Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I made a video on my Youtube that shows off the Drifter and the interior. I am not going to post the link here to keep the thread clean and not self promote, but I am just letting you know since many people from this thread have asked questions about the interior build.

To keep this Drifter related, here is the best decision I made. I added this anti-fatigue mat that I bought from Harbor Freight for $6 and threw it under the carpet. I cannot believe how much of a difference this thing made. Standing on bare wood having arched feet really hurt, and on my trip I constantly had foot pain and had to wear sandals inside. Finally, my feet don't hurt inside the camper.

 

Does anyone have a strap or anything that they use that makes it easier to close the window from the interior? Smashed my finger pretty good after trying to close it while half asleep.

 

I gotchu brother. Previous owner made this and I tried using a strap that dangled, but it was annoying to deal with and would slap you in the face while you were walking in/out. Just put this back in and it works so well.

 

Genius! Thank you man

 

If you have lower back pain, replace the headrests. This is the leading cause of backpain for the Tacoma because you aren't able to angle your head far back enough it translates to an unaligned lower back causing issues regardless of lumbar support. I replaced my headrests with other Toyota Headrests from other cars and that resolved my issue along with many other folks.

 

Interesting. I think I’m going to give this a try!

 

Very interesting. How about leg pain? My right leg goes numb and I have to stop and stretch about every 2 hours.

 

I grab the latch on the right and pull the window down from the inside.

 

What about the headrest from the backseats... my wife likes it a lot lot lot more.

 

You had me excited for a minute there, but it's a no-go on 3rd gens because the rear headrest posts are slightly bigger in diameter... At least for double cabs.

 

Sciatica can be caused by different reasons for a lot of people. I'd talk to a doctor to figure out what's going on or maybe even a chiropractor. If you're sitting in a bad position for too long, some people experience pinched nerves, which is exactly what sciatica is a symptom of, but along where is a better question. A medical professional might suggest physical therapy, an inversion table, a standing desk, or simply more exercise.

I do know that when I first got my truck, it wasn't a big deal just driving around locally or through my hour long commute, but when I started driving to LA in the truck every other weekend for six months, it started taking its toll. I never had this issue w/ my xB or my girlfriend's Corolla at the time. It was also super comfortable in these two passenger cars to just put the seat back at a rest stop and knock out for the night. So I thought, what if the headrests fit?

I did the swap. I found out that passenger car headrests from Lexus and Toyota were always comfortable (The lexus ones being extra cushy since some models could be angled back and forth).

With these headrests, I've done 650 mile 11hr sprints in the truck stopping only for gas and piss, zero back pain.

My signature photo is from this specific trip -- The Bay Area to Salt Lake in one sitting.

Only if it fits. I found that most rear and front headrests were different or their application was different because they'd needed to be angled somehow.

But it sounds like that's a big fat no from @snwbrdr852.

 

yea sorry.my second gen rears fit in my fronts. My wife has been such a “great” critic of the seating. We have rear seat risers, seat jackers in the front and now she has the rear seat head rest.

we just did a Costa Mesa to pismo trip with our girls and she didn’t say a thing about her being uncomfortable. So...

I may have just found the golden ticket... (probably get some shit for a ten minute drive in about a week).

 

The most important thing is to be able to have the seat sit up straighter and to increase the gap between your head and the head rest(traint) so your neck can bend back further. This helps align the spine.

 

Very interesting. I sit up very straight, I will have to try the headrest trick. I’ve seriously debated even buying one of those pillows that fills the gap for my neck

 

ROOF FAN QUESTION

For those that have it, is there a way to tuck the tent to the sides and slide the platform forward to where the fan can be functional while the Drifter is closed? I'm imagining having ventilation with the cab window open and the fan running to keep temps down during the day so the fridge doesn't work so hard, things stay cooler, etc.

 

I’ll snap a pic but yeah if I don’t slide the platform back to catch the tent material it sags on the sides and I believe the fan is totally unobscured.

 

I know that the Fantastic fan model has a kill switch for the lid. Meaning if the lid is closed, it will not function. I know from experience that even having it slightly cracked, it will still not function. I’m sure you could override it, but you still wouldn’t be able to use it while in motion due to the orientation of the lid opening(facing forward). I have no experience with the MaxAir unit they are now using.

 

Benefit to a self install of a fan I also plan to hack the board so I have a reverse direction of the fan (should just need to reverse the polarity of the power).

 

Have pictures from your install? I'm about to cut a hole through my roof here very soon!

 

I haven't done it yet, but check this out: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/geomo’s-drifter-build.587338/page-2#post-20308926