Land Rover 127 - 130

While looking for a support vehicle I was seriously considering buying a nice, low mileage, ex-RAF (not a knackered ex-Army) Land Rover 127 ambulance. It makes an excellent vehicle to sleep in with very little work required even including a heater and insulation in the back as standard. I also believe it can take an 8” x 4” board, on its side, inside, removing the need for a roof rack. They also come with a V8 engine. However I decided it would be too hard to park in town, but other owners say they have such difficulties.

Here is a Land Rover 127 that has been converted into a camper van. The rear door is not the same as an ambulance, so either the original double doors have been replaced, or this was not an ambulance, but may be a communications or workshop vehicle etc.

It was not the most capable vehicle off road in the slippery mud on the slope, but I don’t know whether this was because it was heavier than everything else, or just wrong tyres, driver ability etc.

This is a brand new Land Rover Defender 130 ambulance built by MMB International Ltd. It is equipped as a front line emergency ambulance (the cot / stretcher has been removed to show the interior better in the photos). It however has a diesel Td5 engine instead of the V8 engine in the Land Rover Defender 110 ambulance it replaced.

There is much more space in the back (enough for somebody taller than 6 ft on the cot or a 8” x 4” board), but it is cramped in the front because of the air conditioning under the dash board and the fact the bulkhead prevents backward adjustment of the seats. The photos were taken with permission from St. John Ambulance Avon.

This is a Land Rover Defender 130 ambulance still in service with the British Army.

This is the Land Rover 127 that got me thinking about getting a bigger Land Rover. It is a very nicely converted Rapier Tractor with a new hard top etc. It is an ex-military Land Rover that served in Germany so it is a left hand drive.

The clever bit is that the back is connected to the front instead of the original cab and rear cargo area. This is important if you want to use things like the electrics (including the stereo) from the cab, in the back. This isn’t a standard body option so the back from the ‘waist’ up eg. the sides and hard top, were built from other Land Rover parts and metal stock.

It was the longest and widest vehicle on this green laning trip. This meant it sometimes needed a ‘shunt’ at tight corners. A lot of work had been done on the transmission including converting the V8 engine to run on Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). This made it a bit more economical. The rear had been equipped with a sleeping platform and a solid fuel burner. This required a hole in the roof for the chimney.