Range Rover Madness

Well then, let's get started.

Let me introduce you to "The Admiral" - a 1995 Range Rover Classic soft-dash with a 1976 Sunrader camper grafted onto it. Yes, you read that right.

Sunraders are best known as the camper you would see bolted to 4-cylinder Toyota pick-ups from the late 70s and early 80s. This one, as well as the Range Rover beneath it, lived in southern California all their lives until a few years ago. The conversion was done exceptionally well by a shop in San Diego. The welds, cuts, and attachments are impressive - they even managed to keep the rear doors functional after slicing off their tops.

Underneath is a fully custom suspension set-up with 4" of lift and bespoke driveshafts. Tru-trac locker in the rear, 33" Falkens, and one of the cleanest chassis I've ever seen. It has a brand new 4.6L short block and rebuilt heads, and, remarkably, for the heft and size of this thing, and those massive wheels, it fairly flies.

The camper is great - very, very 70s, but it needs some serious updates, particularly in the insulation, wiring, and lighting categories. It's well laid-out and spacious, but also comfortably cozy for two humans and one feline.

The truck also went on an extended trip all the way to Panama and back at the hands of the previous owners, so it's really proven itself:

https://www.instagram.com/roverlife/

We bought it in July, and got a chance to bum around Montana and Idaho for a few trips, including to a Land Rover GTG near Yellowstone National Park, where I was able to actually drive Oxford - one of the Series Land Rovers that went from London to Singapore with the First Overland expedition in 1955-1956. Definitely more on that later on - it was super cool.

However...

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed on ExPo that we're going to sell it.

Why? There are a variety of reasons.

One, it is, frankly, too much truck for us. It is by far the most off-road capable vehicle we've ever owned. It will go anywhere, barring the height of the camper.

We took it on some awfully gnarly tracks this summer and it never flinched. But, it's just more than we really need. That's a hard conversation to have with your off-road Id, but sometimes less is more if you're being really honest with yourself. 12 mpgs on the freeway doesn't add to the positives on the balance sheet.

Two, we were originally planning to hang around Montana and North America in the long term, but mostly on the road. We wanted a larger living space than we could manage in the Defender, which the Sunrader provides. We actually wanted to maybe get moving this fall, down south where it's a little warmer.

However, the virus obviously has scuttled those plans in the medium term. And, we've decided what we really want to do is go back to Africa sooner rather than later. The obstacle there? The Admiral doesn't fit in a standard shipping container.

So, our attention turns back to Toto the Defender.

If you want, you should buy the Range Rover! It's amazing.

@bloody-the-resident-shitposting-saffer we can't get it out of our heads. And since both of us are working remotely on a permanent basis now, why the hell not? You only go around once, or, erm, maybe twice?

I'll personally deliver this RRC to you. You'd really like it.

@bloody-the-resident-shitposting-saffer

@hammerheadfistpunch In the gestation stages now. Once we can get vaccinated (if? when? it's all a hoax?), we'll probably ramp up the timeline, but for now we're laying down some ground work back in Botswana with our friends there - residence permits and all that bureaucratic stuff. So, summer 2021? We're also eyeballing Europe, weirdly enough. Julie is an Italian citizen, and I just got my citizen bonafides back in February. One way or another we're going to bust out of this joint and get back on the road.