Dedicated travellers Carsten Elsholz and Rose Healey met while working in Saudi Arabia, touring extensively throughout the region before relocating to New Zealand. There was no big desire to settle, though, and the start of a plan began to form. It began in November 2023, when they took delivery of their off-road caravan.
They would build a 4WD to tow the caravan, then go to Australia, up through South-East Asia, through their old stomping ground in the Middle East and then on to Europe, doing the North Africa loop and back to Europe to ship Lara (the truck) and Croft (the caravan) to Canada, up to Alaska, then all the way down through South America to Tierra del Fuego.
“We have started our trip with a tour around New Zealand. Now we will ship our 4WD and our caravan to Australia to start the Big Lap and to dive across the centre of Australia.”
Civil construction manager and SCUBA fanatic Carsten has travelled through 62 countries.
Trained as a nurse, Rose too has travelled more extensively than most Kiwis and has seen 42 countries so far.
So what does it take to create a 4WD to do this journey, and what brand did the couple choose?
“We chose Toyota due to experience with owning/driving various Toyotas, and the brand’s international presence which makes it easier to find parts or get service. We wanted a petrol engine due to some countries having poor quality diesel, or restricted access to diesel. Our priorities when choosing additions was durability and light weight where possible,” said Carsten.
Having previously overlanded in Saudi Arabia in a Toyota FJ, the couple opted for more interior space and better towing capacity and stability. The choice was obvious: a Land Cruiser. Specifically, Lara is a ten-year-old LC200 with Toyota’s reliable 4.6-litre V8 engine.
Not even a 200-Series would handle the demands of this trek though. Lara has been heavy modified.
Lara
From the front: there’s an ARB Phoenix bullbar that accommodates a 12,000lb Runva winch that has the capacity to tow the car and the caravan out if (or when) needed.
The truck has a 50mm Old Man Emu BP 51 lift and there’s also OME upper control arms and Air Bag Man suspension. The build also removed the stock Toyota KDDS hydraulic suspension control system and replaced it with mechanical sway bars to reduce electronic complexity.
“The sway bar stabilises the car.”
Air goes into the engine through a snorkel fitted to a custom-made K&N air filter box and filter.
Lara’s wheels are ROH steels for extra strength, and for the ability to do a bush fix with a hammer.
Carsten and Rose are using Maxxis AT 811 285/70/R17 tyres.
“These tyres were chosen for extra strength in the sidewall, good for rocky areas and for the ability to find these tyres easily in different counties.”
A Kut Snake fender flare kit keeps the truck legal and controls mud, dust of road debris.
There are aluminium underbody protection panels for rough road and off-road situations.
The stock fuel tank was never going to be big enough, and has been replaced with a 170-litre aluminium fuel tank.
“We had to get this custom-made because there was no after-market product available that was suitable, and we need enough fuel for big drives and being isolated. We used the original fuel pump.”
 Keeping the stock fuel pump means it will be easier to source a replacement if it fails in remote areas.
To maximise traction in loose going, the diffs have air locking systems. Air lockers are both more effective and more reliable than electronic lockers. An ARB twin compressor supplies pressurised air.
“This is our backup compressor as we have one in the caravan.”
Lara is fitted with a custom alloy rear bar, chosen for light weight and for its accommodation of the tow bar and a ‘stone stomper’ between the car and caravan. There is an Anderson plug and DC to DC charging connection.
With such a well-equipped 4WD and a big caravan to tow, brakes require special attention.
Lara has DBA high performance brake pads and discs.
The couple have chosen to move the spare tyre to the roof, fixing it to a Rhino roof rack.
“We have been with friends in off-road situations where the spare got ripped off from the under-body mount position while they were driving off-road also the tyre is awkward to access in the under-car position, especially if it’s a rear tyre that is flat,” Carsten said.
Part of Lara’s payload is a set of Maxtrax recovery boards.
“We have used them before and found them easy to use and very reliable.”
Inside the cab there is a Safety Dave rear view screen linked to a camera on the caravan.
So what about the caravan?

Croft
“We wanted a very durable caravan that can take us off-road and off grid for extended periods, and went for a 2023 Urban Tungsten X-Treme 18’9” off-road caravan. This has been tested now in the South Island and proven to work for us.”
It’s an Australian-made off-road caravan with a TIG welded alloy frame, 800ah Lithium batteries, 1100-Watt solar panels, 3000-Watt inverter, three battery chargers, full underbody armour and disc brakes.
The caravan has tandem axles with airbag suspension and rolls on ROH steel wheels and Maxxis 811 AT 285/70/R17 tires.
“These are the same as on the Cruiser, so any spare can be used on either 4WD or caravan.” The caravan has its own spare tire, and has a rear bar with wood box
Croft is connected with Wifi GPS and an anti-theft system, a diesel heating system (handy in Canada and Alaska).
There are two 20-litre jerry cans on the front tool box, and the caravan has two 110-litre water tanks along with 65-litres of filtered drinking water.
A composting toilet enables Carsten and Rose to spend longer times off grid and reduce water usage.
 
Online
Local 4WD fans can follow the adventure on Carsten and Rose’s web page, www.caravantheworld.com and can access the couple’s social media feeds, the most up to date being YouTube.