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"Zombie Deluxe" Defender camper


FridgeFreezer

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It looks like it’s towing a boat.  If it was towing anything else, then their packing would be atrocious with all that internal space and the roof rack!

I don’t think it’s bowing-I think that is an illusion form the camera angle and perspective, as both ends appear to lean in a great deal too.  But the break over and departure angles make this a road going vehicle only, so a production RV would be safer, cheaper, more comfortable and probably more legal.

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18 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

To be fair, if you picked the US flags off it it would be fine, it's better than being be-decked with camo gear.

Yep, it’s the flags that are the problem.  Not because of the nation of the flag, just because the whole black fabric with sewn lateral loop tape and muted flag reek “SEAL-Walt”.

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That at least looks smart and could actually go off-road.

The trouble with these things though is at some point after your four days in the wild, you have to rejoin reality and go to the shops, buy fuel or park somewhere and realise you've got thirty foot long monster that won't go under parking barriers, go round a mini roundabout  and you have to park out of town and shlep back a mile with all your groceries, only to find it surrounded by kids wanting cash.  

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49 minutes ago, Eightpot said:

That at least looks smart and could actually go off-road.

Could it though? It weighs many many tonnes, it's huge, and if you get it even a little bit stuck who's going to give you a tow?

There was a chap at one of the Ladogas with a 4x4 MAN drawbar rig - camper on the truck, race car/workshop in the trailer - it sunk a wheel trying to get into one of the campsites and caused a lot of amusement, given that there were other teams with bone stock Ford Transit campers who were happily camped and already on the vodka watching it unfold.

I'm sure it's appropriate for the military who need to get around off the beaten track, but they travel in groups and have big heavy recovery trucks on call.

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8 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Could it though? It weighs many many tonnes, it's huge, and if you get it even a little bit stuck who's going to give you a tow?

There was a chap at one of the Ladogas with a 4x4 MAN drawbar rig - camper on the truck, race car/workshop in the trailer - it sunk a wheel trying to get into one of the campsites and caused a lot of amusement, given that there were other teams with bone stock Ford Transit campers who were happily camped and already on the vodka watching it unfold.

I'm sure it's appropriate for the military who need to get around off the beaten track, but they travel in groups and have big heavy recovery trucks on call.

I'd love to know what it does weigh. Got to be knocking on the door of 15T. I can't see a weight in the spec, but the smaller version they build on the 4x4 chassis has a base MGW of 13T. The article linked mentions 264Gallons of water capacity, so taking that as US ones.... 999L or a ton of water! :o 

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Yeah I don't think I'd fancy taking it green laning or on a quarry play day (🤔 mm actually I would, but not if there was a bill for the results 🙂) but it at least looks like you could fill it with fuel, water & beer to last a month then hammer it through the sand and gravel plains of Oz, Namibia or Morocco bouncing off the odd wadi without stressing it - where the stretched Defender limo looks like it would split a bit in various places and go slightly banana shaped before beaching itself on a slight hummock or sit with it's wheels spinning after reversing onto a very slightly raised verge 😃

To be fair it's a lovely job on the defender even if an Iveco 4x4 motorhome would have been more appropriate.  Hope they have more luck than me this year taking it somewhere 😆

 

Edit - I missed the photo of the front of the Defender - I take back anything nice I said and would like to put a match to it.

Edited by Eightpot
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On 1/10/2021 at 12:20 AM, FridgeFreezer said:

I think it's honestly not *that* bad. Remove some of the tacticool carp and maybe have a slightly classier interior, and you have a pretty nice camper setup.

It's obviously not meant for rock crawling, but the breakover/departure angle is at least a lot better than a regular camper van.

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There's a couple online who've built a frickin' huge clone of one of those and, much like others mentioned in this thread, I'm not convinced you'd sensibly get it any further off-road than a Merc sprinter on AT's before it either sank or tipped over.

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57 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

There's a couple online who've built a frickin' huge clone of one of those and, much like others mentioned in this thread, I'm not convinced you'd sensibly get it any further off-road than a Merc sprinter on AT's before it either sank or tipped over.

But how cool do they look though 😁

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19 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said:

To some people yes, I just see someone who's probably spent 50k more than they needed to live less comfortably than they could.

I get your point with all the added bling. I do think those F series trucks would make a good starting point as you can chose the right size for what you are planning as opposed to stretching a Defender like the above and hoping for the best! There are hundreds of thousands of them about and lots of common parts plus seen to be very durable and reliable. Rock auto can get obscure parts for US vehicles into the UK with all the duty sorted in 3 days most times so I imagine getting parts from them vs parts from the UK for a Land Rover if you are in the middle east would be just as easy/easier

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1 hour ago, L19MUD said:

I get your point with all the added bling. I do think those F series trucks would make a good starting point as you can chose the right size for what you are planning as opposed to stretching a Defender like the above and hoping for the best! There are hundreds of thousands of them about and lots of common parts plus seen to be very durable and reliable. Rock auto can get obscure parts for US vehicles into the UK with all the duty sorted in 3 days most times so I imagine getting parts from them vs parts from the UK for a Land Rover if you are in the middle east would be just as easy/easier

Having driven an F350 Super Duty camper in Alaska I have to say I was less than whelmed with it for all manner of reasons, and it certainly didn't feel like it wanted to go any further away from tarmac than I'd take a 2WD transit. What you gain in traction you lose in size & weight & CoG.

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6 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Having driven an F350 Super Duty camper in Alaska I have to say I was less than whelmed with it for all manner of reasons, and it certainly didn't feel like it wanted to go any further away from tarmac than I'd take a 2WD transit. What you gain in traction you lose in size & weight & CoG.

I guess the camper pod makes a huge difference to the COG. I'm sure it is better than a 2wd transit though! My Transit gets stuck with a blade of grass underneath it

 

I have not spent much time in a F250 or F350 and not had a chance to play off road. Have done a few thousand miles in late F150's including some tracks that had craters in them that would have Defenders lifting a wheel here and there. I didn't go silly as I was liable for any damage, more chose the safe line through. It didn't feel any less capable than my TDV8 L322 other than the longer wheelbase/overhang affecting break over and departure angles

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