As you may have seen from our coverage of the UK debut of the Volkswagen Grand California, we attended the 2019 Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC Birmingham. It’s an impressive show, with an almost overwhelming number of caravans, tents and motorhomes on display – as well as a large number of campervan conversions.
If you’re in the market for a campervan, and don’t want to pay VW’s prices for its factory-built California and Grand California, one of these shows is the place to go – because it will allow you to see all the design differences between the various third-party convertors for yourself.
Or even whether a VW camper is the way to go at all – as a number of the campers on display are based on alternative vehicles, including the Ford Transit Custom and Fiat Ducato (which has had the large camper market all sown up until very recently).
On this page you’ll find our highlight examples of the campervans on display at the 2019 CCM Show.
VW T6-based campervans
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of camper conversions on display at CCM 2019 were based on the VW T6 platform – starting life as Transporter vans or Caravelle people carriers.
Here are just a few that caught our eye.
Hard not to admire the colour choice on this Hillside Leisure Birchover Pop-Top machine. Orange actually seems to be a very in colour for campers at the moment, as we’ll see…
This Danbury Heritage 64 is quite the piece of kit, with its subtly modified exterior and two-tone paint matched on the inside by some very fancy leather trimmings in what the firm describes as a retro-modern vibe.
Hillside Leisure wasn’t about to let Danbury have things all its own way with that type of conversion, though – check out this Birchover Executive model with full ABT bodystyling. Very sharp.
This Edition 10 model on The Rolling Home stand is another take on a similar theme. Check out those 22-inch wheels. The interior is a blend of oldie-worlde wood and leather, that seems a curious choice given the modern look of the exterior – but who are we to judge?
Well, having the above graphic is on the side of your campervan is certainly going to attract some attention. Dirty Weekender describes itself as a builder of ‘adventure vans’…
…with this model an even more obvious example. Check out the raised suspension and bead-lock wheels, designed for proper tough off-roading.
Proving it’s not just the outside and the inside that varies between T6 campervan makers, check out this Bilbo’s (not a typo) Celex, with its sideways elevating roof.
Other medium-van based campervans
While the T6 Volkswagens dominate, there are plenty of non-VW camper options available out there. Here are a few examples.
Most popular van base for medium campers other than VW is undoubtedly the Ford Transit Custom – no surprise that, as it’s the UK’s bestselling van, and quite the accomplished all-rounder.
Auto Campers does a variety of Ford-based models, with what appear to be some very innovative (and brightly-coloured) interior design features.
Moving on to the slightly more unusual stuff, this is a Lunar campervan based on the Toyota Proace. The same firm has Renault Trafic models as well.
Wellhouse Leisure is probably better known for its Transit Custom conversions, but here’s an I-Camper, based on the Hyundai i800. Good choice if you’re on a budget, given the low price of the base vehicle.
Smaller campervans
Medium vans are a popular choice for camper conversions as they offer a good amount of space in managably sized packaging. However, if you do want something smaller that’s not impossible.
This is the CMC Reimo Caddy Camp Maxi, based on the long-wheelbase version of the Volkswagen Caddy.
The above are both examples of the Hillside Leisure Dalbury, a campervan based on the Nissan NV200. You can buy this as an all-electric version based on the e-NV200, too.
Larger campervans
The larger campervan and similar motorhome market has been dominated by the Fiat Ducato for years.But it would appear the latest Volkswagen Crafter is making serious in-roads here.
The Ducato is fuel-efficient and offers high payload ratings within the 3.5-tonne limit allowed by a standard driving licence, which is a massive plus for camper conversions. This Malibu Charming certainly isn’t shy in metallic orange.
Fiat has also devoted a lot of effort creating a camper-friendly product – displaying a bare motorhome chassis on its own stand. But what about the VW Crafter?
Hillside Leisure had a pair of different VW Crafter conversions on its stand, including this fetching high-spec Heatherton model in red – which at nearly £60k is not far off what VW is expected to charge for its own Grand California model. The lower-spec model is called the Hopton, and starts at £53k.
IH has also started offering campervan conversions based on the Crafter – and in fact, its Crafter-based models now outsell its Ducato-based models.
We asked IH why the Crafter had suddenly become such a popular choice – and were told it’s only partly because of the VW badge, with its heavy campervan associations. It seems it’s more a combination of the new Crafter arriving at the right time, offering a decent payload (the Ford Transit was specifically mentioned as not being suitable for this reason), and an excellent driving experience, including a proper automatic transmission – something the Ducato struggles with.
Murvi did have a Transit-based camper on display, however. The Morello conversion is also available on the Ducato and the Mercedes Sprinter.
Motorhomes
We’ve avoided covering the motorhomes at the 2019 CCM Show, as they move that bit further away from vans. However, a couple certainly caught our eye.
Firstly, this Burford Duo was the only vehicle we spotted at the show based on the latest Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, which now has a specific chassis and engine option for campervan conversion. More are therefore sure to follow.
We were also rather taken by this Moto Trek X-Cite G. One of many based on a Ducato but…
…this one has a pop-out side to make the living room better when you’re parked-up. Nice.
Also read:
>> VW Grand California makes UK debut
>> VW California campervan review
>> Campervan show stars – highlights from the 2018 Caravan Salon Dusseldorf
