This Modified Mahindra Thar Is All You Need To Go Camping In The Wilderness

Published On Aug 08, 2021 04:23 PM By CarDekho for Mahindra Thar

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You can sleep in a tent on top of this overlanding vehicle

The new-generation Mahindra Thar can take you quite far off the beaten path, and now a father-son duo has modified it to help you camp in the wilderness, too! Check out the video (skip to 2:00 if you’re in a hurry) below to see what makes this Thar so special:

The workshop in NCR has modified this Mahindra Thar to help the owner go camping in the wilderness. It’s built to accommodate a tent over its roof! Since the factory-spec hardtop can’t possibly accommodate the weight of two people, the team welded a frame over the monocoque, a bit like an external roll cage. It has been painted with a matte scratch-resistant coating, and now takes over 200kg of load, or about 150kg more than most cars’ roof racks!

The overlanding Mahindra Thar also packs in some equipment to get you out of trouble while off-roading. Its roof has a pair of plastic sand ladders to put under your wheels, a shovel and a pair of 5-litre jerry cans to carry extra fuel. Apart from these, the roof also has all-around LED lights to keep your campsite lit at night. The front set of four LEDs double up as auxiliary lights while off-roading at night. Watch at 6:55 how those nifty foldaway footsteps can be used to get to the roof! The bonnet has limb risers at each corner to prevent tree branches from hitting the windshield when driving off-road.

Although the interior of this SUV is largely unmodified, the tailgate has a sweet surprise -- a foldaway table! The rear seats can be folded away or even removed to make room for supplies. There are cutouts in the tailgate-integrated picnic table to store large glasses to prevent drinks from spilling. A 40-litre water tank on the roof has a pump connected to it, and with the click of a button, a tap installed over the taillight pours running water!

All of these features add significantly to the cost of a new Thar -- Rs 1.50 lakh for this Thar’s modifications. Given that a new Thar costs upwards of Rs 12 lakh ex-showroom, the few buyers looking for such a conversion wouldn’t find the premium exorbitant. However, the costs for an overlanding project can rack up significantly if you keep adding more equipment, such as a shower, stove, shelves, or whatever your particular adventure may need. After all, any overlanding project car is an empty canvas!

What is overlanding?

In simple terms, overlanding is car-based off-road camping. In some ways, it is the ultimate expression of freedom -- you can go practically anywhere and live on the supplies you’re carrying for an extended period of time. Since the car is off-road capable, you can explore the wilderness on your terms, at your leisure.

Overlanding vehicles have mostly been custom-built using aftermarket and fabricated parts. However, one factory-built overlander does exist in India -- the Land Rover Defender equipped with the optional Explorer Package. It adds a heavy-duty roof rack capable of carrying 132kg of payload, side-mounted storage cans, a snorkel, more underbody protection and even a foldaway ladder!

So, what do you think of this Thar modification? Let us know in the comments!