Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I used to have a Smittybilt winch that worked great until it didn't. And a winch is something that you don't want to malfunction, EVER. Needless to say I got rid of the winch shortly after and got a Warn. Hasn't failed me once (I just need to upgrade it now bc truck has gotten a lot heavier).

 

Winches ar much like anything else out there. Some people are gonna have bad experiences and some are not gonna have any issues.
That said, i have had no issues with my smittybuilt so far.

 

What size are you running with Warn right now? I'm looking at the 10s Platinum as I want the wireless features. Never thought I would like it but it is a nice option to have. Think I saw somewhere you can get an app for your phone as well? Maybe that was for a different winch manufacture. Anyways, wireless is the best way to go, especially if you are in an area where a lot of winching is to be expected, hopefully like i will be this summer, may be going solo on a rather interesting trek and doing some trail clearing/mud bogging/river crossings.

 

it's probably the climate I am in that is screwing with them. Not a single dealer up here sells them, nor will they touch them as they are constantly failing. Only place to get them here is 4wp's, mind yo uI presume that is everywhere. I think we have 10 4wp's in the entire country.

 

Mine is 8k but I'll be getting a 12k soon.

Opting to forgo the wireless set up because that's one more thing that can possibly malfunction. Plus I heard the battery life on those remotes suck and would require you to charge it before a trip because it wont hold a charge over time. This is all second hand information so take it with a grain of salt.

But like I said, you want your winch to function every time you intend on using it. I've used my winch (and previous Shittybilt winch) several times and the one time it doesn't work is going to be a royal pain in the ass. Nothing else matters because you're probably going to be in the middle of somewhere without reception and winching could be the one thing that prevents your truck from rolling.

Buy once, cry once.

 

Maybe @jAndyMendo can chime in on the wireless Warn features but I’ve heard it’s kind of a pain if you get the true wireless unit versus the wireless adapter or whatever.

 

Oooooooooo......................I so want to steal this idea. Reminds me of the folding arm/leg tables in the vanagons.

 

hmm, good to know, I haven't; looked it up yet, just know that I like warn winches and should have forked out the extra cash for it from the beginning.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve! We had a lot of time and practice figuring out what/ how we wanted the drifter interior after the flippac.

Sounds like you only have a few more things to do to your rig

I agree, disco lights and a stripper pole are a must... I'm half ay there

https://vimeo.com/310438181

 

Very similar!

I made a similar version in our flippac that was actually based off the Vanagon tables (my parents are VW people) but wanted something a little cleaner for this. It was the perfect solution.

Now I see all kinds of builds using them!

 

I was wondering if anyone was going to actually read thru the bs list.

 

I have the wireless one, it's true the battery drains when not in use, but it's easy to charge. I has a micro USB cable on the side and you can charge on the go. If the batteries dead, it will work plugged in too.

I really like the feature since you don't have to worry about cables or anything else.

 

Only ever been used to spool winch line

 

Exactly

 

Haha, I've used mine to recover/flip over remote compactors that careless operators flipped (they are a pain to get upright and if your lucky, you don; have to have them reset to restart), my buddy and me used his and mine to save my truck from rolling off a road, because another guy wouldn't back up the hill and left us very lil room to get by we choose to try and get by and the road started to give-away, use a few snatch block attached to use it as a lifting device (yes not ideal, but it worked in a pinch), and a host of other options that are not recover related.

Actual recovers, 3 times, haha. I have this nak so far, for not getting stuck on trails, I also tend to go alone all the time, which really pushes me to get out and look at obstacles/trails and figure out how to get through/lines,etc, not from lack of not wheeling hard. I tend to avoid mud like the plague as that is when you break shit and I spend enough time in mud on my job sites, that i do not need to go mudding for the sake of it. I know this will not hold up and there will be times i need it to get extracted especially on some excursions I plan on this summer where I am going to have to go through some dodgy trails. I'll have to get the puppy trained up on being able to drive will I do all the work.

The charging option I am not a fan off on anything I depend on. I would rather have a user replaceable battery, I dislike recharging, as we always forget to recharge it and when needed its dead, they tend to give off power relatively easy unlike normal batteries.

 

They actually have a micro-usb Qi wireless charging antenna. You would glue that in permanently and then put a wireless charge in your glovebox or the bottom of your center console. Then you leave the remote sitting on top of it. It'll top it off whenever you drive your truck.

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Charging-Receiver-VONOTO-Universal/dp/B01ARSKU5O

 

Have you used the Qi charger in the taco? The device being charged, has to be placed perfectly and it is horribly slow. I've looked into upgrading it to a fast qi charger, but realized I have zero items that are wirelessly charged. Well my iPhone X but I don't think that is qi charging, or maybe it is?

 

iPhones use the Qi standard. But the Tacoma Qi is garbage.

 

oh I never new they were using the qi standard, well well.

 

Too much science in here.

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