Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

They’re 3/8” coupler and 1/2” hose.

 

Presuming thats OD and not ID. Anywhere I can pick em up locally in San Fran.

 

Question about suspension. Did you all upgrade the suspension before or after picking up your drifter? We bought tires (Falken Wildpeaks A/T... 265/70/17) which are a bit bigger than stock (265/65/17) and are worried about them rubbing once the drifter is put on the truck. (Suggests upgrade before.) But is also seems like it might not be a good idea to be driving in snow passes from Seattle to CA with a suspension that is built for up to 1200 lbs that has no weight on it and is not calibrated for the carry weight (Suggests upgrade after). Thoughts, opinions welcome.

 

You have nothing to worry about with regard to tires rubbing. They won't get anywhere close in the rear.

Technically, I still haven't done suspension on mine. A few weeks after getting my Drifter, I just threw in some Sumo Springs to carry the extra weight for the time being.
Personally, I would recommend waiting on the suspension until you have your setup relatively dialed in, so that you can ensure the new springs are correct for the load.
...But there's also now a number of people with different setups, who you can model your suspension choice after and likely get it pretty close to what you'll actually need.

*Edit* - And you could always throw a bunch of sandbags in the bed on the way down to Benicia if needed.

 

Ditto. I just upgraded my rear suspension and I've had the Drifter on since Spring.

 

Well I just beefed mine up with Kings, total chaos and waiting on my deavers (still sadly) so threw in some firestone airbags to help the springs out so they didn’t get any worse. I gained back another 2-2.5 inches all around. They are fir and plush when you want it. Almost makes me cry to be in a truck with good suspension again.

 

Thanks for the input. Did you all have a lift on your truck when you put the drifter on or was it stock with no lift (like ours)?

 

Still stock here, but suspension is the next big thing on my list. Not really in it for the lift though.

 

Mine had the lift. I would not put this on a stock truck you’ll bottom out the suspension. At a minimum get airbags tun em at about 20psi. I currently have mine at 30 to get thenlift back. Temp situation my deavers are late.

Initially I had bp-51’s and ome dakrs with two aal’s and the leafs pancaked and two front shocks are blown. this is all warrantied but i wasn’t delaing with it anymore.

 

How are people attaching awnings to the side of the drifter? I was thinking maybe putting a piece of L track on the side and mounting it to that....

 

We are having vagabond install ours (Alucab).

 

Most people, me included, just bolted them directly to the camper. That works for ARB and similar awnings, but the Alu Cab requires a separate mount.

If you need a second hand let me know.

 

Yea sorry I forgot to clarify. I already had a lift on my truck prior to putting on the Drifter, but I upgraded my rear springs again after putting the Drifter on.

Like @aaen mentioned, I’d have something to aid the suspension if you’re picking it up stock - especially if you have a ways to get home

I just put it right on the side of the Drifter with aluminum flat bar on the inside sandwhiching the Drifter. I did a pair for the rear 4' awning and four for the long 8' awning on the side



It definitely helped to have an extra set of hands for the 8’ awning

 

Worry not - you can stuff that size tire front and back without any trimming.

Also - unless you adjust your bump stops - the tire to body clearance at full compression will be the same even if you put a lift on things.

I'm running a 255/75/17 tire at stock ride height on my 2nd gen.

 

In case anyone is curious about running a drifter on a 1st gen... Mine is set to go for some winter camping next week. Will be building out the bed further in time.

 

Fuck yeah!

Moments like these makes me miss my 1st gens that I’ve had over the years. That looks ready to rock!

 

Well worth the wait. Saying this camper is well built would be an understatement. I can't believe the amount of thought that the guys have put into it. When you're passionate about something, it shows. Seeing it on my truck looking better than I expected is just a bonus. Can't wait to see how the truck wheels with it on.

 

I’ve had mine on a myriad of different types of trails so far now. No “rock crawling” for me, at least not intentionally. The only difference I’ve noticed thus far is the difference of weight balance. And that, of course, is manageable by adjusting driving lines and style.

Man, your truck looks rad!

 

Once you put the camper on, your truck isn't able to offroad anymore.... said no one ever

 

I'll attest to that, rip the old ones off, tape or seal and slap the new ones on. Took me all of 30 minutes from what I recall.