The Drifter - Specs and FAQ

Exactly!!!

 

On that note, I’ve been able to just have the buddy heater on pilot all night and stayed very comfortable. Having it on low was far too much heat.

 

Do you use a CO detector or trust the built in cut off and safety features?

 

Cut off and features + open window (always). If it’s raining/sleet I crack the hatch door and prop it open.

 

I had to use high to keep it warm, it was well below freezing in Jasper when I camped in a turnout.

But the test of the trip low was suffucuent. Im not a fan if using the buddy heater as it puts out Condensation, but until i figure iyt what im going to do for heating and the rest of the storage setup. I’ll use the buddy heater.

Steve

 

A couple hot water bottles in the bed last a very long time.

 

I have window covers that I made fro the front and back windows. I put a photo up of them somewhere on here. they are a made from a sheet of reflectix with carpet on both sides.

I use a buddy heater as well and keep the vent cracked with no issues. It does create condensation but so far it hasn't been bad. We had more condensation when it was raining hard than we did when we were snow camping.

on the flip side, a lot of the camping we do up at the pass we can plug into an electric box. I will keep our little electric heater on full bore until its a dry heat sweat lodge Plus we will be drying out gear from riding each night. still working out the details of where/how I am going to hang our gear to dry on wet days.

 

I'm definitely planning for snow, single digits and comfort. Last year we had a fully insulated Sportsmobile, and with the penthouse up, it was warm but that heater had to be full blast. My -20 bag also works well, but I can't fit my girlfriend inside of it...

I've added a BedRug which is R4 value and also manages bed walls and gap in-between the tail gate. Reflectix to both front and back windows, then pieces cut to zip into the windows of the tent. I will probably put polyiso/xps on the passenger side only, and use a moving blanket driverside to make up for the frontrunner door. The Propex heater is gonna be the deal breaker (especially for drying out snow gear) but it's waiting for me to fab up a bracket for under the bed.

For now, little improvements are making their way, but bare aluminum just screams cold to me. We've spent several nights in the 20s and woke up to the interior iced out. If the thinsulate tent option (as seen on the Summit) were to be come available the Drifter, I'd invest. Not sure how necessary that will be yet until we do some field testing... so let it snow!

 

Had no idea the BedRug has an R4 value. That's good to hear.

 

The Buddy heater definitely works. And I typically sleep with it on when snow camping. It does add to condensation, but a cracked window or roof fan lid really helps with that. I always have something open a bit when using the heater anyways.

Our lower insulation package definitely helps. From the many campers I've owned, the only time I didn't have much condensation was with the 4WC/ Scout. That's because it had a forced- air furnace. Based on that experience, I think the Propex will do a great job at reducing condensation.

Putting together a tent insulation package would be fairly easy. And the kit we will put together will be a retrofit for the existing campers. The main challenge is keeping access to the windows. We don't want the system to require taking down the insulation to access them. Because of this, that system may not be readily available in the coming months. It will be worth the wait though!

 

Drifterfest

 

So where was the invite to the Canadian contingent geesh, not like it is hard to reach us, I am the only one, although I think there is another one to be soon here.

 

My wife’s family is actually Canadian. I was just there around the time of the stampede. Summers are great, but this California boy can’t take the winter.

 

Tfti

 

Any idea what the weight ended up being for the LB? All I could find in the first 10-15 pages was for an early version SB coming in at 340lbs but mentioned some changes in the future to bring down the weight?

 

Heavy, no idea how heavy, guessing 400lbs

 

The base model short bed drifter is around 320lbs. The long bed is only bit more, but not much since it's just a little more material on the sides.

The weight certainly goes up once you start adding accessories, but we don't have weights on every combination.

 

IG has a video of the 1st Gen 1 Tundra Drifter. Can't wait to see this build out so I can start envisioning mine.

 

Dropped down to 18 degrees this past weekend camping. With one of the Mr. Heater Buddys in the Drifter I was nice and warm, I slept without a shirt on all night. Was a little bit of condensation inside but that's to be expected when it's that cold out and you're producing heat. So glad I was in the Drifter instead of my old Tepui!

 

Sorry if this has already been asked, but I have a 2nd gen and was wondering how much difference there is between the 2nd and 3rd gen versions, If down the road someone upgraded to a newer truck?