Removing a Vagabond Drifter (Seattle)

I need to remove my Vagabond Drifter (~4-500 lbs?) to replace the plastic bed rail caps that are collapsing. I also need to trim down the “sharkfin” antenna at the same time, because the new metal bed rail caps are not as tall.

I’m curious what my options are, and what your thoughts are:

1. Forklift? A Leer retailer charged me $200 to install the Drifter with a forklift. Removing it and waiting for me to replace the bed caps and trim the shark fin will arguably take longer.

2. Build a floor-jackable scaffold from lumber and plywood? This scaffold will pass through the side doors on the Drifter. Not too hard to build, but I suspect lumber and time spent making it might make paying for a forklift competitive.

3. Rent a scaffold from Home Depot?

What are your thoughts? What materials should I have on-hand before I start (e.g. bulb seals)?

 

I want to say there's a thread where people replaced the shark fin plastic with a flattish, low profile black plastic one from some Toyota sedan.
How often will you take this thing on and off? How much space have you got? You could build a big "eyesore" scaffold in the backyard to drive under, if you had the space. Or, 9 of your biggest friends could be bribed with beer and barbecue to carry it off by sheer manpower.

With all that hassle, I would definitely put on all new rubber seals where the shell joins the truck.

 

It’s only coming off once, if I can help it.

I just had the thought of using those heavy duty pallet racks, like they use for the aisles of Home Depot.

It doesn’t need to be taller than the truck — only as high as the side doors, with a horz beam extending through the camper side-to-side. The whole rack can be hypothetically lifted with a floor jack and cribbed with some short blocks of lumber.

EDIT: THE TRUCK CAN BE JACKED UP BEFORE THE HORZ BEAMS ARE INSTALLED, AND THEN LOWERED. NO DANGEROUS FOOLING AROUND WITH CRIBBING A PALLET RACK.

 

I had to replace an entire bedside on my Tacoma which entailed lifting the Drifter. We used bottle jacks inside the camper on top of 2x6 scrap lumber and cement blocks. You could build whatever height platform inside your truck bed that is needed. Super simple as the Drifter is quite light and manageable. Forklift is WAY overkill.

 

How high above the bedrail did you get?

And what were your lift points on the camper?

 

Maybe 10" - plenty of room to pull the plastic bed rail caps. Definitely have some new bulb seal ready to go as the adhesive usually pulls off. And before you pull the canopy get the rig in a dark space and fill the inside with lights - you can pinpoint any potential leak or dust ingress areas and seal them up.

 

What did you use as lift points on the camper?

 

Didn't really have lift points specifically - the entire inside lower edge of the camper base can be used as a lift point. If it were me doing what you're planning I'd lift one side at a time and install the bed caps individually. Doesn't need to be lifted all that much to access the caps

 

(Post edited upon success of my method. Do this at your own risk of injury or death, and irrevocable damage to valuable property.)



This method worked well for me — (note I have 6 ft bed, and my camper’s center of balance is acceptable for lifting from the side doors; this would probably not be the case for a Drifter made for a 5 ft bed, which has a longer front overhang).

The cost of a used pallet rack (less than $200) for the ability to drive out from under the camper whenever I need to is a game changer.

Notes:

This MUST be done on a hard, smooth level surface.

I disconnected the wiring, clamps, and other aspects of my interior buildout that connect the camper to my truck bed, and put the truck in 4Lo for maximum security against rolling before jacking up the rear of the truck by the pumpkin.

I put the front tires on service ramps, so when I raised the rear of the truck, the camper would return to a roughly level position.

I didn’t think the service ramps provided enough lift for the front end, so I improvised and put chocks on the ramps and drove my front tires slightly up onto the chocks to provide another couple inches of elevation in the front.

The lower horizontal beams on the pallet racks provide resistance to lateral movement. In hindsight, I will drive the truck out next time, then install the lower beams at a lower point on the towers for more stability.

Lowering the truck away from the camper eventually causes the truck cab back window’s rubber seal to contact the camper. The whole pallet rack (with camper) must be gently tapped backward with a sledgehammer partway through the lowering process.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

 

I was able to drive my truck out for more working room, after tapping the pallet rack gently backward with a sledgehammer. This is a game changer.

 

Hello! I'm up in Bham but would be willing to assist you if you need some extra hands. I'm 2 months into the VD wait...

 

Thank you for the offer, and congratulations on your Drifter purchase! I finished the work I needed to do to mine — replacing the bedrail caps and seals — and this pallet rack method worked great once I got the hang of it.

PS. Take the advice of everyone who has said it and put some metal bedrail caps on your truck ahead of time. The plastic rail caps simply don’t hold up under the weight of more than 150 lbs. or so, and they begin to collapse, which can cause the clamps that hold the Drifter on to become loose. Also, you will have a really hard time completely sealing out water if you use the OEM plastic rail caps, because the water comes in underneath them.

 

Hey there no problem! I hadn't scrolled down far enough to notice you had completed the work. Well done! And thank you for the recommendation! Looking forward to the VD to say the least!

 

I see you might have 3rd gen Taco; your bedrails are different than mine were. I’d ask Vagabond whether they recommend replacing the caps or not.

 

Oh great point - much appreciated! Did you purchase your VD new? And did I read on your profile that you live in it full time in Seattle? Very intrigued!

 

I’m the 3rd(!) owner and am not living in it full time at the moment. Last winter was pretty tough, psychologically speaking, mostly because of how much rain we get, but also because urban camping often means breaking camp every morning before you attract too much attention.

I will be in the Drifter again in a month or so, and have ordered the upper insulation package from Vagabond. There’s no substitute for a zero degree sleeping bag and an extra blanket though. They work on the coldest of nights, even if my heat goes out.

Having a discreet way to pee is also key. I pee into what looks like a beer bong but the tube drains onto the ground underneath the truck.

 

Wow, 3rd! I can only imagine the difficulties living in it full time. However, props for grunting it out and having that experience!

Do you ever head out for dispersed camping? I'd be very interested in getting out; recently relocated from CO and haven't made any 4x4 friends in the area yet to get out and camp with.

 

Absolutely. I did a big trip to southern Utah this year, but I love to get out in the boondocks around here too — at least twice a month.

 

Oh really? Precisely my preferred frequency of getting out. Are you restricted to weekends? I work odd hours at a hospital up here in Bellingham.