If you’re the sort of individual that takes their truck tenting however is sick of placing up a tent each night time, then you definitely’ve obtained just a few choices to make your life simpler. You might purchase a ready-made camper shell that matches snugly into the mattress and provides you a kitchen and sleeping house, or you would strap a rooftop tent to your truck and be in your means. Thankfully, the GFC Camper gives a 3rd choice that’s significantly better than each
Full disclosure: GFC lent me a Jeep Gladiator fitted with one among its campers for every week to drive across the nationwide parks of the Pacific Northwest. It then put me up in a resort in Montana for an evening, confirmed me round its manufacturing facility and flew me dwelling.
What Is It The GFC Camper?
Launched in 2017, GFC Engineering is a Montana-based firm that builds truck toppers, rooftop tents and this, the GFC Platform Camper. For $7,700, the corporate will promote you a bespoke camper that’s made particularly in your truck and includes a truck topper portion that matches over the mattress of your automobile and a pop-up tent part that’s connected up high.
The truck-topping part comes with three panels that may open out to disclose your truck mattress. They can be locked to maintain any possessions you retailer again there protected. Then, there’s the pop-up portion on the roof, which isn’t like a daily rooftop tent because it features a detachable flooring that GFC calls the “transform-a-floor.” This means that you can combine up the best way you utilize the higher portion, with choices to maintain it coated for sleeping or you may open it as much as create a nine-foot-tall standing house.
The entire factor is strong, with joints constructed from milled aluminum, and reinforcement throughout the construction conserving your truck inflexible as soon as the camper is connected. What’s extra, every camper that leaves the manufacturing facility in Bozeman is made to order particularly for the truck you’re becoming it to. In order to do that, GFC has 3D scanned each truck that it builds a camper for, and can even scan your truck if it’s one which it hasn’t made a topper for prior to now (the staff assures me there’s no additional value if so). On high of that, consumers may also customise their camper by selecting the colour of the material on the tent, the sleeping space’s width, the variety of home windows on the tent and even the colour of the panels that make up the truck topper.
That Sure Sounds Like A Tent?
I’ll admit, it does sound quite a bit like a flowery tent, and earlier than I obtained my palms on a Jeep Gladiator with a GFC Camper strapped to the again, I assumed it was like a each different rooftop tent. But GFC has considered so many little tweaks and particulars that make this far more.
The greatest distinction is that the GFC Camper gives direct entry to your truck mattress, making it really feel a bit like a two-story camper. There are three segments of the topper’s transform-a-floor that may be eliminated – two small squares and one bigger rectangle, which equates to roughly two-thirds of the 90″ x 50″ flooring space. This means that you could strip out many of the flooring and use the entire house as a standing room if you might want to get modified, you may take out a number of the panels and create a standing desk space, or cowl the entire house over.
This system is nice, and signifies that each time you get comfortable up high and keep in mind you’ve forgotten your e book or snacks within the mattress beneath, you don’t must clamber down the ladder, open up the trunk, get your bits then climb again up. You can simply come out one of many squares, bounce down and hop up once more. It actually may be very helpful.
What’s extra, that flooring is additionally fitted with a mattress. The built-in mattress covers the entire sleeping space, which on my commonplace camper supplied ample house for 2 adults. But, if you need extra room and have an even bigger truck, GFC gives a barely bigger 90″ x 56″ camper. The mattress within the tent is about 4 inches thick, and gives a pleasant quantity of help in your sleep. My companion discovered it actually comfortable, however I believe me and my bony shoulders would admire somewhat extra padding, so if I used to be to have a camper like this of my very own I’d positively spend money on an additional mattress topper.
The different huge benefit over rooftop tents I’ve used is the best way this factor opens as much as the weather. There’s an enormous opening on the high, in addition to two openings on all sides of the camper – one which acts as an entrypoint and one other as a small vent. This means you may depart a spot open for air flow whilst you sleep, or you may throw open the entire camper to the world and, for those who’re tenting someplace with quite a lot of critters, there are layers of mesh on every opening to maintain the wildlife firmly exterior.
Is It Easy To Use?
All of these options may make this sound like a sophisticated camper to function, however it actually isn’t. When you attain camp, it takes a matter of seconds to get the roof popped up as there are simply two latches to undo earlier than you push the tent up. It hinges from the entrance and opens up actually broad. If you decide to spec your camper with a ladder, which provides $250 to the value, it’s a telescopic one which latches securely to both aspect of the camper. I’d suggest getting the ladder because it’s good having the choice to hop out the aspect of the camper, or exit by the ground like a magician’s assistant.
With the highest opened up and the ladder fitted, you then have the choice to open up the aspect panels on the topper, which GFC calls “Cabana Mode.” This offers you quick access to every part saved within the mattress, and gives somewhat little bit of shelter if the rain units in. However, on my one wet night with the camper, I did word that the aspect panels aren’t fairly large enough to supply actual shelter from the weather. While cooking dinner on the Jeep’s tailgate, I discovered that the panel coated my cooking however left me uncovered to the rain.
One intelligent characteristic I favored about these panels, although, was that they are often locked from the skin and unlocked from the within. This signifies that for those who lock the camper up for the night time and climb into the highest through the ladder however then resolve you might want to exit by the truck mattress, you aren’t caught inside. Two latches contained in the panels let you unlock them and push them open, then it’s only a case of unlocking the tailgate and hopping out. Very helpful.
Having two areas to make use of and a definite divide between the sleeping house and the truck mattress was a very nice characteristic, and positively a spotlight of the camper. It meant that we might preserve our muddy mountain climbing gear away from our sleeping space, and made organizing our gear a breeze.
When the camper was totally arrange and the truck loaded with our gear, I began to note the potential of a camper like this. Yes, you would preserve every part commonplace and depart the truck mattress with sufficient house for all of the hopes and desires you carry round with you. Or you would additionally use this as a clean canvas to create the off-road camper of your desires. In truth, GFC advised me about clients who’ve performed simply that, with some even constructing kitchens into the beds of their truck, and others which have added loos again there.
So How Would You Set Yours Up?
All these choices for personalisation obtained me considering that if this was the topper to my truck I’d positively make some modifications.
First, I’d add an awning to the aspect of the truck for certain, some additional safety from the rain or the relentless warmth of the solar can be good to have at camp. I’d additionally set up a set of devoted storage bins within the mattress of the truck, which might be a great place to retailer garments, a cooking package and possibly even a small cooler to maintain your drinks chilly. My evaluate camper additionally got here with a small fold out prep space on the again of the spare wheel, this was a very nice contact and is certainly one thing I’d need on my truck.
Inside the sleeping house, the usual camper is snug however sparse, so I believe some sort of storage pouch to maintain my keys, pockets or cellphone whereas sleeping can be a giant enchancment. Also, whereas there are loops to hold flashlights and lamps in the usual camper, that strong roof can be an ideal place to stay a strip of lights to maintain the place illuminated when the solar goes down. Modifications like this could be fairly straightforward to make, particularly because the GFC Camper has an avid following of makers who’re ready to 3D print all method of equipment in your camper.
This, in fact, isn’t to say that the GFC Camper is in want of enchancment. It’s able to serve no matter objective you may have for it, which means that if you need a light-weight topper that’s not going to affect your truck’s practicalities or efficiency, it’s there for you. Or if you wish to get to work constructing the final word overlanding rig, then it’s a begin in organising the house for all of your creature comforts.
Would You Buy One?
All in all, I used to be pleasantly stunned by the GFC Camper. It was ridiculously straightforward to arrange, and simply as easy to pack away – with a fellow camper even popping over to inform me how impressed they have been that we’d packed up faster than he’d brushed his enamel. The sleeping house was good and comfortable, and having the ability to open up the entire space to see the views round you as you’re drifting off is a beautiful contact.
What’s extra, the best way the topper retains the practicality of your truck will probably be an enormous promoting level to many. When you’re not tenting, you may nonetheless throw your gear again there, or full a dump run. And the camper even comes with a set of roof rails put in, that are able to carrying as much as 500 lbs. On the same word, the best way it is going to completely suit your private truck is a giant plus, with GFC even displaying me a camper constructed for the tiny Ford Maverick whereas I used to be at its base.
So, in my thoughts, while you have a look at the fiberglass campers and rudimentary rooftop tents the GFC Camper is competing towards, it’s a simple promote. It’s only a disgrace I’m nonetheless not a truck man.
Source: jalopnik.com