Andreas and Melanie from Tyrol have turned their Mitsubishi L200, built in 2017, into a proper overlander. Working on their own, they created a sturdy off-road vehicle with a custom-made roof rack, a fully kitted-out load bed and all the important features that make an outdoor enthusiast’s heart beat faster. Read here how the couple modified their vehicle over the years and what they love most about off-road travel.
Who are you?
We are Andreas, 31, and Melanie, 26, and we live in the Wipptal in Tyrol, Austria. I work as an electrician and my wife is a doctor’s assistant at a GP practice. We live with our cats in our own home at almost 1,200 metres, on the edge of a forest.
What do you love about overlanding?
The real question is: what is there not to love about overlanding? Being on the road, discovering something new every day, is there anything better? Experiencing countries off the usual tourist trails, enjoying the local food, meeting interesting people and immersing yourself in nature. Above all the quiet you only find camping far from the roads. Cooking over an open fire, sitting together late into the night and rounding off the day with a beer or a wine. For me personally, driving through demanding terrain has a special pull, pushing the vehicle and yourself to the limit. I came to 4×4 during my time as a professional soldier, but I only really started overlanding and modifying my vehicle with the L200.
About the conversion of our Mitsubishi L200
We drive a Mitsubishi L200, built in 2017, in the Yukon special edition in blue. The car has 154 hp, a 2.4-litre engine and diff locks. I had already had very good experiences with Mitsubishi before, and by chance the opportunity came up to buy this model at a good price. I liked the special edition back then, though by now it makes no difference, since after all the modifications there is hardly an original part left of the vehicle it started out as.
The Mitsubishi L200 modifications in detail:
First the technical changes, to make the vehicle more capable off-road:
- Front bumper from Rival4x4
- Rear bumper from Rival4x4
- 5-piece 6 mm skid plate from Rival4x4
- Snorkel from Safari
- Xtreme full suspension kit from EFS
- Control arms from EFS
- 9000 lb winch from TJM
- Wheels from Tuff
- 31-inch BF Goodrich KO2 tyres
- 60 mm wheel spacers per axle
- Lighting from Osram and Hella for long and short range
On the road with a hardtop and roof tent on the L200
On the cabin roof there is a roof rack from Horntools, on which two large aluminium boxes for our bedding and other equipment are stowed. On the hardtop we have a custom-made aluminium construction for our roof tent. Since 2024 we sleep in a Vickywood Mighty Oak 160, before that in a Darche Hi View 140. Shade comes from a free-standing 270-degree awning by ARQ 4WD.
The rear bench was removed to make room for a dual-battery system. We use a 150 Ah AGM battery, plus a charge booster, battery monitor and solar controller from Victron. Into the cover I built several sockets, a 2000-watt inverter and various switches. A folding solar panel can also be connected to the cover.
Up front we installed a President CB radio, which keeps us in touch within the convoy with the help of an Albert antenna. The load bed is fully kitted out with everything you need on the road. A custom-made aluminium construction carries the roof tent and takes the load off the hardtop, which only has to bear a roof load of 17 kg. Two aluminium slides give easy access to the whole load bed.
We love cooking outdoors over the fire
We also have a kitchen with a two-burner gas grill and a slide for Euro boxes, which is also where our separating toilet from Komaland is stowed. For cooking we like to use a fire bowl and fire pots when we have enough time to cook over the open fire. On one side of the build the Engel MT45F-V cool box has its place, on the other we store the clothing and toiletries we take with us on the road.
The modifications were largely done on our own
Apart from the front bumper, all the modifications were done by me and my friends on our own. The entire construction, including the custom aluminium parts, is home-built. The conversion has taken about three years so far, and the special thing about it is that almost everything that does not come from a company, like the bumpers or suspension, is a one-off that you will not find on any other vehicle.
In one of the slides we have stowed our recovery gear along with tools and spare parts. We always carry a basic set of cordless tools, a saw, shovel and axe. We also have oil, an air filter, belts and fuses with us, so smaller breakdowns do not hold us up.
Our recovery gear
The conversion of our Mitsubishi L200 is, like every project, never really finished. The next thing we want to tackle is bigger tyres. All in all, though, I have built my dream car, and it already does everything I love to do. Every year it gives us several weeks of wonderful holidays and great weekend trips.
The L200 conversion costs
Finally, the costs. To be honest, I have lost track. The vehicle cost about 25,000 euro. All the add-ons, plus the whole build, the recovery gear, roof tent and other accessories, I would estimate at around 30,000 euro, maybe a bit more.