My man got super depressed last week. You know that feeling when you've bitten off more than you can chew, your list of things to do is a mile long and you can't see yourself having time to do any of it? In a very manly way, he thought it was up to him to deal with it, and wasn't talking to me about how to solve some problems in his head about the Defender and turning it into a pop top camper. It ended up with a long walk, an argument, and me firmly telling him I'm a bloody good project manager and whilst I can't build what he can, I can damn well organise and make good decisions that would save time and money.

Of course, I did help his state of mind, coming up with solutions that made him feel relieved and ready to crack on with a smile on his face. I can't tell you how much happier he is - and he promised he'd come to me next time he felt that way. I may not be a mechanic but I know stuff!

So what the plan was, we were going to build a tunnel from one end of the tub (an extended tub which reduces the dual cab to a single cab, but 20 inches longer than your standard 110 Defender van) so that one side would be a pull out kitchen, and one side would be a kind of garage for the chainsaw and so on. Behind the bulkhead would go a bespoke water tank that would fit about 100 litres of water. Then we still had over 180 cms (double bed length) to play with for the rest of the camper, with the fridge sitting over the top of the water tank/storage area below. Awesome idea, if you had lots of money and time.

As I explained to Jamie, we have to be careful of looking at Instagram and thinking that is the dream build. We aren't made of money, and to be honest, no one ever did stuff like that in the past and they still had awesome experiences. I mean, this build is freaking awesome - just look at it - bespoke, wooden, pull out kitchen - the dream 4x4 camper. Exquisite is the absolute word for it.

Our camper will eventually look like this from the outside, with the pop top, but we decided against the pop out kitchen, as basically it's windy all the time and I think they're kinda impractical. Why can't we just pull out a stove and put it on the back door pull down table or on a gull wing table? That's easy enough and way cheaper. Sure enough, the bespoke aliminum water tank came back at 1500 bucks - ouch, and that's without the 2 grand we'd likely spend on the pull out kitchen and tunnel. So, as project manager, I told him to get working on the tub and sides, and I'd order an appropriate water tank and the hatches.

What we ended up with was a 50 Litre tank ($250 AUD), two hatches ($150 AUD) and thus saved ourselves a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of money. The set up will be pretty much the same - the storage area and the water tank - just less fancy pants.

The next step was getting the capping from our spare Landrover tubs and welding them together to bespoke fit the length of the tub. They're being sanded and painted as soon as the weather warms up a little.

Then, the next job was about extending the sides. Defenders can fit the same sides as a Series Landrover, which we picked up for less than 100 bucks off a mate. As our tub has an extra twenty inches and Landrover never made sides and a tub to fit a 130 Defender single cab, he has to fabricate them. We are actually getting rid of the windows to make more of a panelvan, like the one below but longer (because it's a 130, not a 110 - right? In fact, the one below will look pretty much like ours, as it's even the same colour, Keswick Green!

^{Image Source}

We also scored a back door off a mate (an ex County door, if you know Landie models) for a reasonable price and the mudguards. Now to order the diesel heater so we have an idea of the size to fit in the space we have for it (under a cabinet in the back). There's so many decisions to make and things to order - but it's better with two heads on the problem rather than one, don't you think?

The way we build things is fairly organic, doing as we go, so we don't have a floor plan other than what exists in our heads. There's plenty of inspiration out there, that's for sure - the trick is to find a balance between aesthetics, affordibility, practicality, and what is essentially us.

^Inspiration?

What is super awesome about this week is that we've made some big decisions that make an easier way forward to my hard working partner, and still is helping us progress the dream.

The next decision is whether we'll pay someone to do the pop top for us, or whether we'll build it ourselves. Also, do we ship this one to travel around Europe with, given the price of shipping these days (it's gone up by ridiculous amounts) or do we ship the old Series and sell it once it's there? That is going to involve some modifications as well - including a pop top - but I'll be sure to update you all on these crazy 4x4 camper projects on Hive as we go!

What vehicle do you camp in?

What is your dream overland vehicle?

With Love,

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