The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

When did you hear from phil?

 

Regular windoors on both sides for me, and love them. The access was critical for me to be able to setup the interior the way I wanted.
I'm still not really convinced that the bigger opening of the Frontrunners would be worth all that extra money in my case, but obviously plenty of people disagree with me.
One thing I can say for sure is that I wouldn't miss the light/visibility through the windoors. I made window covers for both sides, plus the front and rear glass, and I never take them down.

As far as the awning, I'll just say one thing you could consider is the quick-mount system VO offers. Then you could just have an 8' on the side, and move it to the rear or other side when needed.
Obviously that only makes it take more time to deploy over the rear, but I did my own version of that system and I love having that versatility.

 

Last I heard from him was mid-December. Quite a bit of back and forth and then nothing. That is when he told me tentative for the month of April.

 

I agree with everything @snwbrdr852 said with one addition. We use our 270 awning all the time; we rarely used the arb awning we had before. I definitely haven't tried to set it up at the ski areas, but I've never had an issue with space at trailheads.

 

Very true. I'm confident I would get a lot more use out of a free-standing 270 due to the ease, but definitely not enough to justify the ~$1400 premium over mine for an Alu-Cab (personally).
I would consider OVS at the price, but I'd also still miss the versatility of being able to choose which side.

The route I'll most likely go if I feel the need is just to get a second 8' and still choose which 2 sides I want it on.
And actually, if I really wanted to in that scenario, I could slide the awning-side mounts to allow for the below config.
The hassle factor is still there, but I'm good with that.

 

MATTRESS INFO
I replaced the stock mattress from Vagabond with an Exped MegaMat Duo 10 LW+.

The original mattress weighs 24 pounds.*

*I have Drifter #11, so I’m not sure if anything changed with weight of the foam or cover with the newer ones.

 

Do you just deflate and fold it when you want to fold up the platform?

 

Nope. I just leave it to my preferred inflated pressure (about 90%?). I just fold it over and because of the extra width, the tent sides pretty much hold it there.

 

I've got the OVS and I'm real happy with it so far, especially for the price. I do tend to think about which direction to face the truck quite a bit. That's not usually a problem at trailheads, but sometimes it only makes sense to park one way at a camp site.

 

All really good info. Thanks for the insight everyone!

 

Planted two trees onto the roof of my drifter! Look how tall they have become!

 

I see you had the foresight to plant them so that they'd be more or less vertical when the top was popped... more aerodynamic for travel that way too

 

Hey guys!
I’m headed out to the Bay Area to pick up another drifter. It’s coming off a Gen 2 Tacoma and I’m running a Gen 3. I know the back window seal is different do you guys know if the Phil and the crew will be available at the shop next Friday afternoon to get that swapped out?

 

I would try and email Phil or Jay about an install scheduled.

 

I’ve emailed them and wrote them on Instagram. Hopefully something comes back before I leave for 20 hour drive. Hope for the best I guess

 

had my truck weighed - 6100lbs - that's full of fuel, me in it, with just my daily stuff which includes a pelican case with all my recovery gear and tools. lighter than i thought, which I'm happy about

 

I'm right at the same weight with pretty much the same gear also.

 

Did I read something about a removeable awning mount? I've been trying to find a way where I can move a 4' awning from the back to the side for different uses.

 

Smart Touring Systems website seems to be currently broken, but Vagabond uses the their Quick Fit Brackets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jbEYM7kxDM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5R_gIgaqqc

 

I have these on my Drifter, they work great!