Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India

jscherb

Expedition Leader
A nicely done exocage on a Thar. Reminds me of a NAS (North American Spec) Land Rover Defender exocage.

TharExocage1.jpg


TharExocage1a.jpg
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Indian aftermarket accessories company Bimbra has developed a hardtop for the new model Thar that boasts a 250-kg dynamic load capacity (550 lbs). That's enough to easily support a roof top tent without the exocage-style racks that Wranglers typically require. It comes with mounting points for roof racks as well. They've also developed a custom snorkel for the Thar, which sits flush with the body and is functional.

BimbraTharRTT1.jpg


BimbraTharRTT1a.jpg


I wonder why aftermarket hardtop companies in the U.S. don't make hardtops that can support large loads like a roof top tent? It can be done, both of my Safari Cab hardtops support large loads with something as simple as a Cherokee roof rack installed.

RTTFinal1_zpsceg3r7px.jpg


SafariRTT2.jpg
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
A thread on the Indian Team-BHP forum is entitled "Indian cars modified for camping & overlanding." It's got photos lots of interesting overland vehicles in India, here are a few...

Force Gurkha:

OverlandForceGurkha.jpg


Mahindra Marshal:

OverlandMarshal.jpg


Mahindra Bolero pickup:

OverlandMahindraBolero.jpg


Mahindra Scorpio:

OverlandMahindraScorpio.jpgb


OverlandMahindraScorpio2.jpg


OverlandMahindraScorpio3.jpg


Our friend wandernomad:

OverlandWandernomad.jpg


OverlandWandernomad2.jpg


How about an overland autorickshaw? (https://www.rushlane.com/bajaj-tuk-tuk-auto-rickshaw-modified-into-a-house-desi-rv-12346801.html):


OverlandAutorickshaw.jpg


There are more in the thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modi...indian-cars-modified-camping-overlanding.html
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
A new way to see India...

Camping Co provides self-drive and self-sufficient SUV Campers in which one can escape and get away from our homes and cities. These "SUV Campers" are based on the Mahindra Thar, Force Gurkha and Tata Xenon pick-up. The Thar and Gurkha, are both of course 4X4 (four-wheel drive) and can easily go beyond tarmac. The Tata Xenon also has good ground clearance and a rugged ladder frame chassis and suspension, which give it decent all terrain capability.

SelfDriveCamper1.jpg


SelfDriveCamper1a.jpg


More info at https://www.overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/features/counter-to-covid-self-drive-suv-camper-tourism/

These SUV Campers are outfitted with a foldable rooftop tent made of breathable poly-cotton canvas with pop up window awning and fly screen windows. A retractable ladder is attached to the tent for easy access and it takes only a few minutes to set up the tent. A BBQ grill, cooktop, cutlery kit and cooking utensils, camping chairs and tables and so on, are pre-loaded in the cars for the journey as per the guest's request. Camping Co says it provides 24x7 roadside assistance and has a network of local mechanics that can be called to assist if needed. In addition their vehicles carry a toolkit, puncture repair kit and some spare parts to provide an extra safety net.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
This is not specifically Mahindra but I found it on the Indian Team BHP Forum where a lot of Mahindra information can be found so I'll post it here. It's a thread describing a portable water purification system for use in a vehicle. Much of the detail is left to the reader to figure out, but I think there's enough info in the thread that someone who wanted do build something like this and was willing to do a little reasearch on the components would find this a good starting point:

2191839d1628667222-diy-water-purification-system-use-cars-wf.jpg


There's more info in the thread:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-...il&utm_term=0_39df29de53-37affe7865-108621045
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
I've posted a lot about the Mahindra Thar in this thread; here's the story of the development of the Thar as told by Cyrus Dhabhar, he's the son of the late Behram Dhabhar who was the person at Mahindra that championed the development of the Thar.


In the video Cyrus mentions a thread on the Indian Team BHP forum in which Behram Dhabhar asked forum members for input on what they'd like a real off-roader to have. Cyrus says this input was used by Mahindra to develop the features of the Thar. Here is that thread, from 2008: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-...list-what-you-really-want-your-mm540-4wd.html
 

wanderernomad

New member
Behram Dabhar was the man behind a lot of modern Mahindra Products. He was also behind the Mahindra Bolero. He used to rally for Mahindras during the Eighties in the Gruelling Himalayan Car rally. A jeep enthusiast he also helped a lot of jeepers to properly maintain their rigs here. Another very knowledgeable jeeper and a collector is Uday Bhan Singh based out of Kolkatta. A gem of a person.

The wish list that we gave Behram was crazy. Some of it did make it into the production vehicle while some were left to be fitted as options. Some things just didnot make the cut as they were deemed to be far too costly to enable the Thar to be priced moderately.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
The subject of this thread is "Cool Jeeps You Can't Have", but the subject of this post is "Cool Expeditions In Mahindras That You Can Do."

There are plenty of interesting off-road opportunities in India and quite a few organized expeditions. A recent thread on the Indian Team BHP forum describes an expedition orgainzed by Wander Beyond Boundaries (https://www.wanderbeyondboundaries.com/) over the 13,989' elevation Shashi La pass in Ladakh. Ladakh is part of the Kashmir region, which has been disputed by India, Pakistan and China since Partition (India and Pakistani independence in 1948). More on Ladakh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladakh.

Some photos from the thread:

2206218d1631508194t-zanskar-beyond-2021-13-days-1250-kms-5-thars-3-fortuners-tons-memories-1.jpg


2206221d1631508194t-zanskar-beyond-2021-13-days-1250-kms-5-thars-3-fortuners-tons-memories-4.jpg


2206222d1631508194t-zanskar-beyond-2021-13-days-1250-kms-5-thars-3-fortuners-tons-memories-5.jpg


A WBB promotional video done before the trip:



The thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trav...rs-3-fortuners-tons-memories.html#post5143727
 

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