Interested in just getting a feel for what the RV life is all about? Then Quirky Campers may have the answer! Having just expanded out its UK base into New Zealand, it is now targeting the USA.
The story started just over a decade ago as founder Lindsay Barrasford explains. “We converted our own campervan and got a bit carried away with the design. Then we had to go away for six months and tried to hire it out. We couldn’t find anywhere that would take something so unusual so we did it ourselves, and set up a business called Quirky Campers. We were not sure if we were doing it right or even if anyone would rent our quirky campervan.
It turned out to be really popular and we discovered that there were other campervan owners with unusual vehicles in a similar position. The business just grew and grew. People would do a bespoke refit as they wanted something different to a conventional caravan or campervan. When they were not using it, they wanted to make it pay by renting it out.”
Quirky Campers had discovered an unfilled niche in the market. The website quickly filled with van owners offering campervans with unique touches, as well as links to companies able to help potential owners create the vans of their dreams. Customers include “off griders”, pet friendly families wanting to travel, groups of friends, normal families, and even Newlyweds.
“We have even had offers of campers requiring special licenses to drive them such as lorry conversions. One such conversion had a hot tub inside the vehicle! You need a HGV license to drive it, which does narrow down the potential customer base considerably,” says Lindsay. “All the conversions are unique in some way. There are vans with specific places for dogs to sleep and travel in, while others have triple beds on top of each other. Florence is a decommissioned ambulance but no one would realize that. It is now bright green with an interior like a country cottage.”
No two vans are same. Many are painted in bright colors and have distinctive exteriors. Interiors range from white minimalist to rustic charm, wooden ceilings, portholes, French country style paintwork, even antique style outdoor shower fitments attached to the back of the van. Some vans even create the feeling of being in a hobbit hole! Quite a few of the vans have woodburners. As Lindsay indicates, “You only need a very small woodburner to heat up the space. It is perfect for winter trips. You can be really warm and snug in the van.”
An aerial view of the Camp Quirky festival and attendees [Photo/Quirky Campers]
Among the listings is the bright pink van that started this initiative – Bella. Owned by Lindsay and her husband David, it provides accommodation for 3 adults, 1 child and 1 baby! Inside, it contains lots of hand carved wood, a washing machine porthole window, and handmade woodburner.
To take another example, the Hull based van Vera seems to be straight out of a fairy tale. Even the exterior blends seamlessly into a woodland setting. Beautiful decorative paintwork creates a lovely rustic interior, so that you don’t even feel as though you are in a van.
Creating a unique van is a growing trend. More and more people are getting involved. “We have found that many people don’t realize that these things are available. When they see a van like this and try it out, it is immediately ‘Oh my God, I want one’,” reports Lindsay.
There is an innate human desire to experience a cosy way of life. As more and more people discover it, they realize that it makes sense to try it out before building your own van. “You can explore what it feels like to live in one, discover what elements suit you and avoid expensive mistakes,” Lindsay continues.
Nicely outfitted and painted camper van for hire in Bristol [Photo/Quirky Campers]
The success of Quirky Camper led to another initiative designed to help would-be van converters as well as providing a way in which people could share information, meet like minded people and swap stories. It began simply with just a group of people getting involved. Recognizing that there was a huge appetite for information, Quirky Campers decided to set up a larger event – a festival open to anyone interested in campervan culture such as self-builders, professional converters, van dwellers, road trippers, bloggers, YouTubers, and of course Quirky Camper customers. Held in 2018, the festival was a total sell out.
In 2019, the Festival moved to a larger site capable of accommodating more participants along with a greater number of seminars and workshops, music and fun activities.
Tickets for the 2019 event sold out within 48 hours of going on sale. “We are now planning the 2020 festival and having to consider that we might have to do more than one a year to cope with the demand. There is a huge need for an event of this kind. People want to meet others with similar interests, learn about conversions, how to do it and how to live in a van. They want to connect with other people and acquire skills and information,” Lindsay tells The Buzz.
Lindsay added, “When you attend one of these festivals, you realize that you are not on your own. You can meet other people with similar problems and concerns, learn new skills and discover information.” Spending an hour talking about compost toilets is not something you can do everywhere!
Keeping the festival at a manageable size is regarded as highly important. It needs to be big enough to offer people a variety of activities, plenty of opportunities to meet other people, explore vans and concepts, yet not be so large that it is overwhelming.
Camp Quirky 2020 will be located in Northamptonshire, UK and takes place May 15th-17th.
Initial plans for the 2020 event include offering a Q&A session with a panel of seven YouTubers active in the handmade campervan sector, evening music sessions and a variety of workshops. Among the workshop topics already confirmed are Tile Making & Stone Carving, Felting, Solar, QiGong, Make your Own Cleaner, Introduction to Frame Basket Weaving, Basic Woodworking for Cupboard Building, Basic 12V Electrics for Campervans, Self Defense, Full time Vanlifers, Making a Living on the Move, Vanlife with Families, One-pot Campervan Cooking, Make Do and Mend Bunting Workshop, Leatherwork, Sustainability, and Gas Safety.
And it is not just people in the UK who are interested and keen to develop their own individualistic vans as Lindsay explained.
“We have had people in many countries including Poland, Holland and France contact us about the vans and setting up quirky camping festivals.”
Recognizing the scale of the demand, Lindsay and David are now setting up a franchise operation enabling the concept of Quirky Campers & Camp Quirky to expand into other countries.
“Just before Christmas we set up a franchised version of Quirky Campers in New Zealand. It is a country which has a culture of traveling in class B camper vans like the UK and also likes being quirky,” Lindsay joked.
Expanding into the U.S. does have a place in the company’s long term plan. “We are trying to figure out how to do it because there is much more legal stuff in the US than elsewhere. We have got ideas, and would like to be in America by 2021.” There are so many beautiful conversions available in the U.S. which would be ideal for a Quirky Campers business.
Lindsay is looking for potential partners, probably one in each state or a group of states. The ideal strategy is entering one state at a time explains Lindsay. Quirky Campers seeks partners who are local and understand their market. “We are looking for people with a passion for self built camper vans with previous experience of running a business,” concludes Lindsay.