Three basic types of bedrooms to consider

Where to sleep in an off-road camper van? That is probably the first and single most important question to address when starting your conversion project. With a Land Rover Defender, there are basically three options: you can sleep inside on a bunk, in a roof top tent, or inside a pop-up roof. A trailer or pop-up camper (this works only for 130 models with a single or crew cab) is also a possibility, but out of question for me and not discussed here.

Sleeping in the back

Sleeping in the back of your vehicle is certainly the safest and stealthiest option. You are not exposed to the elements, an air heater will keep you warm, and hardly anyone will notice you. Building a decent-sized bunk will most probably be a major compromise though, because you will sacrifice a lot of valuable storage and living space. Frankly, although this might work occasionally and for shorter trips, I therefore doubt that this is an ideal solution for long-term adventures.

Sleeping in a roof top tent

A roof top tent is the most spacious (depending on the model) and the most flexible solution. You simply mount the tent before going on a trip, and otherwise store it in your garage or basement. The main downsides are safety (you need to exit the vehicle and climb up a ladder to access your tent, which leaves you exposed to unwanted guests) and reduced payload (roof top tents eat up a notable amount of rack space). Also, roof top tents might collapse when the wind is too strong.

Sleeping inside a pop-up roof

Pop-up roofs might be seen as the combination of both worlds. They are relatively spacious and have one unique advantage: you will be able to stand up in the back of your vehicle. However, pop-up roofs are a permanent solution affecting the looks of your vehicle, and they are certainly not cheap either. As strong wind and rain might be an issue here too, having an emergency bunk in the vehicle is a good idea.

Samson is getting a pop-up roof

Weighing up all the pros and cons, the pop-up roof is my preferred choice. On one hand, it is important to me to retain a lot of storage space inside the car and particularly on the roof. On the other, I have no possibility to store a roof top tent anywhere in my house when it’s not used. And I would definitely not want to leave it mounted on the car all the time.

Ex-Tec, a German specialist for off-road equipment and adventure vehicles, has a long history in building quality pop-up roofs for the Defender 110. They also manufacture compatible add-ons such as bed systems, awnings, ladders etc. Their Space-Tec product has been around for some 20 years and it is, in my opinion, the best and “most evolved” pop-up roof on the market. Unlike others, Ex-Tec uses the factory roof-shell that comes with the Land Rover instead of replacing it for something else, and so preserves most of the car’s original look.

Samson is visibly enjoying his pop-up roof conversion in Germany. He will be shipped back to Switzerland in the coming weeks. Much more details and a “field report” will follow soon.

(All photos courtesy of Ex-Tec GmbH & Co. KG.)