Scottish company Caledonian Campers are renowned for being innovative when exhibiting at shows, but they have just surpassed themselves by actually converting a van from start to finish as visitors watched. The four day conversion took place at the Scottish Caravan, Motorhome and Holiday Home show at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, Glasgow in early February.
“It was brilliant publicity! We are known for being innovative and were the talk of the show,” commented Caledonian Campers Isla Bissett.
Caledonian Campers came up with idea when they discovered how big their stand at the show would be. ” We found we had extra space on the stand, and we like to be innovative and adventurous. We wanted to prove to everyone that we do build our vans and thought it would be a good way to showcase what we do,” Isla told The Buzz.
Caledonian Campers has been converting VW vans at their Glasgow workshops for over 10 years. They were the first such company to set up business in Scotland, having spotted an opportunity. Isla says. “We set it because we couldn’t find a Scottish company to do a conversion. All conversions had to be done in England.”
It was also unique. As far as Isla knows, no other company has ever attempted such a feat inside an exhibition center during a consumer heavy event of this kind.
“We talked to the show organizers to check that we did have enough space to do the build and that it would be allowed. The SEC was very excited and embraced the idea. We just had to meet health and safety requirements,” noted Isla. “We did a map of the stand to show where everything would be then sat down with our team to plot out what we could do each day. It worked really well.”
The conversion was based on their GTourer style starting at approx. $22,000. Caledonian Campers used a new style Ravenna Blue VW van with a TG base. It provides seating for up to 5 people and sleeping accommodation for 4 people. The layout includes a pop-up roof, table, cooker, fridge, sink, storage and two double beds, one on the base of the van, the other in the pop up area.
The company's work station and VW shell at the beginning of the live build. [Photo/Caledonian Campers]
Apart from ensuring that no visitors entered the build area, the main requirements specified by the SEC involved covering the flooring to prevent any damage, keeping noise to a minimum and ensuring that no gluing would take place while consumers were in the building. The team at Caledonian Campers created a specific program covering the entire process of the build. Before the show opened, the entire work area was covered with 4mm of plywood to prevent any damage to the carpet and floor. The van was brought in well ahead of the event, and was not moved until the show ended. Only hand tools and a sewing machine were used on site.
“We had several cameras set up at the show on a time lapse,” commented Isla, “And live streamed for one hour each day, morning and afternoon on our Facebook site”. For more videos of the event, visit their YouTube channel.
The build started dramatically, with drums and bagpipes echoing around the cavernous exhibition hall.
The conversion plan clearly specified what they were doing on each day. Protective wrapping was placed over the paint work to prevent any damage and the interior of the van was being totally stripped out as the first visitors appeared. Over the next four days, work went totally as scheduled without any hiccups. The team even had time to chat to the visitors watching at the barriers, answering their questions and providing information. Here is the process:
Day One:
Cabinets were constructed on the workbenches.
The pop up roof and flashings were installed.
Upholstery fabric was machined on site for the beds and seats.
Day Two:
Fitting insulation with all gluing completed prior to the show opening.
Fitting the carpet – again with gluing completed in advance.
Fitting curtains.
Fitting splashback.
Wiring on cabinet – undertaken on the work bench.
Plumbing on cabinet - undertaken on the work bench.
Day Three:
Fitting of cabinet to van.
Fitting of worktop.
Fitting overhead locker and shelves.
Plumbing and electrics fitted to cabinet in van.
Finish roof headlining.
Day Four:
Fitting bed to van.
Fitting upper bed kit.
Fitting front and back bed boards.
Fitting water tank.
Fitting front seats.
Fitting side steps.
Conversion Complete.
Facebook users watched the conversion with interest, many commenting that they had seen part of the build on site. Many visitors to the show came deliberately to see the conversion underway, having read about it in the local newspaper. Visitors were asking a lot of questions, seeking inspiration and chatting to the lads on the stand about their work.
“Teamwork was very important and the lads really enjoyed it. It was nice to be working indoors as our workshop can be a bit breezy at times. They enjoyed showing people what they could do and it gave them an opportunity to showcase their skills. The gluing was a bit of a rush as it had to be completed before the public entered the show at 10am,” commented Isla. “We were fully prepared for the conversion and it worked well. The noise was kept to a minimum with just short bursts of noise from hand tools.”
Even before the show ended, potential buyers were keenly booking test drives. Within three days of the end of the show, the first of those drives had taken place and Caledonian Campers were hopeful that the van would shortly be sold.
But what of the future? How could Caledonian Campers up their game even further at the next show? A Facebook user commented “Well done guys, How about one in 24 hours? You know you wanna!”
However, Caledonian Campers has even bigger plans. Isla revealed that they are thinking about setting a world record!
Isla admits they could have done the build in less time. Next year, the build crew wants to aim for a world record, so they business is currently investigating. “We are contacting the Guinness Book of World Records to see if anyone has done it before and if so, what record needs to be broken or set. We will also be talking to the show organizers about it,” Isla confirmed.
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