There are plenty of ways to turn a Land Rover Defender into a camper. Most involve bolting increasingly large quantities of equipment to the outside until your once-handsome 4x4 resembles something preparing to cross the Darién Gap. Headspace Campers has taken a rather more subtle approach.
The Australian company’s Defender roof conversion turns the classic 90 or 110 into a compact pop-top camper, adding a proper sleeping area and enough headroom to stand up inside without completely messing with the vehicle’s familiar proportions.
It’s a neat solution to one of the perennial problems of vehicle-based camping. A rooftop tent gives you somewhere to sleep but generally requires climbing outside to get into it. A van is considerably more civilised once you’re parked, but lacks the Defender’s ability to keep going when the tarmac disappears. Headspace effectively splits the difference.
Born from experience
The company was born from first-hand experience of exactly that problem. Founder Oliver Smith came up with the idea after spending eight months travelling around Europe in a Defender 110, experiencing everything from Australian summer temperatures to –32°C conditions in the European Alps along the way. He wanted the comfort and usable interior space of a van without sacrificing the Defender’s off-road ability.
The resulting conversion is pleasingly discreet when closed. Rather than simply strapping a tent to a roof rack, Headspace modifies the Defender itself, creating a lifting roof that becomes part of the vehicle. Pop it open and the Defender gains close to two metres of standing room, turning what is normally a fairly cramped cabin into a genuinely usable living space.
Upstairs, there’s a 1,300mm-wide mattress, with the Defender 110 version stretching to a generous 2,500mm in length. The conversion adds just 140mm to the vehicle’s height when closed and 95kg to its weight, so it avoids much of the visual bulk associated with conventional camper conversions. Better still, Headspace says the Defender system is reversible apart from modifications to the original headlining.
There are two specifications available. The Standard package covers the essentials, including a memory-foam-topped mattress, LED interior lighting, a zip-on front awning, canvas tent organiser, integrated USB charging ports, a tow-bar-mounted step and additional storage above the factory sun visors.
All the trimmings
The Premium version pushes things further with an 85mm mattress, colour-matched automotive paint for the conversion frame, timber or dark-grey Velcro cabin lining, red and white lighting, additional side awnings and a pair of ceiling-mounted fans. There are also external 50-amp Anderson sockets for hooking up solar panels and other 12V equipment when heading properly off-grid.
Perhaps the best bit is what Headspace hasn't done. Classic Defenders are arguably at their best when they look relatively unmolested, and the conversion leaves the basic silhouette surprisingly intact. Existing gutter-mounted aftermarket roof racks can even be modified to work with it, while Headspace offers its own low-profile rack for those starting from scratch.
Prices currently start at AUD $16,826 for the Standard conversion and AUD $23,533 for Premium, before engineering and installation costs. Headspace is Australian, but this isn't strictly an Antipodean affair: the company ships internationally and has already carried out Defender 110 installations in the UK.
It won't give you the shower, kitchen or questionable floral upholstery of a traditional motorhome, but if you're into Defenders, that's probably not a dealbreaker. And make no mistake, this is still fundamentally a Defender – just one in which you can stand up, stretch out and go to sleep without pitching a tent first.
