130 poptop camper build

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Originally Posted by Vogler

You might want to check the dimensions of a 110 first. A fellow Defender owner here in Belgium is currently building a 130 poptop conversion using a 110 tub. The wheelarches are in the wrong place. He cut them away and had side panels custom made which he glued on the 110 tub.

Good luck,

Joris

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I don't understand why the wheel arches were in the wrong place? Maybe Joris’ friend is trying to maintain the rear overhang of the original 130 HCPU tub like Mulgo's station wagons? Otherwise something strange is going on.

Land Rover originally created the 130 (actually 127 inches) by joining two longer halves of a 110 chassis in the centre – adding an extra 17 inches to the wheelbase. All 110's and 130's have the same distance from the end of the chassis rear cross member to the rear wheel. A 110 tub should bolt up to the rear of a 130 (the 5 tabs are already there) with the rear wheel arch in the right place.

However, you will need to shorten the front section of the tub where it rivets onto the bulkhead behind the 2nd row passenger doors, or lengthen the chassis.

For comparison - Photos of a 130 dual cab with original HCPU tub, Mulgo's 130 station wagon, my 130 station wagon (with a Series 3 109 rear body which overhangs rear chassis by 50mm), a 110 hardtop and a poor photo of a 140 inch (approx) station wagon.

Has anyone ever installed a draw slide under the drivers seat? It appears to me that it is very wasted space that could be easily utilised with a small sliding draw?

I am seriously considering draws for the 2nd row - one each side, the kids can have 1 draw each. If it doesn't fit in the draw it doesn't come.
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Hi Jay, how are you going with this ?

Hi Jay and everyone. Interesting discussion. I just picked up a 2010 130 and am completely new to defenders. Plan is to start short trips and perhaps overland australia in a year or two. It’s 3 of us in the family and looking at conversions or maybe a slide on pop top!

Google search Tommy Campers... they have very, very good "drop on" solutions. Looked over a couple of them at the Winter Wombat event last weekend... excellent products.

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Originally Posted by kohfamilymove

Hi Jay and everyone. Interesting discussion. I just picked up a 2010 130 and am completely new to defenders. Plan is to start short trips and perhaps overland australia in a year or two. It’s 3 of us in the family and looking at conversions or maybe a slide on pop top!

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I built my own slide-on camper because I couldn't find anything much (and certainly nothing that I considered affordable) that would sleep 3 adults, be super-quick to set up / pack away and fit on my 130's 1.8m tray.

Commercial options are generally either pop-tops / clam shells that overhang the cab, or fold-over units like a roof-top tent but a lot bigger. In both cases the third person usually has to sleep in the sitting area. Another popular option is two roof-top tents and a normal camping canopy on the tray.

I'll put a link to my build into the "Trailers, Vans, Campers" section.