2020 Ford Ranger with Vagabond Drifter wedge camper

[Red_Leader]

Howdy. Finally picked up my Vagabond Drifter for my 2020 Ford Ranger. To my knowledge I am the only one who's done this. Thought I'd share.

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It's new, haven't really had a chance to build it out yet. It has the insulated tent package which will be nice. I need a little suspension work done, the butt needs to come up another inch or two. I'm working on it. But it's a real nice piece of kit, and no messing.

 

[llamalander]

Congratulations! Musta' been a long wait, let us know what you do with it--

 

[Snewberg]

curious as to what this did to your gas mileage? I have a 19 with a leinter bed rack and RTT and that big back end gives me and epa probably 20% less or greater depending on the road conditions

 

[Snewberg]

curious as to what this did to your gas mileage? I have a 19 with a leinter bed rack and RTT and that big back end gives me and epa probably 20% less or greater depending on the road conditions

 

[Red_Leader]

I lost 1 mpg, from 17.6 down to 16.6mpg. I had a 800 mile road trip to collect it, and a 800 mile road trip back opportunity to observe it.

 

[Snewberg]

I lost 1 mpg, from 17.6 down to 16.6mpg. I had a 800 mile road trip to collect it, and a 800 mile road trip back opportunity to observe it.

In the mountains I would get down as far as 17 also but averaged about 19 over my 8000 miles last winter. Also figured out that as soon as you get past 65mph and dont use the cruise control it for as much of the drive as possible it optimized. Currently averaging 22/23 without the RTT on

Either way love your set up! May it get you to the places you want to see most!

 

[mattocka]

@Red_Leader , what type of antenna are your running? I have the Nagoya NMO lip mount, but it seems like it's not quite straight with my current antenna... I would love to see a close up of the mount. Nice build!
*Some pics attached of my '21 XL build

 

[Red_Leader]

@Red_Leader , what type of antenna are your running? I have the Nagoya NMO lip mount, but it seems like it's not quite straight with my current antenna... I would love to see a close up of the mount. Nice build!
*Some pics attached of my '21 XL build

This is the mount I use, connected to a Midland GMRS radio.
I like the location and the functionality. I do not like the 4 little mounting screws that gouge the paint under the lip. I mean it's out of sight and out of mind but I still dislike it.

That's a good looking build, I like it. Especially the hidden winch mount. I also like the 6 foot bed you have. Alas.

I can take some pics of the mount tomorrow, it's dark right now. But what you see is what you get in the above Amazon link.

Edit: you asked about the antenna. My bad. This is the one.


I like your mount better than mine, what are you using to put it there?

 

[Red_Leader]

Got out this weekend finally to break in the topper for New Years. Temps were cold, down to about 10 or 15 degrees F. The Space Buddy propane heater got the tent plenty warm plenty fast, but the water vapor byproduct was troublesome enough we didn't keep it on for long - will do something different long term. But it made dressing and undressing pretty great. This was our first run with things, we have some reconfiguring to do. Our tent/cot game is pretty solid, this is a little different. Little learning curve. All in all it was a very positive experience, a big upgrade and we're plenty happy with it.















I was chained up and though really handy, not strictly necessary; plenty of folks up there without them. That said, we did run across a rig that came off the road and down a decent incline. There was nobody in it when we arrived but we looked.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Someone or something knocked the windows out of that Dakota it appears.

 

[mattocka]

Got out this weekend finally to break in the topper for New Years. Temps were cold, down to about 10 or 15 degrees F. The Space Buddy propane heater got the tent plenty warm plenty fast, but the water vapor byproduct was troublesome enough we didn't keep it on for long - will do something different long term. But it made dressing and undressing pretty great. This was our first run with things, we have some reconfiguring to do. Our tent/cot game is pretty solid, this is a little different. Little learning curve. All in all it was a very positive experience, a big upgrade and we're plenty happy with it.

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I was chained up and though really handy, not strictly necessary; plenty of folks up there without them. That said, we did run across a rig that came off the road and down a decent incline. There was nobody in it when we arrived but we looked.

View attachment 699796

The antenna I have in the back is the Wilson WeBoost Trucker OTR antenna. It's a cell booster antenna (install thread)

The wiring wasn't hard, but the ram mount solution is on the janky side. With that wedge camper you should have a much easier time mounting something to the top left corner for maximum cell coverage, or any other type of antenna. The grommet I used in my install is the rear "official" wiring pass-through per Ford Specs, so it makes for a clean install if you tuck the cable under the trim pieces.

Here are some pics of my current ham radio set up (KM6KUZ). It looks like I'll need to hog out a bit of the Nagoya mount near the allen bolt to have it sit completely vertical.

 

[Red_Leader]

Your antenna mount folds backwards from mine. I'll try to post another pic later but you fold from the outside in, and mine folds from the inside out.

 

[Red_Leader]

The antenna I have in the back is the Wilson WeBoost Trucker OTR antenna. It's a cell booster antenna (install thread)

The wiring wasn't hard, but the ram mount solution is on the janky side. With that wedge camper you should have a much easier time mounting something to the top left corner for maximum cell coverage, or any other type of antenna. The grommet I used in my install is the rear "official" wiring pass-through per Ford Specs, so it makes for a clean install if you tuck the cable under the trim pieces.

Here are some pics of my current ham radio set up (KM6KUZ). It looks like I'll need to hog out a bit of the Nagoya mount near the allen bolt to have it sit completely vertical.
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Sorry to take so long, here's mine

 

[Red_Leader]

Rotate yours around and flip it around and you'll have the right of it.

 

[eg23]

Got out this weekend finally to break in the topper for New Years. Temps were cold, down to about 10 or 15 degrees F. The Space Buddy propane heater got the tent plenty warm plenty fast, but the water vapor byproduct was troublesome enough we didn't keep it on for long - will do something different long term. But it made dressing and undressing pretty great. This was our first run with things, we have some reconfiguring to do. Our tent/cot game is pretty solid, this is a little different. Little learning curve. All in all it was a very positive experience, a big upgrade and we're plenty happy with it.

View attachment 699786

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View attachment 699789

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View attachment 699791

View attachment 699792

I was chained up and though really handy, not strictly necessary; plenty of folks up there without them. That said, we did run across a rig that came off the road and down a decent incline. There was nobody in it when we arrived but we looked.

View attachment 699796

What been your fuel mileage hit with this camper installed?