Your camping rigs
 

The recent purchase of a 20 acre ranch in Northern AZ has prompted a sudden urge for me to camp. It brings out the mountain man within I suppose, and a Land Rover seems to be the perfect vehicle for someone in my position.....okay, I take that back. A pickup bed sure would be nice at times, but we Land Rover owners can always justify the lack of utility storage by simply noting "I'll just get a trailer." which I is where I find myself at the moment.

I'm interested in HOW you guys are using your Discoverys... By this I mean what does your rig look like when you go camping?? What are some unique ways you have made your Disco more functional when you're on an outing. Please post pics. I've found a few during a random google search I'll post below.

I dont have to say much about this LR.... bad a$$

Some body on here talked about driving theirs to the beaches in Florida and sleeping inside by taking out the middle seats and rigging something in the back to sleep on. I recently removed mine and hauled a 6 foot long armoire in the back and a few other things like beds for the grandkids and some outdoor furniture, also a tuffbox some one gave me.

Rover's North Magazine last quarter had a story in a Defender that had been rigged for camping in the rear and had a pop-up roof and sink and toilet concealed in the cargo area and beches that converted to a bed.

The top mounted look cool but may be a challenge to really be comfy in.

You could do some custom rig that would have a slide out or foldout extension that could extend thru an open back door or get real creative and remove the rear door and replace with a better custom unit.

Depends on your capabilities and available expendable $$$ doesn't it??

There was a really nice one on Ebay a while back that had a roof mounted tent and a brand new GM Vortex engine as well for about 10K$.

On the coast in North and South Carolina we use hammocks. Typically we rig one end through the cross bars on a roof rack and the other to a deep stake, tree or whatever you got.

Along the lines of what Danny said, I've seen things simar to the what he's talking about. You could build a slide out extended from the back of the truck using those heavy duty guide tracks they use in tool boxes. The ones with the bearings etc. Then you could extend the back to useable sleeping length.

Heres my setup for camping complete with 4000 cubic foot fridge and microwave lol

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The roof mounted tents are supposed to be uber comfortable from what some friends have said and various reviews. I will have one some day(prolly when the kids turn 18 and get booted from the house).

In Alaska? What about the polar bears?

You could make a heavy duty slide out with some good square tubing or something solid, even have a drop down support at the rear end of it.

The rear door is part of the challenge but could be revamped as well.

Some of you great young design wizards should attempt a few things like that!

Long Haul, How about the old rigs that people just convert with a cool lounge room on the back?

That's what pets are for...:D

Did you really just say "what about the polar bears?" LMFAO.......yeah everytime I leave my Igloo for the day I jump on my dogsled and head over the ice pack to town to teach the local natives how to read and write. LOL, I love when people hear I live in Alaska they automatically assume polar bears, igloos, and dogsleds like were still living in the dark ages HAHA.

Awww, now there you go dashing their dreams of a forgotten land to pieces.

actually if you take a milk crate and a piece of plywood, the milk crate is the same height as the rear seats folded down, instant bed. I'm only 5'7" though..
also, make sure you park on a very flat spot. Me and the GF found this out the hard way when we woke up and we were both pressed against the side of the truck...

Way too expensive, but I have to admit kind of cool:
swissRoomBox-home

Oh yeah, my camping rig is a marmot hard shell and my hammock.

That ****e is awesome, I personally enjoyed the "Hot Shower Dream" portion of the video. I just wonder if those elf chairs designed for the Swiss hold 6"4 and 230? Lot of useful gear in that setup though.

LOL, I thought the same thing when I saw them all in the back playing cards. I don't think my friends and I would be that comfortable. You know, I did the conversion. It said almost 9000 swiss francs, that comes out to about 14k USD correct?

I think I could copy that setup for a few hundred bucks. Still kind of cool though.

Indeed, legitimate. All this camping talk makes me want to go on a safari in my Rover. I've always dreamed of a 3-5 day trip with my buddies in the rover offroad, where camping and cooking over the fire are a necessity.

Don't know if it's terribly kosher to link to other forums, but check this one out. These dudes are all about overlanding with their rigs. There is a whole section for each type of popular vehicle (Land Rovers included), and they've got them decked out for living in for weeks and months on end. Their idea of camping is driving from the Labrador Coast to the Cape of Good Hope and back.

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Wait, Wait, Wait.....you mean that you DON'T live in an igloo and have a penguin as a pet? (Yes I know that are only native to the South Pole) WTF?!?!
All this time I figured your "end game" was to build a Polar Bear proof Disco so you could go out and save the Eskimo's from their godless ways...and to SHOW them that there are places that really DO get more than 30 minutes of light per day AND where there are members of the "fairer" sex that take to walking around in something that they might use to secure a piece of equipment to their dog sled, albeit a very SMALL piece of equipment...:D

My camping rig consists of a 12x16 tent (4 kids) a blow up mattress and every Coleman propane piece of equipment I could get my hands on...

On a chilly morning, a cup of HOT coffee, some crispy bacon and a couple flapjacks generate the most AMAZING, overwhelming feeling of contentedness...probably similar to that Polar Bear eating the seal he waited 12 hours to come up through the whole in the ice. All I know is that I really liked his music...to bad he had to go out like that...

That's funny! Good thing I wasn't drinking anything. I would have spit it all over the screen!:D

That swiss thing is cool.... not for that $$$ though. I'm thinking about taking a 4'x4' piece of 1" ply wood and putting some folding legs on it so that when place on the back bumper it is level...... Shoot, I guess a card tabel would do the same thing though. but atleast that way you could inflate a little air mattress or put a sleeping pad on it and be comfy. Could rig a tarp over the back hatch too....hmmmmmmm.. ideas

Could also go to a tarp, awning company and have them make a cover for you out of canvas or something that uses straps or snaps to secure to the roof rack...

When I was a kid, we took our new 1960 Ford Ranch Wagon (AquaMarine and White two tone) to the Smoky mountains with a 6 man tent, additional porch zip on and our coleman stove and lantern and would camp for two weeks straight, the next year we would repeat in a Florida Campground (Ocala, Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale). Every summer we alternated. Newer nice station wagon a couple of times, then it was a Dixie Camper Pop-up, then a mid-size Travel Trailer for Mom and Dad after the kids were gone.

I have the Gold and White Awning from that trailer trailer in my garage now. Still in good shape.

Since I have totally removed all the rear panels and carpets from my interior, I will do a custom Wooden creation in the rear, maybe a plate steel panel on the rear door if I keep that one on it, and start fixing it up inside right after I take care of the minor rust and finishing rerouting the necessary wiring and doping away with the unnecessary wires.

I need to clean it real good, and I'' take some pics to put in a new album as I go.

If you recently bought a used Discovery, i would suggest you at least lift the carpets and see how bad yours may be underneath that biass sponge LR put in there.

Any input welcome. All witty reparte also welcome. Any request for pics better have cash or other goodies sent to me as well.

Campin...
 

Once the Gray Ghost has been retired from DD service, and then served admirably for 10 or 15 years as my primary wheelin' rig, I will cut the top off and install a seal with snap clasps to hold it shut and a way to lift and secure it in an "Up" position, potentially on telescoping poles with spring pins to hold it securely (I am thinking 7ft from floor to ceiling...) and a slide out of the rear for additional room.
Should sleep 2 comfortably with a little kitchen - and I will probably scrounge other camping parts etc...from one of those ugly @$$ Pontiac Aztec's. What a POS - but some interesting use of space and storage!

here you go....

.....or maybe you like your coffee hot?

campist.com has a ton of great tents designed for multiple SUV/vans/cars... most run around 300$ There are a few on there I like ALOT

Pretty sweet. I always wanted a VW Bug camper... That LR looks sweet!

Well.. UNLIKE everyone else here are PICTURES of my rig when I go camping. I either load up the roof rack or we take the pop up camper:

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And one of our setup when we get there!
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I am also a representative of 3dog camping USA which will be fully up and running with trailers and RTT in the next couple of months.

Our site is under construction but you can see the australian site here:
3 Dog Camping

COLODISCO, I definitely like that better than any damn roof top- tent, much easier for an old man like me to climb in and out of and you can unhook it and use it as a base camp as well. Even got a roof mounted a/c unit, that is ganster.

Speaking of gangster, is that a 944 beside the Discovery? I used to have a black 86.5 928 in my garage until I was laid up for a couple of years and the wife traded it in on her damn Explorer.

That is a sweet combo, a classic Porsche and a solid Discovery. Sounds like the best way to go in my arrogant as usual opinion. Great pics of a great Disco used like it should be.

OH and as far as my comment about Alaska, my sister married a Native Eskimo Indian and they moved back to his homeland for about ten years back in the 80's when drifting meant something different than it does today.

They had a cabin outside of Anchorage somewhere. They had huge vegetables in the summer, but they also had some occasion bear experiences. I guess it all depends on where you are up there.

I am sure it is unlike anything else you can experience until you actually go there.

Any of you guys ever see the pics on the web of the girl who travels all over the continent in her DORMOBILE? It is an old version of a special use Land Rover Original that was produced on a limited basis. It has a pop up roof hinged on one side, that is decked out for sleeping and such. It is awesome.

Also how many of you are familar with Bill Burke and his style of LR usage? Just thought I would ask. Who knows his Motto? (PM me if you know it and I will tally the results)

Sounds like most of our newer guys prescribe more to the Bash and Crash Method, or the Lift it Then Flip It Then Strip It School of Thought. That is better than lowering it putting 22's on it and make it a Drifter with Nitrous Oxide I guess.

I'm trying to be good this year so Santa brings me one of these....

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That's alright when you are young and spry, but not for us Old Rednecks, That ladder would suck in the middle of the night when you gotta pee real bad, unless you just let it fly from up high.

Just make sure you take account of the wind direction...:eek:

hahaha.... I can see it now. "Dusty, why are you back from your camping trip so soon? and whats up with the cast on your leg?" my reply, "I fell off of my landrover drunk."

That's what these are for....

http://cynchronicity.files.wordpress...pg?w=579&h=361

Maybe a 2 liter..... or a wide mouth quart mason jar.........

if it's cold enough you could always just........