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Thread: Defender or Troopy for Touring around Australia towing??

  1. #11
    DiscoMick Guest
    We use our standard 2009 Defender to tow a hybrid caravan weighing about 2.4 tonnes fully loaded.
    It is fine. Not a rocketship, but caravanning requires a slow and steady mindset, I think. Ours happily cruises at 100kmh at 2000 revs in 6th gear, which is as fast as I want to go.
    For occasional excursions without a van, such as The Simpson, we have used 2 swags on stretchers under a vehicle awning and cooked on a small portable gas stove.
    Using stretchers makes a world of difference as you are off the wet ground and away from creepy crawlies.
    We try to travel as light as possible. I just shake my head at the size and cost of some caravans. Not for us.
    So my advice would be to keep the Defender, don't bother modifying it much, and spend money instead on servicing it for reliability. And choose the lightest, most compact van possible.
    Good luck!

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Finniss, SA
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    We do exactly the same as DiscoMick and have a very similar setup. It works for us - we did the gibb river road last year and we are heading off to dirk hartog island this year. The Defer tows our hybrid van very well - 100km/hr at around 2000 revs. Economy varies from 14 to 16.5 l/100km. We try to travel mostly on dirt roads wherever we can and we find the Defer is really good in these conditions.

    IMG_0867.jpg

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2023
    Location
    Australia
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    We chose a Troopy over a Defender and have a rooftop conversion

    We went through the decision process between a Defender and a Troopy. Test drove both, spoke to owners of both, chose the Troopy. Main reasons were the extra space and height for the internal fit out and living/sleeping. Larger roof footprint meant a greater rooftop conversion footprint and sleeping/storage area. We also considered parts availability from Toyota while doing our big lap around Australia. We went with a rooftop conversion from Headspace Campers - they do Landcruisers and Defenders. Very happy to not tow anything as we could go on any track any time without worrying about extra fuel consumption and theft. So many reports of stolen caravans and cars with caravans. We installed an alarm and immobiliser and never looked back. We loved the convenience of popping the top to make/break camp in minutes.

    So, another vote for Troopy over the Defender and another vote for rooftop conversion - not just a rooftop tent attachment. Check out the Headspace Campers company in Brisbane with NSW fitters now too I believe. In our humble opinion, much better than the shorter four corner popups and smaller/lightweight Alu Cab like pop ups.

    We're actually selling our Troopy touring rig now before heading overseas for a while Troopy For Sale: Toyota Landcruiser with Rooftop Conversion (Headspace Campers) – Ultimate 4WD Touring Vehicle - Have Swag Will Travel

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Warner Area - SEQ
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    1,856
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    Quote Originally Posted by haveswagwilltravel View Post
    We went through the decision process between a Defender and a Troopy. Test drove both, spoke to owners of both, chose the Troopy. Main reasons were the extra space and height for the internal fit out and living/sleeping. Larger roof footprint meant a greater rooftop conversion footprint and sleeping/storage area. We also considered parts availability from Toyota while doing our big lap around Australia. We went with a rooftop conversion from Headspace Campers - they do Landcruisers and Defenders. Very happy to not tow anything as we could go on any track any time without worrying about extra fuel consumption and theft. So many reports of stolen caravans and cars with caravans. We installed an alarm and immobiliser and never looked back. We loved the convenience of popping the top to make/break camp in minutes.

    So, another vote for Troopy over the Defender and another vote for rooftop conversion - not just a rooftop tent attachment. Check out the Headspace Campers company in Brisbane with NSW fitters now too I believe. In our humble opinion, much better than the shorter four corner popups and smaller/lightweight Alu Cab like pop ups.

    We're actually selling our Troopy touring rig now before heading overseas for a while Troopy For Sale: Toyota Landcruiser with Rooftop Conversion (Headspace Campers) – Ultimate 4WD Touring Vehicle - Have Swag Will Travel

    Yeah, I've spoken to Ollie from Headspace Campers and would definitely go with him if we chose to go down the RTT conversion... I have seen his external clamps need improving as they have failed on some that I know of but that's a little issue...

    Already having a Defender means less money to have to spend instead of trying to find a Troopy and then outlaying more to modify it... I think it will be a wait and see sort of thing....

    I had a look @ your Troopy - $100k WOW.... what year is it?

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