On the P.I.T. will you be replacing all three hinges or just the affected one(s)? Apologies if this was already stated.
Pretty sure I’m not the only one who would hate to have one fixed only for the next one(s) to go a week, month, etc later after the stop in town.
I’m with rajacat on this one.
I’m trying to figure out where I can get these in Canada. They’re not on Amazon.ca…
THis is exactly what I’m planning to use.
Replace all hinges. I hope they can start traveling again soon.
Thanks for the info. I may try buying some of that and see about making my own replacement.
Still a little frustrated with GFC on this process. $45 ‘cost’ on a hinge that costs $12 (less if you buy in bulk) and a handful of 10 cent rivets. I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt on labor, until my replacement hinge showed up without holes for the rivets.
Not confident the PIT is going to get to me before my next big trip, so would like to figure out something other than the full time cabana mode…
WithOUT holes!? That’s like 55ish holes you gotta drill, without their fancy template. That really blows man
If you look in my video, I drilled the holes.
The first hinge I got had holes.
It was a little concerning because if you fuck it up, you are shit out of luck, but it was honestly pretty easy.
Use the old hinge as a template. you can tape the shit out of it and/or clamp it in place.
I don’t think you will have issues.
I had an older camper that was beat to shit by the previous owner and I also beat it to shit.
I lacked trust in it because it didn’t have the refresh and it took a lot of enjoyment out of my trips because it was literally the only thing on my truck I was worried about. I didn’t want a hinge to go in the whoops and be slapping my fiberglass.
Get the hinges before your trip and do the repair yourself. The peace of mind is worth the 45 dollars and the time.
Yeah this really sucks to see. I’m over the plastic hinge design. I ordered steel continuous piano hinges and I’m going to replace all 3 hinges.
I wonder if the PIT is going to be a continuous ongoing service, because at this rate it may need to be, until they can address the hinge issue with a robust long lasting solution. Cant imagine driving around all over the country fixing campers is something they want to be doing years down the road (no pun intended). I would like to see the piano hinge install when you get it done mattyd. I am already planning to do something similar.
did your camper have foam seal or the new seal
From the pics it appears to be the new seal.
The piano hinge won’t be waterproof - no? Not stirring the pot. Just wondering if you found something that was waterproof. Some folks put a rubber flap over the hinge to make water run off.
Sorry that yours busted too.
Yeah my plan is to install it the same way as the current hinge, but with rubber to cover the entire hinge. Even though the rubber may tear and fail over time, I just want something solid and not have to worry about my panels popping off when I’m out on a trip.
Really interested in seeing this.
I’ve been recovering from back surgery so I haven’t been able to do anything to my truck lately. But I’ve been slowly collecting all the material needed and I’m pretty confident it will work.
Good Question…I will say Mike from GFC has reached out to me and the temporary fix will have to work as I have vacation planned and camp site paid for and need to get this fixed sooner than later…I will put together a “Kit” in the event any others fail. I would also like to note that this is the side without the awning…and in reading the thread I am wondering if not allowing a 100% open would take some stress off.
I thought the GFC was build for abuse…
but really I have followed the user instructions and I am careful with the hinges…I rarely open the sides and the rear sees all the use and abuse
…
What is the temporary fix?
Has anyone found a gas strut replacement that would keep the hinges at 90°?
