Once we’d settled on the Defender, the next question was obvious: now what?
Most of the people I’d been following on YouTube or reading about had gone the DIY route — found a classic Defender that was still drivable, done targeted mechanical and electrical upgrades, sourced parts from existing outfitters, and handled a lot of the interior work themselves. These people were seriously handy, and watching them work through it was half the fun. It’s also, by far, the most economical way to go about a build like this.
That wasn’t going to work for us.
We live in a condo. No garage, no driveway, nowhere to park a half-finished Land Rover while you figure things out. And beyond the logistics, finding a classic Defender in the US that hasn’t already been fully restored is genuinely hard — importation restrictions see to that. The ones that do make it over here tend to be pristine and priced accordingly, before you’ve touched a single piece of overlanding kit. We wanted a used truck that could be designed from scratch to fit how we actually travel. That meant finding a different path.
So I did what anyone does — I started Googling.
Most of the companies I came across had impressive stock: beautifully restored Defenders, lots of options, ready to go. But that wasn’t quite what I was after. I wanted to work with someone who could help me source a used truck and then build it out to our specific needs. That’s a different ask, and not every company was set up for it.
That’s when I came across Chris Rumbold, who works with classic Defenders and helps clients source and import them into the US. It was a cold call, honestly. A bit of a gamble. But we got on a call in January 2025 and it changed everything.
I want to be upfront about something: walking into that first conversation, I wasn’t sure how seriously I’d be taken. I’m a woman with a big idea, a used truck request, and a budget I was about to lay on the table. Chris surprised me. He listened, didn’t dismiss the vision, and when I gave him the number he was straight with me: that wouldn’t work for a UK-based build. But rather than leave it there, he introduced us to his partners in South Africa.
That led to a video call with Johan Vermaak and Uli Kruger of LR Defender SA. Johan runs the mechanical workshop, and his engineering background showed up immediately — in the technical conversations with my husband, he never tried to oversell anything or steer us toward shortcuts. Uli handles procurement and project logistics, and on that first call he said something that stuck with me: that we were building the truck they wished they had. Coming from someone who works on these builds every day, that meant something.
Drawing from their time travelling extensively across Africa, they provided grounded, experience-based input on what features matter in the bush — what holds up, what fails, and what’s simply unnecessary. Their perspective helped shape a number of practical decisions around the build, particularly in ensuring the vehicle remains truly field-capable rather than overbuilt for aesthetics.
The case for doing the work in South Africa came down to a few practical things. Labor costs there are significantly lower than in the UK or US, which meant our budget could go a lot further. But honestly, there was a personal pull too. I’d done a safari years ago and the idea of going back — not just as a tourist, but with a real reason to explore — was exciting in a way I hadn’t expected.
From that first intro call, things moved quickly. Over the next week, my husband and I put together a working document — preliminary thoughts, open questions (sink or no sink?), reference videos of builds I’d drawn inspiration from. Over the following weeks, Uli jumped in with comments, links to components, and equipment suggestions.
What followed was almost seven more months of refining the interior design. I made mockups of how I wanted things laid out — cabinets, gear storage, seating. We worked mostly over email, with video calls when we needed them. The energy was good throughout. It felt less like a client-vendor relationship and more like a team that was genuinely invested in the same outcome.
One idea that came out of those conversations: before the interior overlanding equipment went in, we should fly to South Africa to do a test drive of the base build — get a real feel for the truck and make any adjustments while there was still room to make them. It was the right call practically, and it also shifted something bigger. What had once been the Pan American Highway in my head quietly became something else: Cape to Cairo, once we take delivery of the finished build.
What started as a cold call in January 2025 became a signed proposal by October 2025 — and just like that, it was real.
Featured image courtesy of LR Defender SA. Pictured: Chris Rumbold, Johan Vermaak, and Uli Kruger.