Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Investments only work for you...when you invest in them.

 

Just making your wait time longer haha

 

Hey guys...we’re all getting heavier sooooo FYI:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gears-gb.572231/

I personally run the 4.88’s with 33’s (3rd gen). 2nd is a different story.

 

I'm just about there myself.

 

I don't know what the wait time is like now but I imagine if you want your Drifter in time for the spring you probably gotta order ASAP.

 

the only regret you will have , is not ordering it sooner...

 

It’s about an April-ish eta right now

 

Thanks Eric & Erik!

Small world, but @danneskjold happen to have dinner at the brewery a few months ago and didn’t know the brewery owner had a Drifter on order...

 

Very small world - I showed up for a date and when I pulled in @ericmtnbkr came over and said "I have one of those on order"

I didn't believe him at first lol...like what are the odds this brewery owner ordered the same small batch artisinal camper as me but apparently they were better than I would have believed. Good beer too!

 

May be a stupid question (would not be my first), but what are bed stiffeners and why we would we need them with our drifter?

 

With having the composite beds, they're not made to support all the weight of something mounted high up on the bed rails. It slowly pushes down and outward on the rails and spreads them and you loose the structural integrity of the bed. So these are just corner brackets mounted to the lower corners of the bed to prevent the spreading.

 

They attach to the tailgate side of the inside of the bed to help prevent torsional forces from twisting the bed. More weight on the bedsides pushed them apart. The stiffeners prevent most of this force.
I have total chaos but many companies like @ragofabrication have them as well.
Hope that helps.

 

Pictoral guide. First image is probably "normal" but my left side is starting to drift.

I don't think it's a Drifter problem per session, I've been running a shell and RTT of some kind since I bought it and the Drifter probably represents, if anything, weight savings. But it's still an issue.

I need to buy some stiffeners.

 

Depends on how much wheeling you do with your truck too. I wheeled with my RTT for years with stiffeners just to have the cab side of my composite bed rip! With stiffeners on the tailgate side and my own creation on the cab side, my bed isn't moving haha. And if it breaks after this, then I'm going with a whole flatbed buildout!

 

I would never have done this without stiffeners...

 

I am looking for bedrail caps that are solid (not holes in them) and caps for the front bed bulkhead. This is for a 2006 Gen 1 DC Tundra. I have contacted and left messages with Bay Area Fab and not heard back. I want to have the best possible seal for my drifter as this build is a dedicated camper. I would like to find a shop in the Bay area or in Benicia who can make these. Thanks in advance!

 

@JLee is the owner of Bay Area Metal Fab(BAMF). He builds bombproof shit. If you have a CAD file ready, I am sure he can burn something out. However, if this hasn’t been designed already, it may take him sometime to develop the product you are asking for.

 

Thanks for the info re: bed stiffners - very helpful and makes sense. -C

 

Thank you. I have contacted them 3 times without a reply so I figure they must be too busy.

 

I'd likely get a set for my 1st gen and drifter.