Land Rover ideas for Jeeps

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Defender Camper Trailer - every issue of both magazines has a classified ad section in the back. Mostly they list various Land Rover vehicles for sale by owner, but in the July issue of Land Rover Monthly this Defender Camper Trailer was listed:

DefenderTrailerCamper.jpg


I think the design of the Defender/Series Land Rovers lends itself well to turning the back half into a trailer or camper.

Back when I first built the LJ Safari Cab hardtop, I did something similar - I assembled some extra hardtop parts into a camper top for my Jeep-tub trailer. I built it just as a proof-of-concept, so I never completed it. After assembling it and loaning it to Gr8Tops to display at a show, I removed it from the trailer and went on to build other things to top the trailer.

CamperTwins1.jpg


CamperTwins3.jpg


CamperTwins5.jpg


I put a barn door on the back and a liftgate (or should I say "catflap"? :)) on the front:

CamperShow4.jpg


CamperAssyDone7.jpg


Since it's made of Safari Cab parts with only minor adaptations, and since the Safari Cab is in production at Gr8Tops, it would have been fairly easy to turn it into a commercial product that could be used with the fiberglass Jeep-tub trailers offered at dinoot.com. Probably there isn't enough interest in such a camper to make it worthwhile though.

OverlandCamperDecal.jpg


I've still got the parts but I doubt I'll ever do anything more with it.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
There's an article in the current issue of Land Rover Monthly about a Defender built for what the builder calls "wild camping".

SamTruck1.jpg


I've posted about these ideas before, but he's got "airline tracks" mounted on the side of his hardtop and on those he's got a swing-down recovery tread mount/table.

SamTruck2.jpg


SamTruck3.jpg


The Drop Down Table/Sand Track Storage is from Ratel X Industries: https://www.ratel-x.com/

RatelX1.jpg


They also make jerry can carriers to mount on the tracks:

RatelX2.jpg


Setups like this are not uncommon in the Land Rover world. I wonder why we don't see this done on Jeeps?
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
I regularly see questions on forums from people wanting to implement an internal release for their Wrangler tailgate. This request often comes from people who plan to sleep in the back of their Jeep and want to easily open the rear door for egress. I don't think there's a product on the market to do that for the Wrangler, but Discovery owners who want to open their rear door from the inside can pick up this kit. From the June issue of Land Rover Owner:

RearDoorInternalRelease.jpg


The kit is for Discovery 3 and 4. It comes with a flush mount cable actuator that in the Discovery. Seems like a cable actuator like this could be adapted to a Wrangler tailgate latch mechanism. A photo from the kit instructions showing the cable actuator, in this photo it's connected to the Disco's power latch mechanism.

RearDoorInternalRelease2.jpg


Seems like there would be a market for a kit like this for the Wrangler.

On a related subject, when I first built the LJ Safari Cab and installed the rear barn door, I decided it would be very handy to have a power lock for the tailgate/barn door. I installed an actuator inside the tailgate to move the lock rod, and it worked very well. In this photo the latch cover is removed and the actuator is visible (the orange part to the lower right of the latch mechanism). The JK and later Wranglers now have a power lock in the back, but TJ's didn't so I had to implement it myself.

TJTailgateLatchActuator.jpg
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
It's not uncommon for people with YJ's to convert to a CJ-style dash, and sometimes TJs get backdated with CJ-style dashes although those are more difficult to do than YJ's. But I've never heard of anyone with a CJ wanting to modernize to a YJ or TJ dash.

From the July issue of Land Rover Monthly, I guess some owners of older Land Rover want a newer look...

FaceliftDash.jpg


In the Wrangler world, a backdate kit for the TJ that implemented a CJ dash would probably be popular.
 

jscherb

Expedition Leader
Exmoor is really promoting their door pocket panels lately... recently they posted them on Instagram and the other day they posted them again on Instagram:

ExmoorDoorPanels2.jpg


For the Jeep: I sewed a prototype of a JL/JLU/Gladiator door pocket panel the other day:

Design1b.jpg
 

Jim K in PA

Adventurer
I think the dash in the TJ, is part of what made it so popular. Finally a Jeep, with modern HVAC controls.

Agreed - after having driven CJs and YJs, The TJ/LJ dash was a leap forward for a truck used as a DD. It's one of the few things I have NOT changed. :)
 

Zeep

Adventurer
Agreed - after having driven CJs and YJs, The TJ/LJ dash was a leap forward for a truck used as a DD. It's one of the few things I have NOT changed. :)
I have a Metra kit to update the head unit to 2din. Still shopping for a head unit.
Thinking I might like to have one with TPMS.
 

Jim K in PA

Adventurer
I have a Metra kit to update the head unit to 2din. Still shopping for a head unit.
Thinking I might like to have one with TPMS.

The stock radio is one thing that I will upgrade, and incorporate both rear camera and TPS, if available. I have not pursued this yet.

Hey @jscherb Jeff - Have you done any fiberglass voodoo with the old TJ/LJ center binnacle for the stereo?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,533
Messages
2,875,610
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top