Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Drifter is buried on the Vendor board, GFC is hucking their wedge on the 3G Tacoma board. Drifter seems like a better offering in this niche market, but GFC seems to have scooped them in marketing strategy.

 

Thanks for all the pics. I have been wondering about rear vision being blocked by the tent canvas with the Drifter closed. Nice to see there are a few work arounds.
Now back to waiting.........

 

Well, one is a TW vendor and the other is not, so...

 

He’s right though. GFC is an instagram camper

 

Since I'm always showing my camper, I use a sleeping bag and don't leave it up top. The waterproof mattress fabric looks too damn good to cover up...

But I always pull the mattress back about 12" and the extension platform back within 10 - 12" of the rear. It keeps the tent from hanging down into the camper. After popping it up, it takes about 1 second to slide everything forward into the sleeping position. About 4 to 5 seconds to retract the platform completely. Not that I'm timing everything... I am, always.

Here’s a picture of the top down and extension slid back. And gratuitous display of the Goosegear interior.



P.S. You can store pillows over the extension, when pulled back, since the mattress isn’t on top of most of it. Another Drifter hack figured out by @danneskjold who has the record for most nights in one of our campers.

 

Do you have any idea how much any of the goose gear stuff weighs? I was checking their website, hoping to get some idea of how heavy it is, but couldn’t find anything.

 

Just plan for “heavy”. It’s better that way.

 

Yea that’s the impression I get from looking at the base plate. I’m trying to figure out the lightest way to have drawers. Between a decked system, goose gear style 80/20 extrusion, plywood with carpet. Unfortunately the only option I know the weight of is the decked system. It’s also the only one that I’d feel comfortable getting wet.

 

Iggy weighed the individual components when he removed it to seal his bed. The cabinets, for the longbed, are 188 lbs. Please keep in mind that this includes the weight of the fridge slide.

He didn't weight the baseplate, but I'll try to get an estimate from Goosegear today. Brian will be at the event.

 

I've read the Decked system isn't water tight.

 

I’m a huge fan of my system, but I slept with my feet towards the cab. Not as IG approved but more comfortable for me. Couldn’t get those sweet shots of my feet with mountains in the background, but oh well. I just slept with a Kifaru doobie which is a lightweight nylon blanket - for those familiar with the military poncho liner it's a warmer version of that.

Also, before I sold my camper I had plans on making my own room kit for the Alu Cab awning (didn’t like how bulky theirs is), but it would be a great option for those with kids and a shortbed - would totally create a ground floor area away from the weather.

 

Doesn’t need to be inside a Drifter.

 

Maybe not, but certainly would hold up to water better than plywood.

 

Just to be clear, the setup in the picture above, is what you’re saying weighs 188 lbs (plus base plate) (for a long bed)?

Thanks for the info

 

@JLink I used about 4 sheets of 1/2” birch for my buildout (baseplate + cabinets). Comes out to roughly 220 lbs of lumber. But also factor in weight of all the hardware (fridge slide, two pairs of drawer slides, and a few piano hinges) so maybe another ~20 lbs (conservatively) there. It’s def not as clean as the 8020 stuff out there, but only a fraction of the cost. Each 4’x8’ sheet of 1/2” birch was $40 at Home Depot

And yea not worried about it getting wet.

 

Nice. Thanks for the info.

And I think we went over this before, but you have deaver stage 3’s right? I just ordered a pair.

 

That’s correct.

 

what a cavernous vag.