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. Some of these early vans used for Dormobile conversions were identified by the distinctive side stripe panel, usually painted in a stand out colour. They included Bedford, The Ford Thames, Commer and Morris & Austin J4.
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 van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or people in tiny quantities. Mini MPVs, compact MPVs, and MPVs are all small vans usually used for transporting people in small quantities. Larger vans with passenger seats are used for institutional purposes, such as transporting students. Larger vans with only front seats are often used for business purposes, to carry goods and equipment. Specially equipped vans are used by television stations as mobile studios. Postal services and courier companies use large step vans to deliver packages.
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.
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 Wayne Busette is a minibus that was assembled by Wayne Corporation from 1973 to 1990. During its production, many examples of the Busette were produced as school buses. One of the first examples produced with a cutaway van chassis, the Busette mated a purpose-built school bus body with a dual rear-wheel van chassis. In North America, this configuration is now preferred by manufacturers for many other types of minibuses in addition to school buses.
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.
A conversion van is a full-sized cargo van that is sent to third-party companies to be outfitted with various luxuries for road trips and camping. It can also mean a full-size passenger van in which the rear seating have been rearranged for taxis, school buses, shuttle buses, and limo purposes in place of a family van. Other conversions include bespoke fitting services to be undertaken to make the load area of light commercial vehicles suitable for industrial work. This includes various things such as racking systems for the storage of tools and goods so they can be kept safe and utilise the full storage capability of the vehicle.
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 CA was a distinctive pug-nosed light commercial vehicle produced between 1952 and 1969 by Bedford in Luton, England.
The Bedford CF is a range of full-size panel vans produced by Bedford - the commercial vehicles division of Vauxhall. 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 New Zealand tourism company that has been listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange since 1986.
A motorhome hire agency or campervan hire agency is a type of vacation rental company, which hires privately-owned motorhomes or campervans to customers. The practice is common in the United Kingdom, where several agencies dominate the market, and has more recently gained popularity in the United States.
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.
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 manufactures 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.
A marque of Stellantis | |||||||||
| Vehicles |
| ||||||||
| Divisions and subsidiaries | |||||||||
| People | |||||||||
| Factories | |||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
