Cool Jeeps You Can't Have - Mahindra of India

[jscherb]

A nicely done exocage on a Thar. Reminds me of a NAS (North American Spec) Land Rover Defender exocage.

 

[jscherb]

Indian aftermarket accessories company Bimbra has developed a hardtop for the new model Thar that boasts a 250-kg dynamic load capacity (550 lbs). That's enough to easily support a roof top tent without the exocage-style racks that Wranglers typically require. It comes with mounting points for roof racks as well. They've also developed a custom snorkel for the Thar, which sits flush with the body and is functional.

I wonder why aftermarket hardtop companies in the U.S. don't make hardtops that can support large loads like a roof top tent? It can be done, both of my Safari Cab hardtops support large loads with something as simple as a Cherokee roof rack installed.

 

[jscherb]

An article from the August 1992 issue of Indian Auto magazine on Roplas hardtops.

 

[Texoma]

There is one. https://www.bulldawgmfg.com/shop/Highlander_JK_Hard_Top-25-2.html

 

[jscherb]

There is one. https://www.bulldawgmfg.com/shop/Highlander_JK_Hard_Top-25-2.html

I'm glad to know there is at least one .

 

[jscherb]

There's a thread on the Indian Team-BHP forum that may interest people who are thinking about sleeping in their Wrangler, or people who just want to build a drawer system for the back: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-...ehicle-budget-storage-sleeping-area-thar.html

Some images from the thread:

I've only picked a few photos from the thread to highlight the project; lots more info in the thread.

 

[jscherb]

A thread on the Indian Team-BHP forum is entitled "Indian cars modified for camping & overlanding." It's got photos lots of interesting overland vehicles in India, here are a few...

Force Gurkha:

Mahindra Marshal:

Mahindra Bolero pickup:

Mahindra Scorpio:

Our friend wandernomad:

How about an overland autorickshaw? (https://www.rushlane.com/bajaj-tuk-tuk-auto-rickshaw-modified-into-a-house-desi-rv-12346801.html):

There are more in the thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modi...indian-cars-modified-camping-overlanding.html

 

[Zeep]

I like the one in the middle. Kind of aCJ3B, CJ6 variant!

 

[jscherb]

A couple of ads for the Armada Grand.

 

[jscherb]

A new way to see India...

Camping Co provides self-drive and self-sufficient SUV Campers in which one can escape and get away from our homes and cities. These "SUV Campers" are based on the Mahindra Thar, Force Gurkha and Tata Xenon pick-up. The Thar and Gurkha, are both of course 4X4 (four-wheel drive) and can easily go beyond tarmac. The Tata Xenon also has good ground clearance and a rugged ladder frame chassis and suspension, which give it decent all terrain capability.

More info at https://www.overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/features/counter-to-covid-self-drive-suv-camper-tourism/

These SUV Campers are outfitted with a foldable rooftop tent made of breathable poly-cotton canvas with pop up window awning and fly screen windows. A retractable ladder is attached to the tent for easy access and it takes only a few minutes to set up the tent. A BBQ grill, cooktop, cutlery kit and cooking utensils, camping chairs and tables and so on, are pre-loaded in the cars for the journey as per the guest's request. Camping Co says it provides 24x7 roadside assistance and has a network of local mechanics that can be called to assist if needed. In addition their vehicles carry a toolkit, puncture repair kit and some spare parts to provide an extra safety net.

 

[jscherb]

This is not specifically Mahindra but I found it on the Indian Team BHP Forum where a lot of Mahindra information can be found so I'll post it here. It's a thread describing a portable water purification system for use in a vehicle. Much of the detail is left to the reader to figure out, but I think there's enough info in the thread that someone who wanted do build something like this and was willing to do a little reasearch on the components would find this a good starting point:

There's more info in the thread:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-...il&utm_term=0_39df29de53-37affe7865-108621045

 

[jscherb]

I've posted a lot about the Mahindra Thar in this thread; here's the story of the development of the Thar as told by Cyrus Dhabhar, he's the son of the late Behram Dhabhar who was the person at Mahindra that championed the development of the Thar.



In the video Cyrus mentions a thread on the Indian Team BHP forum in which Behram Dhabhar asked forum members for input on what they'd like a real off-roader to have. Cyrus says this input was used by Mahindra to develop the features of the Thar. Here is that thread, from 2008: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-...list-what-you-really-want-your-mm540-4wd.html

 

[wanderernomad]

Behram Dabhar was the man behind a lot of modern Mahindra Products. He was also behind the Mahindra Bolero. He used to rally for Mahindras during the Eighties in the Gruelling Himalayan Car rally. A jeep enthusiast he also helped a lot of jeepers to properly maintain their rigs here. Another very knowledgeable jeeper and a collector is Uday Bhan Singh based out of Kolkatta. A gem of a person.

The wish list that we gave Behram was crazy. Some of it did make it into the production vehicle while some were left to be fitted as options. Some things just didnot make the cut as they were deemed to be far too costly to enable the Thar to be priced moderately.

 

[jscherb]

What to do when nature calls and you're in your Mahindra?

In case you care, there's more info on this mod here: https://www.drivespark.com/four-whe...omobiles-features-portable-toilet-031572.html

 

[jscherb]

The subject of this thread is "Cool Jeeps You Can't Have", but the subject of this post is "Cool Expeditions In Mahindras That You Can Do."

There are plenty of interesting off-road opportunities in India and quite a few organized expeditions. A recent thread on the Indian Team BHP forum describes an expedition orgainzed by Wander Beyond Boundaries (https://www.wanderbeyondboundaries.com/) over the 13,989' elevation Shashi La pass in Ladakh. Ladakh is part of the Kashmir region, which has been disputed by India, Pakistan and China since Partition (India and Pakistani independence in 1948). More on Ladakh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladakh.

Some photos from the thread:

A WBB promotional video done before the trip:




The thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trav...rs-3-fortuners-tons-memories.html#post5143727