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FindEveryBeach
I love "Lulu" my Landy
I wanted an all round dedicated 4wdr vehicle for my adventures.
I wanted a vehicle that had did not have a computer, electric windows or other such things that could prove problematic to fix if they broke down in the middle of nowhere.
I know Aussie has loads of great options for 4wd vehicles, other brands I could have chosen.... but I figure this is my dream, my adventure & I love Landy's, so I went ahead and found one that is perfect for my needs.
Lulu is a 1996 Land Rover Defender 300 TDI.
She came with a snorkel, rear tyre carrier arm, ARB rear diff locker & compressor, roof rack and tow bar & I got her for a good price. I bought her back in August 2019 while I was still in NZ.
See my post on 'buying a vehicle in Aussie from overseas' for the full story.
I began stage one of my adventures in Dec 2019
in Adelaide, South Australia.
I took a 1 month house-sitting assignment and while
house-sitting was allowed to use the property
owners tools and shed to build my camper interior.
Thank you so much to Daryl and Hilde
for their generosity.
Once I had built my camper I was off
to begin my adventures!
Stripping out the interior of my Defender, designing and building a new 'camper' interior has been a fun project..
I suspect it may never end as I continue to dream up and implement improvements.
'Lulu' the Landy has been transformed into a versatile camper.
See the 'posts' at to the right for the journey through the conversion..
'Camper' conversion of my Landy
This picture above shows the ready to go camping vehicle as of January 2020. Interior version 1.
In November 2020 I decided to strip out this interior in favour of a new & improved design.
You can see the story of that refit in the following blog post: 'redesigning & refitting my house'.
Picture to the right:
Version 2 fitout.
Timeline
Dec 2019 & Jan 2020:
1st version of my camper conversion. Image to the right.
Nov 2020:
Stripped out version 1, added sound deadening & built version 2.
Jan-Feb 2021:
Further improvements & built version 3 = perfection
... and then after having lived full time with this design I realised I needed to rearrange a few things.
In Feb of 2021 I had the time and access to a shed, and decided to rebuild the interior to include design improvements.
The result:
Version 3; the most fabulous interior that has proven itself to be both comfortable and practical during the past 6 months of exploring the outback....
Apologies, I have not yet uploaded pics from that conversion... I will do soon!
In the meantime below are a collage of images from the 1st & 2nd camper interior fit-outs.
 Sound deadening going on under front seats and inside the storage areas, part of version 2 rebuild. |  Sound deadening throughout, part of version 2 rebuild. |  2nd stage sound deadening on ceiling - part of version 2 rebuild. |  Sound deadening on bonnet, part of version 2 rebuild. |
|---|---|---|---|
 New interior being built and installed - version 2 |  Building my side cabinets, version 2 |  Slat bed base with storage and side cabinets installed, version 2 |  New simplified fresh water storage in version 1. Version 3 now has a 60 litre watertank installed. |
 Inverter & solar controller in their new locations in version 2. |  Landy at the beginning, raw unedited canvas to work with. Dec 2019. |  Roof rack off for rust treatment & repaint. 6 months later I replaced this rack with a new one. |  Lifting up the floor to inspect chassis underneath & check condition of floor panels, add sound deadening. |
 Stripping out the Landy, preparation for the conversion to come. Dec 2019 version 1. |  Landy rear empty and ready to be measured for 1st camper interior. Dec 2019. |  Drilled out rivets and installed angle bracket along one side to act as shelf platform in camper build version 1. |  Cutting out hole for kitchen sink drainage, for version 1 interior. |
 Finishing touches on hole for kitchen sink drainage, for version 1 interior. |  Kitchen sink, adding in setting for plug/drain hole. Have kept this sink in all versions. |  Kitchen sink installed in version 1. |  The interior of the Landy is most certainly not a square. Cutting out shelf was a little challenging (for me). Version 1 fitout. |
 !st cabinet/storage area installed in version 1 fitout. |  Kitchen bench installed, fridge platform installed and side storage in place, in version 1 fit-out. |  Water tank installation in progress in version 1 fit-out. |  Water pump. Works well, but I think I will replace this with a submersible pump. This was version 1. In version 3 used submersible pump. |
 Water tanks & fridge. Bed platform extends over top of tanks in version 1. |  Attempting to cut our frame to house the solar controller in version 1. |  Solar controller ready for installation in version 1. In version 3 I changed the controller. |  Awnings providing excellent shelter while working on the interior. |
 Inverter mounted under fridge shelving in version 1 fitout. |  Battery wiring beginning for 1st fitout. |  Wiring it all in. Showing fridge platform and storage space underneath for the 'house' battery. Version 1. |  Space saving: all the tools out of red tool box actually fit into this little carry case. 1 year later this system is still working well. |
 Maximising storage space. Rescue gear easy to access through side door in version 1. |  Centre console repair, original surface to left, new vinal on right |  Fridge, inverter, toilet all in their dedicated locations in version 1. |  Wiring, oh my! Version 1 - mocking up what might work. |
 Still working on how best to make the wiring work... version 1. Version 3 is much improved, organised and with a control panel. |  Kitchen bench extended. Easy to use. Version 1 fitout. |  What the side storage looks like when everything is in place in version 1. |  Version 1 final' product. Dec 2020. |
 Version 1: 'final' product, view looking out rear door. |  Loaded and ready to explore. Version 1 completed Jan 2020. |
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