Our Land Rover Defender - our mobile home
It was clear to me that if we wanted a motorhome, it had to be a Land Rover. Even when I look back today, the Defender is the right fit for us. Rational criteria have always been:
· A robust construction
· All-wheel drive
· Compact dimensions
· Available worldwide
· Robust in fuel and
· electronics that are as little complex as possible
With these criteria, the Santana or the various Land Cruiser types are available as alternatives.
After analyzing the used car situation, it quickly became clear that it would be a new car. In retrospect, this proved to be a good decision because we now know the car from the beginning.
Our Landy was built in 2005, special model "Limited Edition" No. 115 of 150. It is the last TD5 series with the flat bonnet, the super-beautiful 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 able to convince Bettina of this vehicle too.
In the first few years it was mainly our main vehicle and workhorse. We travelled a lot with the caravan back then. The high towing capacity made travelling very relaxed. For us the caravan was always a vehicle and not just a standing object.
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 we travel in the future. Therefore, it had to be completely converted. From a 9-seater to a 2-seater with the option of reinstalling the rear bench seat and thus having at least 4 seats.
The most important points for us are:
· In bad weather we must have enough space in the vehicle
· In extreme cases, we must be able to sleep in the car
· A toilet in the vehicle
· Make a coffee in the vehicle
· Sit upright in the vehicle
· As many storage compartments as possible for a very long journey
We thought about the topic of roof tent or pop-up roof for a long time. In the end we decided on the roof tent. Overall we have more space and a bigger bed. The disadvantage is the assembly and disassembly, especially in bad weather. We currently deal with 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 model. We have a 110 station wagon (110inc wheelbase). There was also the 130 double cab with a flatbed. At the time we didn't have the courage to go for this design. We always had the idea of expanding a finished body. Today, with some distance, we would rethink this idea. A camping structure on the flatbed does give you more freedom, but that is the future.
Back to our conversion, we didn't do everything at once, but rather did the conversion in stages and then we went travelling again. This way we could check whether everything was working and fitting and what we really still needed.
In the following we describe the individual details of the conversion ->
