Camel Trophy Tribute - Defenders NW Project

[DefendersNW]

We are pulling together a long planned project for the Autohome Roof-Tent booth at SEMA

CTT is a Camel Trophy Tribute build - the build ethos is "how would an independent Special Vehicles group outfit a 1988 Land Rover Defender scout & support truck using aftermarket accessories that available in the market today?

For those who need a background start down the rabbit hole at wikipedia and then kill a few hours on youtube - The Camel Trophy was a vehicle-oriented competition that was held annually between 1980 and 2000, and it was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain.

Our inspiration comes not from the team vehicles but from the hardworking no-nonsense scouting and supply/logistics working trucks that supported the Camel Trophy event. Using an ex MOD 3-door Defender 110 Tithonus Project as the starting point we have stripped the truck down to bare bones, replaced the engine, and sent it off to be painted in the signature Camel Trophy Sand-Glow hue. Like the 110-HCPU inspiration below - we are building a soft-top pickup with a short roof rack over the cab, tires and tools mounted to the bonnet, and a tan canvas over the bed. Unlike the original - we are using a standard bed, 1/2 doors, and a soft top (the pickup cab is painfully small)

The kitting out of the project has been a great exercise in finding the best collection accessories that work well together to solve all the problems a Camel Support team might face - onboard fuel and water, storage for secure items, spares, extraction tools, lights, winching, etc... With help from a community of manufacturers who are all excited to support the project we have puled together some great solutions that will translate well into overland, off-road, or everyday Defender builds.

We started with a standard LHD Nato Green 3-door 110 - Fresh off the RORO boat in 2016

Test fit/fabricated mounting for the planned accessories, then stripped and prepped for paint

After the paintwork we were able to quickly reassemble the body and big exterior components to clear some rack and shop space

We will be posting project updates over the next 4 weeks while the truck is prepped for it's debut at SEMA in Las Vegas NV on Halloween 2018. Thanks to all the folks who have helped sort out the project logistics, and special thanks go to those who have donated time, equipment, or expertise to help us keep the final CTT project looking accurate and on-point.


Planned Events 2018/2019:
SEMA
Baja 1000
OEX West
NWOR - USA
NWOR - Canada
ABFM Portland

 

[Toyrover]

Looks like a great project

 

[DefendersNW]

Reassembly of the body, cage, and front end took a few hours and made it look like a truck again.

 

[DefendersNW]

An update is due...

We are two weeks into the build-up at this point with another couple to go before it needs to be in Las Vegas.

On the exterior we finished up the trims, fitted the canvas - and mounted the color matched wheels

The bottom half of the interior is done - with auxiliary wiring needing to go into the converted main fuse panel before we button up the top half.

Made a new flyscreen -

Building a micro-relay harness for the VisionX rack and brush-guard mounted lights

Finished the bumper cut & weld to fit the Warn Zeon winch

 

[RBBailey]

So nice. I expect to see this at ABFM next year, right?

 

[DefendersNW]

So nice. I expect to see this at ABFM next year, right?

Certainly - Unless that is someone takes it home after Expo in May...

We are having an open-house work party on the Camel Trophy project this Sunday - October 14th 9am-1pm with lunch to follow.

Come turn a wrench, or just visit and take a look at how we are installing the kit from our supplier partners - Vision X, ARB, NWOL, WARN, Front Runner, Autohome, Maxtrax, and Knightsbridge Overland...

 

[DefendersNW]

Came out alright...

One of only two Defenders at SEMA this year, and the only traditional Rover at the show.

Headed across the Mojave road with the truck on Saturday/Sunday moving it to So.Cal

 

[DefendersNW]

More photos to follow on our IG (as service allows) the next few days as we are taking the truck on the Mojave road enroute to Baja Mexico for the 1000.

 

[DefendersNW]

 

[DefendersNW]

With a successful SEMA showing we finally get to use the truck for some adventures! The break-in test was a drive through two of the great Deserts of the Southwest - off-road from Las Vegas to Palm Springs. The combination of rutted washboard, rough volcanic rocks, and power sucking sand pushed the weaknesses of the 30-year old truck to the surface; revealing only a two areas needing attention. The power steering pump stopped pumping while we were chasing the fading light somewhere inside the steep confines of Berdoo Canyon on the southwestern corner of the Joshua Tree preserves. The recent flooding had smoothed the main track in the wash running down the narrow canyon floor, but the erosive water flow had also undercut the banks making crossings into and out of the wash steep climbs up short walls. Despite the low power of the naturally aspirated diesel engine, the Defender was wholly in its element on these trails and roads.

Hundreds of miles of dirt-roads earlier in the day, the truck was working at its limit to keep freeway pace with the weekly mass exodus that is the return migration from Las Vegas back to the various cities filling the Los Angeles basin. Once out of the city and onto the criss-cross of high desert trails leading southwest, the Defender settled into a comfortable pace, the throttle at roughly two-thirds as it would stay for most of the next ten hours. The miles rolled underneath the tires, the sun climbed high and the temperatures followed. Shedding morning layers, we rolled up the load-bay canvas and opened the vents. Late fall in the desert is a purely magical time, warm days and cool nights with lingering moisture from a recent storm filling the air with the scent of creosote and sage.

Crossing the ridges of low mountains in low range the Defender walked up and down rocky steps, each pass revealing a sandy, dust filled basin below. Crossing the lowlands was mixture of piloting the truck through soft sand avoiding rocks and cacti; or negotiating rutted dirt roads carved into rollover-angle testing gully and steps. The varied surfaces of the long low dry-lakes read like a chemistry set - Cl17, NaCl, NaHCO3 - some being mined by evaporation leave the air heavy with the smell of bleach.

Crossing the Mojave Desert is best done in days, not hours, to explore and enjoy all that the historic Mojave Trail has to offer; but our torture test kept us rolling past all the roadside adventures that make this area a favorite of ours. Once out of the Mojave we continued south in to the Joshua Tree NP. Despite the enormous amount of visitors from around the world who travel a few hours from Los Angeles to visit the famous rock outcroppings and Yucca Brevifolia tree for which the park is named, there are two scantly used 4x4 trails that provide a much less tourist oriented entrance and exit from the park. Cresting the ridge leading into Berdoo Canyon the low sun lights the Salton Sea off to the southeast, and we descent for the last time down the narrow canyon trail. It is on these roads that we cross the desert nearly unnoticed, and emerge a few miles from the lights and leisure atmosphere of Palm Springs.

The truck will live in Newport Beach for a week until we are back to take it down in to Mexico for the Baja 1000 mid month.

 

[roverrange]

roof rack

can you provide more info on how you attached the roof rack and the roof top tent? I am interested in putting together a full length roof rack for mine. Thanks

 

[Boswalt]

Very cool

 

[DefendersNW]

can you provide more info on how you attached the roof rack and the roof top tent? I am interested in putting together a full length roof rack for mine. Thanks

Built a kit to fit to the roll cage supports - would need spacers to make it same plane for a full length rack. We were after a staggered rack setup so the front was as low as possible.

 

[roverrange]

Yeah - I would like to just have the rack over the cab area. I see the rack is Front Runner but were the legs and clamps custom machined?

Now I see - it looks like you had tabs welded onto the Tith cage to match the FR leg attachment points. I am going to see if I can find a clamp that will fit those bars and allow attachment of the FR rack.

 

[DefendersNW]

Yeah - I would like to just have the rack over the cab area. I see the rack is Front Runner but were the legs and clamps custom machined?

Now I see - it looks like you had tabs welded onto the Tith cage to match the FR leg attachment points. I am going to see if I can find a clamp that will fit those bars and allow attachment of the FR rack.

Not really enough room to fit a solid clamp and still clear the doors/hood curved pieces. We did more than single tabs as I wanted the rack to be able to support significant weight over rough trails...

 

[DefendersNW]

Just going to leave this here... Baja in November CTT Project is going up for sale (though the buyer may want to use it to support our next project)

 

[Tbaumer]

I want a poster of this to remind me of what I SHOULD be doing instead of working all the time!

 

[Boswalt]

Is the listed price with the 2.5na or does this have a 300tdi?

 

[MountainD]

Seriously though, really great pucture

 

[DefendersNW]

Is the listed price with the 2.5na or does this have a 300tdi?

Yes - purchase options for 2.5NA, 200tdi, or 300tdi