110 Hard Top vs Station Wagon

I'd say go with a wagon. I have a SIII wagon, which we used to use for touring a lot. I'd wanted a hardtop before I bought this, but the wagon came up, and I'm glad it did. The rear side doors are so convienient for access, especially if you have a double bed set up in the back. One big advantage was having the storage space deeper in the second row footwell meant we could easily fit a 40L Engel fridge in there under the bed, which we couldn't have fit in if we had a hardtop. As others have commented, you can always put the seat back in one day and have a more useful vehicle in the long run.

I had a series III hardtop for a while that had a water tank in the wheel arch space. That worked really well.

Rather then make a new thread I thought I would spark this one back to life.

I have plans to do a trans Africa trip to the UK with a possible RTW trip on the cards depending on how much we can save ect. Our thoughts were we might only get one shot at this and we will be building up a rig to do the trip anyway.
We saved 70K cash in 2 years so who knows it might be possible.

We have our hearts set on one of mulgo's pop tops and we were wondering.

Wagon or Hardtop?
Keep in mind this car would be built up purely as an overland tourer which we can live in. We would like to set it up so we can cook inside the car if required.

If we went the hardtop route I would try and find an ex army one in good nick.
Otherwise we would go for a tdi wagon. The tdi hard tops are pretty rare in Australia from what I can find.

This question is probably a little premature but I found this thread and thought I might as well stir the pot.

Cheers
Ben

Hardtop for sale at the moment. One of several I have seen recently.

2010 Land Rover Defender 110 11MY

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cripesamighty

Hardtop for sale at the moment. One of several I have seen recently.

2010 Land Rover Defender 110 11MY

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yeah there are a few newer puma ones around.
I would want a older one though. At least a 300tdi.

it means less electrics plus carnet is cheaper with an old banger.
cheaper to buy too :)

Yeah, carnet is a bitch! And I do enjoy my 300 TDi too...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Benz

We have our hearts set on one of mulgo's pop tops and we were wondering.

Wagon or Hardtop?
Keep in mind this car would be built up purely as an overland tourer which we can live in. We would like to set it up so we can cook inside the car if required.

If we went the hardtop route I would try and find an ex army one in good nick.
Otherwise we would go for a tdi wagon. The tdi hard tops are pretty rare in Australia from what I can find.

This question is probably a little premature but I fond this tread and thought I might as well stir the pot.

Cheers
Ben

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Why not stick with the 130 you are currently rocking?

Also don't write off the TD5 not as complicated as advertised and Africa is pretty well used to them, most sensors and gizmos can identified using a hand held diagnostics tool (nanocom or similar) and can be got hold of pretty quickly and cheaply (probably even cheaper than in Aus) even in Africa out of the UK.

Out TD5 was fine on a trans Africa and I would happily take it on a round the world trip.

We are working towards a trans-Africa/ UK trip as well and Im in the process of building our car up as a tourer. I have a SW so am starting there. I already remove the middle seats for extra room as its dead easy anyway and have made a false floor which seems to work quite well. I would like more storage though so will modify the space in due course. I do like that there is good access to the middle though the doors. I have the gull wings too and these are great for added access. Well worth the cost.
Kerry and I really liked the Mulgo Pop Top we saw recently at the Brisbane camping show but at $9k its out of our budget. I would also prefer to do such a conversion on a hardtop body as I think it would make better use of the space inside as a camper. I really like the idea though of being able to sleep in the car. I think you have limited your resale market if you have a hardtop-pop top for sale also. Although I suppose you could on-sale to someone contemplating the same sort of trip.
As long as I, 1. Actually do the trip, and 2. Do it in my own Defender i'll be really happy. :D I'm just glad I've managed to get kerry on board!!:cool:

Cheers

Nino.

You can always go a little more agricultural if you're looking for robust. The NVH levels on the other hand may need some fettling.

Land Rover Defender, 110, Perentie, Landcruiser, Patrol, Hilux | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Mount Barker Area - Echunga | 1050677171

Our current set up with the tent is quite tiring to live with on the road.
Camp set up and pack down simply takes too long. Also cooking on the tail gate is a pain with the draws being there. Forgetting to get something out before you have started to cook can prove to be a huge pain in the back-side.
We have been living with it for 15 months now and it is really starting to get to us.

This could be fixed with a roof top tent I guess but we would still have to change our canopy set up. It's far from theft proof, while this isn't a problem in safe old Australia, I think it might be less then ideal in Africa, the middle east or South America.

The 130 does need a bit of work too.

I agree the td5 is more then up to traveling around the world but a recent scare we had with water kind of put us off electronically managed engines. When that little orange check engine light comes on it's a little scary. The carnet saving of an older car also sounds appealing.

I guess most of all we want something we can semi live IN if we have to.

At the end of a long crappy day the last thing I want to do is cook outside in the weather and then unfold my roof top tent which is still damp from condensation, then trying to get some sleep on the mattress which has started to fester with mould.

This has happened a few times while traveling Australia.
It kind of takes the shine off things.

And yes a ex-army hard top would be the easiest source of a older hard top. I would try and spent a little less then 18 grand on one though....

I wouldn't be looking at buying anything until at least next year (unless something irresistible comes up)
I'm just thinking out loud at this point.