Landrover re-configure. Putting my project together part 1 platform & bed

[Leaky roof]

Hi All..

Happy that I can post again.. Thanks a ton HDR

I think it’s time that I post about putting my project together, so just to refresh, My project brief- outline was to re-configure my Landrover Discovery II into a one person camper in such a way that it can be re-constituted as an empty vehicle for carrying goods, or by putting the seats back, revert back to a family vehicle.

This had the implication that nothing is built in permanently and can within 20 minutes or so, can be stripped out.

It was clear from the outset that all of the auxiliary activities such as cooking / changing / pooping / showering (especially showering and pooping) happens outside of the vehicle, and the Landy is essentially just the bedroom.

I've posted about some of the auxillary things, (pooping / showering / changeroom) and there is still a few like scullary cooking ETC to go which I'll cover later..

I can easily pack groceries for 10 -15 days, but water is the weak link, I have 65L of potable water on my roof-rack, and only 15L on hand inside. Unfortunately, the muncipal water in the outlying towns ( end even some of the smaller cities) is no longer trustworthy, so all my water that drink is from what I carry with me. The plan is, that when I get to one of the major metro's I can re-plenish using my 15L container, and this I can do at a main garagre (what we call Ultra-cities)

My emergency GBHB is also on my roof-rack, and it’s all covered with a rip-stop canvas windshield, which is nice because it replicates a “tropical roof”- for those of you who remember the old series Landy, they came out with a steel double roof... That was the tropical roof.
Anyhow, I also have some other things on my roof-rack, most notable is my record No 2 bench vice that fits into my receiver and stabilises on the ground... I’ll get to post about that sometime, but for now, it’s probably the most used piece of recovery gear I have... Point is, if you can’t hold it you can’t fix it....

So that means my roof-rack is fully utilised. Anyhow, I hate a Roof top tent. Besides I can hardly be “stealth” with a ruddy great big tent perched up there now can I?

I have a fair amount of recovery kits: - EG electrical / tyre / mechanical / traction / and so on, which I moved down onto the foot-well behind the front seat. This gave me a bit more inside length for the bed. I’m 6’2” and 100Kg... Gotta make sure all of that get’s a good night’s kip....

After all the measuring / planning / sketching / more measuring / back to the drawing board.... And so on........ SIGH..... I started by putting in a deck, just high enough to slide my solar panel & 2 burner stove underneath, then came the mattress, then my 50L Waeco compressor freezer. I had planned that the rear passenger door was the access for the freezer, and the rear near side door was the entry & exit point, so the next thing was my tailgate chuck-box & table.

What space was left was soon taken up by the gas bottles / 15L water on the one side and my general purpose box on the other, with my grocery box up-top the GP box.

Now when Mother Nature throws her toys at me, I must also be able to function inside, so there I use a Trangia type cooker....

Then someone suggested I get a bicycle, and, as I live out the back of the landy, I only had one place to put that, on the front.

BTW I was warned. Here in South Africa, they run up behind vehicles and rip the bike off the back. Happens in towns ETC, and if they don’t get it right with the first yank, they go to the next traffic light & try again! so I’m 100 % fine with looking at mine all the time.... OOOPS my foot “accidentally” hit the accelerator... Terribly sorry

Anyhow here is a whole bunch of pictures.
 
DECK: - Started out as a double bed futon bed base, that I picked u at the rubbish dump... Gosh 90 % of the work already done!



The space after I had removed the seats and put the recovery gear into the passenger's foot-well. There is titling in the pictures



breaking the deck up into three sections so that I can man-handle it out.
Section 1 installed



Section 2 installed



Section 3 installed deck complete. So the distance between the floor and the underside of the deck is 100mm. My solar panel (which goes all the way to the front) is 80mm and the 2 plate burner is 90mm. So that was a win



So then I started on the bed, and got these base boards for free at the rubbish dump, back-boards from a kitchen rip-out


Bed base boards in place


Next was the matress, a 3 division foam matress +- 70mm thick, covered in ripstop canvas, that I had languishing in my storeroom. Ontop of that I use a canvas senior officer's field bivy bag, which has a thin felt linsulating layer Inside that is a sleeping bag and a blanket and a 10mm thick cheap sponge matress. That arrangement's very comfortable, used it many times. I was not able to use an inflatable matress as the height to the roof would have left me chrunching my head against the roof, and that would have gotten very tired very quickly---- big shout out to CRVL for the heads up and I avoided that mistake. I'm also lucky that the Discovery roof is slightly raised at the rear, emmenintly suited to what I'm doing.

Also, on top of the bedding, I use a darn good sleeping bag, a blanket and my sleep suit (new thing for me), I like to burrow down into bedding as it get's colder, and I got plenty to dig down into.

At 6'2" and 100Kg weight, I need a full bed. That was extremely important....




Then came my tailgate kitchen & the bed... Yip it fit's to plan very happy with the project so far


Next post I'll cover the installation of my 50L Waeco fridge / freezer and all the stuff on the L side That's where the wheels nearly fell off...