miketomcat

I don't really have the space and I'm planning to avoid a caravan chassis. I've already got a lot of the kitchen type stuff and more might be coming up at work soon. With the age of the windows they'll either be knackered or inefficient. Mike

Aerodywhat you do realise this will be towed behind the ibex don't you. The interior will be fairly sparce, king sized bed, a pair of bunks and toilet/shower cubical. We found if you have seating inside you tend to be more antisocial than I am already. So external kitchen with awning and a wood burner. It will have a built in water tank, heating and hot water. I have a 35ltr waeco fridge but we may use a different one and a gas stove. Mike

Its actually unlikely to go far off road. Let's face it I'm not going to take it greenlaning and in this country a rough gravel track is likely the worst. The point is I hate UK/European caravans they are flimsy and mostly carp. I like the aus style and I have an autistic daughter who climbs and hangs off everything. Realistically anyone who thinks they are overlanding with a trailer is deluded as it's simply not practical. The weight thing really isn't a issue for me if it's sub 1ton fantastic, I want it sub 2ton. I can tow up to 3.5ton so the lighter it is the better but I will not cut back on strength just because it's a few kgs more. I plan on keeping it for a while and will likely reconfigure it once the children have given up coming. I like twin axle but it has a cost, single axle is a lot cheaper but again it has cons. Mike

Thank you @Arjanthats useful info. I'm still searching for the right trailer at the right price at the moment. Given how tall it's worked out at twin axle and or higher wheel arches are looking likely, or air suspension......... Mike

@landroversforeverI didn't but it wasn't light that's for certain. Most only have something like 200kg of payload and it's surprisingly easy to go over that with clothes, bedding cutlery crockery etc. To be honest it doesn't really matter I'll build it as light as I can but it'll be what it'll be. I'll go for the highest rated trailer I can so there's no problems. I don't know how much the box weighs but I suspect about 300kg.

That's fully laden weight allowing for 3-400kg of gas,water gear etc. Our last one (16ft, 22ft overal) was 1.8ton fully laden. This is around 18ft but much more substantial and way better insulated. Mike

Absolutely all good points. The box itself is taller than I planned so that doesn't help. Standard caravans are around 2.6 - 2.8m the lower I can get it the better. Given the choice I'd take the roof off and loose 150mm from the height (it's 2m inside, I'm 1.9m but not worried about headroom to much). If need be I'll open up the wheel arches either higher longer or both, but a trailer chassis may govern this anyway. Nose weight I'm less worried about as that's easily changed with internal positioning. Mike

Single axle is a lot easier to maneuver and the box already has a wheel arch in roughly the right place, plus 3 wheels and tyres are significantly cheaper than 5. The rendering is based on 235/75x16 (29" standard discovery) we did try 31" but it was all getting a bit tall it's already 2.8m in the current rendering. Mike

Under 2ton but from memory it might have to be under 1.8ton for a single axle. She has designed the interior as well but I'm not showing that yet. Mike

Wife's been in SketchUp. Mike

I'm growing old not up.....boy racer till I die. Mind the guy I went round the outside of on a roundabout with a 16ft trailer on the back didn't seem very impressed. Can't think why. Mike

With the discovery in 89 I think but the range classic may of had them earlier. 90/110 and defender never did and the series was on drums. Mike

Thank you Steven I'll keep it in mind. At the moment I'll concentrate on external and sleeping area. The kitchen and toilet/shower areas can wait for now. Unfortunately I have an house extension to do this year so the budget is minimal and as soon as we have planning approved work will stop on the caravan. Mike

I'm kept under strict orders no car parts in the house, obviously that fails from time to time. Mostly the same goes for the garden....mostly. However I have a workshop full of stuff, a lock up garage full of stuff, a friend has moulds in their garden, another friend has two body shells and more moulds in theirs. I think I may have a problem. Oh and we've just dumped a fridge body on the drive. Mike

Part of me wants to make it demountable as it would be slot more useful but it might not be practical. I will explore the idea once we find a suitable trailer. Mike

Not quite there is a system here now where you can register any commercial trailer. But it's designed for commercial use only as you don't need to register if it's private use. It doesn't recognise some chassis numbers probably older ones. The problem comes went you go abroad legally here I don't need a registration here or abroad but the police abroad don't believe you and insist you do. As in our case we were ask to leave the country. Mike

The trailer IVA isn't horrific it's mainly about structure, brakes and lights. I'm not aversed to doing it but if I can avoid it that's always better. Long term I plan to try and register it to avoid issues abroad (I've had some in the past), however I've tried to register one in the past and run into issues so it maybe IVA would resolve these. Mike

We are going the extend the rear to get rid of the roller shutter, increase space and make it look better. The bottom will have a 45° panel to give a departure angle , To be honest I'll consider most anything quick and cheap is a caravan chassis but I would like something more robust and defender stud pattern would be a definite plus. A rapier trailer might work failing that some sort of plant trailer. Single axle would save some work as the current wheel arch is in roughly the right place, it makes it a lot easier to handle. Twin axle tends to ride better and has better capacity, but is less maneuverable and I'll have to make new arches. Mike

And so it begins. Just need to find a trailer with an 11ft bed now. Mike

Don't really need inspiration, the wife is an interior designer so normally need to rein her in. She's already got it half drawn and we haven't even picked it up yet. Mike

I have to admit they look pretty good. Mike

@FridgeFreezerCorrect, I borrowed a locker for Ladoga. I didn't technically own the car either (my ex girlfriend did don't ask ) So I wanted a quick and dirty solution. I fitted a £20 tyre compressor with a switch and pressure gauge from an air lift kit. When we wanted the locker I just ran the pump till the pressure reached something like 30psi then turned it off. When not required anymore I just released the pressure. No tank or fancy soloniods etc. Mike

I don't use silicone on anything, normal paper gaskets just smear grease both sides and fit. Head gasket and gaskets with a sealant line nothing just fit. If you must use a sealant do yourself a favour and get some hylomar. Mike

I cut some to replicate defender arches on my tomcat. Personally I don't like them sticking out horizontal hence why I shaped mine. Mike

I did say at least...... Mike