Getting my Maverick in a few short weeks (Hopefully) would love to hear from those who have the GFC on a Maverick.
General thoughts, comments, concerns any and all input is appreciated.
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hello we have one on our ecoboost Maverick. the truck is my wifeās daily driver and she loves the truck so far. she reports that by adding the camper the driving experience hasnāt changes much aside from the obvious wind noise but its not that bad. We are planning on adding a lift to the truck and also airbags to the rear springs to help with a heavy load when we go camping for a long time. feel free to ask us any questions or if your in SOCAL swing by my shop, we would be happy to show you the setup.
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Awesome, thanks for getting back to me!
We are getting a hybrid and not planning to go nearly as kitted out as you are so I hope we wont have much need for the suspension upgrades.
Any head clearance issues on the topper panels when open?
I am also considering getting an awning, but at 6ā I am a bit nervous about the height when it would be mounted/ open.
Thanks for the offer to come by and look, we are on the east coast, so not quite practical unfortunately.
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Bumping this thread in hopes there are a few more Maverick owners out there who might give thoughts. I know there are at least 8 of these int he wild based on Go Fast website, but I would venture that isnāt it.
Anyone else??
I have a few Maverick hybrids, but no GFC. The listed height of the vehicle is 68.6" so an awning seems a bit tight for anyone 6ā+.
I see the hybrid Maverick camper as being more suited to less rugged environs where youāre probably not as likely to bust out the awning because youāre off doing something else and donāt want that flying away while youāre gone. In my Winnebago the awning has been fluffed up by a number of terrible sudden gusts to the point where Iām more inclined to just reposition than bother with an awning. For example why not just get a front shade for the cabin, crack the windows, repark and do your business on the other end as needed?
Iām not the best person to give advice here since I donāt own a GFC and camp out of an RV with a bathroom and a kitchen 
Iām on the fence with the GFC (or any rooftop setup) since you lose a bit of the Maverickās advantages having the tent overhanging on top. Iām inclined to modify the āOEMā camper shell with a custom slide out piece over the tailgate and setup elevated storage for your fridge, power, etc. This would let you boondock in a less obvious way at say Walmart and would be cheaper and more customizable (like maybe the slideout gets a targa top).
The limitations on the bed in the GFC is an issue for me. If Iām splitting the difference between an RV and sleeping on the ground Iād like the bed itself to be a bit more comfortable than your typical self-inflating pad when Iām spending $9k+. For a real dirtbag $9k used to get you an entire vehicle and you could scrounge around for a free bed or go with a 3" foam topper.
Thanks for the response. I appreciate your input.
I am very curious about what advantages of the maverick you think you lose by having a GFC? I see it as quite the opposite personal so I am very intrigued to hear your thoughts and see if that shift my thinking.
I see having the tent platform on top make a truck that is relatively inadequate become much more functional. The cap increases the lockable storage space of an already small vehicle and the topper/tent allows you to easily carry much larger stuff than previously possible with the Maverick (12 foot lumber etc. Exactly as GFC says, it letās a truck be a truck and in this case kind turns the maverick into an actual truck.
From a camping perspective we are moving from a van for the last 5 years and honestly just found we didnāt need all the frills of a camper van (we never had bathroom or shower to begin with, the last thing I want is to deal with black water)
" Iām inclined to modify the āOEMā camper shell"
I am not really sure what you are referring to here? I know they sell an OEM cap for the bed at $4000 and that seems like an absolute rip off considering there are no roof rack options to it.
āThis would let you boondock in a less obvious way at say Walmart and would be cheaper and more customizable (like maybe the slideout gets a targa top).ā
I appreciate your style, but I would never boondock in a Walmart without some way of fully securing my family and I. Heck I never did it in our van, simply because I would much rather drive a bit further and make it somewhere safe, comfortable and nice, not just a parking lot.
This is purely personal preference though and I get that, I tend to be more cautious with things like this.
Last question, is that 68.6" measurement to the roof line or the antenna? I have read different opinions online. I would think even if it is the roof line, and the bottom edge of the GFC mounts are 3-4 inches above that it gets you to 73āā or so, plus with the universal mounting bracket you could gain another inch or two by mounting the awning as high as possible this now has you at roughly 74-75"
Also, I get your strategy with an RV of repositioning to get shade, but with a 6 foot tall truck in any kind of sun you arenāt gaining any functional shade and certainly no shelter from the rain. Considering most of the decent awnings can take decent wind and take minimal time to set up/tear down as long as there is decent enough head clearance itās kind of a no brainer for me and not something I would ever leave open if we werenāt at camp.
Two things I learned from the military:
#1. Laziness is the problem. (taking 30 seconds to tear down the awning may feel like a waste at the moment, but preventing the awning from breaking is well worth it)
#2. If your bed is uncomfortable, you arenāt tired enough. Go do some more cool shit until you are.
Because I own a lot of different racks and have seen many versatile racking options Iām not crazy about throwing stuff like bikes on the roof. This adds drag and reduces your vehicle efficiency vs putting them in the back. So in terms of the benefits of loading things on top I think itās marginal especially since youāre taking a $9k system and adding even more $$ to it.
I know GFC had a wind fairing or wind skid or something like that at one point which substantially reduced wind noise but I donāt see it anymore. The overhang and the inefficiency and noisiness over long distances is a concern for the hybrid since youāre presumably doing quite a bit more pavement mileage than off-road overlanding mileage. So it seems like a bit of a conflict in terms of the use case and optimizing for efficiency. Unloaded the Maverick handles incredibly well and Iāve done 90 mph in the canyon with confidence. A loaner AWD Porsche Macan didnāt feel much more stable than the Maverick. It had a great car-like feel. So my concern is that when you load it up with a noisy, heavy camper and all your gear and people it could end up compromising many of the qualities that allow it to be efficient and relatively sporty.
So maybe the GFC platform topper (or whatever they call it) would be more versatile since you could remove the tent and not always have that overhang on top.
The bed comfort concern is not about activity. Itās about value. Iām saying it would be nice at $9k to have the upgraded pad included as Iāve heard many negative accounts. I sleep just fine on a ground pad but with the tight tolerances of the GFC tent Iām slightly concerned. It would be nice to see them distributed more widely rather than require a trip to Belgrade. Thatās also a cost so for me personally (I already live in Moab, ok haha) itās just a bit harder to rationalize it.
Thanks again for the response. I always think it is so interesting how all of our perspectives can vary so widely. Others input really helps me solidify my thoughts.
I think this is just a difference of framing.
I look at the maverick hybrid as a marginally functional truck with better than normal gas mileage and limited truck functionality. I see the GFC as enhancing those truck capabilities, I am certainly not talking of putting bikes on top or anything like that (will likely use my rocky mounts swing away hitch rack for that) but talking about carrying large lumber or other things like canoe etc. which the maverick simply canāt do, but with a GFC can do very well.
Since the only other market alternative I see is the OEM topper which costs 4000 and has none of the functionality of the GFC (openings sides, load carrying up top, not to mention tent option) I see the GFC as really the only option to add some of this function right now with the tent being a bonus.
As far as optimizing efficiency, you would have the same ālossesā (fuel economy, wind noise) on a gas engine maverick so I do not see it as a zero sum game. I see it as maximizing efficiency within the confines of a given setup. Yes, you will loose fuel economy vs a hybrid with no GFC, but you would likely loose the same amount on a gas version and thus are still WAY ahead with the hybrid.
If it were a full zero sum game I would have gotten a full electric or a Prius or something that truly maximizes MPG, but everything is a balance. Certainly donāt see it as a conflict in use case as you mentioned because with the same setup on the gas equivalent truck I am looking at 20ish MPG, maybe vs 30+ on the hybrid (assuming 5-10mpg fuel loss which would be pretty stark)
I do hear you on the mattress, but I would say that it is of minor concern. If I am going to pay 4000 for any topper, that part of the cost doesnāt factor towards the mattress, then you consider what you are paying for with the tent/ camper on top the mattress is only a tiny component of the overall, not the full 8000. If I were paying 8000 for a mattress it better sing me a damn lullaby, but the reality of the economics here is you are not paying 8000 for a mattress, the mattress is a small cost associated within the 8000.
So from a math perspective I see it Kinda as a no brainer:
for 34,000 I am ending up with a truck that gets in the 30+ MPG range with a full camper and increased hauling flexibility for both people and stuff.
Iām curious if anybody with the hybrid has any mpg loss reports?
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I saw one guy over on a Maverick forum with a GFC who said it was marginal loss at best over the first couple hundred miles.
I too would love to hear more feedback on this combo in general.
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hey, sorry for going MIA. Iām 6ā9" and I have to be carful not to hit my forehead when the panels are open. as for my wife since she is shorter then me she doesnāt have to worry. We have a 6ft awning mounted and it doesnāt interfere with the doors opening. Soon we will be upgrading to a 270 degree awning so ill be coming back here to report to yāall.
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Hi all. I have a ā22 Maverick FX4 and Iām likely going to be ordering a camper soon. Those of you who have one already - how well does the camper seal up the bed? Any issues with water leaking in? Iāve seen some YouTubers mention water leaks (on other trucks) and was wondering how well the Maverick bed seals up? Any close-up photos of the rear and side seals would be awesome. Thanks!
Curious, did you ever get a 270 on your maverick?
Im picking up my gfc next week and would like to do a 270, but im worried about clearance walkimg under the awning.
If you did get one, do you know how high the bottom edge of your awning is off the ground when open?
I donāt have my Maverick anymore, but I loved that little truck and I will own another one some day. If youāre interested, I did a whole write up on an aux battery install on the Maverick forums. I changed a couple things that werenāt pictured but I made note of them in the thread. Also I make a cubby block for universally mounting stuff to that spot, as well as some other mods.
Super interested in that write up.
So far I do enjoy the Maverick, moved into it from a campervan and an old 2001 ford ranger so I am very excited at the functionality the gofast is going to add to the little truck both in terms of sleeping/replacing my van but also expanding my carying capacity and making it a slightly more functional truck as well.
So far i havenāt modified much, wired a couple 12v outlets into the bed for my compressor and fridge but would be very interested in the battery write up.
Itās a very simple install meant to be easily removable. I switched to a Victron DC/DC charger because a solar regulator was the wrong choice. The setup worked extremely well and I may still have the files I designed for the battery tray and inverter mounting tray.
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I just saw on the GFC website the camper will affect your AM/FM Radio and they will have to remove your attenna. Anyone who has a Maverick can you please let me know what the tech did with your antenna and fin? Also, what if any was the effect on your Apple car play? I have installed a stubby antenna because i thought that would be ok.
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I have a ranger which is the same antenna. I just took the removable āantennaā part off and still have the fin, it would be the same for the maverick. Donāt listen to the radio so I donāt really care. Would probably effect Sirius or whatever it is through satellite. It does not impact CarPlay at all as that is through USBā¦