Hey GFC Community - Just picked up my GFC a week or so ago. Spent a week driving home through the Beartooths, Yellowstone, and the Tetons camping the whole way. My wife and I love it so far!
I have a list of a few noob questions for the community:
1 - Roof weight limit - can one stand on the roof? I’ve seen some pics of people standing on the roof of their GFC, when closed of course. Is this safe to do? I am a photographer, and it would be sweet to stand up there to take some photos occasionally. I weigh ~210lbs.
2 - Washing the GFC. I’m assuming it’s ok to just spray down the whole camper? I don’t see why that would be a problem.
3 - Rear window tint: Anybody do this yourself? If so, recommendations on tint to buy? I don’t think it’ll be very hard to tint.
4 - T-track on interior roof - how do y’all use this? It’d be cool to put some kind of small d-ring’s along this track on the inside to hang lights, fan’s, etc, BUT, i’m worried about anything metal and sharp hurting the tent fabric
I think that’s it. Here’s a couple pics of my truck with the GFC!
I don’t believe the roof itself will take the weight. It’s a light honeycomb not designed to be load bearing. The accessory beef bars probably will and perhaps a mod to put a platform on them could work.
Ive taken mine through the car wash several times without issue.
So @KCKC is right, do NOT stand on the roof even when closed. It is not designed to support that weight and will delaminate and cause damage. If you want to stand on the roof you have to build a rack or get beef bars to stand on.
Yeah wash to hearts content dude! Heck if you don’t have the inside built out you can spray the shit out of that too!
I used the t-track to mount some small d-rings and have a clothes line of sorts going across. I also have cable mounts bolted in there for my light wiring.
Cool, thanks for the answers. I think I’ll mount up some small d rings on the interior t track in the bed area to use as hangers, and maybe a clothes line setup - I like that idea. Do you have a picture?
Ya I figured it wouldn’t be good to stand on, just curious what people thought. I’m not getting beef bars, instead I ordered some YakMounts from J Edgar designs to mount up my existing Yakima stuff, which I have a lot off.
I have already hosed out my bed after this recent trip - wasn’t worried about getting that wet. I don’t have any fancy bed build outs, that’s not my style. Just a simple plywood platform to help with gear organization and completely removable for when I need to use the truck as a truck.
I would think when washing the exterior, you might want to go easy when pressure washing the top, where the tent closes, to prevent forcing a bunch of moisture into where the tent is (in which case you could just pop open the top and let it dry)
Yeah you probably shouldn’t stand up there but it is possible. I have beef bars and the other day I was trimming some trees and needed some extra height so I parked under the tree and climbed on top. I had one foot on a beef bar and the other one had a little bit of weight on the honeycomb roof. I did my best to not put full weight on it though as you can feel it flex. I’ve sat on top of it as well so it can handle some weight but if you’re looking to stand up there just to take pictures with full weight on it not a good idea. That’s what’s nice about the beef bars is they’re wide enough to put a foot on where a round bar I don’t think so
I’ll try to snap a picture, but I kneeled on the roof to get some tie down straps on for the kids kayak. The weight of my knee caused the roof to flex to point where now it’s delaminated and will likely need to replace the roof at some point. It looks like it’s getting worse.
So, from experience, unless you live very close to GFC and are willing to pay for a new roof. I strongly suggest you don’t even think about it.
Really? you just aren’t having any luck with your campers. I always thought they said don’t stand on the roof because it might pop out of the channel in the extrusion. then wouldn’t delamination also happen the honeycomb inside the camper?
It’s funny - GFC just posted a video on their Instagram of one of the guys standing on the roof of the new topper, and jumping off. I was under the impression the roof of the new topper was the same material as the roof of the camper? It must be different/reinforced.
Anyway, getting away from the roof discussion, I have another question: What do y’all lubricate your locks with? I’ve read stories of them seizing up and freezing in the winter, and they suggested lubricating them periodically at my install. What are y’all using? Some kind of silicon spray lubricant?
T9 - Bio Shield is what they suggest and should’ve told you during your install. But if you’re like most of us, out of excitement all you heard was ‘Here’s you new camper’
Realistically, you can use any graphite based lubricant. Just avoid attractant lubes, like lithium grease, WD-40 ect…unless it’s already fucked.
Then check out the frozen locks thread here:
These are a great solution to stopping the locks from freezing, because it SUCKS when you can’t get your ski gear out because the rear latch is caked with frozen road shit. @jedgar offers a solution as well, which is what I have, but you have to 3d print them yourself or beg and plead with Josh to do it LOL
last winter I had the redneck inner tube covers over my locks and that kept them clear of ice 100% of the time. this winter I will be using those nice Sewverlander covers. Can’t wait for the snow and ice fishing. here fishy fishy fishy!
As everyone is suggesting. Not standing on it is correct. But you could have a plywood piece and that would help distribute the weight. A rack would be the best option for sure!
Whoa….interesting. Probably overkill for me, I don’t want a rack that huge.
Not being able to stand up there isn’t a big deal, just thought I’d ask. I’m not adding a huge rack like that just to stand on it, or Beef Bars (not a huge fan of them)
I’m a diehard Yakima fan. Just got my YakMounts from Jedgar designs and got them installed on Friday. Super happy with em so far, and I can use all my existing Yakima stuff now.
Some pics from a quick weekend solo shutter buggin adventure in the West Desert, just got back. Man, was it dusty as hell out there. I need to seal up around my tailgate a little better.
