Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I've got some Vagabond drifter camper buildout and mod questions...imagine that!

I'm planning to do some work on my bench/cubby build this weekend. Going for something like what @Eazy.E has done with the benches/cubbies on the sides, then the middle will be a slide out table/bike platform. I mocked it up with some plywood I had laying around...



Questions...
1. Is there a good way to bolt this into the bed without building a baseplate? I was thinking I could use some T-nuts and bolt it into the OEM track system, but I'm worried it will be a bit unstable without a good mounting point to the floor...
2. Should I just wait to do this until I have the drifter mounted or will building it around my current shell clamps be compatible with the drifter clamps?
3. Unrelated to the cubby build...I'm gonna mount a second battery under the hood with an Off Grid Engineering system. Is there a preferred way to run my wiring back to the fusebox I'm mounting in the bed?

 

1. The best way is to mount it to a baseplate. The rails can only support so much weight, but mounting to just the rails won't be good long term. That makes the mounting point high when it's best to mount it at the bottom because Science
2. I would wait until you have the Drifter. You never know if things will change. Plus its difficult to simulate the actual space until you have everything in place. But if you're just super excited to get the build going (similar to how I was before I got mine), then go for it. Just know that in the end you may have extra materials/items because of what you thought would have worked, but didn't. Don't ask me how I know
3. I ran a 2AWG underneath my truck along the frame from my 2nd battery in the hood to the fuse box in the Drifter

 

I found that the best way to mount stuff was with a baseplate. Otherwise every mounting point for your setup would be going through the bed vs only the ones it takes to mount the baseplate.
Also allows you to have a nice smooth clean floor inside your camper.

 

in addition to the above. you could make a frame that mounts instead of a whole plate. and mount things to the frame. could be lighter, will not be cheaper, may not save space. could be cool to see though

 

I figured this much out...where do you run the wire up in to the bed? I gather there are a number of entry points, but I haven't gotten under there yet to look.

 

Ran all the wires through 2 firewall boots
Left has all wires for the Drifter. Right is all the wires and airline for my air compressor that is mounted in a cabinet right there (hence the lower location since the wires and airline were already there for when the compressor used to be in the bed tool box)



Another reason to plan everything out. The cabinets were built around this

 

Not really sure they ATCO different concepts, they are edge campers.

These are exactly what I was looking for to run wiring through to the front of the bed!

Thanks

 

But then I'll look like @Fernando again















Not that that's a bad thing...










Aloha snackbar!

 

Definitely great to see this. Thanks for sharing.

 

Getting on insulating the Drifter.

 

Does anyone know of any upcoming sales or group buys for Snomaster or Engel fridges?

 

Not sure on sales but I'm pretty sure VO is Snomaster dealer. You could also ask @Mademan925 since he's a snomaster rep.

 

While waiting for my Drifter to be built I check both Vagabond threads regularly for news/inspiration/ideas. While cruising around the other forums I stumbled across this thread in 2nd Gen by @Hodakaguy on his Drifter. I think he has the most complete set of interior and exterior photos that I have seen. Thanks to him for some more detailed views.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hodakaguys-vagabond-camper-truck-build-yes-again.583733/

 

Looking for a mount at the back of the drifter to mount an antenna, for some reason, I am pulling up a blank on this in my search. Seen it in a few of the drifter builds, anyone have a link?

thanks

Steve

 

Modified Diamond K550.

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-005258

Looked at few others, at the HAM Radio outlet in Oakland, and this seemed to work best. I had to chop/ grind/ paint the bracket to make it work.

 

Yea good job @Hodakaguy capturing those shots. It's hard to get a feel for the space with basic ass pictures (like all of mine lol).

 

Get me back to Baja
https://streamable.com/mqhbf

 

Thank you all Drifter owners for the insight you guys throw in the thread, it helps immensely and entertains long work days. Keep the Drifter porn coming!

I haven't seen much talk around heaters lately aside from a couple diesel threads here and there a while back which isnt up the road I'm taking. I'm leaning the Propex route to keep fuel single source with camp stove and curious if any of you have them and how you set them up either in the bed or externally to the drifter or under the bed with the 2211 internal/external mount model. Anyone using one without a swingout? I know there arent many Drifters in the wild, and probably far fewer with heaters yet, so just trying to gather the limited real life setups if they are out there. If not, no worries and carry on....

 

@Iggy @MJonaGS32