The living in and on your landy thing is not really that good, the guys who work for the magazine are just showing off all the freebies they've been given by sponsers, so of course they all think theirs is the best.

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There is a forgotten, nay, almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is ENGLAND.

Here are some pics of my Disco and my funky but cheap roof tent.
At £35 I'm sure its the cheapest on the market and at 2seconds errect time its certainly the quickest!

[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5/IMG_2561.jpg[/img]
As you can see its a Quechua, available fron Decathlon sports stores in France and England, possibly other countries to.


[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...5/IMG_2874.jpg[/img]
....It's almost colour coded too!


[img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_2879_4.jpg[/img]

As you can see, all the gear is carried inside and not on the roof.
The reasons for this are:
Rack is always 100% clear making for fast bed setups for late at night stops.
All weight is low down whilst driving.
All gear is dry and secure.
Less drag on a vehicle already carrying a roof rack.

It works for us and the sleeping arrangement works out brilliantly as we do like to drive and stop where we like as campsites are not always where we want to be.

Although the back looks crammed full of kit, it is actually methodically positioned.
Heavy bulky items on lower level and lighter items on top.
Also, the kit can be reached easily from the rear and the front by simply tilting the seats forward (the beauty of a 3door)!

I want it all!!!!!!!! But following shake down trip, have had a bit of a change of heart about original plan to buy canvas Howling Moon 2.4m x 2.4m roof tent: There will be 4 of us travelling long-haul but weight (98kg without rrack and bodies). But, we don't plan to spend ALL our time in tent and want to bring bikes (x4) on one 110 CSW and now don't want to have to compromise against weight/space of this huge/heavy tent. We enjoyed the roominess of the ground tent on shake down trip - much better for children when pitching for a reasonable length of time. Realise this will not always be possible and may safe quick pitch without the hassle. Now deciding to retain ground tent but get a cheaper roof tent (1.4 size'ish) - this way we have some flex to use either (plus room for any friends/family/visitors along our route) - plus lighter weight, cheaper and mayb more readily available on the market 2nd hand. Thinking about buying Tugamufu's option of cheap roof tent (Prime Tech) for circa £240 plus P&P from eBay and be done with it, looks tempting, else 2nd hand something as it comes up on eBay. Not going to worry about the brand/manufacture/make so much now - more interested in set-up speed and weight plus, we are planning to follow the sun therefore rainproofing would come from Ground Tent or a guesthouse if any real issues. Now think would be madness to spend circa £2K+ with new roof rack to accommodate - outrageous amount of money which we have now easily already spent on off-roading course, security grilles, window tint, high back trakker seats, fridge etc. etc. This way we have compromise, something inexpensive and lightweight which we can use in combination with ground tent. (However - did see a LR in town recently with Howling Moon roof tent - it did look mean and hot !!!!)

Where did you get the windows tinted?

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There is a forgotten, nay, almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is ENGLAND.

just seen these people in LRO. Camperite Leisure
their auto tent seems ok, lots of room at a good price

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There is a forgotten, nay, almost forbidden word, which means more to me than any other. That word is ENGLAND.

I cheated with the window tint as just for the rear cargo area of the CSW which is covered again with exterior grilles. Although we'd have loved to have got it done professionally - cargo area somehow didn't warrant the expense and we've had to start watching the pennies ----ssssssooooooooooooo expensive all this Land Rover equipment and fitting out - the vehicle is fast becoming more expensive than the intended trip itself. So, we spent £40 on two rolls of self adhesive security film from Halfords and wasted another £20 on the wrong colour which we'd already opened and cut to size (though we could use elsewhere e.g. UV protection for children in 2nd row as the tint is lighter - not so heavy). Also spent I think £15 on a kit which included a spray bottle and sharp knife and a squeegee thingy. We're really pleased with the overall result though with the exterior grilles using nylock nuts. We should have spent £55 but spent £75. Reckon it costs about £200+????? to have windows tinted professionally so may well be comparable at end of the day. Photo to follow shortly.

After much ado, we decided to explore the South African expedition 4x4 off-road caravan trailers. The 3 main contenders being:
Brakhah Ingonyama, Conqueror Commander and Jurgens Xplorer.
We are dead against trailers and caravans and the like and want to be compact while travelling but due to the duration with children, the roof tent idea becoming less and less a viable option. These SA models seem to tick alot of boxes for us and look as if they're made for LR.
Upshot is that we became proud new owners of a second hand Jurgens Xplorer today. Sleeping arrangements, water, shower, kitchen, storage, table/desk, awning etc. all sorted and we no longer need to worry about vehicle weight load. Added advantage for children is that we can now use reclining high back seats properly for them on those long journeys as we no longer need to load the back of vehicle. We have room for bikes also now. Will post photos and details shortly and let you know how we get on with it.

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www.overlandwithkids.com
UK (Melbourn) to OZ (Melbourne) 2010

Window tinting is not rocket science, its more a question of prep and attention to detail.
Buy the film you want, and do it yourself. All you need is
1. spray bottle
2. clean water
3. meths to clean window glass
4. pair of scissors
5. scalpel (craft type)
6. small credit card type squeegee
7. some paper to make templates
a. cut paper to sixe of glass you want to cover, allow extra length to go under rubbers on wind down windows, and allow for top of glass to go into window channel without film on
b make sure glass is squeaky clean
c add a couple of drops of washing up liquid to spray bottle of clean water
d. cut film to size of templates (make sure you have film correct way round (handed)
e spray glass
f peel film and spray
g slide film onto glass
h and start from centre and squeeze out all water
i leave to dry , do not operate windows untill cloudiness is gone
j job done have a cuppa and think about money saved.

Dont tint driver and pass front windows, or windscreen(although you can do sunstrip at top if out of eye level (behind visor area)
You can tint over Heated windows but take extra care when cleaning HTSH

looking forward to hearing how it goes with the camper, i hope they catch on over here, they are all the rage with our antipodean cousins.

i am having dilema with fitting my bikes on my expedition trailer. i took them for my recent 2500mile trip to the med and used them most days but they were a pain to load and unload from the trailer and limited access to the stuff in the trailer. I also used tail-gators to attach the kids bikes to adult bikes. This gave us fantastic cylcing range and prevented the kids from burning out too early. I didn't include it on my tips list. They cost about 35 quid from auction site and are money well spent.

I am aslo in process of getting an Oztent (Rv2 or 3) if you see any going anywhere let me know, i will pay for new but will wait and see if i can get second hand first. Might be worth looking at for your new camper, at least then you can take it in the landy when you leave the camper. Have you done any research into them???

Have just done a bit of an update on our website regarding the Jurgens Xplorer. We are very grateful for the lead you gave us. Have a look and let me know what you think. Will add more later once we get to grips with and experience this beast a bit better - doesn't arrive till Thursday so we don't have it yet. Definately needs some attention. Like the idea about the tail gaters for the bikes -thanks for thatp!! Haven't done much research but know what the Oz tents look like - like you - the cost is always a consideration. Not cheap these things but will keep a look out .

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www.overlandwithkids.com
UK (Melbourn) to OZ (Melbourne) 2010