The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Day late but here are the pics with the stock 3rd gen plastic rails and clearance with a drifter


First pic ahows clearance to prinsu rack.


Second pic shows clearance to shark fin its dark sorry i’m on the side of a hwy but you should still be able to see the clearance oooks to be about 2”

 

Phil, thanks for the info re: tables.

Anyone know if you can fit the total chaos bed stiffeners with the kb voodoo bed caps? Seems like at the end of the bed rail near the tailgate where the bed stiffeners are added they might collide.

 

Trim the stiffeners with a grinder

 

@huruta ,

Your truck is a 2015 model, correct?

The TC Bed Stiffeners and KB Voodoo bed rail caps share a common bolt near the bed rail cap. Here you can see the TC bed stiffener using one bolt, and the KB voodoo using two.




^ Pic from KB site and google


It does look like there will be interference and possibly modifications necessary.

Edit: We did install these on one of our new builds. Here is a shot of the modifications.





TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

I’d still trim them. That angled part at the top provides no support to the bed. Kr just buy a different type of stiffener.

 

I would not trim the stiffeners but trim the bed rail caps. It’s not necessary for the caps to use both bolt holes so just trim the caps so that only the rear most hole is used.

 

I’ll give it a shot and report back.

 

I've been following this thread pretty closely as I debated upgrading from my struggling adventure van. Posts by @huruta, as well as quick responses to customers by @Overlanerd and @Iggy and the rest of this community, definitely helped push me to buy a Taco and order a Drifter. So, thanks!

Now I just need to sell the van and find a way to pass the time till my Drifter is ready in the Spring...

cheers!
-Steve

 

Congrats man!! Good luck on selling the van.

 

Right on man!

 

Congrats! You'll be ecstatic when you get your Drifter. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. We're all here to help

 

It's so refreshing to get positive responses from strangers on the internet!

I'm just starting to layout my build plans and got a lot of good ideas already. Wife and I lived out of the van in AK for a few months and plan to continue to do annual month long trips since she works a 10 month appointment (can someone share a link to the Baja trip route?!?!). We like to drive way out to camp on mountain biking, skiing, climbing trips, but usually no real rock crawling. I'm guessing my build will be lighter than most on here since I don't plan on HD bumpers or other off road gear, but we do carry lots of toys and basic recovery kit so maybe not.

My main question at this point is, are there any upgrades people would say are "necessary" prior to Drifter install? I'm thinking about KB voodoo bedrails, bed stiffeners, upgrading to HD leaf pack (bought the truck with OME pack installed), bedrug (or other bed liner). Something I'm forgetting?

 

@SCSPerformance wheels

 

I would suggest getting custom rear leaf pack that matches your driving conditions/weight load.

 

Those are all good items to have in preparation of putting the Drifter on the truck. I just received my KB voodoo bed caps, but waiting on when I can take the camper off to put them on . Like others have mentioned, you'll have to trim the bed caps to fit the bed stiffeners since they share one bolt hole. If you haven't done so already, talk about your plans with @Overlanerd and @Iggy so they can help decide what needs to be done before or during production of your Drifter.

As for Baja... such a MUST! @tacomgee and I went there for a week over the summer and our Drifters held up awesome. There are a few trip reports here on TW. You can also PM me for some ideas, waypoints, routes, etc.

 

Bed stiffeners are probably a good idea. It's definitely more of a preventative measure, but I wouldn't want to take the chance of not having them with the camper on.

 

Yea but if anyone is on the fence about the bed stiffeners, the bed caps need to be trimmed. All of which would be a lot easier if it's done before the Drifter is put on or you'll be in the same boat I'm in haha

 

That depends on the brand of stiffener.

 

True, but only if you have both the KB bed caps and full-height stiffeners.

For example, my Rago Fab stiffeners are not full-height, and I'm also running stock (3rd gen) caps, cause I'm not too concerned about those.

 

Seems like these would also work with the bed caps...? Plus, bottle opener!