Pioneer I
- 11,171
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Spinks
- Member #
-
3057
- Service Branch
- Royal Navy Veteran
I see many threads on builds where people are using the standard, Pick Up, LR Defender, Land Cruiser etc but how many are using a van as a base to build into their overland vehicle.
We have moved from our trusty Defender that took us to Mongolia and all places in between to a VW 4motion Transporter. The main reason we have gone down this route is comfort, particularly in cold wet weather. The ability to sit inside in a warm dry area is a game changer. Sure our Defender with roof tent and by adding 270 degree awning with sides was a vast improvement on our original setup up but we have found that evenings, that time between finishing driving for the day and heading into the roof tent as cold damp and miserable even with the awning and sides up. We tried improving things fitting a diesel heater that fed both the tent and the awning and also a wood stove for in the awning but the time and effort involved to get set up unless staying put for a few days too restrictive. Our trips we tend to be moving on daily.
Defender in Ullanbataar, Mongolia.
So our thought process was do we go for a bigger better Land Rover build. But that financially was a massive undertaking with Land Rover Defenders currently at premium prices in the UK and then sorting a 20 or 30 year old vehicle mechanically and then adding in a build of a camper body the costs would climb massively.
So our thoughts went to a van of some sort. We have seen many throughout our journeys and found some to be very capable and suitable for overland trips. Our trips tend not to be massive off road challenges, in fact when your vehicle is also your home you tend to try and protect it and avoid terrain that might break or destroy it. In some cases that is not always possible as we found in the Gobi Desert, Pamir Highway and the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco however we saw many 2wd vehicles doing these routes, it just takes more care and a little longer but still achievable.
So we were now looking for a van, not too big as we did not want to be restricted by size, 4wd to enable light off-road use to allow us to tackle over 90% of the type of terrain we have encountered in our Defender 90 throughout the Stans, Russia and Mongolia.
We found what we were looking for back in February 2020. A 2015 VW 4motion Transporter, 4wd former breakdown recovery vehicle. It had a larger fuel tank giving a range of around 600 miles.
Base Van
First upgrade was a 50mm lift and fitting All Terrain Tyres. This gave a little more ground clearance and.better traction. This was followed by fitting out the rear in a basic camper layout and a diesel heater.
Initially we were not going to go with a pop top roof as we thought we wanted to fit a roof rack and load up the roof. Having looked at a few examples we changed our mind and went the Pop Roof. This gave us the ability to sleep in the pop roof and leave the lower area as a living and cooking space. Something we had wanted from the onset to make life more comfortable in cold wet weather.
Overland Bound Meet Lake District just before lockdown
Then Corona and lockdown arrived which has restricted us to just a few weekend trips and a two week trip away doing Scotland’s North Coast 500. Everything went well, we added a few minor tweaks here and there and added a few upgrades to our list.
Evening on the North Coast500
We added a 200W solar Panel to the Pop roof with a Victron mppt controller to top up our batteries when off grid.
The water carrying capacity is only 15 litres which is very restrictive if wanting to head off grid so the next job is a 47 litre water tank fitted externally underneath where the spare wheel would normally go.
Still on the list for the future are roof rails, A Bar Bumper, underbody protection and some additional scene / work lighting plus smaller jobs to make our life easier and more comfortable.
Camper Layout
Most of all we want to get out more and test everything and continue testing. Our experience of nearly 3 years on an overland trip living out of roof tent mean we are aware of many tricks that can make the difference between a comfortable trip and a struggle.
Scotland Fun In The Snow
We have moved from our trusty Defender that took us to Mongolia and all places in between to a VW 4motion Transporter. The main reason we have gone down this route is comfort, particularly in cold wet weather. The ability to sit inside in a warm dry area is a game changer. Sure our Defender with roof tent and by adding 270 degree awning with sides was a vast improvement on our original setup up but we have found that evenings, that time between finishing driving for the day and heading into the roof tent as cold damp and miserable even with the awning and sides up. We tried improving things fitting a diesel heater that fed both the tent and the awning and also a wood stove for in the awning but the time and effort involved to get set up unless staying put for a few days too restrictive. Our trips we tend to be moving on daily.
Defender in Ullanbataar, Mongolia.
So our thought process was do we go for a bigger better Land Rover build. But that financially was a massive undertaking with Land Rover Defenders currently at premium prices in the UK and then sorting a 20 or 30 year old vehicle mechanically and then adding in a build of a camper body the costs would climb massively.
So our thoughts went to a van of some sort. We have seen many throughout our journeys and found some to be very capable and suitable for overland trips. Our trips tend not to be massive off road challenges, in fact when your vehicle is also your home you tend to try and protect it and avoid terrain that might break or destroy it. In some cases that is not always possible as we found in the Gobi Desert, Pamir Highway and the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco however we saw many 2wd vehicles doing these routes, it just takes more care and a little longer but still achievable.
So we were now looking for a van, not too big as we did not want to be restricted by size, 4wd to enable light off-road use to allow us to tackle over 90% of the type of terrain we have encountered in our Defender 90 throughout the Stans, Russia and Mongolia.
We found what we were looking for back in February 2020. A 2015 VW 4motion Transporter, 4wd former breakdown recovery vehicle. It had a larger fuel tank giving a range of around 600 miles.
Base Van
First upgrade was a 50mm lift and fitting All Terrain Tyres. This gave a little more ground clearance and.better traction. This was followed by fitting out the rear in a basic camper layout and a diesel heater.
Initially we were not going to go with a pop top roof as we thought we wanted to fit a roof rack and load up the roof. Having looked at a few examples we changed our mind and went the Pop Roof. This gave us the ability to sleep in the pop roof and leave the lower area as a living and cooking space. Something we had wanted from the onset to make life more comfortable in cold wet weather.
Overland Bound Meet Lake District just before lockdown
Then Corona and lockdown arrived which has restricted us to just a few weekend trips and a two week trip away doing Scotland’s North Coast 500. Everything went well, we added a few minor tweaks here and there and added a few upgrades to our list.
Evening on the North Coast500
We added a 200W solar Panel to the Pop roof with a Victron mppt controller to top up our batteries when off grid.
The water carrying capacity is only 15 litres which is very restrictive if wanting to head off grid so the next job is a 47 litre water tank fitted externally underneath where the spare wheel would normally go.
Still on the list for the future are roof rails, A Bar Bumper, underbody protection and some additional scene / work lighting plus smaller jobs to make our life easier and more comfortable.
Camper Layout
Most of all we want to get out more and test everything and continue testing. Our experience of nearly 3 years on an overland trip living out of roof tent mean we are aware of many tricks that can make the difference between a comfortable trip and a struggle.
Scotland Fun In The Snow
