After converting two Mitsubishi L400 LWB vans into a camper, I wanted to get my hands on a L300 4WD.
Why a Mitsubishi L300 4WD?
A Mitsubishi L300 4WD I spotted in Sweden
I always liked the looks of the L300 4WD. I first noticed these cars traveling through Australia with a camper van in 2014/2015. The high stance looked really good on these small vans. In Australia, they are pretty common and it makes sense to have one if you like to visit remote locations. Having a proper 4WD high/low gearing (technology shared by the Pajero) makes them very capable off-road. In the Netherlands these capabilities are less needed so 4×4 L300’s are very rare. The unique, tough look of the car made me want to have one for my next camper project. Fortunately, I found one.
Building the camper
On this website, I’ll document the project. The challenge will be to make the camper suitable for at least three people. Compared to the L400 campers I built previously, the L300 only has two seats in front, so extra seats have to be available in the back. The stock bench doesn’t have any seat belts, so that’s no option to transport our children. The roof is too narrow to fit a pop-up roof with a built-in bed. Only Reimo made these kind of roofs in the past but they are not produced anymore. It won’t be easy to cram seats, beds and storage for three persons and a kitchen into the Mitsubishi. I’m glad I found a L300 4WD with a long wheel base. Also the cargo area of a L300 LWB is a little larger then a L400 LWB. Still, everything has to fit into a 150cm x 270cm space!
So far the plans are:
Our Mitsubishi L300 4WD camper
- Installing a new turbo
- Replacing the bench with seats with integrated seatbelt & isofix
- Popup roof
- Roof rack with Rhino-Rack luggage basket
- Rhino-Rack Sunseeker II awning
- Acoustic & thermal insulation
- Dual battery system
- Solarpanel
- Kitchen under the bed
- 2 person bed
- Suspended kids bed
- Bullbar
- Bash plate protection for the radiator
- 2 inch lift
- Light bar
- Horn upgrade
- Alarm system
- GPS tracker
- Central locking
- Radio with carkit and iPod controls
- Speaker upgrade
- Amplifier
Latest posts
GPS tracker
I wanted to add remote paging to my alarm system and came across the TK103B GPS/SMS/GPRS tracker. I’m quite impressed with the possibilities of this device.
Hello I keep fingers crossed for your project! I also have similar ambitous plans about my 1991L3004WD. Up to now AC, good acoustic insulations, audio and LPG. Im looking for inspiration how to install frigde and external tent with a place for gas kitchen. Regards J
Acoustic insulation will also be part of this project. Sitting on top of the engine introduces quite some noise inside the cabin. The vibrations through the body is also something I’ll try to put a stop to.
Hi Tom,
Are you sure there are no pop up roofs available with bed ? I saw some L300 in Germany fitted with a roof, (no 4×4). I am already searching for quit a while for a suitable base for a camper (like you), but I realy need a pop up where we/kids can sleep, so it would be a now-go if that is not possible.
Hi Stan, I have one with a pop-up roof. I’m in Italy but the van was coming from Germany 🙂
Reimo (German brand) made them but have stopped doing so for quite a while now. I’m sure you could have something custom made but it will cost an arm and a leg.
Hej Tom,
I really love the Mitsubishi L300 4×4 camper vans 😍 I saw you installed two other car seats in the back and a popup roof. Do you think these vans are suitable for two adults and two children? We are thinking about buying one ourselves, if we can find one. I’m very curious about the end result.
Hi Dominique, originally we planned on creating two beds in the popup roof. Unfortunately, Reimo doesn’t build these roofs anymore. I thought about creating beds in the popup for our boys (almost 2 and 4 years old) myself. It would be very crowded, also because we loose a lot of space with the seats in the back. So, me and my girlfriend move out into a “bustent”. That creates some living space with bad weather and some privacy for us. We intend to go camping for 2 months in June and July, if Covid permits.
Hi Tom,
Love your project – also very helpful as me and my boybriend also just bought a L300 4×4 to convert into camper (in NL). Would love to connect on how you manage the max weight requirements and any other kind of tips and tricks!
Best,
Amy
Hi Amy, thanks! I’ll drop you a mail.
Hello, I finally was able to pick up a 1996 L300 4×4 here in Holland to take down to my house in France. I have already bashed a hole in the oil pan so I would like to install some good bash plates. I picked some up from a seller in Rotterdam but they don’t fit. Grrrr. I was wondering where you got yours or perhaps you made them yourself. Any ideas would be great. Thanks, Dan
Hi Dan, congrats on the purchase! We have a small L300 4×4 club over here and a few years ago, one of our members had a batch made of them (under + front). I only got the front one and still have to mount it. Unfortunately, I don’t think there will be another batch as our club represent almost all of the L300 4WD market in the Netherlands.