Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Campervan

Editor’s note Welcome Hello Hey there, my dearest campervanners, and welcome to the February issue! As I always say, any time of year is a good time to get out and about in your campervan, but winter has the added bonus of being an excellent time for planning your holidays for the year ahead, too. So, I hope you’re sitting comfortably with a nice cuppa in hand? If you’ve yet to book a half-term break or are planning a family holiday for later in the year, just check out our top picks of family-friendly campsites throughout the UK on page 41. The winter months are also perfect for offering your campervan a little TLC, so there’s an article on looking after your tyres at this time of year and preparing…

Choosing Big Blue Sky VW T6 Big Blue Sky VW T6 Thinking about having your own vee-dub converted? Check out this husband-and-wife team… Back in the autumn, we met Jon Willars at the Motorhome & Campervan Show Season Finale at the Lincolnshire Showground, where his company, Big Blue Sky Campers, was exhibiting at a show for only the third time in 14 years of trading. But then this isn’t a big business looking for volume sales, rather a small converter offering bespoke conversions on a variety of base vehicles. The pair of Volkswagen T6-based campers on show were from a set of three built for Nottingham rental company, Teds Campervan Hire, but these are just examples of what’s available from the converter. In fact, Jon says that Big Blue Sky…

Enjoying Italy Idyllic Italian Lakes Mel and Stuart are in for quite a treat when they search out smaller, lesser-known lakes in northern Italy… WORDS & PHOTOS Melanie Gill Here we were in northern Italy, fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the Italian lakes. But, as it was still late August, we wanted to choose our stopovers carefully to avoid the crowds and expense in this very popular destination in high season. Sitting on a sunny terrace high above a valley floor and fast-flowing river enjoying a serendipitous apple strudel and coffee, we watched as several groups of climbers inched their way up a sheer 500-metre cliff opposite, and enjoyed views of the snow-capped Brenta Dolomites in the distance. Directed by the sat-nav, we had turned onto a small mountain road…

Enjoying Destination of the month Ilfracombe Destination of the month Enjoy a slice of heaven with a trip to the delightful north Devon coast in your campervan… Alamy.com With its stunning turquoise sea and golden sandy beaches, it’s no wonder campervanners from across the land flock to bask on the Devon coast! There are so many things to do and see around here, you certainly won’t be stuck for choice. Ilfracombe is a great example of a typical fishing village dating back to Saxon times, which became a popular seaside resort in the Victorian era with the arrival of the railway. With a dramatic, rugged coastline and plenty of pretty coves to explore, it’s quite the picture. After a busy day on the beach, there are many restaurants and cafés…

Our campervans 2018 Bespoke NI VW T6 The surprise that is Shetland Nicola and Nigel fall in love with the enchantments of island life, from Caribbean-style beaches to Fawlty Towers-themed tea parties… Having previously spent a number of months in the Hebridean islands, we still felt that we hadn’t seen anywhere near enough of what Scotland has to offer, so our plan this time was to be away in our campervan for six months, encompassing the Shetland Islands, and Orkney Islands (see January issue), among other places. We spent a couple of days travelling up towards Scrabster, after arriving into Cairnryan from Belfast, near our home in Northern Ireland. We incorporated stops at The Kelpies, Loch Garten, Glenshiel and Duncansby. All of these stops were great for overnight parking and had…

Do you love ca mpervanning? Do you want to be inspired by real-life campervanning experiences, UK and overseas travel, top campsites for touring, campervan road tests, practical advice and much, much more? Then you need Campervan every month. When you subscribe to the paper version of Campervan, you’ll enjoy all of these great benefits: SAVE money on the cover price Get FREE delivery direct to your door – BEFORE it goes on sale in the shops PROTECTION against cover price increases SAVE £5 on all Warners Shows in 2022 when you pre-book your pitch FREE day visitor entry to the Yorkshire Motorhome & Campervan Show in Harrogate & savings on day visitor entry to all other Warners shows And much, much more! Just £11.99 a quarter by direct debit or £49.99…

News What’s happening in the world of campervans News Next California campervan will be all-electric Read all about what’s going on in the fascinating world of campervans… The Volkswagen AG supervisory board has now approved the capital expenditure for VW Commercial Vehicles’ all-electric ID Buzz, including a California campervan version. These will be built at the Hannover factory, alongside vehicle body construction for a new Bentley model, the T6.1 Transporter van and recently launched T7 Multivan people-carrier. The California campervan range has always proven very popular and has recently been expanded to include the new Caddy California micro-camper (read our review on page 16). Despite the challenging market situation, the number of orders received for the California models over the last few months has continually and significantly increased. Now, VWCV…

Swift joins the pop-top camper market Ahead of its official launch later this month, Swift has unveiled its all-new Monza rising roof campervan, based on the Ford Tourneo Custom short-wheelbase (the passenger-carrying version of the Transit Custom panel van). The new compact campervan, which is priced from £58,395, is aimed at couples and young families. It comes with a 130PS engine and six-speed manual gearbox as standard, with the options of automatic transmission and to upgrade to a 170PS power output. It can be ordered in Orange Glow, Diffused Silver or Chrome Blue. Inside, there is a three-person Reimo Variotech sliding rear bench seat, which converts into a double bed. There is a further double bed in the German-made rising roof, making it a four-berth campervan that is able to…

Choosing Volkswagen Caddy California Caddy on camping Not so much a downsized T6.1 Cali but more like a Volkswagen Golf estate with a bed in the back… WORDS & PHOTOS Peter Vaughan We’ve been here before. In its German homeland, VW marketed the Caddy Tramper – a very basic campervan based on the Caddy Maxi Life people-carrier that, in turn, was a derivative of the small, car-like Caddy van. It came here, very briefly, from 2013, as the Caddy Camper. Now, Volkswagen is having a second stab at a simple, entry-level campervan with the new Caddy California, which will be available from its Van Centres this spring (some months later than originally planned). The newcomer sits below the existing T6.1 California campervans – Beach Tour, Beach Camper, Coast and Ocean…

Enjoying Campervan community campervan community We take a look at what’s been rockin’ your weird and wonderful campervan world this month… Snug as a bug In a recent survey, we asked you: What’s the best campervan bedding for winter camping? We can now reveal that 64% of you opted for good old-fashioned duvets while 31% said snuggly sleeping bags. Only 5% chose versatile bed rolls and blankets… ED I have to say, I am shocked by that! As a massive fan of the humble bed roll (I have a Robens Prairie bed roll) I think you are all missing out. I am also a huge fan of blankets in a campervan – so much so that I learnt to crochet just so I could make a heavy-duty Merino wool granny…

Our campervans 1998 Auto-Sleeper Duetto A first time for everything Hazel was always horrified by the idea of attending an owners’ club meet-up, until she stumbled upon a newly formed Facebook group for Duetto owners… When the weather turns wintry, we often call it ‘Hull Fair Weather’. This is because it’s the time of year when the biggest travelling fair in Europe descends on our nearest city. However, I no longer feel the need to scare myself silly whizzing around on the Waltzers or perched precariously on the Big Wheel. And, of course, I wouldn’t dream of taking a dog on a fairground ride. So, what on earth were we doing with our dog in a tiny compartment, swaying in the wind, high above Matlock Bath in the Derbyshire Peak…

Winby Land Yacht Choosing Winby Land Yacht From a furniture maker comes a rather unusual campervan… James Winby Furniture & Design is a cabinetmaker based in Wiltshire and company founder, James, had always fancied the idea of building a campervan. The resulting vehicle, shown here, is just a taste of what could be achieved. Based on a used (2016 registered) Mercedes Sprinter, it’s called the Land Yacht, reflecting the fact that James has previously worked on boats and wanted to instil a maritime feel in his first ’van. Unusually, this demonstrator was not built to meet a customer order but instead it’s James’ idea of what a Winby customer might want – something specialist and bespoke, spacious and airy, with a yacht-like feeling inside. Mainly Merc A medium-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Sprinter…

Enjoying Scotland Gallivanting in Galloway Putting her best foot forward, Felicity rambles around the wild, wintery interior of Dumfries and Galloway… WORDS & PHOTOS Felicity Martin One of the reasons we bought Stella, our WildAx Constellation, was so I could use her to research walks for guidebooks. I was fed up with driving lots of extra miles to and from B&Bs while checking out routes in remote locations. My task on this trip is to update the Pathfinder Guide to Dumfries and Galloway, so I’ll be using Stella for getting to walks, eating, sleeping and as a mobile office. It’s winter and most campsites in this relatively unpopulated corner of Scotland are shut. Some small certificated sites and locations are open, but none are very near my walks, so I…

In the know Engine remapping Engine remapping If you’re thinking about having your campervan engine remapped, here’s a few things to take into consideration… WRITTEN BY Nick Fisher Whether to have your engine remapped for extra power, improved driveability and better fuel economy can be a controversial topic. It also throws up questions like should an insurer be made aware of such modifications? To shed light on the matter, we spoke to some campervan owners with experience of the topic, and also a couple of suppliers of remap devices. Will it improve fuel economy? There are claims of better fuel consumption made by many firms, but that’s possibly only if you drive gently and don’t use the available power. Reader, David Hall, confirms, “Better acceleration in higher gears makes overtaking HGVs…

In the know Next month On sale 17 February 2022 campervan FREEDOM TO EXPLORE In next month’s issue All contents subject to change Subscribe at outandaboutlive.co.uk ☎ 01778 392019 subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk Digital Campervan offers To enjoy access to a fully searchable digital archive of all issues of Campervan since it was launched, visit motorhome.ma/cpvnexact For extra photos, video, interactive adverts, live web links and additional web-based articles, head to motorhome.ma/cpvnpocketmags…