camperfanatic

Those who have followed my camper-related blogs will know about the 1964 Commer Maidstone which both me and my father owned, and the story of how my father came to own the camper three times! Well talk about history repeating itself, this really was a case of deja vu, but this times the tables were turned on me, not my father... We had purchased the Fiat camper, and were indeed getting great enjoyment from it, but as we were heavily involved in the UK classic vehicle scene, we did feel like a couple of frauds using a 1988 model when our friends were all camping in vehicles built in the 60s and 70s. By coincidence around this time, we had a letter from the owners of our old Commer Car-Camper informing us that they were going to sell it, and did we know of anyone who might be interested? By now readers, you are already one step ahead of me aren't you! Yes, of course, we took all of several minutes to decide, we wanted the lovely old blue girl back in our lives, even if it was a...

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 ...