Hondo Garage's New Thing

From their instagram feed

 

Cool..... makes me want to get IG to follow them. I wonder what else I’ve missed.

 

You don't have to get anything, I just obsessively do google searches for @gfc_usa as well as hondo garage to keep up on the latest.

One fun find was that @gfc_usa is a twitter account for "God, Family, Country - USA"

Coincidence????

 

In that picture it looks like they're working on lighting for the upper (tent) portion, i love the idea of light that's diffused in the honeycomb panel.

I've been trying to imagine where best to mount an LED pod to provide some illumination of the area under and awning mounted to the GFC. It seems maybe the best location will be in the track on the bottom portion of the tent just in front of the awning itself.

 

Just a quick update. We're in the midst of setting up the new shop. We ended up making the decision to relocate to a much larger space, so most of what we're doing right now is really boring stuff like buying paper towels and hand soap, lots of sweeping, waiting for internet service, setting up payroll for the new employees, etc. But progress is coming along. We'll post more shop photos as the rest of the factory comes on line but for now here's a photo of Fabric Town, our sew shop:



That's Tom working on finalizing the tent patterns. We just built him that giant layout table (the Cute Little Mega Table) so he's happy. And we just got the CNC fabric cutting table in the back corner up and running. Those multi-colored cushions in the tent are some samples of the fitted sheet sets we're working on. The patterns and colors of those aren't the final version, we were just testing fabric weights. To some degree the final color will depend on what flannel material we can source. Fabric isn't like metal where you can buy anything any time in any quantity. So even we won't have a lot of choice in the matter. And as time goes on I'm sure we'll offer the sheet sets in all sorts of stupid colors

Once Metal Town and Assembly Town are all set up I'll post some photos of the rest of the shop. But we're rapidly closing in on initial production. Okay, back at it.

 

You guys are awesome. Shop looks cool as h3ll. Take your time don’t let us rush you. Be faster in the long run to have it set up right once. Thank you for the update @wileydavis I’m thinking next year if i can string 3 weeks off in a row i might have to come see my campers place of birth. Very very cool.

 

Going with the plaid flannel patterns?
Coming from the FWC corner here. Even though I have a Silver Spur Finch (inside/out) I still appreciate the older fabric patterns FWC uses with nature/animals printed on them. Something cool about the nostalgia. Pretty cool you're thinking about using the flannel plaid fabrics.

 

Interior photos!!!! lol

 

No deer or elk on my flannel sheets but the buffalo plaid is kinda old school hipster cool. Be interesting to see the options that come out. Mostly i care if they’re durable and easily washable. A few weeks in them they may get kinda ripe in the summer.

If anyone has seen a Winnebago Revel they did some pretty interesting patterns on a more modern take on an “over landing” vehicle

 

They aren't built too well from what I've read. There are better options for Sprinters. A buddy of mine is way into the "van-life".

 

Hell yeah love the picture! Can’t wait to see more!

 

That is a really great pic of the GFC without fabric. An X-ray view of the space inside. I like it.

 

The LED diffused lighting is very cool in the bench-testing so far. I really dislike the execution of most modern interior lighting (LED and CF) as it's just too bright. Especially after being outside under the stars then going into your camper and feeling like you walked onto an Exxon-Mobil jobsite.

We are testing the efficacy of those solutions now, and locations to place them to find where they will be most efficient. And FWIW, the extrusion track system will prove to be an excellent solution for mounting camp lights...

Lastly, we are @GoFastCampers on twitter, though I am not really even sure why I set up an account there.

 

We are definitely doing something! We have assembled a really great team, and we are stoked to introduce them to you guys. Fortunately Bozeman is a small town where a lot of very overqualified folks move to recreate, so access to a solid talent pool is quite evident in the folks we have brought on.

As an aside, that is Wiley's proto-camper in the shop there detached from his truck. Fuel economy is virtually unchanged between having the camper on and off the truck.

 

With all the chaos, any more though to the front fairing design?

 

Thanks for the responses. Scheduled an appointment to have the valve clearance checked next week.

My estimate is that with everything included (brush guard, bikes, rack, passengers, the GFC, and gear) the truck will be loaded with about 900 to 1000lbs. I am having trouble finding an exact number for the payload capacity of my truck, but it seems that my estimate is just below. I'll definitely be doing some sort of suspension upgrade, but do you think I can get away without the frame plates? If not, what do you think a reputable welding shop would charge for the install of the plates?

 

yes you should do the frame plates if you plan on doing offroading with all that weight.

IDK how much a shop would charge but its not the hardest thing to install especially with the bed removed.

 

If anyone knows about payload and offroading first gen tacomas it is @Blackdawg.

 

It is in the development queue for sure. It will be a relatively simple project once we have the bandwidth to tackle it, and will be very straightforward for a user install if anyone orders a camper without it and wants to add at a later date.

Focusing now on setting up the shop for production, and getting the first two production units (and associated processes) completed. Accessories will then be tackled once the bigger machine is turning.

 

FTFY




That being said, my little 1st gen will be right at 5k lbs after I get the GFC on.