The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Hey man, leave me oughta this...

In all seriousness, I have done a whole interior electrical system(with help from others) and have learned an important lesson. I am pulling all the “extra” electrical out of the shell and re installing it into the bed itself. Similar in fashion to Iggy’s setup. In the long way round, it will be a simpler system that will be easier to maintain as well as expand if needed. I will be putting one solar panel up on the top to keep the batteries topped off while it slumbers between trips.

 

I just want the 50 amp connection as the external waterproof plugs for standard electrical are not like the marine ones, which are way way better. Plus I can just carry a dog bone connection and downsize if needed. but yes i have looked at doing it with a normal 120connection.

I'll also be installing solar panels here next weekend, just waiting my rack to come in and pick it up. Truck is already pre wired for a remote panel, just not fixed. My only question with fixed is will it constantly put power into the batteries and would that be a risk of fire? Gotta read up n my solar controller and if it shuts it off.

 

What happened with the diesel heater? I was rooting for you
I remember reading a few months ago someone said running kerosene in the diesel heater was cleaner

 

Well the diesel heater got to sent to me in pieces/damaged and turned into a huge fight with the seller on Amazon. Amazon was being difficult with refunding the money, even though I had everything documented, pics of the parcel, how it was wrapped, etc. I ended up going thru my credit card company to get refunded in the end. I gave up after that as I wasn't willing to try it again as I know a few whom had the same issues and others whom got it and it works perfectly.

After that whole fiasco, I was turned off by Chinese products for a bit and I was going to just get a espar or webasto through work, then it was summer and I started a new job, truck was broken into and a lot load of stuff stolen, moved and had a bunch of repairs/maintenance to make on the truck that took precedence. Now it is coming up to my off season winter and I am planning on heading back home for xmas to see the folks and the make my yearly pilgrimage to Death valley, with stops in Colorado to see the brother, drifter hatchery to pay my dues with east coast Canadian beer, maybe a drifter get together is in order at the hatchery, hmm. Sorry off track there, and I realized I was going to hate having to bring another source of fuel with me for heat, when I can easily just plumb my propane tank in. Really I am not camping in arctic temps here in Canada, I'd rather snuggle up in a hot tub/hotel with the lady friend.

With regards to the Propex heater though, the manufacture is telling me not to use the 2000 model and go with the 2800. Same size, but a much bette rheater/ blower and is more efficient for the size of campers we have? Said it will run on low, have less power draw and fuel consumption and give me more heat. Hmm. price is about the same to.

 

Although its apart of a trailer build out I'm in shopping mode once again for a heater. Had a Webasto 2000 in my then Kimberley and it worked great at or near sea level but the higher the elevation the worse it performed. A buddy, who has the same heater in his Kimberley, told me he runs kerosene and has had no trouble using it at higher elevations (7500' and higher). Although the Webasto wasn't quiet by any stretch of the imagination.

I looked at Propex and they seem attractive enough except for the one speed fan; folks comment on the noise. Then I learned of the propane fired Truma VarioHeat and, on paper, it sure looks like the bombdigity. It costs more than the Propex but inline with Webasto & Espar's equivalent output units it seems.

https://www.truma.net/heating-systems/truma-varioheat-comfort

 

Hmm, interesting, is it a blower/heater or a forced air system? Looks like a blower/heater, but my internet is crap and not letting me download the brochures on it.

 

The webasto heater can be adjusted for high altitude with no extra parts (as long as you have the rheostat thermostat). I haven’t seen a knockoff version that allows for adjustment and the espar requires a rather pricey high altitude adjustment kit.

 

^ @aaen The VarioHeat is not in their 2018 PDF brochure; methinks it was intro'd more recently. 11.5k BTU, variable speed fan with "quiet" operation being an engineering priority (apparently), propane fired, 90% efficient; direct or routed duct systems.

 

Not on the Airtop 2000 model unless they've changed it very recently.

Espar, IIRC, utilizes an option high altitude kit that increases the fan speed (noisier). Whereas Webasto adjusts the fuel volume. Again, its been awhile since I delved into all this.

 

I’m not sure if/when they changed it, but the Webasto Air Top does allow for adjustment and as far as I understand what it does, it offsets (increases) the fan speed to compensate for the reduced oxygen. I have a webasto air top and did the altitude adjustment.

https://faroutride.com/webasto-espar-high-altitudes/

The espar kit allows for automatic adjustment based on some sort of altitude sensor. On, the webasto, you just set it to some level and it always runs that way. Although, from what I’ve read, there is no harm to running leaner at low altitudes.

 

@alldownhill, Webasto must have changed the Airtop 2000 model variants to be altitude correctible/adjustable. Whereas on my 2008 year model Airtop 2000 it was not able to be adjusted/compensated for altitude; only the larger BTU output models were altitude adjustment capable. Good to know they finally updated the smaller unit.

 

Hmm, routed duct systems sounds good, I'd need to see more info on them before I even think about it. I am worried it is just a heater and blower unit and not a forced air one. Reason being is moisture. I have enough issues with moisture from the dog, me and rain in the PNW to add to the mix. BUt I will be researching it more and if nothing else, I will get the propex within the next month or so.

Does anyone know anything about red arc equipment (Battery management, inverters, etc)? I'm looking at buying a battle born kit and using that, but I really like the red arc kit and that might be an option to do to get it all installed.

 

You might want to reach out to @Hstone556. He provided me some good information about his Redarc set up which he did himself. Between his information a couple youtube videos, I am pretty confident I won't have any issues setting up my dual battery system myself. I sketched out a wiring diagram for what I want to do based on what I have learned between his set up, the Redarc instruction manual and a Wanderlost Overland video where one gets installed in a 4Runner. It's attached, but hasn't been installed yet so... not responsible if I have something on here F'd up... ha ha.

 

Anyone know what the wait time is for one? Last I heard it was 8 months I believe!

 

More like 10 to 12 right now

 

Hey All,

I’m trying to figure out best way to transport mountain bikes with drifter.

Can you have a tailgate mountain bike holder if you have a drifter? (See photo)

Could you close the drifter window or is it too sealed to accommodate the extra fabric from mountain bike holder?

Can you ride with the drifter window up if you have some 2x4’s in your bed sticking out? Or... leave the window open if you have a mountain bike set up on tailgate holder?

Thanks!

 

You could probably get away with a tailgate pad. It's by far the best method for bike carrying with an open bed, but when I've tried that with a regular shell on it was definitely annoying. My personal recommendation is to get a hitch rack, and if you can afford it, a 1up rack with swing out hitch is an awesome setup.

There's a good discussion on hitch racks starting on page 503 of this GFC forum (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hondo-garages-new-thing.516490/page-503).

For secure transporting, I have an initial interior build designed to fit two bikes on a slide-out platform with fork mounts. It worked well in my truck with a regular shell, so I expect it'll be fine with the drifter's bigger opening. Sorry I don't have any shots of the bikes actually in there...

 

The window won't close over a tailgate cover. It's pretty tight and rightfully so.

Transporting lumber with the window up is fine; at least, that's what I've been doing.

What I ended up doing for bikes is I got a Yakima Backswing. What's nice about this or other similar products, is I can leave it installed all the time without the bike rack and it doesn't interfere with the camper. It sticks out a bit and makes the truck longer but when the tailgate is down, there is no issue. Then, when I want to carry bikes, I can just install any regular hitch mount bike rack and It'll swing away for easy access. I like this approach as I don't like to leave the bike rack installed all the time but hitch swinging racks can be cumbersone to install/uninstall. This way, the swing portion stays installed and out of the way.

 

I too ran a Yakima swing out bike rack before I had a swig our bumper and it worked great. There are a few different companies now that make hutch mounted swing out receivers that would allow you to use any bike rack.