Ever since there have been vans there have been camper vans. An expression that seems to sum up the camper van movement and can be seen on many bumper stickers is “home is where you park it” and the idea of having a home that also allows you to travel (even just for a short time) appeals to more and more people each year who are looking for an adventure outside of the normal tourist world or a fun adventure for the whole family.
The motor home industry is a large one with rolling palaces now available for the right price, but, unfortunately for most of us that price is well beyond our reach and we need to look further at alternative options to suit our wallets. The answer that most people have come up with is converting a van themselves or finding a company to do so for them.
This isn’t a new idea. When you say Volkswagen and the 60s to people, the first image that probably pops to mind is that of the iconic split-screen Volkswagen camper van, which has become something of an icon thanks to footage of events like Woodstock and the flower power movement of the 60s. Most people don’t realize, however, that Volkswagen never actually made a camper van per se, they were all converted by companies like Westphalia and Devon. In fact, there were hundreds of companies across the globe all struggling to meet the demand of the camper van conversion movement.
While many people still take the option of converting old vans themselves, the industry which has grown up around vehicle body fitters and coachbuilders is huge and can make the process a lot simpler. Sometimes things are best left to the experts and when it comes to having a comfy home on wheels, this is often the case.
Modern vans and professional commercial vehicles are now made with convertibility in mind. A good example is the Fiat Ducato range, which is built specifically to be customized by taking into account the issues that have been faced by converters and coach builders in the past. A Ducato conversion is made easy by the way the van is structured to take just about any type of configuration or body on its robust structure. The Ducato conversion to a camper van offers a huge number of possibilities as any Google search will show. But the options don’t end in a camper van and many fleets of commercial vehicles are now adopting the Fiat as the base for their custom vehicles.
Although vans have got bigger and bigger and the last few decades, the good thing is that they’ve also got more efficient and economical which means that whatever you need a van-based vehicle for, it shouldn’t break the bank in fuel consumption or in initially cost. Whether you’re looking for a conversion like the Ducato conversion to a camper van or you’re looking to make a more commercial vehicle like an ice cream van, the options available on the market are endless and your limit is only your imagination.
