Hahaha. We are! I can just skip to that too. Just figured if someone ever had interest as to why I ended up where I did, there would be reasons why. I had First hand knowledge and not just opinions with a number of different set ups.
It’s been good for me to realize I’ve been all over the place too with my rigs and need to stick with one. 
Amen to that. My wife is more than happy to tell people about the number of motorcycles and trucks I’ve built up over the years only to sell them. I’m on year 6 with my Colorado and have it pretty much dialed in
Get there when you get there, I just wanted a quick peek at the back of the book…
I for one am enjoying the history of it all 
I didn’t realize you were building your own trailers. Love the symbiosis with the GFC and love the name. One of my favorite game animals to chase come fall. Hope your new endeavor is wildly successful!
Yeah, my wife has made me swear I’m sticking to this for a couple years, but I foresee it being much more than that. The ethos and community itself was a selling point to me and aligns with my passion for USA manufacturing. I missed the heyday of the forum it seems like but still cool to read and share things as new members get into their rigs, myself included.
I’m in the 2026 Pudding thread if you really want to skip a couple chapters. 
Somehow I didn’t put the two together and didn’t realize that was your truck. Now I’m really looking forward to seeing how you got there!
Like I mentioned, we went with a Harker thinking we needed the extra room and ability to access the kids easier in the night. We thought the additional tailgate annex and zippered entry would be exactly what we were looking for. We really enjoyed the Harker. I built out another bed platform for my son, the dogs took up the tailgate, my girls took the top bunk and my wife and I slept on the platform.
The Tundra took the weight well. I didn’t do anything extra with the suspension and we really enjoyed it. The quality was decent. They used similar latches to the original GFC latches and I had the same issues with them that a lot of people here had.
My two issues with this set up was that the annex was terrible in the wind. I hunt a lot in Wyoming and it was rough. I spent my trips with the lid closed because the annex would just become a balloon in the wind. I ended up taking some advice from the forum and replaced the zipper pulls and that helped quiet it down during the more mild breezes. The second one was that the range with the Harker and Tundra was really low. Typically in the 275-300 miles range. On our long trips to MT we were stopping all the time. I also wanted some more power for pulling trailers when I wanted or needed to.
We decided to keep the Tundra for my wife and I for general driving around town and moved the Harker to a Ram 2500.
The only issue was, the Ram had an 8’ bed and the Harker was a 6.5’ bed.
Enter my first more in depth fabrication effort. I will say, that was one thing I liked about the Harker construction, the steel square tubing was easier to modify. I used some angles and new tubing and welded in a new frame extension under the “overhang”.
I moved the front panel to the new frame, had some panels made to match the others, used some VHB tape, rivets, and some 3M automotive sealant and closed it up.
I also moved the platform for my son to the extension. Since it was tough for kids to get to the top bed, I also put in a little ladder so they could make their way up and down on their own.
The Harker was also my first exposure to having a built in battery and solar on my rig. I can’t believe I went so long without it. 
What a game changer.
I do think Harker’s Dirt Circuit battery and solar panel are pretty slick. They worked well for us while we had it.
You may notice that there was only one window in this set up on the sides. It was a smaller slider window. I’d always seen the awning style RV windows and wondered if they were that much better for air flow during rain events…etc.
So… I cut a hole in my camper and added another window. I moved the other one at the same time.
It was about this time certain things started to fail on the Harker. I don’t know if it was just use or build issues or what, but the latches failed, a couple seals failed. I had to re do a couple other parts and pieces to help keep it together. I added some jeep hood latches to the back for the clamps for one particular failure after a rope kept it tied down on a long trip when the factory ones failed. I was kind of proud of that one for whatever reason.
I also was intrigued by all the ingenuity here with diesel heaters…etc. I went into the deep end and built a diesel heater in an Apache box with all the insight and details provided by members here. There are some smart and talented people on here.
By now, I began to realize I have a problem with bouncing around to different rigs.
We went to California and back in an epic trip in that rig among many others. We hit it right when the Mormon crickets were migrating across Nevada and that was quite the experience. I saw the ocean for the first time… kind of wild since I was 34 at the time. My kids and wife had an absolute blast. My sister and her family tagged along. We saw Yosemite, Tahoe, and many amazing places.
We went spent a lot of nights under the stars in that rig. The memories bring a smile to my face. The kids laughter, the starry nights, the open road, and the thrill of adventure had grabbed each of our hearts and all of us were hand in hand seeking more.
After a lot of consideration, We sold the Harker and traded in the truck. We sat for a little while without a rig and tried to find out what we really wanted.
The V2 was out and had been for some time, but we decided that the kids just were still too young to not have easy access to them. At the same time, we had tent fatigue and thought, by goodness, we were going to solve that problem. As the kids got bigger, we figured we needed something bigger.
Enter the all hard sided life.
We landed on an AT Overland Aterra topper. It fit the blend of weight and function and didn’t have fabric. That said, I’ll keep this chapter short, because it was.
While it was the most comfortable rig we had with the best room, and ability to literally be in your underwear in a snow storm if you wanted to, it also was the most limiting rig we’d ever had. There were numerous “well we aren’t going to fit up that trail” discussions and turn arounds and finding easier roads. It didn’t quite allow us to reach into the depths of the mountains we were seeking. I did get that rig into some real predicaments and into places that I never thought I would either though. It was a square peg in a round hole at times but it still got is out there.
If it was a different time in our lives, I actually think we might stick with the Aterra. It has a lot of great things about it, but just wasn’t the right camper for how we need to also use our truck right now. I should have seen that from the outset maybe.
I had never quite left the forum. I checked in from time to time. I randomly started checking the classifieds and I found a heck of a deal on a new to us V2 Pro that fit our truck.
Here’s how it came to us pictured below. I actually had a transformer for my company brought back with it.
Anyway, the turbo cubbies are awesome accessories, but for a family of five with two dogs…there’s no way to make the space work for sleeping. So those got torn out first.
If you’re interested in them, they are in the classifieds, I think they may be able to be cut down to fit any size camper with a little ingenuity. They are way below cost. I’d rather someone use them than just let them sit. Let me know!
The actual build starts now.
@YetiX - alright, I’m through the story
Loving it so far!
Nice choice, another 8’ Pro in white!
Aha! Good to see another one! I’m loving it so far. Just checked out your build page. Awesome work on the heater…I’m going to have to give that some thought. Solid work.
I need a solution for air flow in the camper while driving for the dogs and while camping for whoever is sleeping downstairs… Considering cutting a window in the side panels since the front slider window in the MAX doesn’t sound like it’s going to be available for a while.
I’ve done it before when I had the Flippac and Harker, so might pull the trigger on that here before summer sets in… Research time.
It doesn’t look like many have. I’ve seen a couple builds who did. Any known issues in the long run that anyone has heard of?
I believe you’ll need to get stronger supports, like the ones for the rear panel with a window, to support the added weight, but that’s no biggie
I used this vent for the airflow issue. It opens either direction, and is easy to open from inside or outside.
I like this for driving, but thought it wouldn’t provide as much airflow when parked. I could be wrong on that for sure, but also like being able to see out the sides if I need to sleep downstairs for some reason. I really appreciate the insight @gunpup !
