hello, been looking at used gfc’s and one thing i’ve noticed is that a fair number of the early gen 1 campers seems to be aging poorly. aesthetically they look beat up, extrudes oxidizing, failing powerder coat and rust on steel space frames, especially along the under side of where tent and frame meet, rusting beef bars… you get the idea.
question is, is this more inherent to the v1’s as they were more of a prototype design? or has it just not been long enough to test long term durability in the v2’s yet?
obviously there’s climate and and how the owner treats their gear as well, but in general are those things more of a v1 issue?
i’ve sort of crossed v1’s off my buy list because of the rusting issues i’ve seen, plus the fact i live at the coast.
Not sure on long term disability but I tried to find a spot to put a magnetic light on my v2 the other day and couldn’t find steel anywhere. I’d bet the v2 is close to 99% aluminum.
So far my experience with the V2 is that if there is any issue with the camper. They offer a solution. I would imagine with the V1 you could raise these concerns if they’re present when you contact GFC to transfer the ownership of the camper. Or put in a service request once you purchase it with your unit number.
I’m sure @Thayne can offer horses mouth info when he rolls through .
My V1 still looks good, but i do store it in the winter. No external rust or any of the other issues you mentioned. The tree and brush scars are beauty marks.
I have a second hand V1 and the only issue I’ve had since installing it was the struts on the rear hatch were not holding the panel open in the winter when it was below about 40°f. GFC took care of me and shipped out some replacement struts.
There are pros and cons for either the V1 or V2 but I prefer the steel space frame on the V1 and I’m happy I found a clean one.
Good to know it’s not a universal thing with the rust. I feel like once the rust is under the powder coat it’s game over. Unless you want to pull everything apart and sand it down to bare metal etc
Wonder if it’s just an early batch that had issues with powder coating on the space frames or it’s a location issues, living near salt water.
I have a early V1 and it’s still going strong. I live in Texas and while it’s not in the rust belt my GFC sees a fair amount of time on the beach out in the salt spray. I have no issues with rust save for a couple of places on hardware (a couple of places on the struts where there is scratches and some surface rusting of mounting hardware I’ve added over time). How it looks is a direct reflection of how you take care of it. Anything over time is going to age, your car, your RV, your bike, anything. Elements take their toll, use creates scratches and imperfections. GFC has taken care of me every time I’ve had a small issue, some of them caused by me (broken zipper pull and torn rear seal), and some of them not (broken hinges, inoperative rear brake light, zipper issue on the tent). Each time the fix has been easy and minimal. I keep my panels ceramic coated when I do my truck, I keep the space frame clean, and I keep a UV protectant on the roof panel. In the 3 years I’ve owned my V1 (I am the second owner) the only degradation I’ve noticed is a bit of fading on the color of the space frame where you see it through the panels (it’s orange). I’m sure I could touch it up in time if I wanted to. Texas is BRUTAL on the UV and heat, and I’m pretty happy with how things have held up for minimal work. Remember, you’re always going to hear more from the people that are unhappy than those that are happy! (Photos are from this weekend, I did replace the tent in the camper. I had a zipper break outside of warranty and GFC did offer to fix it if I sent the tent fabric back in, but I opted to upgrade to the new tent to get the doors on both sides!)
Just picked up a v1 and completed first road trip, thanks for replies!@Tynan did you upgrade your tent? Nothing wrong with one I bought but well used, new one might be in my future.
I did! This is actually the second time. My V1 I picked up second hand, and it was an eaaaarly V1 so it had the river raft kind of fabric. I had zipper issues so GFC support took care of me with the newer V1.5 fabric in 2019. I ended up with an issue with a zipper again (This time, likely my fault) and again GFC offered to take care of me by letting me send the tent back and paying for the repair (which was SUPER reasonable BTW). I decided I wanted doors on both sides and the full zip screens, so I took advantage and upgraded through support. Super easy transaction, and they had the tent to me in about 4 weeks. It’s basically the V2 tent with snaps added to it. If you do it make sure you pay attention to their instructions, it’s not hard, but the snaps are directional, and if you don’t pay attention to that, you’ll have a bad time. Since it was my second time it took me about an hour by myself to do.
Functionally, the V1 and V2 are virtually identical. I’m glad I have a V1. I have not had any problems with my V1 except I had GFC upgrade my hinges. I feel like the steel frame would be stronger. Not sure. The V1.5 tent material is warm, waterproof, and less noisy in the wind than the lighter materials.
Out in the woods they’re identical…
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