The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

I still have the OEM 2015 OffRoad leafs with a Icon 3-leaf progressive add a leaf. If I removed the 1/4" spacers up front, it would be level (TRD Bilstein suspension up front).

I'm waiting to replace the leaves until they start to sag as I also run fairly light - stock bumper, spare under bed, fridge and bedrug in side - no interior.

 

1st gen long bed?!

 

Mine dropped 1” if I remember correctly. 1.5” with the whole interior build.

Put in an extra leaf in the Dakar Leaf pack and now it's perfect. Honestly, Dakars work fine...

Truck with ELO96R



Truck with EL096R + Drifter



Truck with EL096R + Drifter + Bed Build



Truck with EL096R + AAL + Fully Loaded

 

That blue is a perfect TRD color!

 

Is that Roy's gas, motel, and Cafe south of Mojave?? I was there not to long ago.

 

My HD Dakars are sagging like a pair of old titties so I'll probably be going Deaver in a few months to get ready for next season. I have plans on lugging a dirt bike at times so I may even add air bags to help with the extra weight of the bike being so far off the back.

Edit: not the best pic but you can see that rear drop

 

that it is, route 66, we were there thanksgiving

 

$3.99/gallon. oof.

 

luckily only a top off, and only gas station for miles. charming place thou, and the dude who worked there was super cool

 

I am a fan of this forum for providing ideas on my future Drifter buildout (if I ever get off my A _ _), for potential places to visit, for introduction to (hopefully) friends that I have simply yet to meet.
But what if this forum reconnected us to family? It would be like a Lifetime Christmas movie. Get ready to pull out the tissue boxes gang (or possibly not).
@bigdumplings: Based on a Christmas card that I recently received, I believe we are related (I am your dad's cousin).
If you are moving from NY to BC because of your wife's employment at University at BC, please PM me.

 

I hear you brother! I still complain about a road trip in 2016 to Big Sur where the gas was over $5 a gallon (yes, I am both a crotchety old man and a cheap bastard, a bad combination). But likewise "charming place, and the dude who worked there was super cool".
And we got to hang out in Big Sur, WOWZA!

 

Get the popcorn out!!! You are correct! Pm inbound!

 

Ok, who’s cutting onions in here?

 

I'm not crying, you're crying.

 

Repost from the Wedge Life thread, but it's definitely just as relevant here, so...

Just caught up on this thread after several months away from TW.

With COVID and working purely from home for the foreseeable future, I decided in July to move into my Drifter and go nomad for a while.
Starting in late August, I did 10 straight weeks all over the West (every single one of those nights in the Drifter), and then was ready for a break - really only because working 10-11 hour days in the camper during winter daylight hours just sucks. No way around that...

But overall, no real complaints or issues with the Drifter through that whole process.
One trick I found for windy conditions though - If your tent walls have developed enough slack in them for wind to get annoying, grab one of those cargo spreader bars (Harbor Freight or whatever), and use it to push the tent walls out. Not with too much force, of course, but it makes a huge difference!

Spending some time with family at the moment, but I finally installed the diesel heater I've had sitting around for over a year, so I plan on getting back out soon.

 

Does anyone know if these gas struts come on all of the Drifters?



Im having trouble with mine when it gets below 30F as they are not strong enough to lift the camper lid. Having 50lbs of solar panels on top doesnt help but I am wondering if the 225lb gas springs can be replaced with 250lb ones to compensate.

 

They can, and 250 is the max we recommend. The colder you go the less viscus the oil in the gas strut will be so naturally it takes more effort to move it through the baffles in the cylinder.

 

Do you have a part number and manufacturer you could recommend for the 250lb gas spring?

 

McMaster has them but not sure of the specs off the top of my head.