Landrover Defender - budget fitout
COVID restrictions and the lack of international travel resulted in the inspiration to fit out the trusty Defender 110 (although, some people may not use that word to describe a Land Rover Defender) with a double bed, storage for camera gear and camping gear, etc., making it the ultimate vehicle for our increase in domestic travel. Driving long hours in W.A. scouring the coast, it's always nice when you can get off the beaten track and crawl into bed.
First step, source out a Chippie (thats the Aussie slang term for a carpenter, not the manager of a Fish & Chip shop).
Meet Will Barrett, tradesman and red hot surfer from Margaret River (Margs). He has a trailer full of tools and had a spare Saturday - obviously onshore and no surf. There's no chance of getting any type tradesman around Margs if the winds are blowing in the perfect direction with a solid groundswell, unless of course you a trying to get a park overlooking the surf as work vehicles are everywhere, collecting sea spray rust.
O.K., the budget was not great, $300 mates rates from Will for the day and $200 worth of materials. This included 3 x sheets of 17mm SpecRite, Formply and a box countersunk timber screws. A key goal of the project was to not modify the vehicle in any way and still be able to use either of the back seats when required. Without going into specifics, we used two sheets of ply as the main supports and used existing bolts in the back of the car to fix them in place.
Tools of the trades ( My Layman Terms and views from holding the unskilled end)
Jigsaw - Used to cut into the shape of the car and the side storage box lids.
Circular Saw - Cutting the ply panels. Tape Measure - Measure twice cut once.
Cordless Drill - Securing the panels with countersunk timber screws and pre-drilling holes.
Trusty Pencil - Taking lunch and coffee orders and marking cuts/shapes.
Tool Bag - Looking like you know what your doing is essential and builds confidence (Completely made up fact).
Grinder - Not essential, just could not be bothered driving to hardware to get a handful of smaller screws.
The Defender is now ready for our next mission up the coast, set to surf all day and camp through the night. Stay tuned for some stories that will come from trips with the trusty Defender. Watch the video of the process below.
Article and Photos: Russell Ord
