Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Yeah, that's why I don't have a heater yet. I'm trying to research more on if the cheap ones can be adjusted for elevation or if they will just be filling up with soot from improper combustion.

 

@excorcist has been running one of those cheaper heaters for a while now in his AT Habitat.

 

I believe most will run the heater on full periodically to blow out all the soot from the system.

I’ll let you know how it works in altitude

 

Mine is a 5kw if I remember right, haven't used it in a while since I sold my Tacoma and GFC but did fire it up a few times in Colorado around 6000' without problems. If you come through Colorado Springs I'd sell it to you since its just sitting in the garage now.

 

The Chinese diesel heater has been awesome. Wouldnt want to camp in cold weather without it now that I have had it.

They are seriously efficient little heaters. Was just using it last week at about 8000 ft in elevation. If you run it on low for long periods of time using diesel it soots up. It is easy to take apart and clean, but I have since switched to kerosene which apparently burns cleaner. They sell these convenient jugs at walmart for like $7.


This is how I set mine up, routed intake and exhaust through the cubby on top of the wheel well. The box below it holds two 35ah batteries. I use the truck bed alot still so didn't want a full interior build out.

 

Oh and these little fans are great for moving the warm air around if you need it. Can clamp or hang it anywhere in the tent. Runs of rechargeable 18650 batteries and has built in led. I just leave It plugged in with a usb cord and it runs indefinitely.

OUTXE Camping Fan with 28 LED Camping Lantern 6700mAh USB Rechargeable Tent Fan USB Clip On Fan Persona Fan- Green

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088RF535C?ref=pd_basp_dp_primary

 

Does anybody run a heater buddy? Seems like a cheap portable option, but it doesn't have a thermostat. I would think it would be hard to control temp. Maybe set on low and then crack tent windows....?

 

Yes. Problem is it creates so much dang condensation, and eats all my propane. Also it’s finicky to start when really cold outside. I love it but it’s just not clean heat.

If I was between buying a $74 buddy or $115 chinese diesel heater as a first purchase, I’d pick the latter.

 

Ok, that makes sense. Is it a straight forward install?How are people setting them up? Thanks

 

I have a 5kw also. Unfortunately, even on the lowest setting its overkill (btw use hZ setting instead of the temp setting). You wont be able to sleep with the heater on all night on the lowest setting - too damn hot! Essentially you can turn it off/on as you please (hopefully with a remote so you’re not getting in and out of bed), but the heater pulls some amperage when you turn it on. Once the glowplug is on and heated, it only uses diesel (I use 100% kero instead). If your battery doesnt have enough juice, the heater wont turn on.

In hindsight I should have gotten the 2kw version so I can keep it on all night but it still does the job

EDIT - Also, if you have to install the fuel tank in the camper, you'll want to make a breather for it. The tank will expand with heat and/or elevation and the cap isn't efficient enough to hold the fumes in. Your camper will reek like gas and it will linger. I got some fittings at the local hardware store and pretty much did the same things I did with the rear diff breather - even used the same Toyota breather.

 

I think another issue (maybe) with the diesel heater is because it gets so hot in the camper, I think my fridge is overworking itself at night just to keep temp. All of this is usually no prob with my dual batt and solar set up, but when northern CA had the forest fires and crazy smoke in the air, my solar wasnt pulling anything during the day and I couldn’t use my heater on the 3rd night. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold that night (40°c) but the wife wasn’t happy haha

 

I had the buddy heater for a while before the diesel heater. Doesn’t work well in high elevation (where its usually colder and would necessitate a heater!!) and the condensation sucks big time. Did I mention it sucks at high elevation? Trying to turn it on in the middle of the night repeatedly pressing and repressing the knob to turn the pilot on is annoying as hell and you’ll be wide awake by the time you end up turning it on (or giving up).

 

Hm, I tend to run warm anyway and if I'm going to get a heater, I'd like it to be able to cycle on and off through the night to reduce/stop the condensation from the water vapor coming out of 2 humans and 1 dog...
I wonder if the smaller ones have such a large amperage draw as well.

 

These heaters aren’t really meant for constant on/off. Like I said they take some battery juice at start up, and there’s also procedure that automatically cycles through when you turn it off. This is what helps with eliminating soot like others have talked about. That’s why a 2kw unit on the lowest hZ setting will be ideal. Leaving the fan lid or tent windows open can also help.

Also - forgot to mention that the fuel pump ticks kinda loud. If you have to install the unit like the one @socalexpeditions has, you can mod this by wrapping the pump with neoprene or foam or something. The all in one, already assembled, units like I have will be a little more challenging to add this to after the fact. I don’t really have an issue with the tick because we sleep with white noise on for the baby.

 

It can cause other issues, but I have a Y in my heater output line that allows me to bleed off heat to the outside with a valve. Then i just adjust the valve on the bleed line till I am comfortable and the heater can run at a constant speed all night.

 

Interesting!! Any pics of your set up?

 

Not right now, its in my FWC so I had more space to work with than a Vagabond. But I just used some automotive exhaust pipe and essentially made a damper in one leg like a normal fireplace chimney. I now run my heater in a pelican case hanging off the back of my FWC and havent reconfigured my Y pipe yet for the new location.

 

You could even wire up a aftermarket exhaust cut off valve and then you could control the “damper” from you bed. That was on my list but now that I am running it outside I need to do some more testing before I spend some more $.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32835851208.html

 

Im thinking about mounting the entire system below the truck on the spare tire mount (like @Iggy) to help with 1. keeping more room in the truck and 2. keeping that annoying ticking outta my camper, haha. I also heard to hang it by zip ties.

 

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking about that.

Where did you mount the LCD controller?