Normally I don’t use the phone while driving, but now with the GFC, the phone is getting much more use and I’m trying out some of the apps recommended by @pnwmountaineer . I was getting really fed up with glare, cables, and volume control, so I made a custom phone mount to solve those problems. I’ll probably print up a matching mount that permanently mounts inside the camper.
Inspired by @tbacon4758here and @MikePradohere, I installed a bungee cord paper towel holder. This would have been so great to have on my last camp. Love the simplicity of it. Will probably add a roll of toilet paper, too. (EDIT: I added TP and it was a good move) (EDIT 2: this has become one of my favorite “utilities” onboard the GFC, highly recommended!!!)
Added a small thermometer/humidity meter. There’s a great spot for things like this right inside the strut. I may end up switching this to the left side and mounting my panel light controls here later.
GAIA GPS for me, with the USFS and public lands layers. GAIA now has an Overland layer which combines most of the manual toggling before into the bits you need: USFS, BLM, UMVM maps, and their base topo map. Then it’s about pointing the rig somewhere and exploring.
iOverlander can be okay in a pinch/necessity but I find those are very hit and miss and because of its popularity, busy or just super random.
I have OnX, but don’t like it as much — great for finding trails, and subsequently, camping, but I’ve long used GAIA and find it’s level of detail really good.
A lot of spots can be sort of gleaned or approximated from small hints in social posts or YouTube videos, then going to a satellite map or GAIA to poke around.
First looks at a basic airflow analysis. I’m not an analyst myself, but this is software designed for non-analysts to explore trends and find initial direction. It’s interesting.
Went out for a trip this weekend. It was so freeing to simply park on the side of the road and make fresh coffee for two before hitting a trail. On return from the trail, it was a pleasure to cool off on the tailgate under the shade of the cabana panels. A+
I discovered a few more needs that must be addressed:
A small garbage can with a latching lid that can be secured
My rear window was covered with a piece of cloth held in by magnets and it’s a hassle
I want to put some retroreflective tape on the GFC to make it visible to headlights at night
I want some red lights in the bed so I don’t trash my night vision
I had an attempted break-in in a Dollar Tree parking lot (fortunately caught by my car alarm). I need some kind of small secured space for items like cameras and documents
Not sure how this thread isn’t getting a ridiculous amount of love, but a bunch of us in-house have been ogling over the build and all your rad R&D. Pinning this to the top of the category for a bit.
I’ve mentioned lighting a few times in this thread. This will be the lighting post. First of all, I’m an optomechanics guy by trade, so lighting is very important to me. Quality of light matters to me.
This means good color rendition - at a bare minimum, 90CRI emitters
This means dimmable - nothing worse than inappropriate levels
This means absolutely no camera artifacts or flicker
I chose a [BuckPuck driver]( BuckPuck DC LED Drivers -). “Buck” drivers reduce incoming voltage to match the LED requirements (so 14.4->12v would work). “Boost” drivers raise incoming voltage. So if you wanted to power from USB or something less than 12V, you’d need boost. This specific driver solves the flicker issues found in cheaper drivers from Amazon, and also gives me dim-to-off capabilities. There’s still a sharp knee where the LEDs turn off early, that’s unavoidable when there are integrated current limiting resistors (basically all “12V” strips). For these strips, I got the 1A model with a 5K pot and 7 pin SIP connector.
Whipped up a quick prototype enclosure. Needs work but it’s simple and looks good. A big priority for me is positive feedback from every system. In this case, I wanted the switch to be easy to find in the dark and to give very clear feedback that it was pressed. That meant a guitar pedal switch for a maximally satisfying click.
You can see that the BuckPuck really gives you a lot of flexibility with power. I’m using a Milwaukee M18 battery for prototyping, getting a couple hours of runtime at max brightness.
Nice. I think it’s good practice, generally, to try lower cost and simpler solutions first. My camp light for the first four camps was just this little lighted makeup mirror . I cut the butterfly wings off the handle, but it still has a little heart molded on it. I’d have kept using it, except that it switches itself on sometimes and kills the battery. I have good flaslights and stuff too, but the folding handle made it really convenient for hanging around the camper. Anyway, a nice, cheap, simple solution can last a long time, and teach you about what’s important. And of course, never underestimate the staying power of a temporary fix
(my simulation of an AirTab-like vortex generator)
I’d like to explore options to reduce wind noise, back pressure, and buffeting, as well as potentially see some small gas mileage gains. My restrictions are that I don’t want to make the GFC look bubbly, add a bunch of weight, or change the look too much. Let’s be real - it’s a dashingly handsome slap in the face of aerodynamic conventions and I love it that way.
From my experience and early simulations, it appears there is a high pressure zone that forms between the cab and upper portion of the bed. When I’m driving 65MPH+, I can look behind me in the cab and see small but significant fore and aft movement between the rear window and the camper window. I’d like to reduce this as much as possible. Today I was reminded that drag increases as the square of the speed- which is why we don’t feel it in city driving, but highway driving, where you should be getting your best mileage, is deeply impacted. Twice as fast - four times the drag.
I see three potential avenues of attack.
A fairing (but probably compound curvature based on the NASA results above)
(in these test sims the GFC is not accurately modeled - will have to fix that as things get more serious)
Low fidelity look at vortex generators. I don’t quite have the resolution or the model setup to evaluate them properly right now. No vortex generators VS a line of vortex generators on the trailing edge of the roof:
I put air tabs on a class c motorhome and on a travel trailer and they worked out pretty well. hard to know if the milage was improved but the handling was certainly improved
Very cool - glad to hear that personal experience. I’m enjoying all this research & simulation, but a big part of me wants to just buy an Airtab kit and go ham on it.
I woke up this morning with a new thought slapping me on the forehead. I’ve been very focused on the cab/camper area, but just look at the pictures I posted. There’s a huge, unmistakable low pressure zone behind the truck where the boundary layer of air is separating and flow is even reversing. I mean, it’s like half of what’s on screen. Seems like a better place to start, and airtabs/vortex generators are exactly the solution there.
Wanted to share a low cost hack that’s been working well for me. I had a box of these steel, stick-on tire weights. They make great add-on magnet mounts wherever you need them.
I get my magnets from KJ Magnetics. N52 grade are the strongest but not always the best value for the money. Most sellers on Amazon claim N52 but they are absolutely lying.
I used them on my rear window to hold a piece of cloth in place. I plan to make a foldup rear window cover.
. I cut the butterfly wings off the handle, but it still has a little 
heart molded on it. I’d have kept using it, except that it switches itself on sometimes and kills the battery. I have good flaslights and stuff too, but the folding handle made it really convenient for hanging around the camper. Anyway, a nice, cheap, simple solution can last a long time, and teach you about what’s important. And of course, never underestimate the staying power of a temporary fix 
