The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Went for the solid windoors also for visibility reasons - wanted to minimize people seeing in, making it an easier to change clothes at a trailhead, parking lot, etc. We also live in an area with a lot of homeless and the windoors make everything inside a little less obvious. One windoor approach seems really great. It's nice to have both and I don't regret it, but being able to attach stuff to the side rather than the top would have also been nice. The hard part would be deciding which side to put it on. Choice probably depends on what aspect of visibility is most important to you - no wrong answer.

 

I have been wondering this too when looking at different awning designs. Is your 270 and Eze Awn (sp?) or and Alucab?

 

We debated for over a year on the Windoor vs nothing. In the end we decided to have a solid wall, with no windows or opening. Our reasoning was that as a four season rig, we would prefer to have the insulation over accessibility. Also, my wife is 5’ 4” so the windoor would have been useable for only for me.

What is the verdict after 4 months of hard use? I would stay with what we have. I think the insulation really helps keep it warmer in the winter. It also doesn’t bother me to jump in the back to grab something. But I also take the stairs instead of the elevator, I don’t mind the exercise.

All I can say is they if you plan to live in the Drifter some of the time it is nice to have a wall instead of window. It just feels more homelike to me.

 

I really like the 270 awning but when camping and in the morning or late afternoon the sun can creep in quite a bit and you will only have a very small piece of shade if you do not have a wall. I tried to search and the 270 awning only has a full room annex which I do not want (and $$$). Is there a single wall piece like the ARB awning has? Without this wall sometimes an awning is useless for sunshade.

Can you purchase a wall like this for a 270 awning?

 

As cool as the Alu-Cab awning looks, I'm thinking of going with the ARB side and rear awnings. I like the idea of the "rooms" add-on for the side awning (my setup is meant to double as a remote work location, as my work is portable, and a bug-free work area sounds great). I also like being able to switch sides with the side awning (provided you put the quick-release awnings on both sides). Anybody have any experience with the room add-on features, or other opinions about this? Thanks.

 

there‘s a AluCab solution in case you haven‘t seen it
https://www.alu-cab.com/product/270-shadow-awning-gutter-kit/

 

I have a CVT (sorta same idea) and my friend has a 270 AluCab. His is way faster / easier to set up (especially solo) but if he is parked on a slope it can’t be adjusted so it can be neck level on us (both pretty tall) at the edge. Besides that it’s better in every way besides the sides being available for the standard style ones like mine/ARB

 

It’s a top notch product and brand, they really thought of everything

 

We had an ARB on our Van with the room attachment. It saved our asses from mosquitoes and weather in Alaska a few times. I'd also say that it was ideal on a van where we could use it as an extension to our van living space and just go in/out through the sliding door (I suppose you could get the same functionality off the back of the Drifter).


That said, we won't buy another ARB awning because it was just too annoying to set up in my opinion. We found we didn't set it up a bunch of times, when we would've liked to, because we didn't feel like dealing with it. We are probably going to get an Alu-cab or OVS freestanding 270 awning soon. This all goes along the same lines of thinking as buying the Drifter; if it's easy to setup, we're more likely to use it and thus justify the purchase to begin with.

Also, I believe Alu-Cab sells a room, but it's obviously spendy.

 

@4wdExplorer I believe the OVS awning can be configured as you described....https://overlandvehiclesystems.com/nomadic-270-awning-wall-3/

 

That's one reason I haven't bothered with an awning yet. I would mostly want an awning when it's raining, but if the water is just going to drip inside on my BedRug, then it's really worth it to me.

 

DAAAMN. I wasn't aware of these OVS ones. That's an amazing price point if they are as even close to sturdy as an Eziawn or Alu-Cab. Nice coverage design as well.

 

I saw it on @cwhet10 truck. Perhaps she could provide a review....?

 

Alucab.

 

Yeah, I hear that - I'm glad the bedrug is so durable and dries out so quickly. I'm still glad we have it. In some downpours, we've still been able to eat dinner outside (on the side) and we definitely stay drier, but it is a trouble spot that someone (in this case me) needs to address.

 

Oooooooo, thanks for the information. I didn't know. Sent them a message.

 

I was thinking about making a shade myself(maybe something with a logo or pattern) that I could put up off of the 270 awning. Once I have it in my possession, of course. I'm definitely going to look into that gutter kit that was mentioned also.

 

Hey all,

your recent topics have been amazing especially the 270 awning and then the windoors. I appreciate all of it as I’m trying to figure everything out. I’ve taken a break from reading all this because I’m just sitting here waiting for my Drifter and my truck to come in patiently while I’ve been getting my company GuideGap up and running.

so I don’t have much useful information except I saw a few about posting order numbers. I’m order 140 and have not heard of anything yet. Like most I reached out but no reply. I know they are busy and will get to it all when it’s time. But yea order 140 here and no word yet. Keep those calculators rolling

thank you for all the info and convo you all put into this! It’s been very helpful to read it all and look forward to providing value to this group in the future as I plan on living out of this thing for months on end while traveling and visiting my guides throughout the west. Until then no rush, just looking forward to it all.

 

Last communication from Phil was on April 2nd and no replies since then. I would have thought that with no installs going on VO would have more time to catch up on other stuff.

 

Question for the people who have gotten their vagabond powder coated vs those that have gotten it wrapped. I'm looking for photos or advice on wrapping vs powder coat. I'm planning on wrapping this thing with some sort of advertisement for the company but powder coat seems like it would look more... legit? Honestly I don't know.

I saw on a youtube video someone had it powder coated black and it looked like it had some pin stripe scratches going across it. Obviously because it was black that didn't help, can anyone who received the powder coat chime in on how easily it is to scratch?

On the other hand, how durable is a wrap? Can you tell its wrapped (I've never wrapped anything before as I'm really a climber who likes to have fun on forest roads). Does it look like just a big piece of laminate was put on the thing if you do a full wrap around the thing?

Any idea how much a full wrap of the drifter would be?

Any info would be great!

Cheers