exactly where the rusty water from the hinge dumps out. Maybe it could happen with no gfc too, but it is hugely suspect. Dumping rusty water on it does not help either way.

I also have oxidation streaks down my side windows and cab I have to clean off all the time that are 100% gfc rust water.

 

Definitely feels like it at this point. Starting to loose patience.

The list of customers with a rusty tube needing replacement was compiled a long time ago and replacements promised in a couple months, then the list got lost, then the repair was deemed too complicated for a customer to do themself. It is now part of the PITA mobile service, only if enough replacement tubes are available not to affect the production floor.

Not to mention the hinge issues.

 

Some problems are to be expected when buying the first iteration of a new product. It’s a gamble we all took when putting down a deposit before the final product was designed and buying one sight unseen.

 

So I'm guessing ridding myself if the camera and not following on Instagram was a good thing?

I hope it works out for you.

That and the paint damage is rough.