# Land Rover Discovery as a campervan??



## amandasattic

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has ever seen or has converted a Land Rover Discovery into a campervan?  We have an 04 Discovery and was thinking about selling it to buy a van to convert into a small campervan, but then I thought why can't I covert the Discovery as there is loads of boot space and is quite room in the back once the back seats are out?  It is just a small van I need for me, the other half and our crazy cocker spaniel.  I don't really want to part with the Discovery as it is a great car for getting out of sticky situations (and can't really afford to sell it as don't have a lot of spare £20 notes lying around at the moment).  

Any thoughts or advice would be fab 

Kind regards
Amanda


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## Robmac

You could put a roof tent on it, I used one before I bought the MH and they are really comfortable (See Autohomes Columbus Rooftent on Google).

They are very popular amongst Land Rover drivers,

Rob


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## Bushtrekker

*I drive a Discovery*

Unfortunately if you are 6 feet tall like me it's too short to sleep in, so you will need a roof tent.


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## vwalan

hi .yes several of the winter maroc crowd have them .you can just get a two berth in the back .bit cramped but it works . some use rooftents on the top . have a google at brown church landrovers .or ebay roof tents . 
the normal conversion is cooker on the back door or on one side .washing up bowl instead of a sink. make a seat down the other side that slides across to use all available space . and make the two beds . 
you may find a visit to a landrover show is what you need. 
lots good ideas .or look for landrover international magazine . lots of ideas in them. my mate as a r reg discovery he as took it loads of places . right up to the northern lights maroc all over europe and the eastern block countries . have fun we do.


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## vwalan

heres my rooftent on my old vw .and again on my mazda bongo. that one is a brownchurch .it it the actual one that is on their white landrover in their adds .they took it off and sold me the demo one as i was off to africa in 98. still have it great bit of kit.


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## amandasattic

Robmac said:


> You could put a roof tent on it, I used one before I bought the MH and they are really comfotable (See Autohomes Columbus Rooftent on Google).
> 
> They are very popular amongst Land Rover drivers,
> 
> Rob



Thanks for that, have just Googled it and they are certainly food for thought - not sure what we would do with our cocker spaniel?  We could keep him in the car if we were in the tent,but he likes to sleep with us (spoilt rotten since birth unfortunately and takes up more bed than us!)  Is there room for a dog or are they for 'human' use only?


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## Robmac

amandasattic said:


> Thanks for that, have just Googled it and they are certainly food for thought - not sure what we would do with our cocker spaniel?  We could keep him in the car if we were in the tent,but he likes to sleep with us (spoilt rotten since birth unfortunately and takes up more bed than us!)  Is there room for a dog or are they for 'human' use only?



They are pretty much the same size as a queen sized bed, so providing you can lift the dog up the ladder, shouldn't be a problem. The Autohomes and Maggiolina versions only take a few seconds to put up.

Rob


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## amandasattic

vwalan said:


> View attachment 6190View attachment 6191
> heres my rooftent on my old vw .and again on my mazda bongo. that one is a brownchurch .it it the actual one that is on their white landrover in their adds .they took it off and sold me the demo one as i was off to africa in 98. still have it great bit of kit.



Wow, thanks for the pictures, looks lovely and sunny - am really warming to a roof tent idea as it will give us plenty of 'living' space in the boot space without having to worry about sleeping in it as well.  Will certainly look more into roof tents - great advice, thanks very much


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## vwalan

hi. you can easily sleep 3 adults in the brown church . i would have liked a magioli or a columbus . they are often on ebay now .but can fetch good money .magioli are about 12-15000quid new.  great for hot climates . but if it rains best just keep to the inside of the landy. remove back seats and play around .a very simple conversion works . i talk with my mate about cutting a discovery and making a demount . nicer than a defender and yet still not expensive . but get to a landy show .another way is build a trailer with a roof tent on that. again very common for expeditions . . these days many choose the toyota landcruiser as the base vehicle as they go for the 4litre non turbo engine .works well but the dizzy does as well.
it was sunny the vw is near the blue rocks in morocco .the bongo at the southwest bongo bash. in cornwall. think its the only bongo to have a tent on top.


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## Robmac

I slept in the Columbus in the snow and -11 in Scotland in January without any problems, I didn't use a sleeping bag, rather 2 quilts, one underneath me on top of the mattress and one over me, if anything I was too hot, as I was wearing thermal gear as well (didn't bother after first night).


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## vwalan

yes you can be warm but its the packing away wet that causes most trouble. we found it can be cold 3600mtr up in the atlas mountains but atleast it was dry. its amazing how soon our bodies can heat up a small space . you have to be careful but a candle if you are in a car can save your life .gives heat light and you can eat the bees wax. not ideal but always worth carrying a few in winter even here.


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## oldish hippy

vwalan said:


> yes you can be warm but its the packing away wet that causes most trouble. we found it can be cold 3600mtr up in the atlas mountains but atleast it was dry. its amazing how soon our bodies can heat up a small space . you have to be careful but a candle if you are in a car can save your life .gives heat light and you can eat the bees wax. not ideal but always worth carrying a few in winter even here.



thanks for that alan worth carrying some night lights and small tin to put them in keep the cold down in winter and if i put a curtain across th front seat to cut down the size of sleeping area then less to heat and they burn for a few hour just have to pull my beanie  hat down over eyes then it dark only wear it in wint to keep head warm


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## ellisboy

Hello Amanda! Get yourself a copy of the Landrover owner magazine, give you ome ideas of all the bits you can add :hammer:roof tent is the way to go,frees up space inside,small compressor fridge and there's a company that makes a fold down cooker table that fits on the rear door.

Also in July there's a massive Landrover show at Billing Aquadome ( near Northampton). You can buy everything there to kit out your Landrover :banana:
:have fun:
Stephen.


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## Bushtrekker

*Billing is well worth a visit.*

You will get plenty of ideas from a couple of days and can camp nearby(Not on the showground as they charge a fortune.  I have to admit that I like the camper, but only sold the 110 because my wife wouldn't sleep in the rooftent, so I was carrying too much gear. I've just realised that you have a Disco 2, which is longer than my Disco 1. I carried everything in boxes, which doubled as tables and chairs when set up, a book worth looking at is Vehicle Dependent Expeditions, by Tom Shepherd, although they are getting espensive even on Ebay.  It's the bible of overland travel and is a mine of information.


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## ricc

try this

Disco 1 Simple sleeping/storage platform - Land Rover Zone

basically he used some ex school table frames to make a sleeping platform that fits over the folded down rear seat back

try using the search on there and other threads will come up.... no doubt theres threads on other lr forums..... bear in mind the disco one (200 & 300 tdi) is a few inches shorter than the disco 2 (td5).


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## Sparks

Post Deleted


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## Viktor

If you don't want to go to a lot of expense an alternative for under £500 is www.caranex.co.uk


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## Bushtrekker

*We had a Caranex*

They are overpriced, a faff to put up and we got rid of it as it was too much trouble. It really depends on whether you plan on moving on every day as both the Caranex and a roof tent need to be taken down first, although you can get a free standing kit for the Caranex.


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## vwalan

hi. most roof tents are as easy to put up as a babies pram top. 
with mine it takes two of you .but one each grab the poles and its either up or swing and lift the poles its down . the box type you just wind them up .couldnt be easier .when mine was on the vw the legs were pinned to brackets so if needed you could drive off with it still up . not ideal but in emergency it could be done . or just moving camp a few yards etc.


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## Robmac

Mine springs open when you release the catch and you pull it closed and fasten the catch. 5 seconds!


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## snowbirds

*See Dormobile Landrover*

Hi Amandasattic,

I used to belong to the Dormobile owners Club and there was a lot of raising roof Land rovers made by Dormobile. The factory closed in the 1980, but the name was brought back by a few members that started to build on Land rovers again. There is a 2012 price list on the internet but its' not cheap.If you look at the old club Land rovers they command a high price as do the New conversions. good luck

Snowbirds. 






amandasattic said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Just wondering if anyone has ever seen or has converted a Land Rover Discovery into a campervan?  We have an 04 Discovery and was thinking about selling it to buy a van to convert into a small campervan, but then I thought why can't I covert the Discovery as there is loads of boot space and is quite room in the back once the back seats are out?  It is just a small van I need for me, the other half and our crazy cocker spaniel.  I don't really want to part with the Discovery as it is a great car for getting out of sticky situations (and can't really afford to sell it as don't have a lot of spare £20 notes lying around at the moment).
> 
> Any thoughts or advice would be fab
> 
> Kind regards
> Amanda


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## Bigpeetee

Could you modify a small trailer tent to fit on roof rack??


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## ricc

worth doing a search on some of the landrover forums...the platform in the back of a disco or 110 is not rare.  i presume 2oo4 disco is a disco 2 td5, they are a couple of inches longer in the boot than the older disco 1.  there was a tread on landyzone recently, a guy used some old school table frames to make a platform over the folded rear seat and boot , with legs down to the floor behind the front seats.   one table accross the rear and two lengthways in front, cut the legs to right length and floor the frame with plywood , with a folding bit at the front to fold forward to give a fwe extra inches with the front seats right forward.  was a neat solution for minimal outlay , with storage room under the platform in the boot area, and easily fitted and removed in minutes.


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## amandasattic

*Thanks everyone for all your advice*

Just to say a big 'Thank You' for all your advice.  Will definately keep the Land Rover and will get a roof tent.  I used to have touring caravan (which I loved to bits), but we are moving into a small flat soon with no parking so have no-where to store a caravan.  A roof tent is just the ticket - will start teaching our spaniel to climb ladders (he is a very clever boy!!)


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