Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Picked up some swag in Benicia yesterday...

 

I was planning more on all the solar panels, but it's possible maybe a box for skis. Long-term ski storage inside the camper is going to be a pita. They're almost all longer than 6 ft, so they have to go at least a little diagonal in the truck bed already.

 

Oh you fancy huh?

Hopefully I’ll get a care package soon

 

I plan to run two 50w solar panels, one on each side of the fan towards the back of the lid since that space cannot really be utalized with a roof rack unless you cover the fan. But I also to not have huge power needs.

Skis outside is a must! Lol

 

tdubd - Thanks for sharing. What rail system do you have on there? Is that L-track? What crossbars are you using and how did you attach them? Thanks! -C

 

Nice dude! I just saw your photo in the specs thread, I am actually re configuring my swing out to rotate the two rotopax 90 degrees outward to fit my propane tank next to the tire. Looks like that's what you did as well. or maybe that's CO2

 

Thanks man! It's a 6lb propane. I also made a stronger bracket to hold the rotopax, which was positioned to make use of

$33 GoWesty Deluxe Spout Kit for Use with Rotopax Water Container

this. The spout stays nicely protected when the swing out is closed.

 

Nice! Looks good, I have the bracket to rotate mine outward already made up. Just need to drill everything out and boltnit up now. I have a 2.5 gl fuel and black storage pack I keep on the swing out. But I have 2 2.5 waterpax mounted on L track on the passenger side.

I looked at that little spigot from Go Westy (I really just want the aluminum collar) but I am going to make a hose attachment to gravity feed to a spray handle. I’ve been kicking around the ideas of adding an inline hand pump bulb to see if it would prime the rotopax long enough to get some more pressure.

You have a straight on photo of the back?

 

I have L track mounted on the roof and also 2 strips on the drivers side. I just took some flat stock to run across. Then drilled a couple holes in my Plano boxes, ran the bolts up through so with nylocks on the inside of the box so they can't be stolen. Siliconed everything so its sealed. Here is what the roof and side look like. The side, I mounted some half strut so that way I have the versatility of mounting whatever I want there.

 

If you don't have a lot of power needs then you prolly don't need 2 panels. Dual battery with 1-50w works perfect for me.

 

Sounds cool! Yeah water is a bit slow coming out (due to it having to ventilate itself from the nozzle), but it works for drinking/cooking.

Here is a shot of the mount. It’s aluminum, but some heftier angled steel behind it. Make sure to drill for departure angle and don’t line up to the swing arm.



This trip I didn’t need gas, but eventually will do a dual 4 gallon flat against the spare.

 

Definitely make sure it's protected otherwise you get this.

 

Nice man, looks good, and very similar to my set up. The 4gl pax are nice, I still have 2 5gl scepters and mounts for the swing out for big trips but don’t really use them ever. They are so damn heavy even without fuel lol

 

I weighed before and after adding the camper, with no other changes, so my number should be good to +/- 20 lbs.
400 lb difference, and I got front slider (doubt there's any weight difference to the drop-down window), windoors on both sides, and fan.

 

How is the vinyl wrap holding up? - Mind me asking how much it cost?

 

Great so far! I paid $600.

 

Drifter in full moto mode last weekend. Similar to our old set up we kept the interior fairly modular to adapt to different needs. I can pull the floor piece out and not have to worry about walking in with dirty boots and easily sweep it out.

Still need to lengthen the toungue of my 65 Holsclaw motorcycle trailer. Right now I have to pop it off to upen my swing out. Not a big deal and is actually kind of nice having the space.

 

Our weight started with Zero, which weighed in at 300 lbs. Then we switched the 1/8” panel, under the overhang, for 1/16” since it doesn’t support the weight of the sleeping platform (the 1” x 2” crossbars under the sleeping platform do). That reduced it by 19 lbs. Then added the 25 lbs ceiling and 20 lbs mattress. That put us around 325 lbs. for the DCSB with no options. We originally stated 340 lbs.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wedge-campers-assorted-oddities.538935/page-8#post-17444975

Since then, we haven’t had any base model Drifters roll out, so it’s hard to get a base number. We do have one that is close to a base model near completion and will post the weight in our specs when we get to the scales.

 

Where did you pick up some slides to support that weight?

 

Thanks for the background. I 'heard' a different number in Plain WA and weight was was one of the key drivers for my decision making. We'll see how it sits and take it from there. I dont think I'll have an issue unloading it if I need to, its a great product.

Edit: GF says I am mis-remembering, she recalls 325 for DCSB.