Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Thank you!

 

My wife and I got to take the Drifter out on a little proving trip and tested the Dickinson p9000 fireplace. I don't have the fan wired up yet, so it was only putting out radiant heat. I have to say that I'm super pleased with it! The first night we had planned on making a camp fire, but the site was just too dry and flammable. The temps began to drop fast when the sun went down so we got in the Drifter much sooner than expected. We spent the evening in there with the fireplace on and it was spectacular. We made a nice dinner on the stove and lounged on the "deck" with our feet by the fire. I didn't have the unit wired up, so we didn't get to try the fan to move the heat. You can see the temp readings in the photo. The top left number is the temperature/relative humidity in the Drifter and the bottom right is outside readings. The second thermometer pic was taken at 7am the following morning. This was with no fan running to circulate the air, and it still kept the Drifter very manageable. Also, no condensation at all. No idea at this point how much propane was used. I'll have to get that measured at some point. I can't wait to see what it's capable of with the fan hooked up. I can just imagine it with the (hopefully coming soon) insulation kit for the canopy walls. But I love that I could do this without using any electricity at all. 24.9F outside and 58.6F inside the Drifter. I'll take it!



EDIT: A couple more thoughts... it was nice and quiet. Hearing the soft sound of the flame burn and seeing the firelight was a great experience. We let it run all night both nights. I keep a CO detector onboard for safety. On the coldest (first) night, it was on high then low for a while, and then back to high. We kept it on low the 2nd night as it wasn't nearly as cold outside.

 

1.5 gallon stainless steel tank sprayer with kitchen sink type sprayer attachment instead of wand. Can be set directly on the stove to heat the water. Pumping to 10 psi will empty the whole tank without repumping.

 

These are beautiful!

I've used these for some closet doors in my house. They work fine, but were a bit finicky to get right.

$7 Magnetic Touch Latch - White by MPJ … (2)

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Tou...locphy=9029760&hvtargid=pla-573575520691&th=1

 

something like this, maybe?

$22 Jambini Magnetic Cabinet Locks - Child Safety Locks for Cabinets and Drawers - Drawer Locks Baby Proofing Cabinet Locks for Babies (4 Locks + 1 Key)

https://www.amazon.com/Jambini-Magnetic-Cabinet-Locks-Proofing/dp/B00PV6H3Z8

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm guessing these wouldn't hold during use on rough trails and washboard roads with any significant load pressing against them. The left door is going to be a slide-out, so it will definitely need to have a positively locking mechanism of some kind.

I have not seen these before. This would probably work but I'm not too crazy about having to use the magnet tool every time you want to open them. Interesting idea, though!

 

You're probably right on the ones I sent not holding. They barely work on my closet doors.

Also, I do not recommend those baby locks. They'd definitely hold, but they are a PITA!!! I have them all over my kitchen and bathroom cabinets right now to keep our daughter out. It is obnoxious to unlock them and I cannot wait till she grows up more so I can remove them.

 

I used these to kid proof the house when they were younger. Once the cabinet is open you can flip a lever to leave the cabinet unlocked and not have to use the magnet key.

 

That's kind of a neat feature actually. You could just fully lock when packing up and stick the magnet to the wall of the camper for storage or something.

 

Gonna be tough to get a magnet to work on aluminum...

 

Yeah not gonna be able to stick it to the wall but maybe something in there is magnetic.

 

Plenty of ways to easily solve that issue without a snarky reply

If the guy can figure out how to mount a propane fireplace in his tacoma, he can also figure out how to stick a piece of steel to the wall (or just buy these: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Magne...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=)

 

Yep, there are plenty of easy ways to solve that issue but it's also easy to forget that the camper is aluminum. I've forgotten a handful of times and tried to stick magnetic things to the walls.

Also, it's the holidays and things are dead at work and...

 

Haha, thanks for all the replies. Yes, I'm planning on adhering some magnetic strips for various things inside the aluminum Drifter, so that's not an issue. If those baby latches do indeed have a disable function, that would be cool. As you mentioned, I could just use the latches when underway and disable when camped or pulled over. That would probably be do-able, though not ideal. I could see me forgetting to latch them and then have my cabinets fly open. LOL

 

I forgot that they do have a disable function since I don't ever disable them around my house. Even if you used that you'd have to pull out the magnetic key, open each cabinet, flip the disable switch, then remember to re-latch each cabinet when packing up. It would take you longer to unlock/lock all your cabinets then it would to open/close the drifter. Also, without fail, I forget they're locked and pull on a locked cabinet every evening while making dinner or doing dishes. Then I grab the magnetic key and open the cabinet and it's fine, but it's just oddly annoying when it happens so often. It's been like a year and I still can't remember to grab the magnetic key first.

There's gotta be a better solution for someone that isn't trying to keep kids out is all I'm saying!

 

looking good! Lagun mounts are so handy, ours has been serving us well for the last couple years. The “deck” mode looks comfy! We have a deck mode as well but take one half of the bed mattress and lay it down. We have started calling it couch mode haha

nice work!

 

Did you chop the front runner rack yourself?

 

Yes I did. Worked out perfect

 

I used rare earth magnets for my cabinet. They close very tight, a kid wouldn't be able to open it. They stay closed on rough trails.

 

Thank you! The mattress... that's a cool idea Couch mode. I dig it!