Wedge campers and off roading

Just stick on spot mirrors. Decent size, but nothing elaborate

 

I looked at these when they first came out and spoke with the owner at length, came really close to buying one. I am offroad a lot and in some off camber situations, though center of gravity was one concern, not the main one, that was not the reason I did not make the purchase. It obviously will change your center of gravity, but it is knowing your truck and how comfortable you are with your skill set. Overhanging or sideswiping branches can break mirrors, antennas and snag roof racks and the equipment that those racks hold. Take it slow, trim if legal or just pick another trail. I personally would not base your purchase on any concerns over branches as the GFC is pretty strong. They have a pic and story on GFC's website that shows a Toyota on its side after losing it in the mud. They're claim to fame is that their camper saved the truck from damage. IMO the stars lined up just right for the owner. No doubt driving skill and the higher center of gravity in that situation played a roll in the truck tipping over. “We Rolled Our Truck In Death Valley,” The True Story – GoFastCampers

 

Not even trolling, I'd worry less about rolling or snagging branches and more about parking decks/height clearance (assuming you're also lifted/run oversized tires).
You're most definitely going to raise the center of gravity. If you're not already wheeling off-camber trails that nearly tip you, I wouldn't stress this aspect. Maybe stress the more likely high speed interstate swerve maneuver to avoid an animal/car/etc. As for snagging branches, you're gonna see them before you get to this point. Take it slow and trim as necessary. If you're not equipped to chop a limb, maybe consider investing into that area. Wheeling heavily wooded areas, you're likely to come across a downed tree across the trail anyways. As for parking decks, no one ever talks about this when people install shells with racks/RTT's, because most people aren't needing to use them often. This might limit your parking options if you take your truck downtown cities for a hospital/ER visit.

 

Thanks. Can you share what was the reason you chose not to buy one? I keep wavering myself for various reasons.

 

Any time I'm off road with my GFC my bed is usually fully loaded with camping gear which I guess keeps the center of gravity way down. Certainly enough to offset the weight of the GFC.

 

My GFC has handled everything from 70mph+ dirt road bombing to technical wheeling just fine

 

Mainly it was weight, cost and mission. GFC was, when I looked, a little generous on their end as far as weight comparison between their product and a bed cap. My ARE is approx. 150 lbs. lighter than the GFC when I was looking at them. I admit I am a weight weenie when it comes to a midsize truck, not so much on my 3/4 ton diesel. You can feel every ounce it seems when driving a Tacoma. The cost vs a cap is significant, and the money would go somewhere else, i.e. my Turtleback getaway trailer. As far as use, I think that is the biggest factor. My use for the Tacoma is daily driver to camping and hunting. I am not an overlander, I do not drive, camp, wake up and drive. If I am moving often, as in scouting, I drop the tailgate and sleep in the bed or setup an easy 3-man ground tent. Camping and hunting I prefer a base camp and I wheel from there. The offroad trailer is a better investment for me and my uses. As a daily driver the extra weight of the GFC combined with my other reasons lead me to a cap to keep my gear safe and dry with less weight and cost. In the end try not to get hung up too much on center of gravity and snagging branches as you can accommodate those issues pretty easily via skill and trail selection. I would focus on what your end use would be.

 

you will have to call them and ask or fish around the net. They do not list it under specs, though they list the dimensions. I have the utmost respect for GFC and their people, great conversations and appear to have very good customer service. They always point out the GFC as being light, but do not put the weight of base models on their page that I can find. It's interesting. Also consider cost of delivery into purchase depending on where you live.

 

They will put your camper on a scale with all the factory goodies before they mount it, at least in Bozeman they did when they mounted mine. I have a long bed, so a little extra weight for the extra length, but i also have 3 beef bars, and mine came out to 297lbs.

 

I emailed them the other day and they told me 256 pounds for a 2nd gen long bed (without any accessories).

 

I have the tune outdoor m1. It's on the heavier side ~450 lbs and it hangs out further than others ~6" each side. It hangs out slightly more than the mirrors when they are tucked in, but less when they are folded out.

I am really good at knowing the width of my vehicles, but it was an adjustment to get used to. I think because it's all in the rear and not in the peripheral.

The biggest issue was that I needed to upgrade my rear springs they were slammed with the extra weight. Which made the body roll even worse when I didn't have my anti-sway bar.

I took it through some questionable off camber spots and I was white knuckling it. The kind that had me struggling to stay in the center of my seat. The truck made it. That was with mid travel suspension. Icon uca, king reservoir shocks, deaver stage 1 springs.

I went long travel / extended shocks towers in the rear with stage 2 deaver springs. That made it much more comfortable offroad. I was mobbing through sections that I wanted to take slow due to body roll before.

I recently put the front anti-sway bar back on because we're doing a cross country trip soon. It rides quite comfortably with that back in.

I think ultimately I will run total chaos +2" and take the anti-sway bar back out. I'm currently running 700 lbs springs in the front, so I might up those slightly at the same time. I know that stiffer springs aren't a replacement for an anti-sway bar, but they currently feel a bit soft when we're loaded up for adventures.

I fear most drive thrus and parking garages tho. That's probably way more my stress than the offroad parts. I am used to scratching my paint on branches, but I don't want to bump some companie's ceiling.

 

You know, that's almost exactly where I'm at. It's my daily driver and for camping I've been using a Kodiak tent, but I'm getting old enough that that is getting to be a bit of a pain to deal with solo and finding good spots to set up isn't easy (I don't use campgrounds). Popping a wedge camper would be great. However, it's a poor basecamp. I thought about a trailer, but I really don't want to pull one. That's more of a hassle off road - especially since the Taco isn't great at hauling and most popups (I want to be able to stand up) are overpriced crap and anything decent is way overpriced and/or too heavy. I have an ARE cap too and I really like it for keeping gear dry and mostly safe.

 

Thanks for the intel and the pointers!

 

Extraordinarily light for the space.