Back in the middle of March, before the Great Global Lockdown of 2020, we purchased a VW T4 van for converting into a small campervan. Paul had been trawling through the thousands of van and campervan internet sites for the best part of two and a half years, ever since we parked up our mini RV after discovering she was slowly rotting away and realising we were no longer as nimble as we used to be and were finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate the over cab bed. Even the dog could get up there better than we could! We did consider converting our Dodge day-van but that also requires some major work, including a brand new engine.
We have always been fond of camping. We like the freedom it gives us. We can pack up and go whenever we feel like it. We can choose more interesting locations. We can get up when we want, eat when we want, come and go as we please. If we don’t like where we are we can move on. Over the last four decades camping has provided us with an affordable way to take our five children, and now our grandchildren, away. We have alternated between tents, caravans and motorhomes/campervans several times, dependant upon our needs at any given time.
As a young couple with a growing family and not a lot of spare cash we had to find ways of taking our girls on holidays. We started off with a home made ridge tent inherited from my parents who didn’t need it any longer. Very soon we also inherited their old home-converted Transit van which we immediately gutted and refit to our needs, including a fold out double bed and hanging canvas cots for the girls to sleep in. So desperate to get away in it we were still fitting the bed whilst on a campsite in the Lake District. And very proud of it we were with its trendy hand painted black and silver paint job and red and orange go-faster stripes down each side. Until it fell foul of a ram which, upon seeing it’s reflection in the shiny black paint, went into full attack mode. At six o’clock in the morning!
As children will, the girls soon outgrew the cots and we had to rethink our holiday accommodation. Our next project was an old ambulance, which we picked up for peanuts at an auction. It had the advantage of being long wheelbase, fully lined, insulated and with all the electrics in place, so all we had to do was fit it out to accommodate the five of us in comfort. We only used this for one season before someone offered Paul a stupid amount of money for it and it was sold on the spot.
The following year we ended up with a cracking bargain. Someone Paul knew from work was selling a Cabanon six berth frame tent, complete with all the equipment we would need. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. It was also big enough to comfortably accommodate a further two daughters over the next couple of years. We got plenty of holidays in that tent despite the fact that it got blown down in a howling gale which bent a couple of poles on it’s first outing. Paul managed to straighten them out and we were still using the tent eight years later.
The first year we were without our beloved big tent we borrowed my mothers tiny two berth caravan, with an awning for the younger daughters and the older girls sharing a two man tent. The following year we decided to invest in our own caravan. We found this behemoth of a thing with a bay front at a price we could easily afford. We only used it for one holiday as it was so heavy to tow and all but destroyed our car on a trip to Scotland.
Then we discovered Eurocamp with it’s pre-pitched tents and all equipment provided, including a full sized fridge. All we had to cart along was ourselves and our personal belongings. At that time they were a cheap and easy option and we had many fun filled holidays travelling the length and breadth of Europe until the company was taken over and their prices skyrocketed.
By 2004 all the girls were grown up and it was just the two of us so when Paul bought a Harley Davidson motorbike, planning our holiday had to take this into consideration. We fancied a trip round France but after a few short trips to Matlock and Cleethorpes we knew we weren’t up to several days riding to get to our chosen destination. We compromised by buying a motorbike trailer and a tent. The specifications for the tent were that it had to be large enough to accommodate the bike. We ended up with a huge 9 berth affair which took hours to pitch. It had three sleeping pods; one for us, one for the bike and one we used as a dressing room; radiating from a ballroom sized central dome. We got some very funny looks on site as we wheeled the bike out each morning. It was after this holiday that I decided that I really would prefer a little more comfort.
And boy, did I get it! Since we had the bike we decided that a campervan would be the best option. Paul wanted something large enough to have a proper motorbike rack fitted to the rear rather than towing a trailer and after searching through eBay for several weeks he finally found what he was looking for, close to home as well. We drove over to have a look and fell in love instantly. Within a few days our new to us 33ft RV was parked outside our house. We had four years of adventures in that RV before it gave up the ghost on the A1.
That same year Paul decided that he had had enough of motorbikes and swapped the Harley for a custom 1951 Chevrolet. So, minus bike and RV we decided to try caravanning again so we could make use of our new acquisition. We picked up a nice little two berth with enough room for us and the two dogs. All good fun, especially having to hang my head out of the window to tell Paul when it was safe to pull onto the motorway when we were towing, with it being left hand drive and nowhere to fit towing mirrors. Early in 2010 we traded up to a four berth, mainly as it had a fixed double bed across the back, which appealed to us.
We managed two years with the caravan before Paul decided he was fed up with towing and we decided to look for another motorhome. Once again eBay came to our rescue and we bought Ethel, the aforementioned mini RV. She was a strange looking beast, a Toyota HiLux with a motorhome body instead of a pick-up bed. Quite rare we found when we looked up the design. Driving was slow going though; her maximum speed anywhere between 30 – 60mph depending on whether we were going up or downhill or on the flat; and she rolled like a battleship in a rough sea when going round corners. Ethel served us well for four years until; needing some serious work on her slowly decaying bodywork; she was parked up and left for a further three years before being sold as a project to a HiLux enthusiast.
In the meantime we went back to towing a caravan since we still had our really good tow car. Unfortunately a year later we had to change the car and the next one wasn’t so good at towing. But we could put all the seats down to make a bed, and paired with an awning we could be comfortable for a short time away. It was whilst we were using this set-up for a week on a site which doesn’t allow caravans that we remembered the advantages of having a smaller campervan and awning. Which brings us full circle, fitting out an old van to suit our particular needs.
I remember the first time I saw Ethel swaying down my road at me. And having to hold her passenger side front window trim on whilst we were “speeding” down the A1.
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