Series 3 I have a plan... 88" camper

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samc88

samc88

Drivels spiritual representative
Posts
2,838
Location
Anglesey, North Wales
Been looking around recently for ideas to make my 88" more suitable for going on camping trips and the like and came across the searle safari campers and the mini carawagon. The mini carawagon is great however it only seats 4 due to one side being taken up with a kitchen cabinet.

The Searle unit is much more what Im after as it seats 7. The bulkhead is swapped for a removable support bar and the front seat folds together and joins up with the larger rear bench seat to make 2 single beds. Also would make a fold up table for the back as well as a fold down cooking support thingy on the back door.

You might think its a bit of a strange plan but Im never selling the landy and it would make it so much more user friendly for me to take on trips away as wouldnt to pack it with as much. camping gear. Can also see it being feasible as the bench seats would fold up like normal thus still preserving load space

Basically this would be a Mk3 Searle Safari Sleeper (without a safari roof)
 

Attachments

  • Safari Carawagon.pdf
    4 MB · Views: 750
I like the look of the Searle, have seen similar home made jobs essentially nothing more than making the tub into a bed.

have you considered a removable roof tent or making a camping trailer like that thread in the general forum
 
Are you going to sleep hanging vertically? Seriously, taking out the bulkhead? You'll end up with a vehicle that's not really a proper Landy. Why not keep the SWB and try to find a LWB carawagon. They are rare but come with the 2.6l straight 6 engine. Fully fitted with a roof that can be raised for sleeping area.
 
I think that looks great, but removing the bulkhead would be tricky. Wonder who has made a good job of it. Agree the LWB is easier it is the right length to sleep in the back.
 
Centre bulkhead replacement bars have been around for ages though I've not heard of removable ones. Beds in 88's usually mean a platform over the bulkhead which severely restricts headroom so bringing the level down to seat height makes lots of sense.

I can't see where 'not a proper Landy' comes from.

I considered building a body shell for my 109 but luckily found a Landy that Marshal had already completely ruined :D
 
John S said:
Are you going to sleep hanging vertically? Seriously, taking out the bulkhead? You'll end up with a vehicle that's not really a proper Landy. Why not keep the SWB and try to find a LWB carawagon. They are rare but come with the 2.6l straight 6 engine. Fully fitted with a roof that can be raised for sleeping area.
Click to expand...
Read the attachment - 2.25 engine and no pop up roof

As stated above bulkhead removal bars have been around for donkeys years and 5 door 109s dont even have a bulkhead. Plus its no where near original anyway and frankly I dont care...

The 88" mini carawagon didnt even have a bulkhead bar
IMG_0437.JPG
IMG_0461.JPG

Have no room for a lwb nor the money, I do want to go further afield in the 88" and doing this would make it ideal.

After attending leafers at t pit and sleeping horizontally in the front for two nights Ive been thinking how to make it better
 
Why not have an extendable body.....................:eek:
Another rear body built just inside the original one on runners and a couple of actuators would extend about three feet at the touch of a button. :D

 
I sleep in the back of the 90 and I still have the bulkhead.

I lay a roll mat on the floor and sleep in a bivi with the tailgate dropped flat. I have a tarp basha that I use with some bungee cords to enclose the open back. I hang a cloth off the roll bar as a curtain. Good for a night or a couple but wouldnt want to sleep in it for a week lol
 
Ive got one of those. They do fold in half lengthways so maybe if I made a frame similar to the one in the link and chopped the legs off that would work. Will dig one out too and have an investigation into the idea
 
I have a roof rack but its not flat all the way, the flat bits only the same size as the load bay. And Id forgotten about it so hadnt been part of my ideas haha
 
how about a platform just above the height of the bulkhead, covering the entire area of the load area, with a hinged flap which you could flip forward to rest on the steering wheel? You could then stow an air matress and other camping clobber under the platform and out of sight when not sleeping on the platform.
 
samc88 said:
Been looking around recently for ideas to make my 88" more suitable for going on camping trips and the like and came across the searle safari campers and the mini carawagon. The mini carawagon is great however it only seats 4 due to one side being taken up with a kitchen cabinet.

The Searle unit is much more what Im after as it seats 7. The bulkhead is swapped for a removable support bar and the front seat folds together and joins up with the larger rear bench seat to make 2 single beds. Also would make a fold up table for the back as well as a fold down cooking support thingy on the back door.

You might think its a bit of a strange plan but Im never selling the landy and it would make it so much more user friendly for me to take on trips away as wouldnt to pack it with as much. camping gear. Can also see it being feasible as the bench seats would fold up like normal thus still preserving load space

Basically this would be a Mk3 Searle Safari Sleeper (without a safari roof)
Click to expand...
How did this build turn out? Would love an update with picture if you ended up doing it
 
Great to make an 88 camper, I've converted my 109, but very nearly went for an 88 so I did quite a bit of research on both. Personally I would leave the bulkhead as is or only lower the centre slightly. The roof is 6ft so you can sleep front to back so long as you are above the bulkhead height. You need good blocking of the windscreen and side windows, this is an ongoing development - I've now got panels made of sliver bubble sheet. I would hinge the whole roof and aim of get the bed up high on a foldable platform. There's a very nice DIY conversion where the guy has added a 3" lift all round the roof and in that has fitted the hinges and stowage for the platform. He's got front hinges but I would go for side, it means you can stand up over a greater length and standing really matters for cooking and washing/dressing. You need the sleeping platform to stow away so you can get to clothes and bags, I use aircraft galley boxes with each haveing one thing, so i have a food box, a toy box (for 8yr old) and a washing, odds and ends box, then put those in when we go on a trip, they double as seats and a table, there is also a DIY table on the rear door. I use the 3mm ally / plastic sign sheet, its often in skips. You will absolutley need a Webasto in the UK for anything other than August as its really hard to get a decent level of insulation, its also well worth trying to find space for a leisure battery. In the LWB there's room for a toilet and Teal water heater and we have a pop up roof with a cargo screen that fits in that as a high level childs bed sleeping crossways. When he gets too tall I've got a surplus army ally streatcher to run lengthways at high level - my bed is on the floor on one side and we have a home made ladder that doubles as a cart. Our big failure has been making an effective side awning, getting there but its now on the 3rd design. Look out for discarded zimmer frames, they can make a lot of things includeing a nice roof rack.
 
rob1miles said:
Great to make an 88 camper, I've converted my 109, but very nearly went for an 88 so I did quite a bit of research on both. Personally I would leave the bulkhead as is or only lower the centre slightly. The roof is 6ft so you can sleep front to back so long as you are above the bulkhead height. You need good blocking of the windscreen and side windows, this is an ongoing development - I've now got panels made of sliver bubble sheet. I would hinge the whole roof and aim of get the bed up high on a foldable platform. There's a very nice DIY conversion where the guy has added a 3" lift all round the roof and in that has fitted the hinges and stowage for the platform. He's got front hinges but I would go for side, it means you can stand up over a greater length and standing really matters for cooking and washing/dressing. You need the sleeping platform to stow away so you can get to clothes and bags, I use aircraft galley boxes with each haveing one thing, so i have a food box, a toy box (for 8yr old) and a washing, odds and ends box, then put those in when we go on a trip, they double as seats and a table, there is also a DIY table on the rear door. I use the 3mm ally / plastic sign sheet, its often in skips. You will absolutley need a Webasto in the UK for anything other than August as its really hard to get a decent level of insulation, its also well worth trying to find space for a leisure battery. In the LWB there's room for a toilet and Teal water heater and we have a pop up roof with a cargo screen that fits in that as a high level childs bed sleeping crossways. When he gets too tall I've got a surplus army ally streatcher to run lengthways at high level - my bed is on the floor on one side and we have a home made ladder that doubles as a cart. Our big failure has been making an effective side awning, getting there but its now on the 3rd design. Look out for discarded zimmer frames, they can make a lot of things includeing a nice roof rack.
Click to expand...
Sounds like an epic set up! Really well thought out sounds like you have put many hours into it, thanks for the tips
 
My best invention so far is the "go anywhere drinks holder" - 2ft of 5/16 ally tube with a cut off 4" screw in one end and a bike bottle holder on the other, works a treat.
 
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