Vanlife; classic campervan interiors

-
Vanlife culture has quickly become a modern phenomenon, as the young and not so young look to new adventures and the escapism provided by a home on wheels. Those who convert their own nomadic vehicle, seek inspiration from a variety of sources, including social media, magazines and by looking inside as many vans as they possibly can. With this in mind I thought that I would draw upon my vast photographic and magazine/brochure archive to provide a few interior snapshots of vans from a bygone era.
Auto-Sleepers in the UK have been producing quality motorhomes/campervans since 1961; seen here is their classic campervan layout inside the Bedford CF.
The Autohome/Motorhome was introduced in 1971 by CI/Autohomes. A living 'module' which was constructed independently of the vehicle, and then fixed to the chassis once completed. Vehicles used included the Bedford CF, Ford Transit MKI and the Commer.
The beautifully hand-crafted wooden interior of the Jennings Roadranger, by J H Jennings of Sanbach, Cheshire, England. This motorhome was available on the Bedford CF, Commer, Austin 152/J2, Leyland 20 (Standard Atlas) and MKI Ford Transit.
Dormobile Freeway interior circa 1970s. A poptop campervan fitted with the side-hinged rising roof. Dinette converts to double bed, with a further two single bunks housed in the roof space.
Interior of the Calthorpe Home-Cruiser, a popular campervan of the late 1950s, early 60s in the UK.
Late 80s interior of the Dormobile Toyota; cooking and storage facilities to the rear, dinette/double bed behind the cab.
The Dormobile Enterprise on the MKI Ford Transit; plastic/grp furniture; the bed incorporated the cab seats.
Interior shot of the Dormobile Explorer.
Ford Escort Elba, by Dormobile; compact 2+2 berth campervan based on the MKI Escort van.
The interior of the 1960 Austin-Morris J4 campervan, again by Dormobile.
Another compact campervan conversion, this time on the Bedford HA van. The Roma by Dormobile featured a tip-up sink, tiny cooker and sleeping for 2+2, cosy!
The Landliner motorhome on the MKI Ford Transit, by Ci/Autohomes; single door rear entry, on-board toilet.
Car-Camper conversion of the Rootes/Chrysler Commer; tiled floor was standard from the late 1950s.
The four shots above show the interior of the 1980s Rambler model by Auto-Sleeper; high top conversion on the Talbot Express.
IH conversion on the LWB MKI Renault Trafic; originally a VW-style rock n roll bed, altered to side bed in order to give a gangway down centre of vehicle.
Kitchen within the IH Renault Trafic.
Two shots above show interior of the Rootes Commer Maidstone; a poptop campervan introduced in 1960.
Three shots above of the Bedford CF Supreme interior; 80s British conversion which I restored a while back.
This is just a snapshot of interiors which I hope will inspire someone out there who is planning their own style of Vanlife; enjoy your adventures.

Comments

  1. shanewarner26 January 2021 at 14:49

    Thanks for a very interesting blog. What else may I get that kind of info written in such a perfect approach? I’ve a undertaking that I am simply now operating on, and I have been at the look out for such info. hire a motorhome,

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inside Bedford CFCampervan and Motorhomes

-
Image
Illustration of the Bedford CA panel van conversion by Maurice Calthorpe Produced at Vauxhall's Luton plant, the Bedford CF was introduced to the UK market in 1969, replacing the CA model which had been in production since 1952. In this pictorial blog I will display some of the best British campervan conversions produced on the Bedford CF. Pictured above is the rising roof conversion by 'Auto-Sleeper' of Worcestershire. This company began to produce campervans in 1961 on the Austin-Morris 152/J2 chassis, switching to the Rootes/Chrysler Commer in 1963. The Bedford Freeway model seen above featured the distinctive Dormobile roof, with its candy-stripe fabric glass-fibre roof capping. The Freeway was an extremely popular model in the UK throughout the 1970s. Another one from Dormobile of Folkestone, England. The larger Dormobile Landcruiser, with its glass-fibre rear living body. The same body style/design had been used by them for their 'Debonair...
Read more

Vauxhall/Bedford Midi; campervans

-
Image
The often forgotten model of the light commercial van range in the UK is the Bedford Midi, first launched in 1984, a long 'tubular' vehicle with a lifting rear tailgate; it ran in production alongside the existing Bedford CF range. Initially fitted with engine options which included a 1.8lt petrol and 2lt diesel, later expanded to 2lt petrol and 2.2lt diesel units, with a more powerful 2.4lt turbo diesel also an option. The wheelbase lengths were SWB of 14.7ft and a LWB of 15.9ft, and with the option of single or twin side loading doors. Unlike the Bedford CF (in production since 1969), the Midi was not available as a chassis-cab, so a coachbuilt motorhome could not be produced, only campervan style models with a glass fibre high top or a rising roof (pop-top). One of the first UK converters to launch a campervan model on the 'new' Midi was Auto-Sleeper of Worcestershire, unveiling their conversion at the 1985 Earls Court Motor Show.  (picture below). The price ...
Read more

Classic 'micro' campervans; how small is small? Featuring the Morris Marina, Bedford's HA & Rascal...

-
Image
I decided to have a quick scan through my Blogger stats the other day, and was quite surprised to learn that a blog which I did some time ago about Austin-Morris based campervans was by far the most popular to date as far as viewing figures were concerned. Why I should be surprised that the Austin-Morris blog was so popular I don't know, because of course the marque was famous around the world, and the classic Mini-based campervans I featured were something of a rarity! With small British campers in mind, I've decided to bring you a selection of other 'micro' models which might be of interest from the classic era; those based on such vehicles as the Ford Escort, Morris Marina and the like. Pictured above is one of the rarist of all British 'micro' campervans, the Mini Wildgoose, produced in small numbers during the mid-1960s down in Worthing, Sussex. The only other small camper from that periopd to sell with any degree of success was the 'Roma', by...
Read more