A Caboose is the name given in South Africa to a special Land Rover built for the South African Defence Force in the late 1960’s. The vehicle was based on a 2A 109 4 cylinder Land Rover with an extended chassis. The inside height of the vehicle is 1.56 metres. They were used as field offices and were equipped with two tables, four filing cabinets and a set of three drawers. The sides of the vehicles were of aluminium although some were built of steel. The back and front were of steel sheeting. The roof was of glass fibre and was fitted with a gun turret. The inside of the vehicle was clad with masonite sheeting. The vehicles were not very popular either in the army or out as they were heavy and were seen to be top heavy. As such those that came up for sale either through auction or tender had very low odometer readings and were invariably broken up for spares. In the mid 1980s my wife Ina and I had noted that the vehicles would make excellent campers but at that time we were using a more spacious 2B Forward Control for our camping safaris. We did in fact purchase one which we rebuilt for sale. At the end of 1989 about 30 of these vehicles were put up by the SADF for sale by tender. We put in a bid for several vehicles and were successful in obtaining three. As our two sons had reached the age where they were going away in their own Land Rovers, the Forward Control had become too big for the two of us and we decided to rebuild one of the Cabooses into a camper.    

The rebuild and conversion was a great success and the vehicle was used on several trips to the Okavango swamps in Botswana and to the Mozambique coast. By  skimming the head by 120 thou and fitting Series 3 push rods the performance of the vehicle had been improved considerably. However as I had been able to get a 2.5 litre turbo diesel engine I decided to sell this vehicle and to rebuild one of the other two Cabooses. There were also a few modifications we wished to make to the vehicle.

The SADF purchased a large number of 110 Land Rovers fitted with 2.5 litre turbo diesel engines in the late 1980s. Many of these engines were prone to over heating mainly due to manufacturing faults and the SADF returned the vehicles to AAD, the then distributors of Land Rovers in South Africa. The engines had three faults. After casting of the blocks two flashings were not removed leading to poor circulation of the coolant in the block. In addition the brass inserts in the cylinder head for water circulation were inserted the wrong way round again leading to inefficient cooling. Thirdly the engines were prone to build up excessive oil pressure in the sump. AAD issued a directive on the correction of these faults. Several members in the LROC of SA purchased 60 of these engines at give away prices. I was able to buy three of the engines for my two sons and myself. Two of the engines proved to be OK but the one that I got had a badly cracked head and pre-combustion chambers. The flashings in the block were found to be still present. These were knocked out. I was fortunate in obtaining a scrapped engine with a perfect head. After fitting new pre-combustion chambers and polishing, the head was fitted to the block. The sump was fitted with a breather pipe to overcome the problem of pressure build up.

While the engine was being repaired the rebuilding of the vehicle began. The plywood floor in the back of the vehicle was removed and discarded. The heavy steel division at the back of the cab was cut out to give access to  the rear of the vehicle. While the floor was out an 80 litre fuel tank was fitted at the rear of the vehicle. This necessitated the provision of a filler pipe on the right side of the vehicle. There were existing points to which the front of the tank could be attached but a length of angle iron had to be welded across the chassis to attach the back of the tank. An 80 litre water tank was fitted under the passenger seat. Heavy checker plate aluminium was used for the floor. Once the floor was in, Ina began with the building of cupboards and bunks while I continued with the mechanics and body work.

As the glass fibre roof leaked badly with the metal frame showing severe signs of rust it was removed. The frame was separated, repaired and given a good coating of primer and paint. The roof was reassembled using two pack epoxy sealant. As we planned to suspend a bunk from the roof a frame was made of 20x20 mm square channel which was bent to the shape of the roof and fitted on the outside. Two brackets on the inside were bolted through the roof to this frame. The base of the bunk was fitted at one end to a wide shelf across the cab and the other end suspended from the brackets using safety belt strapping. The base of the bunk and mattress are stored along the side of the vehicle to make a back rest when the lower bunk is used for sitting. A lining was glued on the inside of the roof before it was refitted to the vehicle. Finally two solar panels to charge two deep cycle batteries used to power a 40 litre freezer were fitted on the roof.

The wings, radiator panel and the engine were removed from the caboose. Modifications were done to the engine mountings to accommodate the new engine and the engine fitted in place. There were no modifications required to match the engine to the Series 2A gearbox. An overdrive from Superwinch was fitted to the gearbox. As the larger 110 radiator was to be fitted it was necessary to reposition the headlights in the wings. The damaged left wing was replaced with a  spare. The front panel of the right wing was replaced with a new panel. A frame was made to hold the radiator. The frame which held the tops of the wings in place was also used to hold a two core oil cooler. To assist in keeping the temperature of the engine down an intercooler was connected to the turbo. This was also mounted to the frame. A radiator grill support from a 110 was fitted between the wings and a grill fabricated. A bonnet from a wrecked 110 was beaten into an acceptable shape and with home made hinges fitted to the vehicle. As there was no place other than the bonnet to carry the spare wheel and as 110 bonnets, even with the dealer supplied strengtheners are not strong enough, a frame of 20mm square tubing was welded together and bolted to the inside of the bonnet. A spare wheel carrier from a Series Land Rover was pop rivetted to the bonnet. The final appearance of the front of the vehicle was quite pleasing. 

Other modifications done under the bonnet were the fitting of a Clayton Dewandre brake booster taken from a Forward Control and the fitting of a bracket to take a larger battery. The wiring was modified for the diesel engine. The front wheel slave cylinders were corroded and were replaced. The oil seal on the transfer output shaft was replaced. It is amazing that after standing for probably 30 years so few repairs had to be done to the vehicle. 

The vehicle came with two outside cupboards. These were neatened and fitted with doors which closed flush with the sides of the vehicle. One of these cupboards is used for spares and tools and the other for odds and ends. On our first trip as we were not too sure of our fuel consumption and the availability of fuel, eight 5 litre containers of diesel were carried in this cupboard. Two other cupboards were built into the sides of the vehicle, one carries the two deep cycle batteries and the other two gas bottles for cooking. 

By the time that all this was done Ina had finished the inside of the vehicle. On the right side she had fitted the 40 litre freezer, a two burner gas stove with a grill, cupboards, and a wash-up basin with water supplied by a pump from the water tank. On the left side were the bunks with large storage areas and a toilet under the bottom bunk. At the back were four cupboards for clothes, two magazine racks and a larger rack to take our shoes. The wide shelf fitted over the cab, in addition to forming  part of the top bunk, is used to carry bulky items such as sleeping bags and camping table and chairs. Behind the driver’s seat is the water pump and a shower on a long hose which is used outside the vehicle in an attachable tent. She then sprayed the camper a soft green at the bottom and broken white at the top. Carpets and curtains completed the interior.

The first trip done in the vehicle was an 8200km trip through Namibia on good and very bad roads. We obtained an overall fuel consumption of 13.2 l/100km (21.5mpg). The vehicle was very comfortable. We doubt if we can improve on it except for the replacement of the back axle with a Salisbury or ENV. We may fit a lining on the inside walls as we did find it a bit cold in the deserts when the night temperatures were near freezing point. The hatch in the roof was marvellous for game and bird viewing and the added height an additional bonus.