Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

+1, have one and it's nifty. I have it on the driver side so I can deploy or bring it down myself when I don't have a passenger

 

Quite proud of this fit considering I work with wood practically never

 

So how did you do it? Template or just rough cut based on measurements? Looks good either way!

I may have to go this route instead of a bedrug.

 

Thanks!

First gen so more rounded wheel wells and more dramatic corugated metal ridges. 6' bed so I had to use two 5*5 sheets. Decided on two 37" pieces since it's 74" all the way to the tailgate. Started by getting the rectangle dimensions, and cutting out the four corners that have some different geometry. Then I just marked where on the sides the wood would hit sitting flat on the ridges, and then inch by inch I just measured how far that was from the centerline and plotted those numbers on the wood. Jigsaw and sanded. I know most people use 1/2 birch but 3/8 seems plenty sturdy for my needs and somehow is 60% cheaper for me. Once things are built inside I'm going to cover it in bed liner and bolt it down in the 4 corners.

Still not sure I'll be able to get it in and out with the camper on. I feel like it'll be tight Might have to sacrifice some fitment on either side of wheelwells for clearance.

 

Do you plan to join the four sheets of plywood together? The challenge of joining the bed plate seems to be a real issue. I am not a woodworker, so I have spent hours on the interwebs looking for good solutions to joining plywood together. I haven't found anything that I am comfortable with.

 

Thankfully there's only 2 pieces, it's just warped and not bolted in the pic. And I'm not going to join them, I have a 72" box on either side I'm going, and I figure that'll hold everything nicely together.

 

Mine are attached with two aluminum L-track channels (only one pictured below) and my steel battery tray, but the cabinetry on top of the floor also keeps them snug.

 

Anyone have any ideas for an internal locking mechanism? Now that I have the camper I see how the tent material gets in the way of things on the inside edges of the camper and lid. I was hoping I could find some real estate to do something simple to keep the lid from being opened regardless of latch or locks

 

continuing our conversation from the "when will i get my drifter" forum (they asked us to leave..) @4wdExplorer @jimlangfordphotography

roof rack for the truck.

my www.martinor.com DCSB drifter roof rack is pretty short, @4wdExplorer its about 7.5 inches of 'usable space' i have not actually mounted anything up there - it is however a great help in head winds (before it ive seen my mpg drop to 8-9, with it in a straight up head wind wind i maintained my usual 12-13) and like @jimlangfordphotography i added a molding to the front

his email is gtmartin284@gmail.com or sales@martinor.com - these are not listed on his website
we have them on both our tacomas

SHERPA also has one - just fyi

 

please remind me - on your rack setup, are there two bolts into the rain gutter/roof on each side at the front of the cab? If there only one, I’d be concerned with putting much weight up there on a short bed.

 

I emailed him today. Lets see what he says.

To me I would want a little bit wider rack, I believe you can fit a rack up there with 3 slats without the wind deflector vs 2 that you have with wind defector.

I do not have any issues with wind, noise, etc. So I rather maximize my real estate up there adding one more slat. Not sure if he can make that possible.

Since I wont have a wind deflector there should be room for a light bar underneath too..

 

I'm really just interested in having a full wind deflector, but it might be time for me to finally custom make my own rack solution for that.
...Especially with the gas prices we'll be seeing for a while

 

Same same. I really want a wind fairing up front but I have little real estate and no factory mounting points sadly

 

Love the rack! I can carry the jerrycan and have fabricated a new mount for the diesel to support a heater. Trash box is great for hauling out wast and carrying wood.

 

yes two on each side. i wouldnt out to much weight up there either mate.

 

I wonder if Martin off road could make a longer one with a big cut out on top like Jim’s in order to hook into the middle bolt for more stability, yet still leave room for the drifter to flex without hitting the rack.

 

@4wdExplorer if would be worth asking - great suggestion @JasonLee
or another suggestion would be what @explorout (instagram) he built a wind deflector “box” (also a long bed)
I know Phil was talking about something like this last time i was at the shop

 

I couldn't put anything on top or else I wouldn't fit in the garage so I added my solar out front and made it into a wind fairing.
Just an idea since I was in the same boat.
(Also I don't really have a drifter, but same same)

 

Big project for this summer will be putting in a water system in the drifter. Started today by making an 8" hole in the tank and installing a maintenance port. Then added the fill, vent, and drain fittings. Next step is to make a mounting board for the pump and filter. I got the pump and the board but not the filter which I cant afford yet

 

How many gallons is that?