Tdi Dormobile for sale

[racingjason]

Although we are not sure if we will regret this decision in the future my wife Kellie and I have decided to put our good friend Higgins up for sale. He is a 1980 Land Rover Series III Dormobile with a 200tdi. We bought the truck when I was studying in England and used if for a trip through Europe and Morocco. The previous owner had taken great care to prevent rust on the chassis and undercarriage. When I bought the truck there was a thick layer of oily gunk covering everything underneath. Apparently the guy would take his used motor oil, mix it with a few other goodies and coat everything on a regular basis. It was a crude but effective method as the chassis is in excellent shape. (Before I bought the truck to Canada it took 4 hours of steam cleaning to wash everything off!) The Dormobile bits came from a rusty donor vehicle and were added to the truck you see now.

The Dormobile kit was refurbished and installed by Dormobile in the UK. All the cabinets were repainted and the seats and cubby box reupholstered. The mechanisms for the “rock and roll” Dormatic seats were refurbished and work perfectly. A new bunk cover was installed on the right side while the original tartan one remains on the other side. The original table is included and even has mounts to use it off the back of the truck. (a great addition for eating outside on nice days) The pinstripe canopy is in usable condition but is the original part and showing some wear and tear. A brand new replacement canopy from Dormobile will be included. For those who have not been in a Dormobile, we were able to live in the truck for over 2 months and found it very comfortable. It is not a huge space by any means but if you are organised there is plenty of room for everything you need without the footprint of a bigger rig.

For information on Dormobiles there is no better resource than TerriAnn Wakeman’s site: http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/

The 200tdi conversion was performed by Adam at ACH Landrovers in the UK. (The Tdi came from a 1996 Discovery). The install was done very nicely and has been the single best decision I have made when building this truck. Fuel milage basically doubled and we averaged 23 US.mpg (27imp.mpg) during our trip. The engine fires up at just the touch of the key and everything has been very reliable. The only mechanical issue we had was a bad regulator in the OEM alternator when I hooked up a second battery in Spain. A new unit was installed and it has been working great ever since.

So I have built my dream truck; a Series Land Rover with a Tdi and the very rare Dormobile package. Because I built the truck as a “keeper” I endeavoured to do everything right: all the accessory wiring was cleaned up with soldered connections wherever possible; good quality parts were always chosen; and considerable time was spent on soundproofing and making the interior space comfortable to live in. So the final question is “Why am I selling it?”. Well... during our trip we picked up a little hitchhiker who is now coming 3 months old! We now need some extra room for strollers, toys and everything else that comes with a baby, so with a heavy heart it is time to look for another truck and adventure type trailer.

At the risk of repeating myself, here are a few of the main features of the truck:

General
- 1980 Land Rover Series III - 109”
- 1996 200tdi engine
- Chassis is free of major rust and is in very good condition
- 4 speed gearbox with Fairy overdrive
- Rear Salisbury Differential
- Fairy part-time selectable hubs
- Parabolic springs
- 6 x ANR1534 wheels (130 Defender type - 6.5” wide and strong)
- Rear swing away tire carrier
- Olympic 7.50x16 military tires (5)
- Half roof rack with tools (ammo) boxes
- Lots of chequer plate (love it or hate it, it has its uses)
- Snorkel and K&N filter
- Front and rear diff guards and steering skip plate.

Electrical
- Dual batteries
- Hella Halogen Headlamps
- Hella Supertone Horns
- Kenlowe electric fan
- Blue Sea bus-bar and accessory fuse block
- MudUK Console with 3 std. power points
- Carling Switches
- VDO Tachometer
- EMS-2 Multi-gauge (http://www.madman.co.za/)

Interior
- Fatmat sound insulation throughout the truck
- Custom Sound barrier over gearbox tunnel.
- La Salle fibreglass headiner
- Heavy duty sound deadening floor mats.
- Rally type map light (one of the most useful things in the truck!)

Dormobile Kit
- Reupholstered Dormatic seats that are fully operational.
- Compact table that stores on the back door
- Stainless steel cooker top and heat shield
- Cooker is set up to run on North American propane bottles
- Two Propane bottles (10lb?) and rack.
- Wardrobe and cooker unit were refurbished last year
- New sink insert
- ARB 30 litre fridge with Posi-fit (if it ever arrives)
- Two upper bunks, one original and one with new fabric.
- Sleeping bag straps
- Fluorescent lighting

Extras
I have extra parts and pieces for the truck that I have been installing over time:
- Complete new Dormobile canopy (and instructions)
- Defender front door seals
- Land Rover front bumper recovery rings

I also have a large collection of spares for the vehicle include brake shoes, drums, wheel cyl, etc; drivetrain seals/gaskets, u-joints, steering parts, fuel pump, timing belt, etc. I bought these parts in anticipation of a) having a spares collection for our next expedition, b) getting the thing through the safety inspection when it arrived in Canada. In the end all I needed for inspection was one rear hub seal and a pair of wiper blades!! As I have said before, the truck is in good shape. (I have the records from past MOT inspections for 15 years or more)

I am not sure where to price this thing (not too many to compare to) but I am going to start by asking $27,000. Please feel free to talk to me and make an offer. I am also interested in partial trades for a Conqueror Compact trailer.

Pictures and information are available at:

http://web.me.com/racingjason/Dormobile_for_Sale/Welcome.html

There is a possibility that I may be able to arrange transportation of the truck for a reasonable cost to the western Canada or the US. Please feel free to discuss it with me.

Thanks for looking.

 

[stevenmd]

Wow, very nice pics! If I may ask, what material did you use for the soundproofing?

Good luck with the sale!:smiley_drive:

 

[yubert]

Does your Dormobile Kit include a Dormobile commode? I noticed a gray bucket w/black lid in your photos and wonder if instead that's your toilet.

 

[racingjason]

The initial soundproofing was the Fatmat (like Dynamat) which really deadened any resonance inside the truck but I think you may be referring to the stuff on the tunnel. Because the truck had been a V8 conversion in the past, an aftermarket soundproofing kit was not available. I obtained a piece offoam from Dormobile that is used in generator rooms or in engine houses on boats. It is basically foil covered foam with a dense membrane in the middle. (The guy at Dormobile said it was lead but I think it may be a high density polymer). I cut the pieces to shape and then covered it with that backless carpet that stereo shops use for subwoofer boxes. The whole thing is removable so you can access the gearbox from above if you have to. It was a lot of work but the results are very impressive. Went from earplugs to having a decent conversation on the highway.

As for the commode, this truck did not come with that option but our alternative is called a "luggable loo". It works great, with a seat and everything for only $20. (granted it is just a 5 gal pail with a fancy lid).

 

[AFSOC]

:drool: Nice work on this rig. I fear you may live regret the sale, I can see it's been a labor of love. Best of luck.

 

[Sloan]

Not to try and talk you out of selling the old girl but, by about the age of two there is a drastic reduction in the amount of gear a child needs to travel with.

 

[racingjason]

Not to try and talk you out of selling the old girl but, ay about the age of two there is a drastic reduction in the amount of gear a child needs to travel with.

Thanks man, we figured things would be better in a couple years once the little guy is mobile under his own power. That being said, and if all goes well, we would like to take 6 months to a year to go on a big trip when he is about two to three years old so we will need more room regardless. We figured that by the time he moves away to University the Dormobile should be the perfect size again!

 

[Funrover]

Man... I wish the Wife and I could do it. We just can't right now. That would be a dream to own

 

[Dolomiti]

All I can say is...drool:drool:

Beautiful. If only this was happening about 5 years form now, I might have the money to throw around. Good luck with the sale.

 

[xpdishn]

Racing, do you what it would take to import to the US? It is over 25 years old so at least it would be legal to bring it in. It's a beaut.

Does anyone know what it would take to import?

 

[The Swiss]

Not to try and talk you out of selling the old girl but, by about the age of two there is a drastic reduction in the amount of gear a child needs to travel with.

Not trying to talk you out of selling #2, but why don't you kinda-sorta hard-mount the baby seat for right now and get a ute trailer or a M416, I apologize, a Sankey trailer as you are a Rover guy - for the baby stuff? This 109 sure us a beauty. When my boys were 2 and new-born, we had a Suzuki Samurai. Talking about cramped, but we made it work somehow.

 

[racingjason]

Racing, do you what it would take to import to the US? It is over 25 years old so at least it would be legal to bring it in. It's a beaut.

Does anyone know what it would take to import?

As far as I know it should just be a paperwork exercise because it over 25 years old but others may know better. ( It was pretty painless coming into Canada) There was some information on this page: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/importing_car.xml

Not trying to talk you out of selling #2, but why don't you kinda-sorta hard-mount the baby seat for right now and get a ute trailer or a M416, I apologize, a Sankey trailer as you are a Rover guy - for the baby stuff? This 109 sure us a beauty. When my boys were 2 and new-born, we had a Suzuki Samurai. Talking about cramped, but we made it work somehow.

Thanks for the sober second thought Michael. The baby seat is in and the little guy has been riding in the Dormie all summer. (see photo) He seems to like the truck as he just kicks back and enjoys the ride. We had looked into a trailer and came to the conclusion that it would be silly to tow the weight of a trailer to carry, perhaps, a few hundred pounds of stuff but we liked the idea of an adventure type trailer because of its would give us some extra room and free up the truck to haul a canoe/bikes etc.