Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I am going to answer my own question regarding the Drifter factory electrical cables. I used a 20A fuse for the Drifter Factory electrical install. When I tested my worst-case current for Fan (~4A), lights (~3A), two phones charging (2A), electric blanket (3A) I got 12.2A. I did a 2 hours burn-in using the worst-case scenario with no issues.

I estimated that the cable size installed by Vagabond is likely 16 AWG. That is the size that matches my stripper sizing for 16 AWG. Unfortunately, the cable isn't marked.

I calculated the fuse size using the Blue Sea App. The app (12v, 20 ft run there and back, voltage drop of 10% as this is non-essential items like fan / lighting) I get a max amperage of 14A. Using a 135% multiplier for fuse size, I get 20A as the nearest standard fuse size.

 

Yo! I painted the sides and left the lid. I sanded it, used acetone to clean it up. Spent a lot of time masking everything off, then sprayed it with Rustoleum Aluminum Primer. Did a couple coats of that, let it dry and then used about 8 cans of Rustoleum Bed liner on it. Thats what I use on all of my armor/hood/roof so all of the black on my truck matches texture haha.

 

For future reference if anyone is looking, it appears that the stock solar pre-wire size is 12AWG. I've been putting my power system together and that's the wire size run in my camper. A bit of a bummer considering that the panel's stock wiring is 10AWG... I may end up trying to access the pre-wire location and swap over to a heavier wire at some point depending on panel performance.

 

thats actually super helpful because I am going to order all my solar stuff prior to picking up the Drifter with the hopes of getting it setup immediately!

 

For my VO-sourced, 165W Merlin panel and the modest wire run down to the driver's forward bed corner (where my charge controller is), 12AWG technically "works" (as in, is within acceptable limits)... but the panel has 10AWG, and it would be awesome to have the entire run the same larger gauge. If you haven't yet had your camper built, I'd ask to upgrade to a larger gauge pre-wire. Of course, that should also be dependent on the wattage you're planning on running up top!

 

has anyone mounted a roadshower onto their drifter?
Id like to keep my roadshower when my drifter arrives, I havent seent anyone with one yet

 

Blue Ridge Overland Gear has some stuff that is similar. I'm thinking about doing something like their wall mounts so I can access through my side windows.

 

I saw one person who had it. Forgot who. They attached it using L-brackets.

 

Look up Overland Gear Guy. He has a ton of those.

 

I'm interested in the carpet on the sidewalls of your drifter. Did you glue it on there?

 

Badass rig man. If your ever in Summit i would love to check it out. im in Breck

 

I'm in the process of using "no-bake" Cerakote to paint my Tundra. Plan on continuing the Camo onto the Nomad. Have a Flat Dark Earth ROAM Shovel and some Desert Tan Maxtrax to mount on the side of the Nomad.

 

I can't comment on how @cwhet10 did it, but I glued some indoor/outdoor carpet to 1" foam insulation using 3M spray adhesive. Then attached the carpeted insulation to the wall of the Drifter with some heavy duty velcro. It works really nicely for attaching things to the wall with some velcro strips...



I planning to get some little organizers to store small items and velcro those to the walls as well.

 

Installation courtesy of VO. Pics courtesy of grandkid.

 

I put insulation board up and then spray-adhesived carpet to that. I'm sure you could skip the insulation part though.

 

Yup, I did something similar. Foam insulation board and carpet, attached with spray adhesive.

 

Looks killer man. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

hows the fairing been working so far?

 

Ohhh niceee!
I want to keep my roadshower, glad I saw this.

how much extra did VO charge you to install those L brackets ?

And any problems with the added width of the roadshower in everyday or trail riding?

and does that wind fairing make a difference in terms of wind noise?

 

^^^^ What they said.

Was thinking of doing something similar for a wind fairing. My truck already seems like a big sail, but it's just going to get worse. Wondering if there's any noticeable difference?