Land Rover Ambulance - A neat alternative!

Land Rover Defender Ambulance

Overlanding in a warm climate is ideal and offers the benefits of living outside your vehicle but often the overland route is not across the plains of Africa and rather rambling over the Mongolian Plateau.  In that scenario, having an overland camper is perfect.  When the foul weather rolls in, you can quickly and easily hibernate in the camper away from the rough weather.

 I had just returned from my Trans-Africa trip so was in no position to make an offer on this nicely kitted Land Rover Defender Ambulance which I spotted for sale in 2006. I am not sure who the current owner is - if you do know, please get in touch.



I seem to think this was an early 1993 Defender 127 fitted with the Land Rover v8 3.5l petrol engine. The ambulance body was fitted by the firm Locomotors.  A second firm, Marshall, was the alternative supplier of Land Rover Ambulance's.

Although the vehicle looks fairly large, the interior space is rather limited.  The layout below has been neatly designed considering the space available.  It has the essentials, like a cooker and basin however space is lacking for a small fridge and additional storage cupboards.

I liked the double rear doors (original doors) on the ambulance.  It offers a very practical entry system however you loose the ability to use the rear door for additional storage, like a spare wheel and jerry cans.

In summary, if you are wanting to venture overland to colder climates and like the Land Rover Defender as an overland vehicle, then consider an ambulance. It offer an ideal base to create the camper of your choice, plus the practicality of a Land Rover Defender. Adding an LPG fuel conversion would be beneficial or consider replacing the V8 for an old Defender 300tdi engine. In my opinion the cost to replace the engine would probably pay for all your fuel on your overland trip so might not be worth the effort.  The best forum for all things Land Rover Ambulances is the Yahoo Group: 127-130 Ambulance Owners


Additional Africa Overland trips:
There have not been many Defender Ambulances used for overland expeditions however the older Series II and Series III Land Rovers also came fitted with an ambulance body.  Take a look at the following sites:

Crossing Africa

 3 Maatjes op reis

Baltic and Beyond

Additional Reading: