Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

So for those currently in the process of researching, I remember it was very difficult for me to pull the trigger because it's not easy to find detailed pictures, and video of Drifters in the wild. There's thankfully a couple of videos on YouTube including Anderson and Iggy's rigs, but beyond that it is sifting through the forum posts for answers.

I went ahead and made two quick YouTube videos to help showcase a bit more of the details in the Drifter. I'm not a pro YouTuber or anything, but I hope it helps some of you in your research and decision making process.

Shorter part 1 setup and breakdown here...
https://youtu.be/MXUxHa7RxcY

And longer part 2 walk through here. ..
https://youtu.be/BeJJS4whOmI

 

Spot on, I cut my panels as well to more closely match the wall contour

 

Great vids man, great to see the long bed in a vid. Solidified even more that I am getting one.

 

Having the long bed is spectacular when chilling inside the Drifter. You'll love it.

 

Took the lady and our 8 year old for 8 nights in Baja. We slept up top while he slept on a platform below with each of the adults spending one night down there as well and we were both totally comfortable. Long bed FTW.

 

Chill man. I already sleep in my bed with my shel with my daughter (5 yr old) and the dog. But damn that dog gets way to cozy next to me.

 

Love those Roam boxes. Thought they might be my answer to a modular/portable L seating setup, until I read the size specs at 48” wide. It seems they won’t fit in my Gen 2 as you show in yours , which looks to be a 3. How did you get them in there? What is the width of your bed where it sits near the front? Must be 48”. If so, then the 3s are wider than my 2.
Maybe I am missing something, which isn’t that unusual.
Thanks

 

I'll go double check and measure mine in a little bit, but they fit just fine in front of the wheel wells in the long bed. At least they do on the 3rd gen like you mentioned. The box up front doesn't sit completely on the floor of the bed, but it does wedge quite nicely in there that it's not going anywhere.

 

Thanks for that update. In a visual survey of the box it looks like the bottom is narrower than the top in length and width. Seems as though with your comment about wedging it in place it might just the ticket.
To clarify a bit, the space in front of the wheel well is long enough. It’s just where the wheel well moves into the bed is a lot shorter than the width of the box. Sounds like the angle off the side wall is enough to accommodate it.
So much for clarity.

 

Okay, I did another little update/walkaround on the TR00PR.

https://youtu.be/aKtvZPAWd1Q

 

Are you gonna run a standard length TC lower and triple bypass, or got LT?

 

No LT for me.

if all my dreams come true, I’ll SAS it next year.

 

I'm selling my. TC LCAs here in a couple weeks of you're wanting stock length.

 

Thanks.

But I’m going for the New Total Chaos Expedition Series LCA. It gives me stock turning radius and still brings the beef!

 

I figured!!

 

Anyone have any idea how much this 1/8” thick angled aluminum can hold?

Mine is 60” long and 1/8”thick 2x2 angled aluminum.
I plan to put a Dometic CFX 55 along with a stove, some food storage with pans along this 60” platform that will be supported by the angled aluminum. Angled aluminum will be attached to the 80/20 so it will be suspended off the ground by an inch.

Wondering if it will be strong enough when off-roading and stuff

 

I'm no engineer, but I'd definitely be apprehensive about that setup if it was me.
Though somebody else will certainly jump in with a more definitive answer.

 

Exactly why Im worried as well.
I was thinking of doing the angle steel 1/8" thick or the 1/4" thick aluminum
But I don't want to put this to waste if its enough to hold up my slide build

 

...On second thought, I assume you'll be using some really heavy duty 60" drawer slides, right?
In that case, it's those that will be taking all that leverage/weight. So it would be more a question of the actual arrangement of the "drawer" structure, and the attachment of the slides to the angle aluminum.

If the config is basically what you're showing in that pic, then personally, I'd prefer to have the two pieces of angle attached solidly enough to each other that they could be considered one piece (like ideally with multiple cross pieces of aluminum welded to each of the side angle pieces, including one for the full 2" height to cap off the angle at each end, if possible).

...But again, don't take my word. This is just how I'd be thinking about it if it was me.

 

I think the angle aluminum will be plenty strong. How you fasten the drawer/drawer slides will likely be much weaker than the drawer platform itself.