Help needed finding a poor man's 'Expedition vehicle'

Help needed finding a poor man's 'Expedition vehicle'

Author
Discussion

mr2man

Original Poster:

1,339 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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I wonder if anyone can help me by suggesting either suitable vehicles, donors or firms making vehicles for use as a sleep-in, go anywhere machine?

I want to swap my car for one I can travel to remote locations in, in difficult weathers (nearly got stuck this week in a fwd Volvo) for photographic trips and can live and sleep in for a few days at a time. Haven' t a clue what to do though!

Lefty

16,132 posts

201 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Any 4x4 with decent tyres and a roof tent?or if you want to sleep inside there are 4x4 versions of various vans but it depend on how much offroad ability you need.

Cfnteabag

1,195 posts

195 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Depending in how remote and how to extreme you could get away with a ground tent and a camping stove in any 4x4.

If you go for something like a lwb land rover you could always sleep in the back of it

Cfnteabag

1,195 posts

195 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Depending in how remote and how to extreme you could get away with a ground tent and a camping stove in any 4x4.

If you go for something like a lwb land rover you could always sleep in the back of it

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
I travelled around the middle east and Africa in a land rover defender 110.

A piece of plywood between the side mounted seats in the back and a blow up mattress was fine for two people.

There is plenty of room below the plywood/rear seats for storage.


Lefty

16,132 posts

201 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Oops, sorry I just noticed you said sleep-in.

There was a Unimog s404 expedition vehicle on eBay for about 6 months a few years back for about £8k. I've had a couple of 404 Mogs, they're slow and thirsty but very capable offroad with massive clearance, articulation and axle diff locks. Would you need that much offroad ability though? Enough to warrant the on-road compromises?

Newer ex-mil Uninogs are faster, bigger but generally more expensive. I've seen a few u1200's around the £10-12k mark.

You could look at the Volvo TGB, there's a 6x6 version that is quite big, they are cheap and spares easy to get.

Bedford MJ? Very truck-like...being a truck! But, again, 4x4, diff-locks and big bed/body. Not as capable offroad as a Mog but much cheaper. Ex-MOD examples seem to start around £5k.
Like this http://www.milweb.net/webvert/74992

Or something like this DAF?
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

Edited by Lefty on Friday 2nd January 12:20


Edited by Lefty on Friday 2nd January 12:23


Edited by Lefty on Friday 2nd January 12:28

mr2man

Original Poster:

1,339 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies so far, please keep them coming! I would prefer to be able to sleep inside so wondered if a Land Rover would be long enough and reliable? Do they keep going without ongoing maintenance. I am a muppet technically so could only handle the most obvious bodge fixes.

I wondered about an estate and taking out or laying rear seats down and putting a mattress and sleeping bag down too. Or a van, like a sprinter with winter or off road tyres. Don't know how tough and reliable they might be though.

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
mr2man said:
Thanks for the replies so far, please keep them coming! I would prefer to be able to sleep inside so wondered if a Land Rover would be long enough and reliable? Do they keep going without ongoing maintenance. I am a muppet technically so could only handle the most obvious bodge fixes.

I wondered about an estate and taking out or laying rear seats down and putting a mattress and sleeping bag down too. Or a van, like a sprinter with winter or off road tyres. Don't know how tough and reliable they might be though.
Defender 110 was fine for me to sleep in the back - I'm 6ft.
Great thing about land rovers is that they are pretty unbreakable and easily fixed with a hammer. There are statistics quoted that something like 75% of the defenders ever built are still running.

If you're staying in Europe then you can buy ex-miltary vehicles (http://www.mod-sales.com). High milage but very well maintained and cheap. Not a great idea outside Europe because of the military style paint.


mr2man

Original Poster:

1,339 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Would be in Europe, so that sounds like a good idea.

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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LR 110 with an ambulance body.

http://www.mod-sales.com/vehicles/,33,106,/Ambulan...


Or have a look at Toyota Emina/Lucida if you want something that's good on road but has 4x4 just in case.

Edited by Foliage on Friday 2nd January 13:00

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Foliage said:
We did seriously consider an ambulance bodied land rover but the height limits its usefulness.
In many european cities the only place to park is in underground car parks and they normally limit height to about 2 metres. The standard defender slips in underneath that but the ambulance wouldn't.

Of course, you could mount a motorbike on the back of the vehicle, park the landy outside town and bike in.

CoolHands

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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go small - panda 4x4!

andyb28

761 posts

117 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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The Landy sounds like a bullet proof solution.

However, for a bit more comfort, you could just get an old campervan. Most VW's are too pricey now, but the T25 still is pretty cheap and is a simple engine to fix.
Other things to look at are the older talbot based vans, they will be cheap but slow.

Bill

52,485 posts

254 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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You can get 4x4 VW T4s or Transits but a rwd Transit on all terrains or winters would be pretty good. As has been mentioned a Defender is 6ft long inside so fine.

Tbh though unless a car/van is well insulated you're better off in a tent.

sprouting

480 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
How cheap are you looking at.

http://motorhomes.autotrader.co.uk/used-motorhomes...


Dont know anything about them but they seem popular and suit your needs.

iguana

7,025 posts

259 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Can get vwt5 in 4x4 not sure ref the t4 I'd assume so. Can get sprinters in 4x4 are over 2m tho.

You can make a bed in the rear of most 4x4 like discos etc, I've done that before. I've got a shogun 3.2 the seats fold flat 'ish' & makes a double bed, for work I'm often in in a couple of nights a WK off on Europe runs, I just fold the pas side flat, leaves the 60% side of boot for tools etc. I've had simple curtains made, takes 2 mins to set up & its fine. With the right bedding its fine to really cold temps, was minus 5 before Xmas in Germany. You can always get a night heater fitted for a grand or so.

Foliage

3,861 posts

121 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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I quite like the look of these kinda things - http://www.northstarcampers.co.uk/index.html

t400ble

1,804 posts

120 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
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Mazda Bongo 4WD?

mr2man

Original Poster:

1,339 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
Foliage said:
I quite like the look of these kinda things - http://www.northstarcampers.co.uk/index.html
I had never thought of one like that, but it does look promising. I could leave it here until I go on trips suitable for it, even de-mount it during longer ones and have something easier to drive around in. Just cost considerations including storage to think about I suppose.

Truckosaurus

11,183 posts

283 months

Friday 2nd January 2015
quotequote all
t400ble said:
Mazda Bongo 4WD?
Probably the best option for a winter campervan if you aren't wanting to go offroad enough to need a Landy with an airbed.