The Dormobile is a 1950s-era onwards campervan (motorcaravan, motorhome) conversion manufactured by the coachbuilder Martin Walter of Folkestone in Kent.
Initially based on the Bedford CA van, the name is associated more with those and subsequent Bedford CF conversions than with other vehicles converted.
The first Bedford CA based Dormobile motorhome, complete with a gas stove, a sink and cupboards and seats which converted into beds, appeared in 1957. [1] The elevating roof, hinged on one side and featuring a red and white striped canopy, was quickly evolved in order to make it possible to stand within the vehicle. The campervan idea originated as a compromise negotiated with the UK tax office. [1] Earlier in the 1950s, the manufacturers specialised in converting the Bedford CA van into a mini-bus, featuring extra side windows and seats. The UK tax authorities asserted that the converted vehicle was effectively a form of estate car, and therefore its retail price should bear passenger car purchase tax, a burden from which buyers of vans were spared. [1] However, the manufacturers negotiated an agreement whereby Dormobile converted vans could be sold without purchase tax, provided they incorporated "built-in life support equipment" such as a cooking device, and facilities for the washing and storage of clothes. [1] These stipulations triggered a move away from minibus conversions to motorhome conversions, which carved out a substantial new life-style market as the ensuing decade saw a substantial increase in disposable incomes in the UK. [1]
The novelist Anthony Burgess and his wife, Liana, owned one and used it as a home and means of travelling throughout Western Europe in the late 1960s. [2] Burgess described the Bedford Dormobile as "a miracle of British design, although much let down by slipshod British execution – screws missing, bad wood-planing ..."
Other vans were converted under the Dormobile name such as Morris Commercial Cars, VW, BMC, Land-Rover, Ford, Leyland, Commer.
The company subsequently converted a number of different van-based vehicles to other uses, including minibuses and ambulances, before collapsing in the mid-1990s. In 1997, Dormobile Ltd. was revived and is now based in Lyndhurst, Hampshire. The company carries out modern camper conversions as well as supplying spare parts and full restorations of the classic models.
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.
The Volkswagen Transporter (T4), marketed in North America as the Volkswagen EuroVan, is a van produced by the German manufacturer Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles between 1990 and 2004, succeeding the Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) and superseded by the Volkswagen Transporter (T5).
A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.
A motorhome is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which is as the name suggests, like a home on wheels.
A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger-carrying van or panel truck. Minibuses have a seating capacity of between 12 and 30. Larger minibuses may be called midibuses. Minibuses are typically front engine step-in vehicles, although low floor minibuses are particularly common in Japan.
Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a brand of vehicle manufactured by Vauxhall Motors, then a subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. Established in April 1931, Bedford Vehicles was set up to build commercial vehicles. The company was a leading international lorry brand, with substantial export sales of light, medium, and heavy lorries throughout the world.
Hymer AG is a motorhome and caravan manufacturer, located in Bad Waldsee, Germany. One of the largest manufacturers of motorhomes and caravans in Europe, the listed company Hymer AG owns several brands, including; Burstner, Carado, Sunlight, Etrusco, Elddis, Hymer, Laika, LMC, Niesmann + Bischoff, Dethleffs, Eriba, as well as camping equipment wholesale Movera. In February 2017 it acquired The Explorer Group based in Consett, UK adding the Elddis, Buccaneer, Compass and Xplore brands to its portfolio. In 2018, Thor Industries acquired Hymer.
The Bedford Beagle is an estate car conversion of the Bedford HA 8cwt van, which itself was based on the Vauxhall Viva HA. It was launched at the 1964 London Motor Show.
Auto-Sleepers Group Limited, trading as Auto-Sleepers, is an English manufacturer of campervan motorhomes, based in Willersey, a small village near Broadway, Worcestershire.
Reeve Burgess was a bus body manufacturer based in Pilsley, North East Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It was a subsidiary of Plaxton from 1980 until its closure in 1991.
The Ford Thames 400E is a commercial vehicle that was made by Ford UK and introduced in 1957. Production of the range continued until September 1965, by which time a total of 187,000 had been built. Publicity for the model included hiring the Cy Laurie band to make the promotional film short 'Band Wagon', in 1958, preserved in the 'Ford Film and Video Collection' at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
The Bedford HA was a car derived van introduced in 1964 by Bedford, based on the Vauxhall Viva (HA) family car. It was also known as the Bedford Beagle in estate form and Bedford Roma in small campervan form. The Beagle was an officially sanctioned conversion based on the 8 cwt van, carried out by Martin Walter of Folkestone, Kent. The Beagle received rear side windows and a fold-down rear seat; leaving 28 inches (710 mm) of luggage space with the seat in use.
The Bedford CF is a range of full-size panel vans produced by Bedford. The van was introduced in 1969 to replace the CA model, and was sized to compete directly with the Ford Transit, which had entered production four years earlier. Its design was similar to its American counterpart, the Chevrolet Van (1971–1995).
Tourism Holdings Limited usually called 'thl' and formerly known as The Helicopter Line is a large New Zealand tourism company that has been listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange since 1986.
The Holdsworth Motorhomes Company was a UK-based campervan conversion company running from 1968 to the mid-1990s, founded by Richard Holdsworth. It was one of the first UK campervan conversion companies, developing to hold contracts with British Leyland for the Sherpa, and the first UK company to hold approval from Volkswagen. The company ran into increasing financial difficulty, and ceased trading after one deal left the business with a surplus of stock. In 1996 its major assets were sold to new investors under Cockburn Holdsworth, but this venture was short lived, with production ending in 1998.
Martin-Walter was a long established, 1773, firm of harness makers in Folkestone, Kent which switched to building bespoke bodies for motor cars when horse-drawn vehicles began to disappear. As well as bespoke bodies they built short runs for various motor manufacturers. In the Great depression of the 1930s they made very distinctive Wingham cabriolet bodies which were fitted to a range of chassis from large Vauxhall to Rolls-Royce. After the Second World War they built ambulance bodies and in particular conversions of Bedford vans, "a bedroom on wheels", and other Vauxhall products as well as Austin and Volkswagen Kombi vans.
Indie Campers is a motorhome rental company, operating in the Europe, North America and Oceania, with its own fleet of over 7000 vehicles distributed by more than 70 locations in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and in the United States. In addition to its own fleet, Indie Campers has a campervan Marketplace with more than 2000 vehicles from private hosts.
Westfalia-Werke, now two firms: Westfalia-Automotive GmbH and Westfalen Mobil GmbH, are a manufacturer of automotive camping equipment and trailers. Westfalia-Werke is based in Rheda-Wiedenbrück in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Westfalia invented the ball head trailer hitch in 1934. Westfalia is best known for Volkswagen Westfalia Campers. Westfalia is a leading manufacturer of trailer hitches for cars and light commercial vehicles. Westfalia also manufacture a line of automotive bicycle racks.
The Rapido Group is a French manufacturer of motorhomes in Mayenne, France. Rapido Group owns Rapido RVs and other moterhome/van brands: Campérêve, Dreamer, Fleurette, Florium, Giottiline, Itineo, Rapidhome, Westfalia, Roadtrek, Stylevan and Wild’Ax.
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