I love my Camper…let me say that first. I am not posting this to whine nor complain. This post is to share information and to gather any available information as to if my discovery is common or not. I just noticed rust on nearly every GFC attachment. See pics. I realize this is not a major issue now, but am just surprised and concerned this is going to be an on-going and possibly growing issue. The beef bars were installed prior to delivery and I attached the mounts soon after arriving home. The inside mounts are also rusting from the open tube (no pics of that). No rust on the painted space frame, which I have heard of too.
Details:
V1 for Gladiator. # 986
Home is Western NC
Ready in late November 2020
Installed in Late Jan 2021
Aside from being stored outside in Mt for the couple months, the camper has not been in harsh conditions (it was at the NC coast for a week last week), parked on the second row from the beach.
It is stored in a garage when not being driven.
A week on the beach could definitely cause that much rust on exposed metal. I have had that much from just a single salty road trip. Looks like bad powdercoat to me, which unfortunately seems to be quite common with slightly older GFC stuff. I’d pull those parts and get them recoated locally. Shouldn’t be much more than $5 per part.
I don’t have my GFC yet, but I’m already anticipating any steel will need to be touched up every year. I live in Central BC Canada, so my pending camper is going to take a beating from weather and road grime.
I know my ARB awning mounts are the same, I need to touch them up every spring if I don’t want them looking rusty.
The truck was never closer that 1/3 of a mile to the beach, but I really didn’t notice this beforehand. I do plant to repaint, probably with Raptor liner I have. For now, I coated the areas with BOESHIELD T-9 for now.
I cannot offer much help with regards to preventing rust but can provide some insight if you plan to re-coat the parts or just in for future reference.
More and more parts like this are being laser cut and formed by CNC and critical steps are being skipped prior to coating application (not just GFC). It’s usually not much of a problem unless exposed to salt spray from the ocean or winter driving.
Radius sharp edges - take the time to round off all the edges and holes. This will prevent a thin and weak spot in the coating. In salt spray environments this really helps. It is a time consuming task so I would recommend DIY before bringing any parts to a coating shop.
Pay special attention to areas that are bent or formed. Certain changes occur where metal is stretched that can become weak spots below the future coating. If you do not have a sand blaster rough it up with a good 220 grit sand paper.
I live near the beach and the exact same thing is happening. I picked my camper up with three beef racks in June and there is a bunch of rust on those end caps. I plan on calling them soon as it is a warranty issue and shouldnt be happening.
looks like the powder coat failed.maybe poor metal prep but who knows…dont think using an anti rust spray would help when the corrosion is happening under the paint. i always wipe down anything new metal wise with Fluid Film. you can find the spray cans on line or at Lowes. it takes weeks to months to dry out so it protect quite well.there are rust converters but id consult with GFC first/ Rust Converter Aerosol r
Any word on this issue from GFC? I reached out with pics since I’m experiencing the same thing on my beef bar risers and the solar tray but haven’t heard back frmo them.
Has anyone heard anything from GFC support on the rust? These parts are only 6 months old and I live in LA with almost no rain or moisture. I’ve reach out to support a couple times over the past week and they haven’t responded.
Make I should become a powdercoat broker Also, if you have a place that does chainlink fences they often have a powdercoat oven and if you ask real nice they will throw in your parts.
Has anyone on here heard back about the rust and GFC replacing? I have the same issue and have been trying to get ahold of GFC for almost a month with no response.
I submitted a service request form for the weatherizing package they are sending out and mentioned the rust issue as well. I just submitted the form today, so nothing back just yet. I actually had to remove the beef rack bars because the rust has gotten so bad, I noticed little trails of staining down the side of the camper. I was able to clean it, but it looks a lot worse than when I posted a few months back. Waiting to see what GFC recommends, but I’m not opposed to getting them powder coated.
I wouldn’t call it a for sure warranty issue… having lived by the beach for many years, anything will rust (and quick).
Drop a few grand on Kings and give them a call when they get rusty… if you aren’t coating everything you own with fluid film or a similar rust-preventative you’re asking for trouble by the beach IMO
Regardless of how good a powder coat job may be, you will need to do preventive maintenance to ensure that the powder coating does not accumulate rust/corrosion over time. The majority of the customers that have reached out to us about this issue have lived near the ocean and/or had exposure to roads with salts/chemicals for the winter. We recommend treating your accessories in a rust protectant (e.g., Fluid Film, AMSOIL HDMP, Boeshield T-9).
If you have not submitted a Service Request Form, please submit one and we will get you taken care of.
So I got a quick response from GFC with a more than satisfactory solution to the problem
I should also clarify that I expect things to rust and corrode more quickly given that I live at the beach. I wasn’t knocking the product…just sharing my experience with others is all.
Silly me, I never knew such rust prevention products existed but will be sure to use them from here on out.
I’ve been totally happy with the camper and customer service has been really fast and thorough in my experience.
Also, if you have a place that does chainlink fences they often have a powdercoat oven and if you ask real nice they will throw in your parts.
