Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I never understood this. The Propex is an INDIRECT heater. That means the combustion process and fumes are isolated from the circulation air. By using outside cold air, you are wasting a bunch of propane. You are blowing just as much heated air out of the space as you are pulling in. I can't imagine the thing would ever shut off. There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't hook up both return and supply duct to the space. The fan will stay on and the burner will cycle throughout the night to maintain the thermostat setting.

 

I'm not quite following on the underlined.. on the same page with the heater being indirect. both the exhaust and intake for the combustion chamber are routed externally. the intake for the air to "to be heated" is either ducted into the camper cabin or left pulling air from its local source which would either be outside the camper or inside depending on where you have it mounted.

edit: my bad I read part of that response incorrectly, yes I am with you, both return and supply should be routed into the cabin

 

i'd be interested depending on price and as long as I can still store bedding/pillows up top. I'm a side sleeper too and do wake up feeling sore more often than not. Worst case, i can stick with the stock mattress and just have more tequila before which bed works for me too.

 

I’ll keep you in the loop of what I come up with

 

I got one for like $70 on Amazon. I can’t fold it over all the way any more but I can fold it enough to open all standing space. I have the OG sunbrella matress, I think it’s only 2”? Either way with the topper it’s so much better

 

Maybe it's having a baby and drinking, cause I also have no issues sleeping on the stock mattress...

That said, for those of you looking for a fix, I'd recommend finding a small upholstery shop. I made a custom, 2 piece memory foam mattress for our old van. I got the foam from a shop in Corvallis, Oregon called the foam man. He had a bunch of foam options that I tried out in his shop. Then he cut me two pieces and I sewed a hinged cover, very similar to the drifter mattress. I think the whole thing cost maybe $150.

 

*shrug* some people don't believe in global warming or the planet being round. They're just furnaces, so I set'em up like a furnace. Living space is a closed loop.

 

Haha three of us is more than a coincidence!

Having a mattress made with different densities of foam to fit the vagabond cover seems like it would be a no brainier for anyone struggling with comfort.

 

So silly question does the Vagabond cover have a zipper somewhere?
I can't believe I don't know this already.

 

So I finished my tilt bed project and it works freaking amazing! (If I do say so myself).
I did order up a more powerful set of gas shocks (60 lbs.) As the 40's just don't have quite enough strength to hold the weight. Al in all, it works as I hoped.

 

This is pretty awesome! Sliding the bed platform in/out is really my only mild-dislike with the Drifter design and I'd definitely prefer a tilt option like this.

Only question, does the tent material hang down when you close the camper? It's nice to be able to slide the bed platform towards the back to catch that material.

 

The tent material would hang down but I made a 10" bed platform extension. I slide the extension back away from the tilt down bed about a foot then pull the entire mattress back away from the front and over the extension, so nothing hangs down

 

A little more progress on the fireplace. My buddy Mark is making a custom stainless intake / exhaust to work with the Drifter. This is sealed combustion, so there is a 1" exhaust tube centered inside a 2.5" intake tube; they both need to pass through the Drifter wall. The concept for this setup is to allow the fireplace to be removed for service if needed, and utilize the factory flexible Dickinson flue pipe on the outside of the truck when the heater is in use. When not in use, the exterior pipe will stow away and be replaced with a flat cover plate for travel. This will be accomplished using a stainless "sandwich" that gets mounted to the Drifter wall (not shown here... hasn't been made yet).

 

Here's a closer look at the passenger side cabinet I designed to fit what I need. Right now I have a toilet and scepter water jug, with room for bedding and pillows and miscellaneous stuff.
The top flips up with a gas shock, and folds open for a dog bed or some small rug rats.
The doors are made light weight out of a single sheet of aluminum, a marine latch and a catch i made on the bottom to capture the bottom 3/4 tube. Very simple but effective.

 

Here's a look at the extention I made for a little more foot room while up top sleeping.
By pulling the mattress and extention back away from the bed platform none of the tent material hangs down into the back of the truck.

 

Is this the standard mount model or the taller model they offer? Thanks

 

I really like the warmth of your cabinet build, is this birch plywood? I expect it is the 1/2 inch? Also, I'm a novice would be interested in how you connected things together, i.e. what hardware you used? Thanks

 

thanks for the laugh

 

Each mattress piece has a zipper so you can pull out the foam.

 

Since it seems that I'm trying out all the high-end mattress/sleeping pad options (not just foam toppers), I started a spreadsheet with specs.
Feel free to comment/edit/modify with your learnings/knowledge.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DXP3nAz-gvzkqkSqJg30gL-3g0SF64hCMaFf7zMu_GI/edit?usp=sharing

This past weekend I tried out the Exped DeepSleep Mat Duo 7.5 LW+. Same width/length as the Exped MegaMat I tried earlier in the year but only 3" (compared to 3.9" of the MegaMat). It is WAY more comfortable than the Vagabond mattress, but like the MegaMat, it's wide enough that it tucks into the side channels of the Drifter, which makes it a bit annoying to fold/tuck up and slide the removable platform section on top of the overhang to utilize the entire standing area.