camperfanatic

  Overview         The Bedford name is one that is synonymous with quality, robust commercial vehicles. First introduced in 1931, Bedford was the brand name given to Vauxhall’s commercial division, and the name of the vehicle marque was derived from the County in which these vehicles were constructed, Bedfordshire , England . In a twenty year period from its inception, Bedford went from strength to strength, attaining excellent sales and an enviable reputation for their range of commercial vehicles. During the years of WW11, Bedford vehicles were in demand by the military, and the formidable Churchill tanks were also built at the factory for use by the British Army.       The year 1952 is the significant milestone in Bedford history, certainly in terms of British-built camper vans. The year 1952, heralded the introduction of the Bedford CA range of light vans, a vehicle which was to become such a familiar sight in Britain o...

 Those residents outside of the UK might be unfamiliar with the light commercial van chassis launched in 1952 by Vauxhall in the Britain. 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of a vehicle which would not only change the face of deliveries in the UK,  but would create a new base for a campervan, that would come to be known as the 'Dormobile'. The brainchild of Martin Walter Ltd, based in Folkestone,  the Bedford CA Dormobile would bring the outdoor leisure lifestyle to postwar Britain. It would also alter the face of road transport in the UK as it became a familiar sight in various formats, from basic delivery van, works van, builders van and pickup, mobile shop, gown van, furniture removal van, mobile water bowser, ice cream van and everything in between. The CA was produced at the Vauxhall plant based in Luton, and left the factory by the thousands throughout the 1950s and 60s, until it was replaced by the Bedford CF in 1969. Although Martin Walter Ltd (Dormobile) were by far...

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...

"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 ...