Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

The warrantied them because they flattened out and are suppose to handle the loads I have in the truck. I contacted them directly and there head tech guy recommended me the springs for the weight I would be carrying. The springs would not bave been bought if he didnt recommend them.

The dealer, distributor and myself have been going at them about it. Really what is probably saving me is I have been dealing with their service dept for over a year on multiple products from them. Really the only thing that is working is the air compressors.

 

Cool, be nice to know as I don’t see it in their website. I don’t carry that much in the truck when camping, I’d consider myself a minimalist kn that front, armor, i like to have though on the trails which is where my weight comes from.

 

Agreed, and i guarantee in the cold weather it would be the first thing to break off and I’m fudged.

Found that adjusting shocks and trying to dial them in is a waste for most of us. Get them tuned for what you plan on being on the majority of the time and leave it.

 

I know the guys at ARB pretty well. My dakars have been good in the sense that they are supporting the weight of our set up and am still maintaining a slight rake. having said that I crawled under and took some photos and they are prey much flat right now. With the drifter I would say I am still under the advertised 660 + 15% with the AAL.

I'm happy with the performance thus far just wondering if I should try and get ahead of it.

 

Leaf springs are tricky. It’s tough to get solid info. “Just weight your truck and let Deaver or Alcan do the math...”
But for the front, we have reference points to work with. Spring rate, length, and preload.

My Alcans were spec’d for the 4wc. Even with the shackle flip decreasing the rate, I still had rake (with the 4wc and swingout). After the shackle re-flip (increased/ restored the rate) , they are way too heavy. Once the interior is installed, the pack will be adjusted to lower the rear. Here is the only info I have to go on:

• (5) 9mm leafs (main and 4 below it)
• (3) 8mm leafs
• 7.5” free arch
• 5160 spring steel

Since I have a reference point, now I can ask Alcan for suggestions to maybe replace some of the 9mm leafs with 8mm leafs.

Deavers use a higher amount of thinner leafs. It might be useful to get that info from them.

 

I just got word that my custom deaver pack is ready. I'll be going down there at the end of next week to pick it up where I can ask them specifics about the leaf pack

 

I’d be interested to see what kind of info you get. They screwed up my first pack and sent me some thicker replacement leafs but I wonder what the thickness breakdown is supposed to look like. I think I’m at 10 or 11 leafs right now.

 

I ordered one for my GFC. I got to see it in person at Expo East, its awesome. Pricing is $1349 until the 11th and then goes up to normal pricing, $1450 i think. Made in SC. Cool guys and they use BROG to make the bag and awning cover. Its super stout amd worked well in the Expo East rain show.

 

I'd be very careful mounting it to your GFC - I don't think the side extrusion is strong enough to hold the Alu Cab Shadow (this was relayed to me by someone intimately familiar with both products) and I think this one is even heavier.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

The owner brought that up, he is actually designing a mount specific to GFC to try to spread the load. We discussed it at Expo and he took a look at the GFC to grab some measurements and etc. He seems confident he can make it work and make it strong. I am supposed to take my GFC to him at the end of the month for testing.

 

Good luck. I know the GFC owners bought an Alu Cab Shadow several months ago to make a mount for it. There's no mount for it yet, and they are discouraging people from using it on the GFC (for different stated reasons).

+1 for Vagabond!

 

IG has a video of the 1st Gen 1 Tundra Drifter. Can't wait to see this build out so I can start envisioning mine.

 

Probably - I could cite my source but I don't necessarily want to put him on blast. Should be easy to figure out who it is if you read between the lines.

At the end of the day the Alu Cab weighs almost three times as much as the ARB 2000, and substantially more stress when it's fully deployed.

 

makes me want to buy a fullsize and get one!

 

Do you know if Iggy weighed it? I am pretty sure Alu Cab under reports the weights on some of their products.

 

I’ll need to double check. The shipping weight was really close because there was minimal packaging, literally just he cardboard around it.

I was mentioning to Jim that the ARB style awnings, FrontRunner in our case, fit the GFC motto of light better than the shadow awning. I believe the Kinsmen might be a bit heavier.

Phil and I don’t like to tell people what to run, we explain the pros and cons of different options that we have tried and have the customer decide what’s best for them. On either wedge, if it fits and doesn’t break the camper, run what works best for you.

On the Drifter, we put a Shadow awn on mine so we could test it and know the best way to install it. It definitely takes advantage of the strength in our formed design and fits like a glove. It’s flush with the top of the roof, but you can still open the side windows and rear door while having exceptional coverage. I think the Kinsmen will fit just as well.

 

GFC should design a 270 awning with bug walls that fits their camper perfectly. They have the custom canvas facilities and the CAD machines.

 

It's time for me to upgrade brakes and I'm split between the 4Runner/GX470 and Stoptech options. What is everyone using?

 

Stoptech(still actually sitting in a few boxes on my shelf in the garage). But, when I actually get those new new wheels and tyres...

 

camper workbench mod for changing spark plugs.