Our Land Rover Defender - our mobile home
It was clear to me that if it was a motorhome, it had to be a Land Rover. Even if I review today, the fact remains that the Defender suits us. Rational criteria have always been:
· A robust construction
· All wheel drive
· Compact dimensions
· Available worldwide
· Robust when it comes to fuel and
· As little complex electronics as possible
With these criteria, there is an alternative to the Santana or the various Land Cruiser types.
After analyzing the used car situation, it quickly became clear that it would be a new car. Which, in hindsight, proved to be a good thing because we now know the car from the start.
Our Landy was built in 2005, special model "Limited Edition" No. 115 of 150. It is the last TD5 series with the flat hood, the super nice red-brown leather upholstery and the polished aluminum parts. A beautiful home, which is always very important to us. And in the meantime I was also able to convince Bettina of this vehicle.
In the first few years it was mainly our main vehicle and driving force. Back then we traveled a lot in the caravan. The high train load makes traveling very relaxed. For us, the caravan was always a vehicle and not a standing thing.
In 2016 the final decision was made to convert the Land Rover into a motorhome.
It was clear from the start that it would be our home when traveling in the future. Therefore it had to be completely rebuilt. From a 9-seater to a 2-seater with the option to reinstall the rear bench seat and thus have at least 4 seats.
The most important points for us are:
· If the weather is bad, we must have enough space in the vehicle
· In extreme cases, we need to be able to sleep in the car
· A toilet in the vehicle
· Make coffee in the vehicle
· Sit upright in the vehicle
· As many storage compartments as possible for a very long trip
We thought about the topic of roof tents or pop-up roofs for a long time. In the end it became the roof tent. Overall, we have more space and a larger bed. The disadvantage is the assembly and dismantling, especially in bad weather. We currently solve the cold with very good sleeping bags.
... if necessary we can also sleep in the vehicle, the conversion is designed that way.
A word about the type. We have a 110 station car (110inc – wheelbase). There was also the 130 double cab with a platform. Back then we lacked the courage to take this form. It was always the idea of removing a finished body. Today we would reconsider this idea. A camping setup on the flatbed gives more freedom, but that is the future.
Back to our expansion, we didn't do everything at once, but rather repeated renovation phases and then we were traveling again. So we were able to check whether everything works and fits and what we really need now.
Below we describe the individual details of the conversion ->
