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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70   
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My partner and I want somewhere we can go when its a bit rough / miserable outside in the UK, we also want something we can use more subtle than a roof tent / camping set up abroad - so essentially we are after a camper.
After a lot of back and forth over the last year or two, seeing all of the options in real life, we have decided a pop top roof for the defender. These our current thoughts, I know a few of you have done siilar. So any advice etc is more than welcome. I'm using this thread as a bit of a sounding board. Its a huge investment so we want to do it right - were in a very lucky position that I worked abroad for a few years and money is not too much of an issue. Naturally we want to spend as little as possible, more left over for adventures then (or a new kitchen?! 🤔 ) Roof choice: We're a bit out of our comfort zone going to German/ abroad so using UK retailers. First up was Dormobile. This choice would mean living 'downstairs' and at 6"4' I would have to keep moving the seats etc - essentially its a bit of a faff. Also when we spoke to Dormobile we were a but off by them, they showed almost no interest in actually taking to us essentially because we were young and it made us feel quite uncomfortable. So for now we're ruling this one out. Next up is Drive Lodge. Last year we spent hours chatting to Pennine Overland about his roof / conversion and really got on well with him. This is a solid contender, but what puts us off is using the existing roof - it has a sun roof so will need modification, it's also seen a few trees up close so would benefit from a respray - basically there is a fair bit of 'prep work' involved in fitting the roof. Another negative is that we won't be able to fit a roof rack (we're not a fan of the pennine roof rack design / look). Realistically were unlikely to need a roof rack, but having the option would be nice. The big positive of this roof is its much cheaper - so that would allow us to do more with Pennine - maybe a bit of interior work or 12 solar etc. Our favorite contender is the AW4x4 roof, it's essentially the same as the Alucab but several grand cheaper. I've heard great things about them. We are having difficulty contacting him - it's been over two weeks without a reply now (it is the AOL show this weekend - so granted may be busy with that). The obvious choice is the Alucab - either from Nene or Tuff Trek (both around the same price). The quality speaks for its self, but it does hurt to think about spending this much! A benefit is that if we ever do sell it (and hopfully not) it's got a 'brand name' that people know well so shouldn't depreciate as much. As for this, any recomendatiom on Tuff Trek vs Nene? Tuff trek is a pain to get to from where we are, but Nenes latest reviews on Google are not the greatest. Interior: This is the bit we are going around on circles on. We will be loosing the 2nd row seats. So side facing seating on the drivers side rear wheel arch is a must (plus this will make up the interior sofa / seating area). We will cover the 2nd row footwell leaving a slim storage area either for a water tank or poles etc. - the reason for this is it gets damp / slight water ingress during water crossings so I want to be able to wipe it out. Above this will be some sort of storage - fridge possibly on top, behind passenger, accessed from 2nd row door. Water tank / misc storage behind driver. And then a seating area ontop - likely to be used for holdalls / luggage when in transit. On the passenger side wheel arch will be the 'big unit'. We are not 100% on how to do this. We have explore glazing gullwings on both sides and want to create storage that can be accessed from outside (we realise that 90% of the time we will be cooking / living outside. But we also want to access the same items from inside - plus the inclusion of a small work surface. Deeping on how much the roof conversion costs we are considering getting this unit made for us, I'm struggling with how I can stop it flying around when offloading and bolting it in securely at the top. I've made similar unit for our current layout, but it's 'pinned' in place by a double height storage drawer so can't topple. I'm not sure how to secure this. We're not fussed by internal sinks and hobs. Several people have recommended against this for a few reasons and I am inclined to agree. We don't want anything fancy, just simple, tough, easy to use. |
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17th Apr 2023 4:55pm |
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| wyvern Member Since: 13 Dec 2009 Location: Cornwall Posts: 2103 
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Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum !
Great that you have chosen to go for a pop top and good that you are weighing up your options before jumping in. A quick question as to why you are shying away from german tops as they are some of the best out there - but I am biased ! Inners and Allucab top can be fitted by Eroll at coast line campers - and he will make a custom fitting specific to your needs - ours was done by another german company who had a wide range of modular fitting which they could mix and match to give us the setup we wanted so as we can sleep in the vehicle, cook, eat and relax with out getting out into the rain, but then have an outdoor option for when we are touring hot sunny places. Take your time - look at lots of conversions and understand what you actually need as opposed to want ...then draw up your shopping list - dont forget the vehicle is never finished and will always be evolving with the continual tweaking that you will do. some pages on here that you may find useful ... https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic82129.html?highlight=errol https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic71382.html?highlight=errol https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic71722.html?highlight=errol and my conversion - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic56530.html looking forward to following your project !  Poppy - TDCI (Puma) 110XS 2.2 - Camper conversion - see the build here - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic56530.html
Elgar -TDCI(Puma) 110XS Dormobile - now sold Devon & Cornwall 4x4 Response - DC126  |
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17th Apr 2023 5:25pm |
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| db950 Member Since: 01 Feb 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 560 
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Hi, it’s a big daunting decision about having a pop top, I remember it well!!
We went with the Alu Cab and don’t regret it but I don’t think anybody who fits any type of pop top regrets it! I bought ours from Tuff Trek and had no issues but fitted it myself. Errol at Coastline campers doesn’t fit the roofs anymore or the interiors for Defenders, he mainly focuses on larger camper vans now I believe. Tuff Trek fit the Icarus in-house now which I have no experience of but they are all nice folks down there. Here’s the thread on my build, not sure any of it is relevant for your build but you may find it useful in some way https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72352.html 1997 Ex-MOD 110, Pop Top Camper, build thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72352.html 2014 Discovery 4 SE Tech Instagram @the110camper |
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17th Apr 2023 8:13pm |
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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70
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Thanks for getting back to me! Your setup / design is actually one of the original trucks we have drawn inspiration from, I think I've read most if not all of your design build over the years! The only reason for not going German is the faff factor - we would be pretty out of our comfort zone doing it and the costs of making it happen as well, also our roof would need painting, new window seals etc which is all additional cost. Having said that, since your post we are looking at some of the German options, we both really like how it keeps the original roof / roof profile. The main draw back for us with the alucab style is the boxiness (sp?) of it. I sent am email to Errol and got quite a stern reply back this morning, either his humour didn't translate well in the email or somone has stepped on his toes somewhere - either way he is not interested / doing it. We are doing the conversion for almost all the same reasons as yourself. Most of the time we will live out of the vehicle, however we also want that space to hide in when it's blowing a gale or generally not very nice. My biggest gripe at the moment is how much its all costing! A roof conversion for a 300tdi is almost (probably is!?) more than the vehicle is worth! |
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18th Apr 2023 4:21pm |
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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70
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We're swaying towards the Alucab from Tuff Trek, just had a quite back from Nene and it's over £500 more. I did message Errol a little while ago and got quite a stern no! I'll certainly check out your build- had a brief look this morning and loving it so far. |
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18th Apr 2023 4:23pm |
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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70
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Has anyone used or know of oryx solutions? German based company focusing on, amongst other things, interiors. Seeks well priced for what it is - I'm getting quotes back from UK companies that are 3 times that.
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19th Apr 2023 12:43pm |
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| andy2111 Member Since: 17 Oct 2021 Location: Kent Posts: 365 
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Don't be put off by using the German options.. I did this last year and it's quite easy.
You can arrange it all by phone and email, using Google translate if you need to. Then when it's time, I drove to stuttgart spending a night in France on the way down. I went to the mercedes museum on arrival on the Sunday night, stayed in a hotel, got up on the Monday morning and dropped the truck off and then got a cab to the airport and flew home. I did the reverse on collection except I drove to Calais in a day without stopping. The German poptops really are worth considering! This might be useful, it lists lots of the manufacturers https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic82412.html TD5 hardtop to Puma inspired Poptop - my build thread 2002 110 TD5 Hardtop ¦ Full Puma interior ¦ Carpathian grey / Santorini black ¦ X-Vision-X poptop |
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20th Apr 2023 7:40am |
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| MOI Member Since: 06 Jan 2017 Location: madrid Posts: 7  
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Hello, you also have the option of going to France and contacting the guys from RRC OFFROAD who are distributors of Ex-tec roofs, they set it up for me, I went from Spain and everything was great, also now they have side windows on their roofs they didn't have it before.
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20th Apr 2023 7:41pm |
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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70
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So, update.
Firstly thank you all for your help and advice. Its been a great help - currently on holiday so going through all your build threads in great detail and annoying my partner (who apparently wants to just read her book in peace.... how boring!). Roof We have decided on the AW4x4. Finally got in contact with him and seems a really nice guy. We saw a few in person at last year's LRO show and really liked the quality and construction. We have also spoken to a few owners on instergram who all seem happy. Although our budged is fairly flexible it's also nice not to be spending 10k plus on a roof, leaving us with more for the interior etc. It will use our existing roof, so similar to the German ones in design - we much prefer the profile of that over say the Alucab which is much boxier. As part of the price he is going to respray the roof sort out any issues and change the alpine light window seals - which was one of my main concerns about keeping our roof. This roof was a close tie with the Drive Lodge roof. It was a very close call, the deciding factor was that the AW4x4 is going to come painted, new seals, new headlining etc. Where as the DL I would still need to paint the roof, change the alpine window seals, the interior headlining for the front would need replacing (as we have a sunroof), then the roof rack issue - basically it would have been a lot of compromises and I think it would have left us a few years on wishing we had spent a bit more. For example we don't want a roof rack now, but innthe future our needs might change - so who knows. Interior This one is still up for debate. Previously I've designed and made all my own interiors. But I'm getting a little nervous about this one, I'm not confident enough to make nice looking cupboard and drawers. So we've spoken to a few companies in the UK who all seem to want crazy money and over complicated designs. But found a company in Germany - Oryx Solutions who have an interior which is both reasonably priced and exactly what we want. The way its designed also allows us to take out the unit in the second row and replace the seats if and when needed. So this is the current contender. It might need some subtle modifications, but I'm happy to do that. 12v We don't want much in the way of 12v. Probably solar - were thinking fixed panels on the roof, fourby also has a bonnet mounted one which might be an idea. They won't be as effective as ones we move around but a lot less faff. One or two 12v sockets and a stack of fast changing USB outlets is about all we want. I paid somone quite a while ago to do our split battery system as I didnt understand it then, but it turns out they knew as much as I did so it's a bit of a mess. I'll redo all this as part of the conversion. Starter battery under the passenger seat, along with probably the C Tek split charge and fusebox for the main battery and then the Aux battery under the drivers seat along with aux fusebox. I might try and run everything under the passenger seat - but that's going to be a fair bit of cost and I already have most of the system already. Diesel heater will be moved from under the drivers seat where it is now to a MUD stuff box under the cubby box. Other bits Water tank is un decided at the moment. Front runner wheel arch kit is the obvious choice but a lot of money for what it is so looking at altrernatives. I already have a 30L tank in our existing set up so might try and find that somewhere to live once we have the interior sorted. I'm thinking of attaching cargo rails to both sides above the gullwings. One side for a drop down table and the other either left blank or maybe recovery boards. |
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21st Apr 2023 9:47am |
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| Galyman Member Since: 20 Jan 2016 Location: Scottish Borders Posts: 92  
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Look forward to seeing how you get on with installation of the AW4x4 pop top roof as it is one we have been considering as well. Hopefully you will post progress on this forum.
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21st Apr 2023 12:39pm |
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| wyvern Member Since: 13 Dec 2009 Location: Cornwall Posts: 2103
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I love it when a plan is put together !! Dont rush and be flexible .. get the big things done first - the rest can be made up as you go along ! Campers are a never ending tweaking task. Now is the time to start your own ‘build thread ‘ ..... Poppy - TDCI (Puma) 110XS 2.2 - Camper conversion - see the build here - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic56530.html
Elgar -TDCI(Puma) 110XS Dormobile - now sold Devon & Cornwall 4x4 Response - DC126 |
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21st Apr 2023 6:30pm |
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| Andrew95 Member Since: 27 Jul 2022 Location: Midlands Posts: 70
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Sat by the pool currently putting a shopping list / ideas list together which is a lot of fun I must admit!
With our current set up (roof tent and drawer system) we live out of the vehicle, we have a side locker / gullwing and my biggest regret is having not fitted cargo rail and a drop down table to the passenger side. Every time we cook we open the side gullwing and move things to the drop down table on the rear door. So one of the first things I was thinking of doing was fitting the cargo rail on the camper build - side table on passenger side and recovery boards on the drivers side. However I honestly can't decide, I'm very loathed to drill into the body of the vehicle and don't want to have too much on the outside. With this new build we're unlikely to have a gullwing locker, most of the cooking equipment will be interior storage so easier to use the rear door table. I know a lot of you have installed the cargo rail - worthwhile modification? |
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23rd Apr 2023 11:06am |
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| db950 Member Since: 01 Feb 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 560
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Seems Errol is not quite done with Defenders!
New video on YouTube… 1997 Ex-MOD 110, Pop Top Camper, build thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72352.html 2014 Discovery 4 SE Tech Instagram @the110camper |
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25th Apr 2023 10:42am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4206 
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That Oryx interior stuff look really nice. Looking forward to seeing how this develops as we have similar plans albeit a bit further into the future. AW4x4 are not far from me and I never knew they were there! 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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25th Apr 2023 11:20am |
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