Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Phil has two different hight risers and two different width cross bars from front runner that bolt right up!

 

I mean, if you wanted to keep it low profile, you could just buy oversized slats, bandsaw them to the appropriate length, drill in 3/8" holes, bolt them directly to the L-Track studs.

 

Even better, you can get aluminum tubing with rounded corners, so no sharp edges. I used 1"x3" radius tubing on mine.
https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy...tube-6061-t6-extruded-radius-corner/pid/23689

And dress it up with some plugs on the end
https://www.mcmaster.com/9474k53

Not the best close-up photos, but you get the idea...

 

Yess
This will be my main concern too

are you running any solar on the top? I was thinking to run solar only on one side so the other side can have my board

for shorter distances to the beach, do you think I can leave my board hanging off the tailgate with the rear window open?

 

Can anyone (w/ a dual battery set up or even lots of accessories off their main battery) recommend a good set of terminals that allow multiple hook ups etc. to replace the factory terminal ends?

 

Great question. Can you explain your current setup and your specific goals?

 

I like using stuff from Blue Sea. Off my start battery, I used one of these https://www.bluesea.com/products/5194/MRBF_Surface_Mount_Fuse_Block_-_Independent_Source . I also have used their terminals for other stuff.

 

Well, right now I am completely stock and working on adding a second battery (housed in the bed) and a Redarc DC-DC charger to keep it charged. I know I will making simple hook ups to the main battery as part of this, and down the road maybe adding things like aux lighting/winch off the main battery as well as things grow. I was just looking for a good set of terminals to replace the stock main battery terminals that would provide rooms for these hook ups.

 

head over to off-grid and have them get you setup properly..

they're over in Erie


edit: apparently i cannot link to them... off-grid engineering... local to you

 

If you're just using it for lighting, I don't really see a need for a second battery. Do you have any accessory loads you need to run when the truck is off for several days?

 

The reason for the second battery is to run everything in the bed/drifter. So the lighting, using the fan, charging crap and the fridge. I don't want any of that being done off my main. Sorry I feel like opened up a rabbit hole.. ha ha. I just want good main battery terminals that will allow for safe multiple hook ups down the road on the main battery and keep things orderly.

 

I mean, that's alright. You're not doing anything anyone hasn't done before. You certainly don't need to pay some dood a boatload of hard earned cash to figure this out for you unless you want to spend it.

For me, it was easiest to itemize the list of stuff I use, understand their actual battery requirements and then pickup the solution that works. It's like plugging in an equation in algebra until you find one that works.

$430 RedArc BCDC1225D Dual Input 25A in-Vehicle DC Battery Charger

RedArc BCDC1225D or C-Tek D250 series DC/DC+Solar chargers are the simplest. Solar charges the battery when you're gone, alternator charges the battery when you aren't.

For example in my setup, I have an EdgeStar FP430. I have 2 gallons of frozen water inside at the bottom, my steaks and other food sit at the top frozen and they defrost slowly over the length of the trip. Vegetables sit in a small lunch cooler which a frozen steak to stay cold. I don't have a C-Tek or RedArc, but I do have a large Odyssey 31M-PC2150 battery sitting in the front. (Side Note: Also not such a great option to have a giant battery in the front because if you do any rough trails, that sucker is flying.) Battery charges when the truck is running or I have it plugged in at home. My longest trip has been 9 days in the summer w/o any problems, but I'm moving basically every day.

All the lights I use run on their own batteries and charge when I'm driving.

 

Off-Grid engineering has nice stuff. I just got their dual battery setup and it’s a super slick setup.

 

are you just looking for something like this?:

$38 Bay Marine Supply MRBF Terminal Fuse Block Kit (Fuse Included) – Single Stud 5/16" (M8) Compact Marine Rated Battery Fuse 125A

https://www.amazon.com/Bay-Marine-Single-Terminal-included/dp/B07LC6CQ48/ref=asc_df_B07LC6CQ48/

 

Is this a battery terminal measuring contest?

$40 KnuKonceptz Ultimate Positive and Negative Battery Terminal Pair with OEM Top Post Adapter

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JK9FTZI/

 

I used the kit from Mole Overland https://www.moleoverland.com/product/3rd-gen-tacoma-complete-dual-battery-system/ it included the RedArc charger.

 

$25 Fastronix Top Post Military Spec Battery Terminal and Cover Kit

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LLWKXV6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_w6HhEb2N6V3YP

this is all you need if you are just looking for more wire mounting options

edit- another option would be to use a marine battery as you get an additional post with those which is nice for hooking more stuff too.

that said, I’d just hook accessories to something like a bluesea fuse panel or a switchpro then hook that to the battery.
Less wires is more betta!

 

can confirm, snipped OEMs and added these then had many options to bring power to my blue sea fuse block.

 

@Wackyhacky ^^^ this

 

Thanks all.. yeah, this what I am talking about. These may be the fanciest I have ever seen, but that's what I was looking for more or less. I have spoken w/ folks like OGE and others, and while they definitely offer nice turn key solutions, I would sooner put it together myself.