During their holiday on Corsica, Larissa and Julian realised that travelling in a big van no longer matched what they wanted. Van life was appealing enough, but they longed to explore tight villages, narrow lanes, bumpy gravel tracks and steep mountain paths. So they decided to downsize and buy a Defender. After half a year of intense work, in which they wrenched, tinkered, gutted the interior, built out the Defender and installed a pop-top roof, it was done. Now, together with their dog Knut, they’re ready for anything with their Defender build. Storm, rain or the middle of town, they can sleep anywhere, up in the pop-top or down in the vehicle.
How did you come to convert a Defender into a travel vehicle?
Before that we travelled in a Peugeot Boxer L3H2 and a Fiat Ducato L3H2. We’d converted both vans van-life style, complete with a big bed, a cosy seating group including a table, a handy kitchenette and even a roof terrace. Travelling and living in these vans was great and very comfortable. But during our stay on Corsica in the summer of 2019, sitting in our van and gazing longingly at the little lanes, gravel tracks and mountain paths, something became clear to us: we want to downsize and become more capable off-road. Since I’d had the chance to drive a Defender in the past, and we followed the adventures of Phil and Caro from The Sunnyside closely, the decision to switch to a Defender was pretty clear-cut in the end.
How did you go about the Defender conversion?
In November 2019 we bought a Defender with 150,000 km on the clock. The car previously belonged to a surveyor who had always maintained it impeccably, but at the same time had cluttered the whole vehicle with network and HDMI cables, unexplained electrical boxes and a huge laptop holder. There wasn’t much to put right. As a first step we cleared everything out and removed all the cables. Rust and leaks were, at that point and to this day, little trouble for us. The gearbox had already been renewed and the Defender had been given a new intermediate shaft from Ashcroft. On the engine and axles there was nothing urgent to repair or restore.
As part of a lift with Trekfinder springs and new Terrafirma 4-Stage dampers, we replaced quite a bit on the suspension: all the bushes, the ball joints and various screws and bolts.
How did you treat the chassis? Ice blasting, sandblasting? And which products did you use for the preservation?
Only in January 2021 did we spray a fresh load of Fluid Film into and onto the chassis and into the doors. Then we sealed the chassis from the outside with Perma Film. Next year we’ll probably repeat the procedure.
Did you do anything to the engine?
So far we’ve only had a burst turbo hose on our Pyrenees holiday in 2021. After two days of forced stop and a bush repair with a piece of pipe we pushed into the turbo hose and two hose clamps, we made it home in one piece. Now, as a precaution, we’ve swapped all the turbo hoses for silicone hoses.
Can you roughly say what it all cost?
For good reason we don’t keep a record of how much money we’ve already put into the Defender. Because, if we’re honest, running a Defender is an expensive hobby: something always breaks and there’s so much useful gear. But we reckon it’s about 15,000 euro so far, including the pop-top.
Did you build the vehicle out yourselves?
Yes. Luckily, from our two vans, we already had some experience with wood, electrics and water in a camper.
What was the goal of the Defender build?
Since we were used to the luxury of van life and weren’t off-roaders, our build was meant to be more of a compressed camper conversion. We wanted a heater, a cosy bench seat, a built-in water tank with a hot water boiler, and to create a homely atmosphere.
How did you go about the interior build?
Luckily we already knew very precisely what we need and how we want to travel. At first we travelled with a roof tent too, so we could gather plenty of inspiration for the Defender build on Instagram and YouTube.
After the very first summer holiday, though, the roof tent had to go and a pop-top had to come. Putting the roof tent up and down at 35 degrees or in the rain regularly put us in a bad mood. We then switched to a pop-top from The Overlandies, which we fitted ourselves. With the kit and the instructions it went quite quickly and smoothly too.
Which materials did you use?
The whole interior is birch plywood in various thicknesses with an oiled surface. The worktop is oak with a live edge. Since everything is oiled, we can (and already have) sand all the surfaces down and re-oil them.
What’s special about your build?
In our Defender we can sit inside, cook and eat, no matter what the weather is like outside. There’s running hot water and a heater. And we can sleep down below in a storm, heavy rain or in the middle of town outside the party venue, or in summer up in the airy pop-top. Right now the two-seat rear bench is even fitted again, so we can do city trips as a foursome in reasonable comfort too.
How long did the Defender build take?
By the time we made the first big trip to the Western Alps after buying it, six months had passed, in which we got the car into shape and built the interior. But a build like this is never finished, because there’s always something to improve. Right now we’re wondering whether to swap the pop-top for a GRP high roof. We’d lose the box on the roof and maybe some off-road ability, but gain a lot in comfort and winter suitability. If anyone has experience with that, feel free to message us on Instagram đ
Facts about Larissa and Julian’s Defender conversion:
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- Land Rover Defender Td4 2.2
- Year 2012
- Colour Keswick Green
- Tyres/wheels: BF Goodrich AT KO2 265/75 R16 on Dotz Dakar wheels
- Snorkel with raised axle and gearbox breathers
- Auxiliary diesel tank in the right wing
- Lift with Trekfinder springs, spacers and Terrafirma 4-Stage dampers (+ about 6 cm)
- Compressor in the passenger seat box
- Dual-battery system with an 80Ah lithium battery, a CTEK 250SE charger and a 160W solar panel glued to the top of the box.
- Aluminium roof rack from Qualan (light and strong)
- Headlights and all other lamps converted to LED (big tip! Stops burnt-out switches and dead bulbs, and you can finally see something in the dark)
About Larissa, Julian and Knut
We’re Larissa and Julian. Since 2022 Knut has come along too and enjoys the cubby box between us as a pillow. We’ve been campers since 2017, or now off-road campers, because we love travelling and being spontaneous. Our goal was, and still is with the Defender, that we can drive and sleep anywhere. Camping with a chair and an awning isn’t our thing. We document our build, our breakdowns and our holidays on Instagram on our account @defenderproject_jula
Text contribution and photo editing: Sophia Vogel (Instagram: @sobirdy)