Typically when thinking of owning a custom Defender, people tend to just think of a customized version of the Land Rover Defender 110 or Land Rover Defender 90. The Defender 130 rarely comes to mind, perhaps because of its extremely rare status and never having been manufactured or made in North America at all. So what happens when you then have to choose between a custom Defender 110 or a custom Defender 130? Here are some of the reasons why you might choose one wheelbase or the other.

Custom Defender 110

Custom Defender 110

The biggest benefit of a custom Land Rover Defender 110 is the insane amount of custom seating layout combinations you can choose from. A Defender 110 can seat anywhere from 2 to a maximum of 10 individuals depending on the seating layout. This means you can maximize the amount of seats for friends and family while traveling in your go-anywhere vehicle. You can also choose to have seating that allows for spacious comfort for passengers, such as captain seating throughout, or leave the rear space for luggage or general storage.

With more vehicle in the Defender 110, that also means more external roll cage and a much bigger roof rack, allowing for storage of much bigger items such as kayaks or surfboards. If you really want to go all out, you can even have a custom rooftop tent installed on your custom Defender 110, like the one we installed for our Project Invictus.

An added bonus for the D110 is it can also be custom-built to be a Land Rover Defender 110 pickup, meaning you can have the smaller wheelbase of the 110 with a shorter rear bed for tools, dogs, or whatever else you’d need.

Custom Defender 130

Custom Defender 130

The best thing about a custom Defender 130 is something we’ve already mentioned. If you’re a vehicle enthusiast, having such a rare and vintage vehicle in your collection is truly a treasure. Since the vehicle was never built for or in the U.S., they are rarely seen driving around, and a vehicle like this is sure to turn heads and get attention. There simply isn’t much like them out there.

The biggest benefit of the custom Defender 130 is its expanded rear bed, which can host a range of different setups and customizations. From built-in sand tracks to storage boxes over a teak rear bed, the space itself can be fun to configure. If your custom build is meant to help you with building projects or hauling the big stuff, then the custom D130 is definitely the build for you.

The D130 can also have a rear canvas installed if you need some slightly covered rear storage. The seating is maxed out at 9, with four jump seats in the rear, if you’re willing to sacrifice your rear bed. It is an overall larger wheelbase, so a lot more truck to love.

Regardless of which vehicle you choose, both options can be fully customized from the ground up, thanks to our fully equipped 30,000 sq ft facility. So if you’re ready to build, get in touch with us at [email protected].