Our new vehicle

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Looks great - I would for sure do some proper research - you can easily make it suitable for 2 to sleep in! Plus if you want to wild camp it is far better than a roof tent. I would also want to keep as much weight as possible off the roof! Looks a fantastic base for a camper. Will follow with interest!
 
Cheers Earl. Still dithering on this. Need the full length of the rear tub to sleep in & that means a full length pull out seat down one side. Everything else then has to go down the other side - Hob, chest fridge, sink, sealed compartment for the portapotty (this would be moved outside when camping with a pull out privacy screen attached to the roof rack to be used as a wc & shower cubicle. Gets tight trying to fit all this down one side of the tub and I want it to be self-contained. I agree about the top weight. Spending lots of time with a tape measure & tinternet at the moment.

Let me know what you come up with - I am in a similar position at the moment - I have a 110 - but the 5 door with seats. I am currently researching ideas for a modular system that i can remove when i wont need it (most of the time) and install in say an hour or less before a trip.

Nothing wrong with putting it all down one side, and if, as i suspect, you are going for a permanent install, PLUS you don't have any doors to contend with - I think you will be on to a right winner!

For example - do you REALLY need a sink? Hob I totally get, and a nice gull wing will help with the logistics of cooking inside. But can't you just use a tub to do your washing up?

In regards to water - Front runner do a (i think) 36 litre water storage tank that goes under the car behind a rear wing. That will save you a load of space.

What about this?
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/503981014533208977/

or similar this - which i think is great - but add the hob in - note the space for fridge and porta-potty.
http://www.foro-overland.es/foro/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=2285

Or this
http://www.ldcamp.fr/realisations/defender-augustin/

Just a few thoughts :)
 
We've been around this course too, and decided in the end that a lifting roof/sleeping area was the way ahead. This has just (this week!) been fitted, but you can get an idea of the evolution of our "stealth camper" here https://onetentotantan.blogspot.com/
We still have to decide how to re-fit the interior to make best use of the cavernous space this has given us, but now we have the best of all worlds and are very happy with our final decision - it's taken a few years of experiment to make it.
Oh - and we hope the knee improves quickly.
 
It'll be interesting to see your "final cut" given the options and how we all want the same end result.
FWIW, we think that if you eventually fit an Alucab roof, the furniture and fittings you install now won't be high enough, assuming you want to stand up while cooking etc. Since doing those chores sitting down is eventually very uncomfortable especially if you can't do any of them outside due to wind and weather, that was finally the reason why we've gone the pop-top route. I guess you could design a modular system that could be raised to a suitable height as you need it, but the amount of ply etc you need to do this probably isn't worth the brain cells - just start again when the roof is changed. You'll probably have changed your mind on what works for you anyway by then. We did. 3 times :rolleyes:.
Would agree about the sink -a washing up bowl is far more flexible in its use. Likewise the water tank, although some folk feel they could be a breeding ground for bugs. We haven't had a problem but we make sure it has a good soak in Milton's Fluid before every big trip and is drained in the winter.
My wife is a superb chef and can conjure up a feast from a potential famine, so you'd think she'd want a full double-burner with grill set-up. Not so. We have a double burner gas stove and she only ever uses one of the rings...
We do, though, have an Engel fridge with the extended 2-zone compartment; this is well worth the money and is more important, we believe, to make space for that instead of, say, a Porta-Potti. We do lots of wild camping and offroad driving (Alps, Pyrennees, Western Sahara, Atlas, Scotland :)) and the thought of all that blue sludge slopping around and potentially spilling isn't attractive!
We've made external storage using plastic boat lockers. Not as robust as the expensive metal ones but have not let us down. There's also plenty of places around the chassis rails that will take boxes- we use old electric drill cases from Black & Decker -which take all the oils, grease, fluids etc that you don't want inside.

Hope the knee sorts itself soon! Good luck. If it's any encouragement, I managed to build a flat-pack kitchen while hobbling around with a plastered leg and a crutch...just accept it'll take twice as long and you might need to be a bit creative with the logistics. I found the biggest problem was that if I made myself a cup of tea or anything, I couldn't carry it anywhere. Had to have all my meals and drinks standing up.;).
 
Did you get anywhere with this?

I've just finished carcassing my interior to fit cooker, sink, cupboards, modular seats and allow cosy sleeping for 2...all in the back of a USW 110
 
I will be doing a write up soon but I'm flat out getting it ready for short holiday starting on Friday ( cutting it close! ).

Sorry to hear about the knee, that sucks. I was off last Xmas with an infection in the knee due to a small piece of metal getting into it...you'd be surprised how much you rely on them to do things!
Wish you well in your recovery
 
We've been around this course too, and decided in the end that a lifting roof/sleeping area was the way ahead. This has just (this week!) been fitted, but you can get an idea of the evolution of our "stealth camper" here https://onetentotantan.blogspot.com/
We still have to decide how to re-fit the interior to make best use of the cavernous space this has given us, but now we have the best of all worlds and are very happy with our final decision - it's taken a few years of experiment to make it.
Oh - and we hope the knee improves quickly.

I have spent the last hour reading through your blog. Very well written and some big adventures in there :cool:
 
I bought a 90 200tdi from Westwood motors a few years back, it had a fresh 12 month MOT on it and it was only a couple of days after I bought it that i noticed both front ouriggers were totally rotted away. I had to replace them and the rear crossmember soon after I bought it. I wasn't too bothered as I was prepared for work and can do it all myself but he obviously has a very close relationship with the MOT man next door. ;-)
 
Back
Top