A minister has quit the church to go travelling around the world with his dogs in an ex-army Land Rover Defender – and said it will be cheap living on the road. Scott McCrum, 40, ditched the Church of Scotland last week and moved out of his manse into the camouflage truck, which he is renovating before setting off next year.
Scott, a DJ and former X-Factor hopeful was ordained in 2015 and started at Old Kilpatrick Bowling Parish Church, Dunbartonshire, in 2018. But after buying the bulletproof 4x4 in July and struggling with his mental health, he decided to give up the church and now plans to travel the globe with his three pooches.
The Land Rover Defender Snatch 2A was used in Afghanistan and only has 28,000 miles on the clock. Scott has ripped out the troop seats and replaced them with a mattress, plans to paint the inside and outside and fit solar panels to the roof. He is also going to fit a water tank underneath, as well as a gas-powered shower and a roamer car battery to power the heating and air conditioning.
Scott, who is originally from Forfar, Angus, said: “I bought the Defender from a guy down south in July, who got it directly from the army. It pretty much looks as it did when it came back from Afghanistan.
"The Snatch 2As were originally built in 1993 for the troubles in Northern Ireland, but in 2005 they shipped 300 of them over to the Middle East and upgraded them. The body of mine is from the 90s, but the underneath is from 2005.
“Some people like driving about it them like that, but I don’t want it to look like a military jeep. I am going to paint the inside and the outside, put solar panels in the roof, and fit a roamer leisure battery, which will allow me to keep the heating or aircon on overnight.
“The battery will then charge during the day while I am driving. I am also going to fit a water tank underneath so I always have a water supply and a gas-powered shower in case I am too far away from civilisation. I have already taken the troop seats out and put in a mattress for me to make it comfortable for me sleeping in.
“I am hoping not to spend more than £5,000 on the renovations. It’s cheap living in the truck, all I will really need to buy is food and diesel – the solar panels will be generating electricity. The fuel prices abroad are much cheaper, driving around here is expensive.”
Scott plans to set off on his adventure next spring and will DJ and sing along the way in pubs and clubs to make money. He said his border collies, Millie and her brother Jackson, both aged 11, and dachshund Nala, four, love living in the Defender. In a bid to raise cash for the renovations Scott has bought four old hatchbacks, which he plans to repair and sell.
Scott said: “I will go as far as the wind takes me, of course it will depend on funds. But I am going to take my DJ laptop with me and I can sing so hopefully I can play in pubs and clubs along the way.
“I don’t have any professional qualifications for working on cars, I am self-taught – like a lot of the things I have done. I have turned my hand to lots of different things, I think just because you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you can’t just have a go.
“I have bought four old Mk2 Golf GTIs, which I am going to restore to their former glory and sell to help me raise some money. That’s what I am filming on my YouTube just now, you can watch me fumble about trying to fix up these hot hatches.”
To watch Scott’s YouTube visit youtube.com/@scottmccrum. He can also be found at patreon.com/scottmccrum for those who want to sponsor his journey.
