And the Bestop Sunrider fits with the GFC.
Sorry, just still excited it fits. Being able to remove the jeep top checks boxes, even if it is just the front half.
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Personally I like them both, I believe they are both great produce at the end of the day & the consumer is the ultimate winner. I like the sleek design of the GFC V2 a bit more and I like the well throughout interior design of the SP a bit more. SP says there’s is 4 season and V2 doesn’t. They both have full bed access. I do like the Molly inserts for SP and that you can leave a buddy heater below in on cold nights. For the V2 I like it’s lighter weight. I have more thoughts but I feel like I’m rambling on. Would personally love to see a comparison video side by side with both owner’s reviewing the opposite campers of possible and go over the pros & cons they see off 1st coverage. Along with going over there own setup of course. Either way, they’re both amazing if you’re actually getting out there & using them!
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I’m on the fence between the Vagabond Drifter and the GFC. Biggest question I have is how hard are the GFC panels to work on, i.e. adding vents and side sliding windows? I’m leaning GFC, but the sliding screened windows are a must for my hunting dog…
Hey Matt,
No one can answer that but yourself. What may be sturdy for me may not be for you. I suggest you go to GFC prior to buying and have a discussions with them, and see first hand if a GFC meets your needs.
Best of luck!
I think it would be possible to fab some kind of slider windows but it would most likely fubar your warranty. If keeping dogs inside I would make sure I would get white or silver. I am loving my V1. I do wish it had a sliding or pop out window on the front panel so I could clean my back truck window and camper window. Also if doing a lot of dusty roads it would nice to be able to have some kind of positive pressure inside the camper so some kind of side vent up high might be a good idea.
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I just recently saw a customer who added these to his camper side panels for his dog, and it is working great:
Take a look. And just so you know the specs on our metal, it is .080 5052 aluminum, so it’s pretty darn stout.
Let me know if that helps, and good luck in the search. I am obviously biased about both quality and value of our product in the marketplace, but it is nice that there are so many options for the consumer.
And to anyone reading this if you haven’t seen our most recent Instagram stories, here are some of the values we hold as a company: Instagram
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Do you have any ideas or now of any small solar or 12V roof fans that work with the roof panels in a V1? I see some people of used fantastic fans but they seem to be made for a thicker roof panel and I also want a lower profile fan.
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Can’t you buy new side panels? Maybe buy a few extra at pick up?
I’m in portland, so the SP was appealing to me. In the end I ordered a GFC instead. My thinking. I’m a weekend to 2 week warrior, I’m use to doing this in a tent or on a bicycle, thus the GFC will be all I NEED. The cost was a factor as well. The SP is about 3k more. I’d rather get the GFC and a Kinsman 270 and a Lolo Rack and swing out for that price… I don’t find much value in the extra engineering of the SP, I don’t want wire chases etc. My truck gets run and put up wet often - spends all winter full of trail building tools and shutting crews to builds etc, so the more rough and ready the solution the better for me - THUS GFC. That is how I made my decision. If the wait for a SP was 2 months… well, then I probably would have done that but at ~6mo vs 10mo then the 3k looked good
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@jeredbogli I agree with this sentiment completely. Even more so with the SP price increase. It’s 5k more now.
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I have been using a bluetooth remote thermometer to keep track of the temp in the back of the truck under my GFC this summer I have two dogs that I want to keep happy and healthy.
My current solution is that I have been closing the latches on the rear side panel and then closing the panel and latching the front latch which leaves a ventilation gap. With running that set-up what I have found is that when driving around at 45+ MPH the temperature has rarely been more than +5 degrees F compared to what the ambient outside temperature has been. This is almost identical to what I saw with my leer topper that had sliding windows on the sides.
With being in Northern California and occasional triple digit temps what I have gone with is getting my dogs the Ruffwear Swamp Cooler jacket to help with those really hot days. Swamp Cooler™ Dog Cooling Vest | Ruffwear
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I would love to see a picture of how you do this.
It is simple. open both your panel latches then push the back latch to the locked position while holding the panel side open and then close the panel and latch the front panel like you normally would. the back stays open because the latch won’t let it shut…you have a nice gap at the back of the panel.
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This used to be GFC’s solution. But they’ve been mum on whether or not it’s recommended with the new hinges.
All the blown out original hinges made them rescind their first recommendation which was to do exactly what you are doing.
I did it for a while and it really worked. I’m just worried about my hinges…
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and version 2 blown out hinges.
The new hinges blew out too? Any info? I haven’t been following too closely and haven’t seen that.
Current hinges are the third version.
@Sunsetsearider is correct. @GFC made two iterations of the living hinge (the difference was there was a foam gasket in the first that was then removed in the second). The Embassy hinge (3rd generation) is the current one and I haven’t heard of any failures.
FYI - If I recall correctly this is not endorsed by GFC and any issues that may occur with the hinge would not covered by the warrantee. So you may want to keep this trick to yourself if you know what I mean…
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