@Socalexpeditions Vagabond Drifter Build Thread and Trip Reports

First picture I’ve taken with me in it haha!

 

Whoops. Swerved like a dumbo for a deer. Made it out safe and sound after a pull and the rear cable tied to a tree.

 

Glad you didnt go any farther off the road

 

Could of had some fresh meat for dinner..

Good to hear you are ok.

 

Thank you guys. I was only doing 18mph so I very gracefully slid off.

 

I have safely made it back home! Huge, HUGE trip report to come soon.

 

Couple mods happening soon!

-Dobinsons or ARB Snorkel. My intake box was filled with rocks.

-Fender Liner mod! My tires grab and shoot rocks straight up into the fender and has left me with dings...many dings. Snorkel will help to cover 6 of those dings

-L Track on the roof! I need a way to carry surfboards and have been looking at buying a SUP or Kayak. I do wish I could just slap my longboard on the L track on the side of the camper, but I'm not sure how I would do that and how secure it would be.

-New reflective that uses suction cups instead of velcro to stay on. Currently, the back window of the camper is covered by a reflective cover that Jerry made and I love it. Unfortunately, the adhesive on the velcro just melts off after being in the CA heat. I will reuse the cover and install small suction caps and use some kind of fender washer backing to keep the cup from pulling through. Hard to explain, but will be done!

-Shower setup...still TBD. I originally planned on making my own shower, but scratched that idea after feeling how top heavy the truck is. I'm not sure another 80lbs 7'6" would be a wise move, so I'll hold off on mounting anything up high. I showered constantly on the trip using the 2 gallon sink container and had no issues. I just looked a little odd dumping water out of a pesticide sprayer on my head...and the water never got that warm even after being in the sun for hours. I may try one of those shower bags they sell on Amazon and make a little hook attachment coming off the L-track on the roof to hang the bag to warm up and leave it there to shower since they are gravity fed.

 

@ProForce 's water pump kit has been worth its weight in gold on hot and dusty mountain bike trips.

 

Here's an option: https://www.nemoequipment.com/product/helio/

I saw it on the Venture4WD YouTube channel. He really seems to like it. If the sun doesn't get it warm enough, you could always boil a kettle of water to add to it.

 

Unfortunately his setup won't work for me (easily at least). Everything needs to be extremely small as storage is limited. I am a huge fan of his work though, I was scrolling through the thread yesterday!

I was just looking at this on Amazon! This may be my answer. I can pack it up in the small duffel and bring it out when I need it!

 

I made a new video!!!

https://youtu.be/ZlYeqqXZ_aQ

 

Wow I'm running late on that trip report!

Been tied up with getting back to work and also doing some side gigs. Lots of photography going on!

I installed surf racks on the Drifter and finally was able to get out for a surf without shoving my board in the back and ratchet strapping down the rear window.

Installed 75" pieces of L-track on the roof. Properly milled out the areas where the rivet heads on top of the Drifter would interfere with the L-Track, and mounted them using SS hardware. I originally planned to remove the solar panel up front and orient it differently on the L-Track, but I didn't feel like dealing with the holes it would leave (Although I could have just left a rivet in each hole...whatever).




I scored a Yakima rack setup off of Facebook Marketplace and decided to see if it fit. To my surprise, it does without buying any new hardware!



I then threw on my surfboard and went for a surf.



Let me say, me getting my board up there isn’t pretty. And tying it down...haha! Whole other story. Working out the kinks though and seeing what works best.

 

Sorry guys not much updating going on. Went out camping a few more times since the last post and got some more nights in the Drifter!

Started school today and ready to kick some butt and get my degree here shortly!

Picture from cleaning today. Truck got a snorkel on, that’s about it.

 

Any reason you went with Safari over Dobby?

 

Quality and to be boujie

 

Hey. Did these tires fit on your trd wheels without spacers?

Also how did you like them?

 

Never tried them on my TRD wheels so I couldn't tell you. It'd be very close to UCA though.

I love the tires brother, if you search you can find my dedicated thread for them!

 

Been very busy. Going out camping this weekend! Spent last weekend in Chicago.

Fires are pretty gnarly.

 

Driving to work these days be like:

 

Not much going on with the truck. Busy with school and other hobbies.

Did my 30k maintenance on the truck, and tomorrow I'm getting OVTuned to hopefully improve the driving abilities of this truck. There are a few things I'd like to do over the course of the next few years (slimline bumper, hc rear, 12" shock relocation + hangars, etc.) and those will all come with time.

Here’s a picture though!