Series II 109 Dormobile

History

Martin Walter Ltd of Folkestone, Kent - a coachbuilding house with roots in harness-making in 1773 - created the Dormobile motor caravan on the Bedford CA van in the early 1950s and made its side-hinged elevating roof, with candy-striped fabric sides and roof windows, the signature of the marque; the Dormobile name became so famous that Dormobile Ltd was formed as its own company in 1969. In the spring of 1961 the firm added the Land Rover to its range alongside the Volkswagen, converting new 109-inch Station Wagons to order: the lifting roof gave standing headroom and carried two stretcher bunks, while the interior gained seats that folded into a double bed, a cooker, sink, water carriers, curtains, a wardrobe, a table and an external roof rack. Conversions were catalogued options ordered through Land Rover dealers - a January 1962 US price list offered the Dormobile camper at $5,280 against $3,925 for the standard 109 Station Wagon - and every factory conversion carried a riveted Martin Walter identification tag; kits were also supplied for dealer fitting, notably in North America.

Company records did not survive Martin Walter's closure, but research collated by the marque's historians estimates about 830 four-door (type 626) Station Wagon conversions at the Folkestone factory between 1961 and 1975 - roughly 725 on the Series IIA plus about 104 on the Series III - alongside an unknown number of Series II and two-door (type 625) conversions, for a rough total of a thousand Land Rover Dormobiles, at least 85 per cent of them 626 station wagons. The Land Rover Dormobile proved ideal for overland travel, and surviving examples are prized by expedition and camper enthusiasts worldwide.

Dormobile production at Folkestone ended in 1994, but the brand was revived in 1997; the present Dormobile Ltd reproduces the classic elevating roof and fits fresh caravan conversions to Land Rover 109s and Defender 110s to the original pattern.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Rover Company)

Manufactured

1961-1975 (Series II, IIA and III 109 donors)

Modifier / coachbuilder

Martin Walter Ltd (Dormobile), Folkestone, Kent ↗

Engine type

2.25 L petrol or diesel inline-four (109 Station Wagon donor)

Production run

~1,000 conversions (about 830 four-door 626 station wagons: ~725 Series IIA, ~104 Series III)

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Status

conversion programme ended 1975; many preserved, and reproduction Dormobile roofs and conversions available again

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series II

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• Land Rover Dormobiles (Martin Walter of Folkestone; conversions to order through dealers with riveted ID tags; 1962 US price list; production estimates: ~830 four-door 1961-1975, ~725 IIA, ~104 Series III, ~1,000 total) ↗ — expeditionlandrover.info (TeriAnn Wakeman) (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Dormobile Limited History (Martin Walter origins from 1773; Bedford CA Dormobile; side-elevating roof from 1957; Land Rover and VW conversions from 1961; Dormobile Ltd formed 1969; Folkestone factory closed 1994; brand revived 1997) ↗ — Dormobile Ltd (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Land Rover Dormobile Roof Conversion (reproduction classic elevating roof mounted on standard Land Rover 110 or 109 as per original) ↗ — Dormobile Ltd (accessed 2026-09-10)