Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

I thought the only ones that VO sold ones are made my Relentless Fabrication. The powdercoating is superior to the KB Voodoo products.

 

Thanks!

 

My bad. All I can say is that the KB Voodoo bedrail caps have been great for the past 3 years. No flaking or chipping on the power-coated aluminum.

 

Did you end up receiving your Drifter and not selling your spot? I'm updating the spreadsheet and if you could provide your delivery date, that'd be helpful!

 

Inside temps are dictating that I do this sooner than planned. Trying to find exactly what you mean and having a hard time, would you mind linking me to something? I'll figure out how to secure it once I have it, but I'll need to figure out a good way to cut out the frontrunner hole and then also insulate that even a little bit if possible. Do they insulate the front wall at all?

And what's the consensus on bed insulation itself. I've heard the bottom isn't necessary and that's prob the last thing I'd attempt anyway, but I'm willing to pull everything out and try to insulate the sides. Reflectix worth it? Seems the easiest and have plenty of room for it.

Getting 100* inside on direct sun 93* day so would like to limit that for when it's actually 100*.


Thanks for any and all input as always. This goddamn thread has been so helpful haha

 

I used some 1" foam insulation boards to DIY insulate my walls. Make a cardboard template first and then trace on to the insulation board and cut with an exacto knife. I covered mine in carpet and then attached it to the camper with spray adhesive. I'm not sure it works as well as Vagabond's version, but it was a lot cheaper and took me an afternoon.

I haven't insulated the bed itself since we're never actually standing on the bed and I figure all of our stuff and the build out keeps us somewhat insulated. We're also only using the camper for up to a week at a time in mostly nice weather.

It's also nice cause I can Velcro things to the walls!

 

The lower insulation package that came on my Drifter is 1" aluminum coated closed cell foam like this EPS (Expanded polystyrene):
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SilveRb...-STC-19-12-sheets-96-sq-ft-SB12AKIT/205975329

Then on the inside of the drifter on top of the EPS sheet is a layer of ePanel like is on the inside of the roof, which is often referred to on here as "sign board".
https://3acompositesusa.com/products/dibond/e-panel/

 

Finally starting my Drifter interior buildout. I'm doing things a little differently than most buildouts I see out there. Check out the build thread if you're interested in following along.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/haven-overlands-3rd-gen-tacoma-vagabond-drifter-build.770498/

 

I posted some pictures of my current build on my build thread that I have been working on since last summer. It has clean lines, and has met our needs pretty well for a weekend camper. We camp four seasons, so it was important to be able to live inside during the winter.



Yes; the Drifter is a great winter camping vehicle. The insulation package helps alot!

 

Sorry for the slow reply. I’m not on here too often. I did sell my spot and I see the fellow that bought it crossed my name off and put his name in.

 

Warmer weather Hest Mattress #2:
I went out to save some friends riding mountain bikes on the Colorado Trail Friday night/Saturday and slept in ~40 degrees.

I slept diagonal since I was solo in the drifter and definitely noticed the seam down the middle, contrary to what Badassbrunette (Cristin) claimed in her early video review.

Also, in the morning as the sun was out and things were heating up (probably 60-70 degrees inside the drifter), I was laying on my side and it the foam was feeling a bit soft like I was fully compressing it against the bed platform. Time will tell as I get out again soon if the Hest isn't good for a ~150lb side sleeper that gets hip aching without proper support.

I may swap between the Hest in the wintertime for the support in cold (but need to solve the chill issue) and the Exped Megamat LW+ in the hotter weather (and be bummed about the difficulty of folding the mattress up to open up the full truck bed area).

 

Thanks for the on-going Hest review. I wondered about the seam too and was a bit skeptical that it was "fine." I did lay down on it at Expo PNW and found it to be pretty comfortable, but I currently prefer sleeping down the middle of my current mattress.

 

Has anyone come up with a good place to mount a propane tank outside without having a swing out bumper and without having to drill into the Drifter? I’m ok with some drilling on the truck or bumper but don’t have the nerve to drill the camper. I have frontrunner doors on both sides and L track on the roof.

My options seem to be:
-Store it inside and just get an LPG monitor
-store it inside and keep it portable, set outside while in use or sleeping
-hitch mount somehow?
-expensive heavy swing out bumper
-maybe a roof mount? But that’s way up there

The goal is to simplify the system and ditch the set up time of my portable diesel heater, get a propex, also bringing a separate propane tank for cooking anyway. Its not bad but I dislike having gas, diesel and propane to fill and I dislike having to set up and break down the portable heater when it’s freezing or raining or snowing (which is does here a lot) . Just want to flip a switch and heat!

 

I have been puzzling over this since I picked up the Drifter a few years ago. I looking into a $4000 rear swing-out bumper and many other ideas. I have a Propex and love its reliability. It has not failed to light, even after being off for a summer.

In the end, I settled on the humble Ultra Swing. Half the price of the bumper, and allows my bikes to swing on a 1UP rack as well. I plan to put the propane tank on the swing.

 

Do you still have the spare under the bed in the stock location? If not, you could get a horizontal RV-style propane tank for there.

I thought about the Ultra Swing, but @socalexpeditions confirmed that it bounces around a lot and shakes like the Tacoma frame flexes on certain highways like I have posted many times (a video of my first gen showing the frame flex caused by road expansion joint spacing + weight of the overhang).
The other reason I will likely never get an Ultra Swing is that it's overkill since I will stay with 32's and keep the spare under the bed.

@MountainRecipe - there are some other options including the Wescott hitch thing and the 1up cargo rack…
https://westcottdesigns.net/product/universal-hitch-mount-tire-rack-with-cooler-work-table/
https://www.1up-usa.com/product-category/cargo-carriers/

I will probably get the cargo add-on (https://www.1up-usa.com/product/cargo-add-on/) for my next trip that requires jerry cans as the last time one jerry can leaked inside the truck bed and took a while to off-gas the gasoline smells.

 

A swingout bounces around a lot, the RigD is solid. I’m buying another one, best way to carry a spare!

 

I still have my 32” tire under the vehicle. The major features of the UltraSwing that sold me were: 1) Propane location, 2) Camp table, 3) Swing-out for the bike carrier, 4) Storage for accessories such as Rotopax for water / fuel. I have only owned the Ultra Swing for a couple of days, but the unit seems solid in the hitch.

 

I wish someone would come out with a utilitarian hitch mounted accessory that did all the things EXCEPT carry a spare tire.

 

Agreed. All the options discussed are still very heavy and/or expensive just to mount a tank. They cost more than the Propex itself, which isn't a cheap mod on its own. I have a DCLB so there is a lot of real estate under there, even with the full size spare. Might be able to find a spot for the horizontal RV tank referenced earlier.

However, I will probably look into a convenient quick connect location so I just pull the tank out and connect it. Seems like the best option right now from a complexity and cost standpoint.

 

Seriously. All these companies get so focused on jamming a tire and a million accessories to the swing out. I just want my bikes and a propane mount on a swingout HC bumper. That's about it. I have looked way too long and have not found a good solution.