The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

The hell all my posts are so long !!

Sorry aboot that eh

Hahaha I couldn't resist but seriously I'll make shorter posts i promise.

 

WOWZA! Hats off to you Imperial Taco. I am not even Canadian (although mom had a Nanaimo BC birth certificate) and even I appreciate the information, the research, and the time it took for this reply!
For our friends up north... if you are willing to jump through these hoops, first God Bless you... secondly what a commentary of Vagabond Outdoors Drifters.

 

I take it no new Drifters have gone out into the wild lately? Haven’t seen an update on their IG for almost a month. Anybody got any new updates?

 

Wow, this is an amazing response. I appreciate you taking the time to type out all the information, I didn’t take that as being a dick at all. Looks like I’ll be making a few calls haha. I’d imagine I still have a few more months left until the build is complete and hopefully by then the boarder will be open again as ideally I would LOVE to go down and pick it up myself (we have a little one on the way and if the stars aligned and I could pick up during parental leave, that would be a huge bonus). Again, huge thanks for the info and I can’t wait to bring my Drifter home!

 

Nanaimo? No way, that’s only about two hours north from where I am (Victoria). You go to the Island much?

The Drifter definitely fits the bill for what I’m after so I know it will be worth the wait.

 

My Canadian family is equally divided between Toronto and Vancouver. Unfortunately last time I was in Vancouver was 15 years ago(ferry from Washington to Victoria, drove from Victoria to Vancouver )... Toronto almost 40 (Yeah I am OLD!!!).
Now of course, not welcome, cannot cross the border
Spending my time watching Henry Wang, Slim Potatohead, Steve Wallis until I can go camping in BC!

 

Let me know if you ever make your way back up to BC! Maybe we can make history and have possibly the first Drifter meetup in Canada

 

Am I missing something or can you not just drive back into Canada with the camper on and say you bought it off a friend?

Maybe it doesn’t worth that way, eh...

 

The issue isn’t so much driving back to Canada with it after picking it up, it’s more so finding options bringing it into Canada once it’s ready with the border being closed.

 

Without going in depth.....their panel supplier fucked them pretty hard in multiple ways. They received around 10 in the last 2 weeks and should be sending them out in the next couple weeks after a couple kinks are sorted out.
Apparently my top piece is wired and done, just needs exterior edge wrap to match the lower's powder coat. The bottom needs powder coated before adding the windows and wiring and tent.

 

Can you give us your build number?

 

126 IIRC

 

Hopefully this is the right spot (and it's ok) to post this; I suppose I'll float it now, while it's somewhat topical. Does anyone north of the border want to swap spots? Knowing that the borders may be closed for the foreseeable future... I'm order #175. If you're coming through Seattle, I could make it worth your while with some core Canadian proclivities, specifically, tickets to a certain expansion team's game... posting it because, well, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take!

 

I know someone else who ordered from the mainland also and we were going to come down and visit them once they get theirs so if you have yours lets do it !!! SDGrandpaTaco you'll have to come up as well then its international

 

Rats. I thought they had delivered your range in June. I'm 157.

OK, based on a conversation with Phil some time back, I think he said he delivered about 6 per month under normal circumstances. Am I remembering correctly? So under normal circumstances my build 157 would arrive in 6 months from now. Given the Covid delay, 8 or 9 months from now?

Anybody with actual production numbers and delivery dates please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

What does everyone use for a privacy rear window cover on their Drifter? I want something that can be easily removed and installed. I see Sprinter vans have this and it looks like its on suction cups not sure. But want something durable that wont fall down.

 

No idea, and anything said would be speculation on my part.

Only thing I would feel remotely confident saying is their panel supplier has been the limiting factor recently and if their efforts to diversify panel sources is successful, things should go smoother time-wise for the rest of the customer queue.

 

One of those folding windshield foil/bubble wrap accordions cut to shape and held onto the glass with 3M Dual-Lock.

 

I'm using a prototype Nightfall Overland window cover... that I made, being co-owner of said company. It is magnetic, and uses black steel strips affixed to the window interior with VHB tape. Off/on very quickly, and stays in place while off-roading. I don't ever remove mine, and it's never fallen out, even with the hatch open on a crazy windy day. Blackout/privacy is complete, especially with the front window cover I'm also using.

We will offer these at some point. Right now we have an 8-week lead time and are focused on building current orders.

Garrett ( @belloinsella ) at Strawfoot has a version too, and I believe it is available, although I don't know what his current lead time is.

 

Tell me more about your sandwiched floor with the corrugated plastic...