Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Its an older version All-Pro dual swingout.

 

Who cares about those silly bicycles. I am much more interested in that shop...

 

I made a video showing access with the RakAttach swingout + 1-Up 2-bike rack (no bikes on it).

https://youtu.be/1ldBmcl93Y8

 

Yall are rich! I welded some angle iron to a craigslist hitch swing out. Keeps all the flammables outside. I can add my bike rack to the swing out and remove it all for daily driving too.

 

Admittedly it has been very difficult but I actually managed to find a worthwhile improvement to the stock Drifter design. This has to do with the sliding half of the sleeping loft / platform. For those who haven't seen the Drifter in person yet, I'll explain that the platform is made of two halves; one fixed (over the cab of the truck) and one moveable (slides out to make the sleeping area). The platform has a smooth white surface which is screwed onto the structural frame. The sliding portion of the platform has an exposed aluminum rectangular-tube frame visible from the underside. This frame, when sliding on top of the forward, fixed half of the platform, drags over the surface of the little screw heads that fasten the top sheet material. This repeated drag leaves scratch marks in the aluminum, which accumulate (see photos) and creates even more friction to the point that it doesn't slide well at all. See the attached photos for what I hope to be a good long-term solution. I've only used it on one trip so far, this past weekend, and it worked great. The next step will be to add the "ramp" modification (search this thread for it) so the front edge of the platform will slide up onto the fixed half without having to lay underneath and push it up and over.

Here you can see the moveable half of the platform, removed from the Drifter (I had to take it out the rear tent window due to the built-in cabinets).


Here's a look at the fixed half that is over the truck cab. This is the length you will see on the 6-ft regular-bed truck version.



You can see the scratches from the sliding platform.



And the scratched aluminum frame that is on the underside of the sliding platform.



Here are some stainless ball-bearing casters that I found, which seem to be a good size and fit for the aluminum frame and low-profile so as not to add much height. I tried to find a straight bearing, like a roller needle type fixed in a carrier that I could adhere, but I couldn't find anything that I liked. The upside to a needle bearing is it would prevent side-to-side rolling, and thus easier to "steer".



These are a metric product, so I had to order a 15/16" hole saw to make the holes in the aluminum frame. I used DynaFlex Ultra caulking to hold them in place, but you could use any compatible adhesive.



And here they are installed.



Link to roller bearings:

Yardwe 10pcs Stainless Steel Ball Transfer Bearing Casters Universal Base Conveyor Roller Ball

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KSZ858G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8

Link to hole saw. Be sure to also buy an arbor / pilot bit if you don't have one, because this one doesn't include it.

$13 Lenox Tools Bi-Metal Speed Slot Hole Saw with T3 Technology, 15/16" (3001515L)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D1DGI8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8

 

I can't recall who, but someone swapped in some flush mount screws to try and reach this same goal. I wonder why VO uses these raised screw heads?

 

That is an awesome solution. I wish that the bed would tilt up towards the roof to make more room on the bottom easily without having to tuck away the platform.

 

That was @JerryW, which is now owned by @socalexpeditions .

I like @alldownhill 's solution (but made out of delrin/HDPE may be lighter):

As for why Vagabond does it this way, I can only speculate it is a choice for ease of production and assembly with the E-Panel material (sheet of ~3mm foam sandwiched in thin aluminum sheet metal). If you drill a countersink hole, it may pull through the thin top layer and result in the panel being loose.

 

this is great thank you!

 

Hey all thanks for the help with installing my maxtrax... here’s the finished product.

The L track bolts would not handle any metal over 1/4” so beware of that. Didn’t look too hard for longer bolts.

Had to cut down the maxtrax pin bolts as well.

Finally to drill into the aluminum flat bar I used a 3/4 drill bit for both the L track and maxtrax pins although the maxtrax pins didn’t fit it so I had to do the ol move the drill around until it was wide enough technique... apartment living limits your tools...

O and I spray painted the aluminum bars because... drifters too pretty not too and I’m not leaving the maxtrax on around Denver... The thievery here is something else...


So far I’ve had it since March, spent 40+ days in it. Pretty fantastic although... I’m ready for warmer weather.

I’m having Alcan install leaf springs in a week to get rid of that damn sag.

 

I'm looking to do the same with l track, can y'all show what you do on the inside of the camper?

 

ya I’m going to Moab next Wednesday - Monday I plan on taking vids and walkthroughs.

 

This looks great thank you for sharing this!!! We're getting the L-track mounted on the side for our Maxtrax at install, so this is another little project I can occupy my waiting time with to have set up ready to go when we pick up our Drifter eventually.

 

Large fender washers is the easiest way. I prefer this > using another backing plate (which I would only recommend aluminum, 1/4” is fin) because you don’t have to drill another 20 holes.

You can find large fenderwashers as Ace or Mcmaster.

I did a backing plate. I know I have a picture somewhere of it, but didn’t find it. Another easy thing is taking a 1/4” flat bar piece and cutting squares out as washers. Maybe it’s because I’m bad with a center punch though - Just trying to make your life easier by using fender washers.

 

VVV

 

Has anybody figured out the best method to fill in the bed space, so kids can sleep without falling off? I thought about adding a 20" and a 10", but it seems almost impossible to get out at night... I'm thinking the best method is to fill in the opening and get a latter and go directly out the back window like gfc. Thoughts?

 

I don't have kids... but I would personally just shove them down in the wedge so they're nowhere near the edge.

 

How old are the kids? We just used our duffel bags as a barrier when my youngest was little. Now, the kids are old enough to be trusted and I'm much more worried about them falling off something outside.

 

I’ve tried a few different options - pretty much changing it up as my baby grows. We are currently using a jeep cargo net+carabiners so the heater underneath can still keep us warm.

 

I installed a new grey water jug in the camper and redid the plumbing. I filmed a video but I wont shameless plug myself - It’ll be on Youtube in a day or two.

Anywho, works perfectly. 5 Gallon Hedpak and 3/4” fittings with a swivel connector. 3 gallon grey was a little too small and this 5 gal was cheap and was a total of $27 for everything.