Mad LWB disco idea (Now ultimate overlanding disco thread of rubbish

[LetsHopeItFits]

We used to have an ex-nhs skoda octavia scout, all the paramedic electronic stuff used to be installed as a seperate unit in the boot, and of course was removed from the car by the nhs before its sold. There was still a hole in the window that was drilled for the charging plug.
The disco ambulance still has the siren (no lights) and all the other ambulance-related stuff is gone.
2 fire extinguishers, 1 in the front, for driving, and 1 in the back, for cooking/camping. It also means that if I do need to use it, e.g. grass fire or something, and the car is saved and undamaged, I can carry on, without too much concern, knowing Ive still got one, and can buy another in the next town/village/other large establishment.

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Its bad news Im afraid. The ambulance is now no longer available. I even increased my offer, but no, alas it was not to be. This leaves me in a bit of a pickle. Having looked more closely at my disco, I realised that all the seats are quite a way behind their respective windows. (I.e. its not possible to cut the body at the C-pillar to make a double cab, because the rear seats stick out further, same story with B-pillar single cab etc etc)
Now, I did have an idea. I do need at least two seats, but they dont necessarily need to both be at the front, so I could remove the passanger seat, and the rear seat behind it, and have enough room to sleep. Its going the be a bit of a squeeze, because I can see most of the boot space being filled with a fridge, camping gas cooking stuff, etc, so a roof rack might be a requirement, but we'll see.
Ill still need to sell it and buy a tdi, does it matter if its a 200tdi or a 300tdi? (Im not too keen on a td5/d2)

 

[Stanleysteamer]

Its bad news Im afraid. The ambulance is now no longer available. I even increased my offer, but no, alas it was not to be. This leaves me in a bit of a pickle. Having looked more closely at my disco, I realised that all the seats are quite a way behind their respective windows. (I.e. its not possible to cut the body at the C-pillar to make a double cab, because the rear seats stick out further, same story with B-pillar single cab etc etc)
Now, I did have an idea. I do need at least two seats, but they dont necessarily need to both be at the front, so I could remove the passanger seat, and the rear seat behind it, and have enough room to sleep. Its going the be a bit of a squeeze, because I can see most of the boot space being filled with a fridge, camping gas cooking stuff, etc, so a roof rack might be a requirement, but we'll see.
Ill still need to sell it and buy a tdi, does it matter if its a 200tdi or a 300tdi? (Im not too keen on a td5/d2)

You've only just thought of this?
I once had to pick my wife up from hospital and keep her flat, she had just had a serious back operation and there was no ambulance avaiable.
so I did similar to what you said, removed the front seat and in this case both back seats. then i put in the mattress off a Z bed and put her on top of it. And this was in a D1. A D2 is longer, but like you, I am not keen on al the electrickery on my TD5.

Oh and you'll like this. I started and moved my D1 V8 yesterday, I had started it just last week for the first time since 2017. On the same petrol and lpg as was/is in the tanks. It didn't take too much churning! the power steering is making a bit of a noise but it starts drives and stops!
(Trying to flog my trailer.)

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Im not too keen on the idea, because its hardly ideal. I might measure the roof and see if a popup campervan roof could be grafted in, and then removing the rear seats should give ample room for everything, with water and the battery etc going into the rear footwells, since thats the best place to put heavy stuff.
The alternative is to do an australian style "ute chop" but the loadspace wont be much bigger for the same height/departure angle, and its quite expensive

 

[DanClarke]

Here's what you need.

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

A bit outside my budget...

 

[Stanleysteamer]

Here's what you need.

Funnily I was thinking that too, but didn't say it out loud!
How much are they though.

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Ive decided that if Ive got to cut something up, I may as well chop up a jimny, but Ive not given up on the landy idea! Im looking at 109s, Ive been in one that had parabolic springs, and the ride was more than acceptable, although in typical series/defender tradition, the room between ones shoulder and the B-pillar was non-existing, so Im not too keen on the idea, but their simplicity is very tempting, although one in my budget would be quite rough, and I really dont think ide want one with normal leaf springs! Bonus, safari roof! I will miss the comfort and interior space of my discovery though, so more thinking needs to happen

 

[Stanleysteamer]

more thinking needs to happen

Never posted a truer word!!!!!
Or words!

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Well, Ive found some people in NI making a single cab disco 130, and they say it wont be IVAed, Ive sent them a message asking for more details/how etc, anyone fancy making a guess before they reply? (Its red btw)
Also been having a think, since I took my disco laning again this afternoon, how much space do I really need? For a big trip, like say for example africa, I need 2 spare tyres, some extra fuel, and then some basic camping stuff that I could fit in a large rucksack (1 per person) and then if I want a fridge, I need a fridge, solar panel and a 2nd battery, and then some recovery gear is probably a good idea (recovery boards, tow rope, maybe a snatch strap, and then the correct fixtures for them) and I see all that filling the disco, but not overfilling it. And Ive had a rough measure, the roof is big enough to accomodate a campervan style popup roof, although how this is actually worth the hassle and cost VS a regular tent, Im not sure. I could see the benefit of sleeping inside the car (i.e. no canvas, just properly solid, no flapping about in the wind) but I dont think thats achievable, without emptying it entirely every night. Another idea, is to turn it into a 100" discovery pick up, with room to fit some really big LPG tanks, whilst keeping the standard disco petrol tank. Im not sure how easy it is to get LPG in remote places, but I doubt its common, so keeping the fuel tank and a couple of jerry cans is probably a very good idea

 

[Shippers]

Have you looked at Rapter Garage on youtube he has a Disco and an ambulance for overlanding...

 

[Stanleysteamer]

How tall are you?
I am 5'9" and have slept a few times on the second row seats, (we don't have the third row seats) and with three Cocker Spaniels. I know it doesn't sound ideal but I managed it.

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Im a good 6 feet tall, broad and quite fat. Now I can change one of them, but it wont make much difference since my shoulders are still wide, and Ive always had a big chest, even before I found ben and jerries ice cream. Sleeping in the disco, with all the seats inside it, isnt really possible for me, plus its likely Ill be with a long time friend, and the hassle of dealing with wet tents, and getting no sleep due to rough ground/tents flapping in the wind was all fun and great when getting really drunk in a field less than an hour from home in a field in a familiar place, but tenting in africa seems like quite a bad idea, plus its very difficult to tent in the UK, since it requires somewhere flat, somewhat hidden, and not on a tarmac or concrete floor, whereas sleeping IN the car, or on it, means that the floor and nature of the location are slightly less importaint

 

[Shippers]

Raptor Garage cut the roof off his Disco and made it flat so it dropped his roof tent lowering the centre of gravity he also has slide out drawers in the back for equip...I have metal boxes for the 101 which will slide out from the drop down lower side panels when I can get the bloody thing matriculated!!..

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Yeah, another bonus for extending the disco is it will make it better offroad - now hear me out, what I mean is, better offroad for an equally good on road drive, because I noticed that the only things I struggled with today were limited by tyre size, or lack of a locking axle diff. It was fine, it just needed a little more momentum that I would have liked to use, and I was very very cautious of the axles hitting a rock, and quite worried about the lack of rock sliders. Now big tyres and lifts, from what Ive heard and experienced, make vehicles worse to drive on tarmac roads, and this is exaggerated on shorter wheelbases, so a longer wheelbase means I can have a bigger lift with bigger tyres, without ruining the on-road driving? (Obvs with correct castor correction etc etc)

 

[Shippers]

Yeah, another bonus for extending the disco is it will make it better offroad - now hear me out, what I mean is, better offroad for an equally good on road drive, because I noticed that the only things I struggled with today were limited by tyre size, or lack of a locking axle diff. It was fine, it just needed a little more momentum that I would have liked to use, and I was very very cautious of the axles hitting a rock, and quite worried about the lack of rock sliders. Now big tyres and lifts, from what Ive heard and experienced, make vehicles worse to drive on tarmac roads, and this is exaggerated on shorter wheelbases, so a longer wheelbase means I can have a bigger lift with bigger tyres, without ruining the on-road driving? (Obvs with correct castor correction etc etc)

Remember your raising the centre of gravity and then overlanding your normally overloading with gear in and usually on the roof creating a top heavy vehicle...not one I would lane here in Portugal as the tracks are steep with quite sharp turns with bad inclines...last year a Jeep Safari the driver lost control and rolled down a slope couldnt take the bend 1 dead and all rest airlifted to hospital and that was just a day trip from their hotel...same a few years ago driver died all rest injured and both a few miles from where I live...

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Bloody hell, risky roads around there! Theres only 1 fatality I know of from greenlaning in Wales, and it was when a car was washed away on strata florida about a decade ago when it went through a river crossing that very clearly wasnt safe.
As for reducing rollover risk, longer wheelbase helps slightly, but Im also thinking of widening the track, with wider axles and/or spacers and/or wider offset wheels. (Avoiding spacers if possible, due to legal issues in some parts of the world). And again, trying not to put anything on the roofrack when Im driving, especially nothing heavy. A solar panel is probably permenant, and Ive heard that they can be very useful for washing clothes on longer trips

 

[Stanleysteamer]

Bloody hell, risky roads around there! Theres only 1 fatality I know of from greenlaning in Wales, and it was when a car was washed away on strata florida about a decade ago when it went through a river crossing that very clearly wasnt safe.
As for reducing rollover risk, longer wheelbase helps slightly, but Im also thinking of widening the track, with wider axles and/or spacers and/or wider offset wheels. (Avoiding spacers if possible, due to legal issues in some parts of the world). And again, trying not to put anything on the roofrack when Im driving, especially nothing heavy. A solar panel is probably permenant, and Ive heard that they can be very useful for washing clothes on longer trips

If you are driving around off road, one of the best ways to wash clothes is to have a drum with a well fitting lid, you put the clothes washing powder/liquid and water in. Strap it into the vehicle then drive around offroad. The motion of the vehicle chucks everything around inside the drum.
Take it out, tip the water out put rinse water in then off you go again! Or else just rinse them through and find somewhere to dry them!

 

[LetsHopeItFits]

Yes, thats what I had heard, only with a plastic box on the roof, because it means that spillages are less of an issue, although that rather depends on the car.
My main concern with a 109 is that it will just be stolen, and I cant put a fridge in it, because that too will just be stolen. I have no doubt that a 109 is more that capable enough offroad, maybe not quite as good as the disco, but certainly sufficient. And if I do need better performance, a rear locking diff should do the trick. I just cant justify selling mine, and then spending more for something that is objectively worse in every way, other than being easier to work on, and being a few inches longer

 

[Shippers]

Meant to say the Jeep Safaris here are 110's with sides on but no roof or UMM's no sides or roof s driving around with 9 people standing up!..also a point to remember fit non standard running gear and you break it abroad you aint going to fix it quickly not even in the EU now...