Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I think this is a drawback. If you dont have it charged which is the first time you use it everytime then you need to plug it in to its charging cord, which is short af. So now you are corded with a short cord which is a pain in the dick.

The remote has too much and not dummy proof. you only need two buttons. The basic warn wireless upgrade to a wired winch is the way to go. Mine never used a battery replacement in the three years I used it, and its pocket sized.

Get the regular Zeon and buy the cheap wireless remote on Amazon. I used silicon to secure the wireless head to the winch.

With my tacoma I got away with a 10k, but burnt it out and needed a rebuild. You dont just winch yourself you winch others and too many stuck foolsized trucks killed it. That and you should have a winch that 1.5 times your weight as a rough rule, and at over 8k rolling weight I was exceeding the math on the hard pulls. straps and double backs help, but sometimes you need to do long pulls or who knows what and wizardry wont work.

My 4runner has a 12k now and its working great, got a huge dodge out of a lot of deep snow a few times without issues after I first upgraded it. My truck's next winch will be a 15k though. But it will weigh a bit more than before and should be getting stuck a lot worse.

 

Ooffff..

 

@Eazy.E - Any idea what the total weight is of your drifter + interior mods and gear? Thanks

 

Here's the full write up:
https://expeditionportal.com/the-grand-adventure-the-north-rim-of-the-grand-canyon/

 

Yea they closed one section the day after we passed through because of weather - that same day I was talking about where we got wet in the morning (It's actually highlighted in the article).



F THIS MORNING! hahah

In the famous words of @tacomgee, LOLRTT

 

Thanks MJ and Jim Bob...Great info.. will devour the write up tonight!

 

The credit goes to the legend @916TacoTruck

 

My bad @916TacoTruck mixed you guys up

 

I didn't bother using Birch this time around, I knew id be covering it and im sure ill end up replacing it at some point far down the road with how much we use it.

I have been getting a lot of requests fr photos etc so I plan to take an afternoon here soon to capture some better interior shots

 

haha no worries!

More photos in the works!

 

I didnt have a chance to weigh before and after. I tried to maintain a stable yet light weight interior design and distribute the weight we carry thoughtfully. If I had to guess I would put the set up around 500-600 loaded down?

 

Isn’t the first time this has happened. IYKWIM.

 

It does make for a great tiny house feel!!!

 

How's the interior 80/20 going?

 

Rub it in why dontchya!

 

I’ve already kicked one dog tonight! Don’t make us hunt you down!

 

Suspension had to come first so the other side is on hold temporarily. Rebuilt the fronts and upgraded to 2.5’s I. The rear. Even having half of the bed built has been such a good change. There’s only half of the gear slopping around now. Seriously though, having more organization back there is so good for the vibe.

 

In the glacial process that is my build for my Drifter, I plan on ditching the factory plastic bed caps(yes, I’ve been rocking the factory bed caps this long and no failures) for the flat style metal caps. My 2015 came with the shark fin antennae. Losing the height of the plastic bedrail caps means I’ll have to trim down the shark fin or find another alternative. I thought I found one (and I sorta did) I’m using a 2011 Tacoma satellite antennae(it’s the smooth type). Unfortunately, the 2015 antennae uses a 2 signal wire setup vs the 2011 single wire antennae.

Example:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-satellite-stubby.552228/page-2#post-19581278

I also plan on installing a satellite antennae on the Drifter and running the RG6 cable into the cab. Then I can switch the antennae plugs on the headubit and finally get my reggae back, damnit.

Currently, I have a 2011 black trim sat antennae on the truck where the shark fin was, but it is t hooked up. Ironically, everything on the headunit works just as before. The satellite doesn’t work of course, but it didn’t really work anyways once the Drifter went on the bed of the truck.

Looking forward to finishing this up. Everyone needs a little more Peter Tosh in their lives...

 

Mo’ money mo’ problems...
I now have a dilemma: when stealth camping the interior will be great but closing the hatch AND the swingout will be interesting. I’m thinking something along the line of webbing strap and leaving the side windoor’s “unlocked” to get out if the swing accidentally latches.

 

@Anderson This might help.