I changed the title so its searchable, btw.
Damn this is the first I’m hearing of this ! Another thing to be worried about!
I can’t believe there’s no way to close and lock the GFC from inside without hanging out the back of it… it’s a camper, so one would assume that you would be able to lock it up from the inside. The ladder would be a good idea if GFC ever got them back in stock.
I don’t think you need to worry… You just need to devise a way to close the camper so its more secure against wind than just closed with the struts.
Peace.
I picked up a ladder last year at Expo East. Added a couple of bent pieces of 2" aluminum bar stock to catch the edge of the GFC extrusion which works great. Total cost was under $50.
as far as ladders go…
someone on here used one of these
and -
All these ladders are probably made in the same factory in China. Including the one from GFC. Ha!
Peace.
2 Likes
I don’t have a picture of what I use, but hopefully with the two I post and the description it makes sense. I use a piece of 550 cord tied in the hole on the inside of the rear door and stretches from one side to the other.
I then loop the cord in the tab that the latch actually hooks to. The angles keep the cord from falling out and the cord keeps the door from opening. Took a few tries to get the length right but simple cheap and functional.
3 Likes
Very nice. Probably a lot stronger than my " junk around the house" engineering. Ha!
I did find some stiffer springs left over from another project that I didn’t find yesterday. I swapped out the springs. Kept everything else the same. Feels a lot stronger. I had to modify the new springs slightly by lengthening them.
Peace.
I’ve been looking for a ladder that has angled steps.The only one I have found that says it has the angled steps is the ikamper spare ladder. I cant tell from the pictures if they are really angled or not but it costs a bit more. https://www.ikamper.com/products/spare-ladder-2-0
1 Like
I like that. Simple. Smart. I didn’t think of that.
Peace.
Stoic demolisher’s idea has two advantages. It is quick and self storing out of the way.
I used a 4’ or 5’ piece of 1/8" elastic Shock cord.
2 Likes
Ive been following this thread and trying to figure out if this mod is needed. I just got back from a trip that was super windy/rainy (a huge branch off of an old cottonwood broke in the wind) and things were fine with the back hatch just pulled closed. The side panels could not do that, but the back is ok.
I guess my bigger concern is (the extremely unlikely chance of) getting locked in there by some bozo while in stealth mode (camper not popped up).
Thoughts?
1 Like
btw, in this storm, the camper was deployed and it did just fine…I had the back hatch closed for my pup.
You could put something on the strike plate to prevent the latch from engaging.
1 Like
I really like this solution. I was using a couple loops tied off to the same holes which i’d secure with an s-biner on each side. However that was mildly annoying to clip and unclip. I just replaced those with a long length of shock cord and while it’s still a little cumbersome to pull the cord into the slots, the ability to just push down on the cord on each side to release it is much more convenient. Also my little loops would sometimes flip down and get stuck under the seal when closing my rear panel, but this shock cord stays out of the way nicely.
I agree. Stoic’s solution is pretty perfect. I didn’t have shock cord laying around, but I know what I’ll do if my junk spring contraption fails or proves not strong enough…
Peace.
Ervandrew try using two adjacent fingers spread about 1" - 2" apart and push or pull the shock cord between the fingers into the slot. With a little practice it’s really easy to put the cord in the slot.
Bs2000, thanks for posting a clearer picture of what I was trying to describe.
I’d been trying to figure out a good way to hold the rear door when camping. Your post was like a light bulb lite in my little brain. I just posted the pictures so others could use it if they wish.