Commer Campervans & Motorhomes Book

 It was a long time coming, but finally a book dedicated purely to the various campervans and motorhomes produced on the Rootes/Chrysler Commer chassis. The papaerback edition is A5 in size, and printed in full colour throughout. Similar in style and format to the much loved 'Olyslager' motor manuals of the 60s and 70s.

Pictured alongside the Commer manual by Olyslager, the Commer campervan book is a similar size

I became a little frustrated that there were no titles available in print which were exclusively about the various Commer campervans, especially in light of the fact that the Commer was in production from 1960 until 1983 (although re-named the Dodge Spacevan by that time). As the Commer holds a special place in my vehicle affections, due to my father buying one in the late 1960s, and the fact that the Commer was my first campervan.

My late father 'Perry' with his 1964 Commer Maidstone campervan, pictured in 1992.




Pictured top, with its original UK registration number (a later owner sold that plate), dad bought the Maidstone around 1968. It was his everyday transport, as well as our holiday vehicle, becoming part of the family for many years. It not only garnered my interest in campervans, but also laid the foundations for my lifelong love of the Rootes Commer. I went on to own a number of them, including my father's ex-Maidstone campervan some years after he had sold it!

I have been collecting vintage/classic motorhome material, in the form of sales brochures, road tests, period magazines, press releases and so forth, for around 40+ years, so as you might imagine I have amassed quite an archive. Much of that archive was used to produce my previous motorhome books; 

* Classic Campervans & Motorhomes

*Classic Dormobile Campervans

*Bedford Campervans & Motorhomes

Plus my paperback book, 'Worcestershire's Motorging Heritage', which contained a chapter about Auto-Sleeper motorhomes of Willersey, Worcs.

There are a couple of books available which concentrate on Commer vehicles in general, but nothing to date which deals exclusively with campervans and motorhomes on the 1500/2500 Commer van. As few other people in the UK have access to the type, and amount of Commer material I have, I thought it was high time I did something about that, and put some of the archive to good use; hence the recent book.

The book contains over 70 pages packed with information about the various conversions based on the Commer. I have included separate chapters about some of the more popular and well known models, such as the 'Highwayman',  'Auto-Sleeper', 'Car-Camper' and so on, with another chapter dedicated to the more rare and unusual examples, plus a few prototype examples. I have also included several pages of period adverts for various Commer conversions which enthusiasts and owners might find interesting.

The Auto-Sleeper pictured above was one of the best selling campervan conversions in the UK throughout the 60s and 70s.

 

The 'Highwayman' was regarded as the best selling Commer Motorhome of the 1960s. First built by Bluebird in the late 1950s on the Austin/Morris 152/J2, and later only built on the Commer from 1964. It continued in production until 1975, when the model name was transferred to the new Leyland Sherpa Highwayman.

Originally built on the Austin-Morris 152/J2, The 'Paralanian' was a luxury motorhome when introduced in the late 1950s. Built by Central Garage in Parry Lane Bradford, only a small number were built using the Commer chassis, and there are few survivors.

If this has whetted your appetite to learn more about the Commer and the many conversions carried out on it , then this book is a must-have item for your bookshelf. Only available from me, so drop me a line if you would like to reserve a copy.

Happy 'Commering'....