Just had my second hinge failure. #43, has not been resealed yet. I was the first to have a hinge break back in May of this year. Since then I have seen even more wear and tear on all three hinges, even the replacement that I put on myself. All three currently have cracks, with the passenger side fully nuked now.
I also have rusty tubes and a bowed driver side top extrusion. Every time I come home to the truck there’s something new, and it’s becoming more of an worry instead of a joy like it was when I first got it.
Coordinating a pickup for the camper has not been easy, but now hearing that a resealed GFC has still had a hinge failure, I’m sure it’s the struts causing it. That was what I suspected in the first place when I saw how far out a cracked hinge gets pushed by the strut.
Looking at what it’ll take to fix this, I wish my camper didn’t have all the sealing material.
It seems to me loosing the tent and lifting the extrusions so I can slide new hinges in and out would be much easier without having to account for all this sealing material everywhere.
I agree though. As much as I loved this thing when I first got it there’s been little things that have started to come up.
The hinges though, it just sucks. Mine happened at home. I don’t know where yours failed, but if they had failed while on a trip I’d be livid.
I’ve been waiting a year for my camper, and sitting at over 8 weeks in “components produced”. With that said, I’d rather them stop working on the new units and truly investigate this situation rather than just continuing along and “hoping for the best”. It definitely seems like there is a fault in the design. At this point, it’s almost winter anyway, so the camper won’t get a ton of use - I’d just assume wait longer.
Lol, I’m the exact opposite. I had nuisance leaks that have been fixed with the new sealant so now I can actually leave my full electrical setup installed without having to worry about water intrusion.
Hinge replacement would be an absolute pain, but for me being somewhat close to GFC it has its benefits.
100 percent agree with @owennoll it’s the worst seeing all the social media posts about new machines, how many campers they’re making, and all the installs and deliveries while I’m driving around without a side panel for the second time in six months
I have been following every post on this forum for about two months patiently waiting for my #652. Hate to be negative Nancy here, but I find relief in believing these issues will get worked out before I take deliver. Luckily, I only live 3 hours from Bozeman so future repairs want be a terrible pita for me, but it’s hard to not get disheartened when these issues keep coming up.
When I followed the TacomWorld Drifter thread, I defending this camper and my choice to buy vs the when many were ripping on the quality and the production issues. I have no idea if the Drifter is all that, but I can honestly say now that I know what those guys were talking about. Seems like 50% of this camper is going to be redone by the time issues stop coming up.
I asked that question on the TW forum about 5 months ago and was basically called out for being an apologist when in reality the engineer in me wanted the statistics. If it is only 5 or 6 out of 300 (1.6%) that is actually pretty good for a startup with such a quick time from idea to production.
Yeah “pretty good”, except I’m one of those . Just saw another GFC story on Instagram, lots of finished campers and frames all lined up waiting for stoked new customers. Me and my broken GFC are just hanging out like it’s no big deal I’ll just check out everyone’s stories and posts living it up in theirs haha
Their social media is really something else. Posted about my wife and I purchasing our first home and got a like and a message of congrats and how they “grew up in that area.”
GFC is gonna live in the driveway on dollies until it’s pick up. I can’t bear looking at it missing a door anymore.
Also noticed my stick on aluminum door catch scratch resistors are sliding all over, anyone else see this?
Also, my powder coat (on #43) is a matte finish, compared to my neighbor’s (#70something) which is glossy. His powder coat looks great, mines got all sorts of discolorations and chips. Anyone else have a matte/flat powder coat finish?
I can help with the matte color…That was the OG like till #50 or so. I was #74 and have glossy. They switched powdercoat companies. Old choice was black frame replaced by the glossy grey. The new powdercoating is much more durable. I saw the old version in person and am glad I got the grey.
I’ve also had a hinge break on an earlier model (#54). The support team got a new hinge out to me and I replaced it in a few hours.
I noticed my driver side hinge is starting to go, though. Had it open and saw sunlight coming through the hinge. Not a good sign! But I realized this could be a test for you guys to see if your hinges are about to break. Shine a light or look at your hinges on a sunny day and see if any light is making it through. Hopefully, I can make it up to Montana next year to get the other hinges sorted.
. Just saw another GFC story on Instagram, lots of finished campers and frames all lined up waiting for stoked new customers. Me and my broken GFC are just hanging out like it’s no big deal I’ll just check out everyone’s stories and posts living it up in theirs haha
