Vanilla Gorilla: 2017 Power Wagon build

[marshal]

then i found these wild american cows

IMG_5416 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5428 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5439 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

and wild sunflowers

IMG_5442 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

ESTABLISH DOMINANCE

IMG_5447 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5448 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5449 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

this guy. this ************** guy.

IMG_5453 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

on our way out

IMG_5460 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5464 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[marshal]

my dad insisted we stop at mount rushmore, which i had no interest in doing - but it was his trip too

it looked exactly like i thought it would

IMG_5465 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

then went to Deadwood SD, which was a ******** show. F that place

IMG_5468 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

then found our way though eastern wyoming and into montana



IMG_5479 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

and then, mountains

IMG_5495 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

eventually we arrived in Bozeman and met up with the GoFast Campers guys, who are by far and wide the nicest people i have ever met. holy ********

IMG_5529 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

then Wiley started prototyping some brackets to affix the first GFC Platform XL tent to my Leitner rack

IMG_5510 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

test fit

IMG_5507 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5504 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

we left for the day and went back to downtown Bozeman to Ted's Montana Grill for a nice Bison steak and some Bison shrimp and some Bison rings, topped off with a nice Bison Arnold Palmer. probably one of the best meals ive ever had

IMG_5520 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

THEN

back to GFC the next morning for final fitment

IMG_5535 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5531 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

flexy time

IMG_6601 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_6599 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

aaaaand then the obligatory video

 

[Kingsize24]

Damn Marshall, I really dig what you are doing brother! It looks nice, and I really like their full bed topper and tent design after researching it a bit. . I can see that being VERY usefull. Wonder how long they have until the full size units are rolling out?

 

[marshal]

the next morning we met up with Graeme and Wiley from Go Fast and their photographer Drew Martin in Bozeman for breakfast, and then headed up towards the mountains.

on our way to red lodge

i did this time-lapse, which was not supposed to be this fast - but my iPhone screwed it up.


this is Wiley's personal truck, with the full GFC Platform camper. it is SO rad. so rad in fact, that I'm going to convert my RTT into a full camper when my space frame is ready

Snapseed by Will Marshal, on Flickr

rolling up the mountains

IMG_1037 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

eventually we hit base camp, set up and then followed the trails up into the mountains even further. we got so far up that we hit snow, which was around 10,000 feet. This the end of July by the way.

IMG_5585 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5577 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

as we crested the pass, a thunderstorm was rolling in. This was my first alpine thunderstorm. it lasted 10-15 minutes and that coupled with the setting sun was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen

IMG_5573 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

bluebells

IMG_5598 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5588 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

the photographer, and my new friend Drew shouting at Wiley to move his truck. If you can't tell this was a wheeling trip and some posing for product shots for GFC

IMG_5611 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[marshal]

IMG_5614 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5627 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5628 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5758 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_6025 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_1070 by Will Marshal, on Flickr



IMG_1050 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_1045 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

then, darkness started falling and we made our way back to camp for the night

IMG_5761 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[marshal]

the next morning we went back out for a little bit, retracing our steps and going a little further into the mountain range

IMG_5637 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

IMG_5636 by Will Marshal, on Flickr





Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

around mid day we made our way back down to basecamp and started the process of packing up and making our goodbyes

IMG_1094 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[marshal]

then we started the arduous journey home. Wyoming did not disappoint

IMG_5708 by Will Marshal, on Flickr


the truck ran flawlessly and i averaged 14.1MPG for the entire trip at a gross weight of a little over 9400lbs. not too shabby considering diesel was on average 70 cents per gallon more expensive. all in all the truck did 4100 miles in 9 days and never complained once.

i'll give my full thoughts on the GFC tent a little later

 

[Tex68w]

Thanks for sharing the pics, I feel like some of your @IG posts from the past weeks make a little more sense now lol. It looks like the trip was a success.

I like the approach that GFC takes with their campers, their internal frame no doubt makes for a stronger canopy, but I just can't get past the bed system and how you must disassemble in order to get out if you use the entire platform or how you can't stand up without removing panels as well. Like anything there are compromises and each product has its strengths and weaknesses. I think they make a fantastic product at a very competitive price when compared to the rest of the competition in that class. I look forward to reading your review on their product.

 

[marshal]

Damn Marshall, I really dig what you are doing brother! It looks nice, and I really like their full bed topper and tent design after researching it a bit. . I can see that being VERY usefull. Wonder how long they have until the full size units are rolling out?

they're actually in cue now, they have several rams they are working on. Im actually have the 'topper' section on order that im hoping will be ready for Expo East to convert my tent to the full blown camper. they're currently booked out on production through April of next year

Thanks for sharing the pics, I feel like some of your @IG posts from the past weeks make a little more sense now lol. It looks like the trip was a success.

I like the approach that GFC takes with their campers, their internal frame no doubt makes for a stronger canopy, but I just can't get past the bed system and how you must disassemble in order to get out if you use the entire platform or how you can't stand up without removing panels as well. Like anything there are compromises and each product has its strengths and weaknesses. I think they make a fantastic product at a very competitive price when compared to the rest of the competition in that class. I look forward to reading your review on their product.

the space frame and the construction of the tent itself makes for a very rigid structure. Tacomas with their C-channel back sections of the frame get pretty flexy, and Wiley was able to flex the truck's suspension out to close to the stock limits of travel and still open the tent. whereas when i did it, due to the pliable nature of the Leitner rack, i was unable to because the tent was in bind.

as far as 'disassembling' the bed, the floor is modular in its construction, so you can have it set up that its a one person permanently or you can do any other configuration that you want. If you are hell bent on not messing up the bed - you can access the tent via a collapsible ladder on the outside that GFC is designing.

Obviously its not for everyone, and ideally its built around one person but can easily adjust for two people. I just really like the convenience of having 'camp' put together in less than 30 seconds. and at 135lbs its super light

 

[Littlehouse]

What an awesome set up. Looks like it was a great trip with your pops.

 

[defend01]

Incredible pictures. Looks like a great trip with your Dad. Thanks for sharing!

 

[marshal]

thanks guys! it was fun

I got the new Leitner Designs XL gear pod in yesterday which is awesome. I want to figure out a way to continue using this with the GFC lower section when the time comes. Inbetween now and then i have extra storage space, which is nice.

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[str8t six]

awesome trip pictures!!! i hope to go to the mountains one day!

what is the backspacing on your wheels? did you have to trim at all?

 

[marshal]

awesome trip pictures!!! i hope to go to the mountains one day!

what is the backspacing on your wheels? did you have to trim at all?

20x9.5 with 5" backspacing. yes, i had to trim a ton and hammer the pinch seam back. i still rub here and there at full stuff

 

[Kingsize24]

Interesting thought. I look forward to seeing how you integrate those two. That XL pod is how long exactly? Fit a few guns during hunting season?

thanks guys! it was fun

I got the new Leitner Designs XL gear pod in yesterday which is awesome. I want to figure out a way to continue using this with the GFC lower section when the time comes. Inbetween now and then i have extra storage space, which is nice.

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Untitled by Will Marshal, on Flickr