Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I used these. Have to buy 2 sets. I even put extra wide 3M double sided tape first on the leafs before placing the liners down.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Leaf...-4-Inch,39823.html?OriginalQuery=91033038-BLK

 

I have battled the squeak as well. Next time I have them apart I may throw new liners in but in the mean time, a good pressure wash after a dirty trip, let dry, followed by a liberal coating of PFT dry lube keeps them pretty darn quiet for a while

 

Mine stopped squeaking (1st gen) after I gave up hope. I have the greasable front bushings to install still since that was my conclusion of what was worth trying to fix the squeak. I'm not bothering with pool liners, leaf spring liners, etc. Dirt/sand will just shred them and leave more trash in the world.

 

Awesome to meet you guys finally, welcome to the family and of course.... thanks so much for the delicious snacks!

 

@CrashN'Burn

 

Refreshing to hear someone thinking this way. Kudos to you man.

 

for the squeak? but then my OCD would divert my attention to some other sound.

 

I see the thread has moved on from this, but in case anyone is still interested in Solar Panel Efficiency as a comparison, here is the calculation...

Assumption = 1000W of power from the sun per square meter of earth surface
Find the area of your solar panel (length x width) in meters (or millimeters and divide by 1000, or centimeters and divide by 100).
Divide the wattage rating of your solar panel by this number and multiply by 100.
This is your panel's efficiency rating.

Example: SunPower 100 watt Flexible Solar Panel (~$205 on Amazon.com)
Length = 1165 mm
Width = 569 mm
Area = 662,885 mm, 662.885 meters (divided by 1000) (.662885 meters squared)
100 W panel divided by 662.885 x 100 = 15.085 % efficiency.

I went through the process of figuring this out, so thought I'd share in case anyone was interested.

Happy Trails!

Sparta

 

On the topic of leaf springs. I've been happy with my Icon RXTs thus far. They're holding up well for the weight I tend to carry (600-700lb range fully loaded) and they don't squeak at all. Just another option that it doesn't seem like a lot of people consider...

 

Did you buy these bag individually?

 

Yes

 

A bit off topic but... Regarding power solutions - currently in my soon-to-be-drifter-enhanced taco, I use a detached, lightweight folding solar panel (I have an Acopower 120 watt tri-fold panel) with a super long cable, and a lithium battery (I received a Yeti 400 as a present - there are definitely cheaper equivalents). I love the flexibility over a dual battery setup which I used to have in my old vw van. When driving the battery charges via the 12v adaptor. I can park in the shade and have the panel with the long cable in the sun, easy to adjust if I really want to optimize solar power input during the day while staying cool at the truck. The panel is lightweight and flexes so tossing it wherever you need is easy. At night, if I want music/lights down by the river or whatever the battery is easy to carry. The panel is waterproof so no worries about leaving it out. I have used this setup with a bunch of my family who could not escape their laptops and phones, and had the damn thing fully utilized all day - two macbook pro 85w laptop chargers and two phones charging in the Yeti with solar input - and the battery kept up for three days before I had to ration people. I don't run appliances, except when it was like 12F one cold night I ran a 12v electric blanket and was toasty warm all night in the open bed of the taco.

 

Sitting at Eric Shats bakery in Bishop and watched a 3rd gen with a drifter attached roll by. Did a quick pack up and tried to reel them in headed southbound on 395. Ironically, I spotted @jberry813 headed northbound. We flipped a u’ey and caught up with him back in Bishop. We convoyed to Mammoth where were parted ways. Turns out I was trying to chase down @taco_nobody on Instagram(I don’t think he is on this forum).

So, that’s 3 Drifters on 395 in one day. Figures. 395 is THE playground to find people that would own a Drifter...

 

Thanks for the photo. I’m terrible at documentation.

 

Dude!! I can't believe I missed both of you!! Jberry past by and my wife said "I think that was a Drifter." Then a few minutes later after some IG ninja work "I think that was Jberry." I should have turned around. Honestly I have no idea why I didn't other than my brain was pretty fried from the last few days. I had no idea you were behind us! Totally missed your truck when we drove past Schatt's. We would have loved to have checked out some other Drifters!!

And yeah I'm pretty regularly on the 395. Love that whole area.

 

Jason said I was reelin you in. I think I would have caught ya in Big Pine.

Yeah, I’ve got Big Love for 395. It’s my favorite destination/corridor. As a matter of fact, I’m typing this out here in Bridgeport right meow...

 

I miss the Sierra. Gotta get over there again!

 

Down to 14 mpg with Drifter. Don't think it all due to additional weight. The difference between Drifter and our old Snugtop setup is maybe a hundred pounds. Wind drag due to poor aerodynamics? Spent a hour doing this in attempts to recover mpg. Anyone with experience doing something similar or do I report to wife that I once again wasted money?

 

Not to be a jerk, cause I definitely sympathize with you, but it's pretty obvious that the overhang would have a major impact on wind resistance, and therefore gas mileage, compared to a cab-height shell.

Haven't seen anything, but there have been whispers that the VO guys were working on some kind of fairing for the front.