Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Awesome to know. I was zooming in on the pictures Jim posted and I wasn't sure if those were rivets or not, good to know!

 

Also this is the build plan for the 8' camper. I asked Phil if we could stretch the camper and make an 8' model, but they aren't ready for that. So the front will be a tunnel box. Still don't know too many details on it.

 

Puts my 5' Taco box to shame!

 

Until I have to park or turn around on trail, lol!

 

Saw Jay and Phil at the Overland Expo. They get a bad rap for their communication skills but they are good peeps. Seeing the Nomad there me even more stoked to get mine. I'm so close! Looked at the AluCab. Lot's of bells and whistles but really bad bed design in my opinion. At 6'3" I can stand up at every point in the truck bed with the Nomad bed stowed. The AluCab has an short bed piece that folds down at the tailgate end of the camper. It was in my way standing and there is a very small gap to get between that and the bed. Also, a portion of the main bed also hinges up and I couldn't stand under the cab side of the bed. A lean-mass challenged man was trying to squeeze through the little gap and was having a hard time getting up on the platform. The 30" gap with the VO bed is awesome, as is the product quality. The AluCab ceiling insulation has a fabric cover. I pushed on it and could feel the hard foam behind. I wasn't going to test the puncture resistance but I wondered how long it would take the grandkid to leave finger poke holes in it. The white composite cover VO uses has a really quality feel.

 

Your Nomad is being built now, right?

 

There are eight in process right now. I am in the next batch. Late October or early November.

 

Of what year? Hehe

 

Do you happen to know which build numbers they are on, I'm one build in front of you.

 

There is no way they're gonna be Oct/Nov. If they're working on 8 right now, it likely is through ~162 or so. Socalexpeditions (164) hasn't mentioned theirs is in progress, sound's like they're still speccing it.... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

If there is a Nomad, we can presume that's Pushingthepedals'. So unless they're ready to roll out 18 in the next two months... plan on 2022. Would love to be proven wrong, but history shows us we should anticipate conservatively. Not to be a buzzkill, Swatdude1, but you're not in the next batch. They told me the same thing in August... I'm order 175.

Would guess through ~170 by end of December, 178 January, 186 February and even that's aggressive. We haven't seen a confirmed delivery since jimlangfordphotography, which was 06/21. That puts us at ~3/month.

Again, would love to be proven wrong.

 

Order numbers don't mean squat lol

 

They have some meaning.... Their numerical order doesn't mean that you're immediately up next after order_num - 1 has been delivered though…

 

RCRcer said Nomad builds with an 's' included. If the matrix is correct, 156-157-158(Nomad)-159-163- 164(Nomad), 165, and 166 are the eight currently in production. The next (5) would be 172, 175, 176, 178, and 180(me).

Phil's first aluminum panel supplier couldn't perform. The second one he got is also having issues. The problem is VO is a very small operation and the suppliers are making their big accounts a priority. Want to hire subs in Phoenix right now to do your own pool? Not happening. All the subs are only working for the big pool companies right now. No one is doing side work. It sucks but it is what it is. There are definitely other options if you don't want to wait any longer. When you get them, VO is willing to do custom things which I appreciate. They have been super accommodating to me when I have spoken to them.

 

Love my Drifter, VO made it just the way I wanted it. I have not seen a better product hit the market yet. Was definitely worth waiting 1 year and 3 months.

 

You forgot me in there! Drifter VO-167 lol. Also those orders on the spreadsheet aren’t all of the customers waiting. There are still people that don’t know about the spread sheet that haven’t inputted their information. Take it with a grain of salt and not absolute for people ahead of you.

 

Some have reported that not all order numbers are campers. I'm hoping that is the case.

 

Getting things back on camper buildouts and mods...

I'm looking to put in a bigger water tank and found these options. Anyone have experience with them or other suggestions that I could hide in the bottom of the bed somewhere? I already have a pump and quick-connect outlet set up near the tailgate.

Also, anyone here having sleeping space built-out in the bottom for two kids? We've had a nice setup for our first daughter, but now we've got two little ones and I can't figure out how get two "cribs" set up down there without taking up too much space.

 

That spread sheet is not updated by VO, only by customers who know of the spread sheet. I’ve seen people on IG, Facebook, etc. Who have campers on order that are not on that spread sheet.

 

Man, I went round & round with all these water tank options from Ironman, Front Runner, and then places like Ronco or other RV suppliers looking for a "comfortable fit" I could do myself and save money, but in the end having one made to fit our truck beds (primarily one that fit between the wheel wells really became the only option or at least the nicest/easiest option in my case. It's not cheap though. That's the rub, but I have been very happy so far with the tank Juniper designed and sells. it's 12 gallon. Link below will take you to my install details & some pics.

Wackyhacky's 2013 TaCOmarado Build