camperfanatic

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 ...

Torcars were based in Torrington, Devon and produced some cracking campervans from 1968 and throughout the 1970s from their small factory premises. The brand became synonamous with small/micro campervans, first based on the BMC half-ton van and later on the British Leyland Morris Marina van. A Torcars BMC Suntor with its distinctive rising roof; seen here at a rally of the 'Sun-Tor Register', a UK group of enthusiasts keeping the surviving examples on the road. The first prototype of the Sun-Tor, based on the BMC van was produced in 1968, and went into small-time production after favourable reviews for the model at a large motorhome/camping exhibition. It became very popular in the UK for those seeking a campervan more suited to simple weekends away and fishing trips, and with the added bonus that the campervan would fit in the average UK garage (a point made clear in early advertising by Torcars). The Sun-Tor based on the BMC half-ton van ran for around three years, by wh...

"I can't remember the last time I saw one of those" , sound familiar? It's a saying we hear often in relation to once popular vehicles, and I've said it myself on more than one occasion. Camper vans and motorhomes were produced in even smaller numbers than family cars, so the survival of examples from the 1950's and 60's is even more remarkable today. Those of a certain age will recall those light commercial vans of the 50's which were converted to campers, such as the Austin-Morris J2/152, Ford Thames 400E, Bedford CA and Standard Atlas; but what became of the thousands of examples that were produced on those base vehicles? Well, they have survived with varying degrees of success, but in the case of the Standard Atlas, I doubt more than a handful still exist, ands I have not seen one in use in the UK since the 1990's. The two pictures above, show the Dormobile camper van conversion based on the Standard Atlas van. First released in 1958, the ...

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...

In my 40+ year involvement with UK motorhomes and campervans, I have come across some weird, and strange examples, so in this blog I'm deviating from my own ongoing campervan story to bring you just a small sample, taken from my huge archive of motorhome material. I'm going to focus upon the British Mini, the iconic small car, which believe or not, did have several camper conversions based on it, though some more successful than others. I did include a chapter about this type of campervan in my 2007 book, Classic Camper-vans; the inside story (Crowood Press) , and I've included many examples over the years within  magazine articles. I will kick things off with one of my personal all-time favourite 'strange' models, the 'Caraboot', a 1960s car-cum-caravan, cum-boat and camper! It was based on the Austin-Morris Mini van and was simply trying too hard to be too many things, and as a result, few were ever sold, though I believe that there is a sole survivor bas...